[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Sho might not know a lot about the way that these sorts of things were conducted, but he was seriously starting to smell a rat.

Honestly, if one looked at it empirically, everything from the moment that they had first met was suspicious. Hirana Kizumi was a wonderful woman, someone he put all faith and trust in, but he was certain that she didn't check up with every Kumo-nin who flubbed their exams. But she had gone out of her way to make sure that he was okay, had given him more faith and patience than he had actually deserved, and had given him a lot to think about. That alone he would have been thankful for.

Yet, that hadn't been enough - He had then been promoted to Chuunin despite not passing the Exams, and in a rather hastily done matter. He hadn't thought about it to begin with, just thankful for the promotion, but it had been out of nowhere after nearly six months of rest in order to recover his health. He was still technically disabled and yet she had responded to that knowledge by promoting him. Then there came the mission she had had him do personally under her, and now this...

Sho was starting to see there was something happening, though he had no idea what.

Regardless of his larger suspicion, the facts remained clear. He had been directly ordered to report to Kazuhiro Hayato, a member of her personal war council, for "special training". God alone knows what that meant. Maybe she was looking to recruit him into her war council as well, especially considering she had brought Azarea into said council, but he found that hard to believe. He had no greater eye for strategy and was still considered a relative newbie in terms of Shinobi affairs.

Whatever the reason, though, the fact remained that an order was an order. As such, Sho was currently waiting outside the council building, wearing full flak armour and hitai-ate. It felt weird, like he was overdressed for what was supposed to be a simple training session, but he wasn't about to complain. These were the orders given, and though he would like to be given some context, he knew that that wasn't always an option for missions like this.

Even so, though his eyes were unable to see it, he could feel the chill of night around his body - his body lit only by the lanterns decorated throughout the street and the stars above the village. Wasn't the idea of most training exercises that you were supposed to be able to see what you were doing? He supposed it didn't matter for him, his tremorsense was accurate night or day, but how would Hayato react to something like this?

463 words | Kazuhiro Hayato

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 1/9
Jutsus Used: None

[Kazuhiro Hayato]

[attr="class","dilyrics2"]Shinobi May Keep Secrets ButLoyalty [attr="class","dilyric2"]Is It's Own Reward

[attr="class","dibody2"] As he had started to settle into his new position, a part of him had been afraid that he was looking softer around the edges. The constant state of preparedness had been replaced with the dull drone of paper work to review, to constant meetings. Almost enough for him to just ask to have some form of deployment. Hayato was struggling as he had been leaving that persona of the ANBU Captain behind, he wasn't afraid to recognize, but when Kizumi had asked him to 'train' a new hopeful for the secretive organization, he had agreed, perhaps not with enthusiasm but with a renewed sense of duty. And then he had waited. He had been patient as he had used the skills that had been curated through a lifetime. He had read the files of this young man, trying to find the information hidden within the information. And whilst he had found traces of greatness, at least for this occupation within the shinobi system, he had to make sure that he was up to par. And thus, patience had become his best weapon, at least for now. As the young man came into view, he could see from his hiding spot that he wore a full set of standard gear, the noise enough to give himself away. He seemed to be disconcerted, as if he had no idea of why he was wating outside. It was, all a test of course, a trap that he had settled for this Sho. With a twist of his wrist, the kunai that he held in his hand was severed, underneat the feet of his new acquaintance, wire would unravel from within the soil and the young man would be left hanging like bait for a larger predator. Slowly, Hayato emerged from the shadows of the building, materializing himself from the very shade. "Sho, I pressume?" He said. "You should be more wary to your surroundings." [attr="class","ditags2"]word count ✖ @tag ✖ notes if you want

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[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Again. It had happened again.

Just like that time with the spider-girl in Akazaya, Shosuke had overlooked something that should have in retrospect been obvious. It was a problem with being given too much all at once, he was able to see everything 360' around him for 200m in every direction. He was able to see people in their homes, feral cats and dogs around the area, even how the buildings around him were disintegrating from exposure to weather and wind, and in the flurry of all that information he had overlooked something as important as what he was standing in.

