[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

I N  F O R  A  P E N N Y . . .

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”Pssst!” came a sharp whisper from the window of the room Shikajin was in.

Some might say it was weird to find someone peeking inside of a window of a house they don’t live in while upside down and during broad daylight, but Shun had a reason. Her graduation exam was coming up and some classmates had heard it was going to be combat related. While the young Nara was quick and clever, she still couldn’t sustain her clan jutsu. Perhaps it was because she always had more natural chakra reserves than other kids and didn’t have to bother much with control to do the simpler jutsu that required a shinobi to gather chakra and spew it out once for a specific reason. The hijitsu was more intricate and required constant manipulation. Sometimes she could do it, sometimes she couldn’t and, definitely, she would mess up in a high stress situation so it wasn’t reliable.

That being said, the girl wasn’t useless at chakra control - she could already tree walk. It was her secret learning project that she did to both be more cool and also try to help her master shadow possession. She was upside down outside of the window because her feet were attached to the ledge of the roof with chakra. It was the second floor. No one had answered when she knocked so she went around the side and walked up the wall to check if anyone was home. It’s not something the raven-haired girl would do outside of the compound, of course, but everyone pretty much knew everyone there. Only Nara clan members lived in the area, really.

”Psssst! Shika-nii!” she knocked on the window after another shar whisper. ”Can you help me learn Shadow Possession? Dad’s away with work and my final exam in a few days. I’m still struggling with it but I want to be really cool in my exam so…” she kind of trailed off with the reasoning. ”So, anyways, I brought you a bribe. It’s lemon cheesecake.” out of nowhere, a see-through box with a slice of cake came into view through the window. It was held the right way up despite Shun being the wrong way up.

---

Words: 376
Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 395828

[Nara Shikajin]

♛

A day free from missions and a shift in the hospital was unfortunately not a day free from responsibilities as dark, sleepless eyes scanned the contents of an unraveled scroll that lay on the man's desk. No one knew everything and there was always room for improvement to make life just a little bit easier, though the persistent whispering of a young child from the other side of his second story window was proving quite the distraction. With a sigh the chunin would turn from his desk to see none other than Shun hanging from the underside of his roof. How the girl had managed such a thing at her age was a mystery but the Nara were nothing if not quick learners so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that she'd have learned a certain technique at her age.

He'd listen to her bribe him with a slice of cheesecake in return for helping her learn the family's claim to fame in time for her graduation exam. It was a tall ask and unless things had changed drastically from his time in the academy not something that was required to graduate, but showing proficiency in jutsu wouldn't hurt her chances. "Meet me at the front door... and don't drop the cheesecake." Shikajin would reply as he began to gather his things. An off day was never really an off day.

Sliding open the front door to what he assumed would be Shun standing there the Nara would extend a hand signaling for the girl to hand over the dessert that she had promised in exchange for his services. "This training will not be easy and it's usually designed for those who have at least graduated the academy, but if you are willing to put in the effort then I will help best I can. Are you ready?"

If Shun answered yes then the two would be off to a small training ground within the clan compound. The technique was a family secret after all and one couldn't risk that information falling into the wrong hands. "So, for starters tell me what you know of our family's technique and how you think it works."

### | Nara Shun | notes

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

I N  F O R  A  P E N N Y . . .

---

”Score!” Shun muttered to herself when Shikajin agreed. She proudly proceeded to walk down the side of the building to the front door. A part of her figured Shikajin would agree to help her - they were friends and Shikajin was kind.

The girl came to the entrance of the house and waited for the older Nara to open the door. Soon he did and asked for the bribe she had prepared. The girl promptly placed the box of cake on his open palm. ”There you go.” She listened to the fair warning about the training and her eyes gleamed with excitement. The girl bounced on the balls of her feet and then nodded energetically: ”I’m ready!” she confirmed and would then follow along to the training area. It was very exciting - maybe with this she could finally learn to sustain shadow jutsu and feel like one of the older clansmen and women.

