[Uchiha Umetaro]

[Training for Act of Surface Walking: D Rank Ninjutsu]

After their previous lesson learning how to walk up trees, Umetaro found himself called upon once again by Yamanka Tomomi. There was more he was expected to learn, they had said. Spooky abilities that required firm concentration and mastery of chakra output. All things that Umetaro felt he was working on.

They were set to meet in the training fields of Konohagakure, the one that had a small body of water directly next to it. Umetaro was waiting for their Yamanaka spooky person mentor up in a tree, as had become his usual place to wait for anything as of late.

What else could he be scheduled to learn? Umetaro’s mind raced with many phantasmal possibilities. Illusions? Ventriloquism? Obviously Tomomi would never teach him the secret arts of their clan, which were supposedly quite spooky, but on that front Umetaro did not mind. The Uchiha certainly weren’t jumping to give up their secrets either.

So what could it be? What was this Yamanaka Tomomi skilled at in the realm of the spooky and the frightening? They were quite good at just appearing places, and of puppetry, but Umetaro was useless at puppetry. He had tried in the past, but it just wasn’t suited to him...

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

Umetaro was a promising young genin. He was of a very particular mindset, but far more focused than Tomomi feels he was ever given credit for, if Umetaro's own recollection of accounts was to be believed. And Tomomi did believe him. For all his fantastical yarn spinning and his certainty about strange topics, he didn't seem like a habitual liar. They had a lot of clarity, really, about the way the world worked and people's motivations for behaving the way they do.

Tomomi didn't want to neglect Umetaro in the same way many others had. She tried to rationalize it. Maybe it was just mitigating a potential threat to Konoha. Umetaro did have all the makings of someone who could easily be swayed by others, too impressionable for his own good. With his attitude, it wouldn't take much convincing to get him to defect. But despite her efforts, she really couldn't see him as someone threatening.

Was she just doing it to be nice, then? How odd. It's an infrequent experience for Tomomi.

They turned up at the training grounds. They keep Kagura Shingan on at all times, so they knew where Umetaro was waiting well before they arrived. But did it hurt to indulge him? Maybe he would leap out and try to surprise them. No harm in that. He paced over to the tree and looked around.

"Hmm, seems he hasn't shown up yet," Tomomi hums.

[Uchiha Umetaro]

Umetaro rolled over, and hung from the tree branch upside down. But instead of hooking his legs around the branch and hanging from his muscles, he was adhered to the branch using a thin layer of chakra on his feet. Much more comfortable.

He crossed his arms in a serious expression, as he was accustomed to. "I’ve been waiting,” he said, attempting to keep his voice deep and even. Would Tomomi understand the joke? Perhaps not. But that, honestly, would only make the humor ever sweeter, wouldn’t it?

"What wisdom do you wish to impart upon me today?” Umetaro asked, still not giving up the act.

Hopefully Tomomi would notice Umetaro’s newfound use of the Tree Walking Technique. Umetaro was quite proud of his progress so far, and Tomomi was instrumental in teaching him this ability. Even if he’d never admit that he was trying to show off, even if just a little.

Yamanaka Tomomi was one of the only people who seemed to actually give Umetaro the time of day, even if in their own strange way. Umetaro was used to strangeness, so it was a quite comfortable arrangement for him. He didn’t have a leader for his current team, so he was once again scattered to the wind.

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

They weren't sure they got the exact joke, but the seriousness of it all is at least amusing. Umetaro was such a playful sort.

"You surprised me," they lied, smiling softly up at him, following his hanging up to the tree branch. He was poised carefully, like a bat, and was successfully using the tree walking technique to battle against gravity. They had had every confidence that he would pick up on it with relative ease, given his eagerness to practice, but they were proud to see it.

Would he be the type who tried to wave off praise or the sort who craved it? It didn't seem like he cared about other people's expectations, but that may only be because he'd become used to people's opinion of him being low. If he only faced criticism, of course he'd dismiss the idea of praise.

"Look at that. You're doing so well with the technique you may make the spiders jealous," they joked. "You're a natural. That'll make the wisdom I wish to impart all the easier."

They stepped around to move towards the body of water and said,

"The pond skater technique will make you even more impressive, so it's great you've been practicing. All the skills you have learned will be very important to equally distributing your weight on the water."

[Uchiha Umetaro]

Umetaro didn’t really know how to respond to this. Was Tomomi mocking the ways of the spider?! Surely that was folly. Spiders were everywhere, and could hear anything. You never noticed they were there, for they preyed upon the human’s natural tendency to avoid looking up. Did this Yamanaka Tomomi truly not fear the spider? Truly, that was a foolish decision. It sent shivers up Umetaro’s spine. But he wasn’t about to let that show.