The rope coiled around his leg, and in a sudden tug Sho felt his legs being yanked out from under him. Going down like a tonne of bricks, Sho at least had the ability to bring his hands up to shield his face to stop him from hitting his head on the ground before he was hoisted up in the air, left to dangle there for a moment.

With the sudden yank, Shosuke's glasses were knocked off of his face, leaving them lying on the ground underneath him as he dangled limply in the air. And, suspended as he was, Sho felt a sudden burst of panic. His feet weren't contacting anything, so the entire world went black to him, leaving him unable to see anything other than the blurry world that he would have been stuck with as a normal shinobi.

Around him, the entire world was blurry, unable to make anything out beyond the vaguest of shapes. Even still, his eyes shot around, looking for the one who had done this. He had to assume it was the one that he had agreed to meet, although he couldn't understand why. Even under the guise of training, this was just snide.

Turning his head to the source of the sound, Sho "stared" directly at the councilmember, his face actively showing his complete lack of amusement at the situation. Hayato, for his part, might very well have counted himself lucky as he was one of the few people to ever see what lay behind the glasses - scarred, whited out eyes, thickened, almost leathery corneas floating above faded and discolored irises. The man's blindness was immediately, violently obvious, even in the twilight shade the two found themselves in.

"Mister Kazuhiro, I take it." Sho said, his tone clearly one of displeasure. He was attempting to be respectful, the man was higher-ranking than him and was clearly trusted to train him by Lady Kizumi. Even so, the situation clearly put him on edge, almost as if he was being blinded all over again.

Stretching up, Sho reached a hand up to where his legs were being bound in the snare trap, taking but a brief second to manifest a blade of projected chakra to slice the wire and send him crashing to the floor in a heap. His body hurt, but at least he was able to see again.

"For future reference, please don't do that again."

At least he missed his glasses when he fell....

515 words | Kazuhiro Hayato

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 2/9

Jutsus Used
NAME: Chakura no Mesu - [Chakra Scalpel]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [Medical]
REQUIREMENT: Enhanced Chakra Control
ELEMENT: N/a
HANDSEALS: 5
DESCRIPTION:
After forming the needed handseals, the ninja will focus chakra to his or her hands. When his or her charged hands reach the body of the target, the user can use it as a normal scalpel or even extend the chakra internally into the target's body to cut and neatly slice the target's muscles and blood vessels without harming the surface skin. This technique can be used in battle, but because of its hectic nature, the fine precision required for an instant kill is not feasible. Damage can still be done to the vital organs, but the technique should be used carefully in battle.

[Kazuhiro Hayato]

[attr="class","dilyrics2"]Shinobi May Keep Secrets ButLoyalty [attr="class","dilyric2"]Is It's Own Reward

[attr="class","dibody2"] Hayato saw the damage hidden behind the lenses, his expression unwavering. Part of him wanted to pity the young man, another however told him that he had seen much, much worse. He kept both to himself as given the tone that Sho had assumed he was irritated. As he would land, he would be told not to do that again. He didn't have much reason to do so, the point had been made although he wasn't sure that id had been fully accomplished. "I won't." Hayato promised with a nod. "I will be remissed in my duty to remimd you that enemies won't show you any sympathy to your predicament." He would lean down and retrieve the glasses, handing them to the young man to restore his sight. He went through what he had seen in his mind, the chakra blade that had sliced through the wire and of course the damage his eyes had suffered. If the eyeglasses could be knocked away so easily then they were a liability in the midst of combat and Sho would need to find a way to keep them in place. Perhaps find a way to heal the eyes so he would not be afraid of losing them, or a gear that replaced the eyewear altogether. "I'm here to evaluate you and further your training." He said, sure that Sho was likely privy to the information. He would take a look at the gear again, finding it too bulky for what he intended to attempt to teach him. "This gear is find for patrol if you're to be part of the regular forces. You won't require it." The less sound he made the easier he would be able to lose himself in the crowd, to become an unseen shadow. And also the easier for him to teach him what he should do. [attr="class","ditags2"]309 ✖ Yamamoto Shosuke ✖ notes if you want