”What I know about it… hmmm” Shun looked up into the sky thoughtfully and took a minute to gather her thoughts. ”Shadow possession is a technique where we can mix chakra into shadows and control them. Dad said it’s been around for a really, really long time and is a clan secret. Some jutsu let us tie our chakra to someone else’s shadow and control their movements. I think that’s the coolest one - it would be a super cool way to capture a bad guy, right? Have you done it? You know, like a finishing move in an action film.” she was getting off topic…

”Anyways, I can create a pool of chakra and manipulate my shadow already but I can’t sustain it most of the time. Satoshi trained with me some time ago and helped me keep mine going with his own once - that helped. It’s kind of like it’s hard to get the concentration part down or I’m just wasting effort…” The girl was quite talented but her body carried more chakra than the average student her age and she didn’t excel in controlling chakra output - that ability was average. Besides, learning hidden techniques was hard and took a long time.

---

Words: 367
Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 395828

[Nara Shikajin]

♛

Shikajin would listen to the girl go on about what she knew of their family's technique and even her own experience with it before bounding off into pure fantasy. It was a good thing that they wouldn't be starting all the way from scratch but there were definitely some important parts Shun hadn't mentioned that were vital to successfully using the jutsu and that was where the chunin would come in. Judging from her words it sounded like Shun's issue with her lack of chakra control was due to the fact that she had an abundance of it, though Shikajin was not yet entirely sure on the matter. A certain precision was needed to manipulate shadows in the way that the Nara did and without it the dexterous shape their shadows could take was nigh impossible.

"Very good, but it is important to remember that our techniques have a range, thirty yards to be exact, and each time you use them the distance shortens so be sure to keep that front of mind in your pursuits." The man would speak. There was of course a lot more to their techniques that he could have went on about but overloading Shun with too much knowledge at once wouldn't do either of them any favors.

So what were they to do instead?

Her tutelage under Satoshi had no doubt proved useful and to Shun's credit being able to already manipulate her shadow was an integral first step so it seemed that today would consist of helping the student maintain her efforts. "Before learning any of our jutsu in battle you need to first be able to maintain it long enough to reach your target, and to me it sounds like your issue is handling the high amount of chakra you have. I'll be honest, it's not something most in our clan have to deal with but nevertheless we will use it as a boon." Shikajin would walk a good ten yards away from their current position before stopping and drawing a line in the dirt then returning to Shun's side.

"That's less than half the maximum range of our base technique, your goal will be to extend your shadow by the time we're done today. I will demonstrate first then the rest will be on you." The chunin spoke as he took a knee while holding a single seal, the very shadow beneath him squirming to life. "While it is a sneaky technique it is not invisible and your opponents will be able to see it coming, some may even pick up on the limited range if they pay enough attention, so your attempts must be precise. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line and more often than not it is the right tactic remember that we are in full control of our shadow and can bend it to any direction we please, so there are times where attacking from an angle may be the best move, or in other situations guiding your opponent to a position that better suits us."

During this explanation Shikajin would show his shadow moving straight towards the target line before bending it to the left and right and eventually crossing the line in the dirt from behind. "Your intentions control the chakra which in turn control the shadow, wherever you direct your chakra is where the shadow will follow. Give it a try."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kagemane no Jutsu [Shadow Imitation Technique]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
DESCRIPTION:
The basis of all the Nara Clan techniques. The use extends their shadow over any surface in an attempt to connect with an enemy's shadow. Once they touch, the shadow's merge, connecting the target with the user. The target is then forced to imitate the movements of the user. On its own, the range of this technique is approximately thirty yards. However, with each use the Kage Mane yields diminishing returns; this loss in length is approximately a yard per use.

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

I N  F O R  A  P E N N Y . . .

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*Oh, right!* Shun had forgotten about the limitations on the jutsu. She nodded along as Shikajin talked and listened carefully. He made the jutsu look so easy that Shun felt a little bit of jealousy. Regardless, she would try her best.

The girl took a stance and formed the rat hand sign. The shadow underneath her darkened and expanded. It grew thicker and pooled around her in no time. The girl took a deep breath and tried to direct it towards the line but it didn't look as swift and smooth as Shikajin's. Her shadow started wawing and a big portion of it grew outwards like a mound. It was wide and looked like it was heavy for her. Shun pushed it towards the line but it kept widening as it stretched forward and the pool of chakra beneath her kept expanding. Only after the first five yards did the shadow start to narrow a bit. There was definitely direction, it just looked really big and heavy. It was pretty impressive that such a young child could exert that amount of chakra. However, at some point it did get a bit too massive to direct and, at around the 7 yard line, the tip of it started shaking and eventually the dark form retracted to the pool of black under Shun's feet.

The girl sighed heavily and looked up at Shikajin expecting him to say something that will help her progress. ”Help me” she gave out weakly.

---

Words: 251
Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 395828

[Nara Shikajin]

♛

Shikajin would look on as Shun gave her first attempt at reaching the line. He had little expectation that the girl would reach the goal in general let alone so early on but it would be a good indicator of her progress so far and what things she needed to focus on during her training today. As he watched the shadow beneath her begin to well up it was clear that the girl had not been lying about her larger than normal reserves as she was pouring a decent amount of chakra into the shadow which would make for a strong hold should she actually be able to snag anyone with it, but attempting to control that much energy as quickly and dexterously as the Nara did would prove difficult.

Said theory was proven true as the genin attempted to move the shadow towards the target line and to say it meandered would be an understatement. The dark blob, bloated and weighed down with excess chakra, could hardly move let alone in a straight line and it took quite a bit of time for it to even begin to resemble the sleek shadows that the clan was known for. Surprisingly enough Shun's attempt would actually reach a decent distance before falling apart and her shadow retracting back to her leading the man to believe that the sheer amount of chakra alone was able to push the shadow along.

"Well, your main issue is that you don't have enough control over the large amounts of chakra you're using for the technique which is why it looks so bloated and moves terribly. Control is not something mastered easily, but the best way to train it is by working with increments of chakra that you are comfortable with. Try once more but use only the amount of chakra you feel capable of controlling, not just the amount you are able to put out."

### | Nara Shun | notes

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

I N  F O R  A  P E N N Y . . .

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”That was heavy…” she sighed while shaking out her shoulders and bouncing in place. The younger Nara listened carefully to Shikajin and mulled it over. He had deduced an issue - now she would just have to figure out how her body might work for the next exercise.

”Ok, so… let me just… try” she spoke with pauses while trying to focus. The girl took a wider stance again and formed the rat sign. This time she kept her eyes closed. Releasing chakra was sort of like a gate in her mind. She would just fling it open and it would pour out. When she was done with jutsu, it would shut. It was pretty much as an on switch. While she could nudge it some ways but it felt like moving a piece of furniture twice her size. For tree walking all she had to do was limit output and then keep it at that so it was easier than limiting output and trying to move it. Maybe she could just visualise the output being smaller or more narrow and that would help control.

The girl had her eyes closed still and a dark pool of chakra formed under her. This time it was smaller but the edges were trembling almost like it was being held together by force. Shun took a deep breath and flexed her core in an attempt to focus better and a thinner strand of black shot out of the pool below her. It moved around a lot and weaved around. This time it looked like it was looping backwards and darting along - as if the force moving it was too strong. The shadow, while thinner, moved forward about four yards while going through various shapes and slithering back.

The girl gasped for air - ”I forgot to breathe” - in order to concentrate better she had kept her core flexed fully and kept her breath in. ”How was that?” Shun asked while looking up. She hadn't seen it but it felt different so it must've looked different. It felt like she was keeping the output less than before. The sensation felt like trying to work a muscle she never knew she had.