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[Yamamoto Shosuke]

As Sho moved to push himself up from the crumpled heap he had fallen into on the floor, the other man spoke about how he wouldn't be given such a luxury from an enemy shinobi. In that moment, Sho wanted to point out how few Shinobi fought with snare traps, and how if there were enemy shinobi in Kumogakure then something was already deadly wrong. However, he managed to bite back that searing critique of the man's point, instead just muttering a brief thanks as he was handed back his glasses.

Of course, Hayato was right - the sooner Sho was able to recover his sight the better. However, Old Lady Rei had said that there was nobody in the village capable of doing the medical ninjutsu required to fix him up. He was pretty sure it had been said in ignorance, more of a blanket statement than an actually researched opinion, but if anyone had been able to they sure hadn't come forward about it.

Sho had been doing some personal research into it himself, though that was complicated by the fact that he was blind in the first place. Hard to find a lot of sources appropriate for a blind man in the field of medical ninjutsu, and paint on paper wasn't exactly readable via his tremor-sense. Though, perhaps there was also a bit of complacency there - his day-to-day life wasn't affected by it too much so he was letting other things come first.

Speaking of other things...

"Okay, I have to ask; What are you evaluating me for? Kizumi refused to tell me, just told me that she wanted me to learn under you. Not what she planned to teach me..."

He didn't go into full detail about the situation, he wasn't mentioning the fact that Kizumi wasn't telling him about far more than just this particular training session, but perhaps that was for the best. It wasn't like he was lying to Hayato, but this might be the chance he was looking for to get some sort of information as to why things were being handled the way they were.

First the promotion, then the mission, now this... he just wanted to know what was going on, that was all. Normally he'd assume if he wasn't being told that there was a reason for it, but not when that subject clearly involved him. Call it selective paranoia...

"What do you mean I won't require it? I'm an Operations Team member - I'm barely one step above Gate Guard in terms of active duty. Besides, aren't I supposed to wear this stuff? I thought it was proof of my service to Kumogakure, is that wrong somehow?"

447 words | Kazuhiro Hayato

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 3/9
Jutsus Used: None

[Kazuhiro Hayato]

[attr="class","dilyrics2"]Shinobi May Keep Secrets ButLoyalty [attr="class","dilyric2"]Is It's Own Reward

[attr="class","dibody2"] "You will be told what is going on..." Hayato said, stopping to find a more diplomatic way to tell him to keep his mouth shut. "A need to know basis." He added, finding it the most polite way to pull rank and keep him silent. At this time, he didn't have a desire of going on about and dispelling each little doubt that he could've had. It wasn't really how this worked. And as much as he wanted to go away from the training that had forged him into who he was for better or worse, he would appreciate that they were regimented enough to know when to ask questions. "Like I said, you won't need it." He continued, his expression remaining unchanging, almost unreadable, coming along as mild disinterest in any protest that the young man would give him. His hand moving towards one of the pouches that hung from his belt, producing a scroll which he unfurled slowly, almost deliberately as if he was trying to test Sho in patience. "I will decide what is proper for you to wear at the moment, right now I have deemed your current attire cumbersome and unnecessary." He said as he would find the seal and pressed it with his hand, revealing a long cloak much like his and tossing towards Shosuke and after it he would toss an empty scroll to him. "Seal your belongings here. Keep your tools and weapons. You will need them. Get changed and meet me here." He said, giving him a final look. "Move on, don't tarry." He said, turning his back on Sho, his hands going behind his back as if he were doing some sort of standing meditation, seemingly just contemplating the look of the mountains but in reality given consideration of what came next for the new hopeful. [attr="class","ditags2"]306 ✖ Yamamoto Shosuke ✖ notes if you want

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[Yamamoto Shosuke]

As diplomatic as Hayato might think he was being, it was pretty obvious just what it was that he wanted to say. Even if it hadn't been, Sho's tremor-sense allowed him a certain insight into the way the man's body was reacting. There was a clear elevation in aggression, suggesting just how little patience this man actually had.