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Words: 373
Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 395828

[Nara Shikajin]

♛

Shun had not asked any questions so the assumption Shikajin held was that the girl understood the issues she was having and would do her best to rectify them for her next attempt. Controlling chakra was difficult as is let alone when you had an abundance of it. Quite a few jutsu didn't penalize the individual for a lack of control beyond just being able to mold it but most if not all of the Nara hijutsu required some level of control and not much of anything could be accomplished without it, as the student was quickly figuring out.

The chunin watched on as his clan mate would once more try her hand at reaching the designated target, immediately a change being seen in her shadow as it was nowhere as large as the previous attempt though it was clear from the shaky edges that Shun was still having trouble controlling it, the shadow looking like it wanted so badly to burst from the confines of the girl's control over it. Still, she would hold it best she could before snaking out a single tendril. It was smaller which in theory meant that it should have been easier to control yet the writhing and lashing motions proved that was not the case. Control was still the main issue and though Shun had made efforts to use less chakra this time around she was struggling to keep the excess back while also attempting to focus on the task at hand; a mind divided.

He'd listen to her speak on her focus being so tight that even breathing had been pushed to the side which wasn't a particularly good thing considering how the human body worked. "You took the explanation to heart and immediately adjusted your attempt, which is good, however trying to hold back all that extra chakra while also focusing on hitting the line is leaving you unable to do one thing particularly well. For now do not worry about the line, solely put your efforts towards producing a controlled well of shadows beneath you. It is the basis for every technique our clan can do and must become second nature to you, which means you need to be able to do it while breathing."

It may have felt like a step backwards but in all honesty it was where the two should have started their training from the beginning.

### | Nara Shun | notes

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

I N  F O R  A  P E N N Y . . .

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”Oh yeah,” the girl gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head, ”breathing would be nice…”

Shun had tried to force a result she wanted - it was a common occurrence. Before, when she learned something, most things gave in and happened how she wanted when she applied a bit more chakra or pressure of any kind so it was easy for the girl to use the same strategy in learning most things. This time, perhaps, the approach needed to be changed. She couldn't stubbornly push her way through to finally mastering the clan jutsu. A part of her thought that, if she kept doing what she was doing, eventually it would work out… somehow.

”Ok, just a pool of shadow.” she repeated but hesitated for a moment. A part of her was a little anxious. ”Wait… second nature?” she looked up at Shikajin. Her eyes were unfocused at first like she was staring through him. You could see her brain racing at a good 100mph.

*Second nature - so it should be easy. I've been doing this for years and it SHOULD be easy. Maybe there's no need to try so hard when releasing chakra. We use it every day so it should be as easy as breathing or walking.* Shun loosened up, formed the rat seal once again and exhaled. This time a proportionate pool of chakra expanded her shadow underneath (if not just a tad bigger than normal). It looked controlled - actually, the girl looked more relaxed than before. The shadow was maintained and looked like, if needed, Shun could hold it for a long, long time.

The girl felt like she had learned something about herself and gave a grin to her fellow clansman. A certain heaviness lifted off her soul and she could tell that the way she looked at putting chakra in jutsu was different now - the way she felt right then was good.

”Ok! All good - now what?”

---

Words: 338
Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 395828

[Nara Shikajin]

♛

The blank stare coming from Shun had either broken the poor girl or lit the proverbial lightbulb in her mind. Shikajin hadn't thought his words to be all that complex though perhaps he was making light of the concentration it took to manipulate one's very shadow. It did in fact take a fair amount of control to perform the feats that they did but it would be difficult for the girl to concentrate of moving her shadow away from her if she was also spending equal amounts of effort on making sure the pool of shadow beneath her remained in check; it was like trying to stare in two different directions at once.

The chunin would see just what Shun took to heart and altered from her earlier attempts, in theory it should have been easier since she was just focusing on limiting her chakra output and not extending it in any way. Outside of looking a bit larger than normal --which at this point was probably going to be a standard thing for the girl given her larger reserves of chakra-- it was devoid of the squirming and volatile movement that had showed in her earlier attempts. Shikajin would let a bit of time pass to see if Shun was able to hold her attempt or if the same issues from before would rear their head but it seemed that her singular focus was holding well.