Sho couldn't say that he was a fan of the treatment he was getting, but he also knew better than to complain. Sho shut his mouth, simply nodding and agreeing to follow the man's decisions. If Kizumi had chosen him to study under Hayato, it was because Kizumi trusted Hayato explicitly or at least thought that whatever he had to teach was worth putting up with his brusqueness. Trusting Kizumi and therefore trusting this guy by proxy, Sho simply nodded, caught the cloak and began to strip.

It was a surprisingly slow procedure, as much as Sho might have wished otherwise. Beyond the time it took to get the flak jacket off, something designed to be at least a little difficult to avoid an enemy working it off in battle and thus depriving him of its protection, he also had a bunch of miscellaneous equipment that he kept on him at all times to aid in various survival or otherwise medical procedures. In the end, Sho only kept his gasmask, the tranquiliser equipment, and of course the cloak that he had just been given.

Though it took a while, eventually Sho did indeed manage to get down to the bare essentials, letting the rest of it be sealed within the scroll that Hayato had produced. Sho had never been one for fuinjutsu himself but understood vaguely how it worked. So, his stuff was going to get sealed away until the man deigned to give it back? He just hoped that would not be too long, some of that stuff did actually prove useful.

Beyond that, there was little getting changed that needed to be done. Simply slinging the cloak around his body, tying it to make sure it was secured before raising the hood, he was already ready to go, and signalled as such to the older man. This time, however, not a word left his lips. It was pretty obvious at this point that trying to talk to him or press him for any sort of context to this situation was pointless, and Sho wasn't a fan of wasting his breath.

410 words | Kazuhiro Hayato

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 4/9
Jutsus Used: None

[Kazuhiro Hayato]

[attr="class","dilyrics2"]Shinobi May Keep Secrets ButLoyalty [attr="class","dilyric2"]Is It's Own Reward

[attr="class","dibody2"] "Good." Hayato said with a nod, deciding to let slide the time that Shosuke had taken for changing his attire. He seemed to be ready to explode should he voice any critique and in truth, he didn't feel the need to voice any. "Follow me. We shall take a walk." He announced and began to walk away at a steady pace, his gait something in between merely jogging and starting an actual run, leading away from the administrative building through a path that to the observer seemed to be seldom used, and could be for all intends and purpose a service corridor. The buildings mixed in with the rock of the mountain, giving the impression that the building had been carved out from the very rock itself. Further along the pair continued through a what seemed to be a service tunnel, hidden in the façade of a cave that no one visited. The sound of droplets hitting against the stone, eroding it little by little became a companion of the rhythm of their steps. Lights had been mounted on the rock, giving a yellow lambent that dispelled the creatures that lurked into the dark. Yet, the pair didn't remain in this 'tunnel' for long. Soon the cave gave way to a path truly carved into the mountain, a side being the rock itself and another being a sheer drop into the valleys below. He didn't need to say that Shosuke would need to be careful. They continued along, as the wind began to strike him, snow flakes billowing in the shivering gusts and yet, Hayato carried on, almost like if the wind against there at all. His cloak flapping in the wind until he stopped and he pointed to a structed, a building that looked more like a monastery, somehow pressed against the mountain and still intact against all idea of construction and gravity. "We've arrived." [attr="class","ditags2"]317 ✖ Yamamoto Shosuke ✖ notes if you want

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[Yamamoto Shosuke]

A walk, huh? There was something about this guy that made Shosuke certain that "a pleasant walk" usually ended with at least five casualties, but he kept that particular thought to himself.