"Use that same focus to extend your shadow. Do not try for the line, just extend it as far as you're comfortable while maintaining its integrity." The chunin replied to his clan mates inquiry. She had taken quickly to the advice given which was a good sign but pooling one's shadow was only the first step to learning the abilities of the Nara.

### | Nara Shun | notes

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

I N  F O R  A  P E N N Y . . .

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It was a strange feeling. Shun had been learning the hijutsu for years now. She had started with basic chakra exercises like everyone and then come to moulding chakre and over time it would mix with her shadow and open up some opportunities for further manipulation. It had taken years but, somewhere along the line, she had gotten over-focused on it. She hadn't been successful at mastering the basic jutsu before so the idea of it being harder than she was capable of formed in her head. While it was certainly difficult, most kids learned it within a couple years of training. However, the mind is a powerful tool and had given Shun some anxiety and a subconscious block about using clan jutsu - it's like she expected to fail every time and so she did.

Now, having come to a realisation that she doesn't need to exert way more effort and thus smother both the technique and her efforts, she felt more capable and also more brave. This very realisation - prompted by something that Shikajin happened to say - had removed the mental block she had.

”Ok, let me try - oh, wait” she extended the shadow but at first it extended backwards. It was a new experience to try and manage the amount of chakra but, when she dwelled into the feeling, it wasn't as difficult as she had built it up to be. After all, having bigger chakra reserves didn't mean she was incapable of controlling it - it just meant she didn't excel in controlling her chakra super well and would probably end up spending more on jutsu than necessary. ”Wait, how do I- no, no, it's ok - argh! Wait! Ok, yeah - it'll be fine, er… eeeeeeeerr, yeah, I'll be fine” she thought out loud as the shadow extended forward. It was a bit lazy at first but it seemed controllable. Soon she had it sway side to side. It looked like it wouldn't go too far yet (only about 4 to 5 yards) and it felt like she was playing it safe and getting the hang of moving it. The girl was so focused she was unconsciously bitting her tongue.

”Check it out, Shika-nii! I'm doing it! The new genius of the Nara clan or what?!” she boasted. ”What age were you when you learned how to do this?” She asked. It would be nice to learn more about Shikajin in the process, too.

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Words: 413
Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 395828

[Nara Shikajin]

♛

It seemed that Shun was beginning to understand the theory behind their family's technique in addition to how she would have to adjust her training due to the circumstances, though putting it into practice was a completely different story. If the girl could not learn to control the large amount of chakra she was born with then it would be extremely difficult for her to move her shadow with dexterity and nimbleness, but her attempts up to this point had gotten progressively better and she was a quick learner which left Shikajin with fait that his clan mate would get it together.

Dark hues looked on as Shun worked to get her shadow to stretch forward, the dark tendril twisting and rebounding as the girl practiced her control. There was some concern that the problems of before would rear their heads again; she was still young and very much in the midst of her academy studies so the foundation was still being built. In time the shadow would find a straighter path leading to Shun describing herself as a future genius. "You've progressed well, no doubt." The man replied with a nod.

Shun would inquire how old Shikajin was when he begun training the Nara hijutsu and there'd be silence for a moment as the chunin tried to remember just when he started. "I think I was around eight when my parents allowed me to start learning. They were super strict and it was some of the hardest training I've ever done." He spoke. Thinking about his time studying the medical arts many assumed that those would be tougher and there was definitely some truth to it as learning the entirety of the human body and how to heal it was a beast of its own, but there was a motivation behind his desire to learn which helped ease some of the burden.

"Alright you can end the technique, even with your improvements the diminishing return on the technique probably wouldn't let you hit the line today. But like I mentioned earlier you've done a great job today and with enough practice I'm sure you'll end up as the best Nara to ever live." Given Shun's reserves she probably could have kept up the attempts for a while longer but there was no need for the girl to burn herself out.

### | Nara Shun | notes

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