Following close behind Hayato, Sho nonetheless let some of his attention wander to the area around them. Even with his blindsense he could sense how worn and weathered this area was, rusting metal pipes and overgrown grass showing that nobody had given this area tender loving care for a while. He was a little surprised to find something like this so close to the administrative building, wouldn't they try to beautify the nearby area to keep morale high?

They were down a back alley, it was true, but even so it seemed a little too urban of an area to be abandoned like this. All Sho could think was either that the custodial staff of the village weren't pulling their weight, or that this area was left purposefully neglected to try and discourage people going through it.

It seemed the latter thought was given more credence by the fact that, following this path, they found themselves at the side of a cliff-face with a small little service hatch in it. Of course, the very idea of a service hatch in a cliff was laughable - what was there to keep maintained, the rocks? That said, this obviously led somewhere, somewhere they didn't want other people going. He might be about to get some kind of privileged information that only those of the village's higher echelons got.

In the long run, it would appear that he was correct, as following behind his would-be mentor, Sho was led through a perilous cliff area within the rocks. It looked like someone had taken the time to alter and mine out the inside of some pre-made cave for this formation, something that would be exhausting and perhaps even life-threatening for even someone skilled in Doton. It was redefining an entire landscape, even if only a subterranean one. This place had to have been built with a purpose, and it seemed the purpose was to conceal the cathedral.

As Shosuke walked, he allowed a modicum of his focus to be taken up with his own flow of chakra, extending just a fragment of it out and onto his feet just in case. It was the only time that he'd ever felt the need to do such a thing whilst walking on a straight surface, but with a combination of the wind and the fact that this entire place looked like it was liable to collapse with but the slightest impetus, like a snowy mountain just waiting for an excuse for an avalanche, he wasn't going to be taking any shortcuts.

The cathedral, or whatever it was, was presented to Sho by Hayato as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Something almost laughable considering the mostly secular nature of the Village system. Of course, Sho knew about foreign religions like the Gokuroku and he had distantly heard rumours about something called Jashinism, but in Kumo? Nothing of the sort, beyond the conciliators of course. Was this something to do with them? It seemed unlikely, it didn't seem to be their style of architecture at all.

Even still, as curious as Sho was, he knew that asking would get him no answers so he simply mutely nodded, following Hayato wherever he was leading him. He would find out in time, he was at least mostly confident about that. If not... well, there were worse things in the world, as frustrating as it would be.

602 words | Kazuhiro Hayato

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 5/9

Jutsus Used
NAME: Kinobori no Waza [Act of Tree Climbing]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION:
An advanced genin level technique, it serves as a means to both enhance chakra control when mastered as well as a means to change one's advantages on the battlefield. By applying chakra to the soles of the feet, the shinobi gains the ability to walk and stand on vertical surfaces or even upside down.

[Kazuhiro Hayato]

[attr="class","dilyrics2"]Shinobi May Keep Secrets ButLoyalty [attr="class","dilyric2"]Is It's Own Reward

[attr="class","dibody2"] Without pause, Hayato would cross a rope bridge that led into the building, beckoning Sho to follow him. The massive doors greeted him, no guards, no one trying to make an offering. Reaching out with his gloved hands, the elder of the two would press a hidden switch in a particular manner. Byzantine mechanisms hidden within the door started their symphony of clicks and clacks, as hidden switches and gears turned away from their sight. With a huge groan of metal, the doors began to part away, revealing long hallway lit by torches, no altars to give offering to whatever gods this place had been dedicated too. Only hooded figures and racks of weapons. One of the figures parted, walking directly to Hayato and meeting the man with a forearm embrace. A hushed conversation happened between the hooded figured, being brief before the hooded figure nodded and retreated with the rest. As if made out from the very shadows, the rest of the figures vanished and he would return where Sho would be waiting. "We are allowed further in." He said as he would start walking again, sure that his companion know would have several questions, but deciding to keep his answers until he deemed it proper. As they moved into the door in the far end, Hayato pushed it with both hands, revealing a room with a seemingly endless field of wooden poles thick enough to allow a person to balance themselves with one foot. Slits on both sides of the room allowed the wind of the mountain in, both sides pushing and shoving and swaying the poles with each gust. Above on a second level, launchers containing blunted kunai, smoke bombs and other forms of ordnance awaited for their use. "Now, you must cross the room. There's a door on the other end." [attr="class","ditags2"]305 ✖ Yamamoto Shosuke ✖ notes if you want

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[Yamamoto Shosuke]

As Hayato was working his way through the ancient, seemingly somehow both draconian and incredibly advanced security systems, Sho remained silent behind him. Whatever was stored here had to be either of extreme value or extremely dangerous to the village should it get out. He had heard of being protective, but sealing something behind these security measures, within an otherwise unremarkable cave at the end of a disused path? This had to be overkill, right?

What could even justify this?

Whatever it was, the doors creaked open eventually, revealing a series of people masked in cloaks. Sho, for his part, decided to rather pointledly not mention that he was able to see under their cloaks, their attempt at anonymity and secrecy foiled by his blind-sense. Whether or not he was doing it on purpose, that seemed like the sort of information that would get you killed if it was revealed. So, he remained quiet, trying not to let anything slip and keep everything to himself.

Finally, after what seemed like a miniature eternity, they were indeed let further in, revealing the contents of the further room. From the moment they stepped in, Sho's attention shot around the room; though he was blind, his tremor-sense allowed him to see everything in its essential state. It was clearly some sort of trial, some sort of proof of physical capability.

Sho, for his point, simply responded to Hayato's order to cross the room by looking around the place, taking his time before attempting anything. Whilst he could see the kunai whilst they were loaded into the launchers across the room, the moment they were fired they might as well have been invisible. Fortunately, it seemed the launchers were on a set trajectory, the same spot in the room being impacted over and over again. It was almost predictable, though he somehow doubted it would be that simple.

Finally approaching the turnstiles himself, Sho took a deep breath, preparing for what came next before his hands formed into handsigns one after the other. As the seals completed, a single wooden log shot up from the earth behind him, quickly whittling itself down into an identical replica of Sho himself. Indeed, after a moment it was no longer even clear that it was made of wood, appearing all the world to be made of flesh.

Without a second's thought, the clone jumped up onto one of the turnstiles, moving from one to the other with agility and grace. Even still, the density of the clone was such that the wind completely failed to push it, and the kunai for their part simply dug into the wooden construction of the clone's body. By the end of its completed journey across the stiles, it looked almost like a hedgehog, though it jumped down at the other end of the room with an almost trivial lack of comparative effort.

Sho, for his part, had moved his handsigns into their next stage, preparing a Body Substitution technique. Turning to Hayato before completing it, however, he just shot him a look.

"Is this method fine, Mr. Hayato? It goes against the spirit of the exercise but it completes the task. Since Kizumi sent you a blind guy, I'm assuming traditions and norms aren't the be-all and end-all despite," he gestured at everything around them. ", all proof to the contrary."

559 words | Kazuhiro Hayato

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 7/9

Jutsus Used
NAME: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu [Wood Clone Technique]*
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Mokuton
HANDSEALS: 3
DECRIPTION:
A clone that is created by altering the user's own cells with chakra to create vegetation. Possessing more endurance than the normal shadow clones. the doppelgangers are more resilient to damage. The clones have the ability to travel far distances from the user and are able to communicate with the original albeit the can only pass reconnaissance or simple messages with more complex thoughts and strategies depriving them from their full combat potential. The clones can be as simple in function as a wooden dummy for use in the Body Replacement Technique.

This makes this technique extremely convenient and a perfect clone technique that only the most powerful and fully developed dōjutsu will able to see through. By directly touching the wood clone with their hand, the user can absorb the information it gathered or change the shape of the clone. Because clone is made up of the user's own cells.

[Kazuhiro Hayato]

[attr="class","dilyrics2"]Shinobi May Keep Secrets ButLoyalty [attr="class","dilyric2"]Is It's Own Reward

[attr="class","dibody2"] Hayato's brow furrowed slightly, not out of discontent for what he was doing, just because he was doing an action that seemed at odds with the training exercise. But despite any objection he might have had, despite any rule that might had been bent or broken, he was doing the exercise. Not with great ease mind you, but more efficiently and faster that many other inductees had before. It was applaud worhty and it was perhaps the sort of inventive that what ANBU had been needed in the future. He kept his silence, watching the young man carrying on his task until he was done and finished. As the man asked if this had been alright, he felt an impulse to tell him to run it back again, to follow procedure. But in truth, procedure was all well and good when they were within the confines of the village or to be followed within a standby station. Aside applicables rules of war, looking to work smarter rather than harder was a quality that in the new organization was needed. After contemplating the question that Sho had possed, he nodded and weaved a hand sign. A haze of white smoke surrounding him before he reappered next to Sho. "You did admirably." He said, in the same deadpan tone that he assumed. "My instructor would've told you to run it again, but you managed a way to defeat the exercise in an inventive way. This demonstrates creativity." He added and bid him to follow him. The door opened for them, as he would lead them even furhter into the building, another room waited for them, one that seemed to be a storage room devoid from the weather raging outside. "Do you have any more questions before we continue?" He said, keeping his gaze forward. [attr="class","ditags2"]302 ✖ Yamamoto Shosuke ✖ notes if you want

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + GS

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[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Though not looking at the other man directly, his blindsense informed him just how clearly the man's brow furrowed. There was a look of displeasure, or perhaps simply discontent, plastered across his face as obviously as a clown's makeup, but the man had yet to say anything one way or another. There was something about this that the other man clearly didn't like, but apparently not enough to actually say anything about.

By the time the man did speak, Sho had already released his technique, disappearing from one end of the arena and arriving on the other, standing beyond all the other traps. In his place stood the other Sho, pierced and poked full of kunai as if some sort of full-body porcupine.

"Your instructor would have told me to run it again, yes, but would your instructor have allowed a blind man to participate in any of this to begin with?" Sho asked, his face a perfect mask of his emotions or whatever lay beyond skin-deep. In the background, one could hear the sound of thudding metal into wood as the clone moved to catch up with the original, once again having to cross the beams and get impaled with the knives.

Had the older shinobi been able to see through those pitch black sunglasses, he might have seen those razor-sharp eyes that seemed to claw across Hayato's face for any shred of information or any clues that might fill him in further on the situation they found themselves in, but fortunately his glasses rendered such thoughts impossible to read.

Either way, the doors opened in front of the pair of them and they wandered forwards, heading further into the cathedral. The one they were led into was a far more subdued room, seeming almost like a standard storage room. Sho, however, was not a fool and could tell there was something off about the room, using his blindsense to scout for any lingering piece of evidence about what on earth this could be now.

"Oh, I have plenty of questions, but you've made it perfectly clear that you have no intention of answering any of them. So let's skip this rigamarole and get on with it. I'm not a fan of pointless endeavors."

There was something about that last sentence... were he actually Hayato's subordinate, one might have even considered it insubordinate. But there was a spirit to it, a strength of will that was undeniable, perhaps revealing a little insight into why Kizumi was so clearly fond of this Chuunin - even in front of someone as intimidating as Hayato, it seemed his inner strength and sense of will had yet to so much as flicker like a candle in the wind.

454 words | Kazuhiro Hayato

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 9/9
Jutsus Used: None