"I have been spending many hours learning the ways of the spider,” Umetaro said, still in the deep, serious voice. "I have lived among them, high in the trees, and heard their whisperings. They are difficult masters to study under, but they are truly beyond our feeble mortal ken.”

Umetaro turned and walked down the bough to the trunk of the tree, and then pivoted to walk down the trunk and back onto the ground. He kept his arms crossed and folded the entire time.

"I am eager to learn the ways of the pond skater,” he said, returning to his usual tone of voice. His posture lightened, and he freed his arms from his chest, and they hung loosely from his sides. "Another fundamental lesson in the ways of the world.”

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

It honestly wouldn’t surprise Tomomi very much if Umetaro could commune with animals. He was something of a naturalist. That was the best term Tomomi could think of for it at the moment, at least. He wanted to better understand the world. Who better to learn from than nature itself? He was sure it was one of Umetaro’s exaggerations, a way to poetically describe that he’d been up in trees studying spiders, but still.

"It is,” Tomomi agreed. Playing off that little internal monologue they’d just had, they said, "Learning to interact with nature with your chakra sometimes gives you a better understanding of nature in general. By understanding how to move in tune with it, you become closer to it than you otherwise would,” he stated.

"I won’t stand here rambling at you about all that all day, though,” she assured. They should jump right into learning the technique. To her it was like second nature, so she took a second preparing to describe the sensation, moving the chakra to the soles of her shoes and walking onto the water.

"Now, this is slightly different from tree walking. First of all, it requires slightly more personal balance. You’re not resting on a solid and unchanging surface. Water shifts and moves and unless you’re skilled with suiton, you will not be in control of its motion.”

[Uchiha Umetaro]

"Well, water and I don’t usually agree,” Umetaro explained. "The Uchiha only deal in fire.”

Fire was the foundation of the universe! The world was formed in an explosion of fire and light and heat. Water was an illusion, seeking to hide the truth from mortal eyes. That’s why the Senju were so skilled with it- they knew how to mold the illusion to their liking, but they could not burn it away. Umetaro would do so one day, he’d show the world what it really was.

But today? Umetaro grimaced at the water across from the two of them. He didn’t know how to swim. The water didn’t look terribly deep, but Umetaro had never gone to find out. And this wasn’t a suiton technique. It wasn’t about grasping the elemental nature of water, it was about proper raw chakra application. But could Umetaro really do that, with his bane right there?

"So it’s the same principles as before, but on a not solid object…” Umetaro said, thinking at loud.
He walked towards the water, and his feet lit up. He could do this. It couldn’t be that much harder than the last technique, right? He placed his foot atop the water on the shallows and…

His foot went right through, soaking his shoe. He recoiled his whole leg in disgust. "Eurgghhhh.”

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

Well, that was unfortunate, but not atypical for a person learning this technique for the first time. It was an unpleasant sensation for sure, though, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic. No one liked having to train with wet shoes. That would be happening a few times, Tomomi imagined.

"You started the technique right, but you went too direct with the application,” Tomomi explained, trying to think of the proper way to detail how to fix what had just happened. "You essentially just did a chakra-enhanced kick down into the water. What you want to do is, before you finish putting your foot down, feel the surface of the water and try to match your chakra to it.”

They held up one of their feet, just above the water, where the chakra on the sole of their sandal was just barely touching it.

"This may get too technical, but let’s talk about the pond skater.” Umetaro seemed to like animal comparisons. "How do they walk on the water? Have you ever looked close? They have little hair on their legs, like a spider. Those hairs repel the water and capture air, creating buoyancy on the legs. You’re essentially trying to do the same thing, but with chakra instead of hairs.”

[Uchiha Umetaro]

"So I’m.. supposed to spread the chakra out in little strands?” Umetaro asked, hovering his foot above the water.

It was already wet, so he wasn’t sure what exactly he was so bothered about. But he didn’t want to get soggy socks even more. The sensation caused his brain to do flips. But he’d have to fight through it to learn the arts of the pond skaters. Did young pond skaters have issues with this? Did they not like getting their feet wet? Presumably, due to their size, they’d also have issues with drowning, so perhaps it was a little more of a "sink or swim” situation. Umetaro didn’t like those. Sometimes it took experimentation! Life or death situations never allowed for good science.

He breathed in, his breath shakier than he’d like. How long had he been balancing on his other foot? Maybe he was just getting dizzy? He needed to center himself, like the pond skater. They were so effortless…

He tried to be lighter, like when he was climbing a tree. Just a little chakra. He was always putting too much in at first. Chakra was strong, but was it naturally buoyant? Difficult to tell without experimentation.

He put his foot down, and there was a light ripple of the surface of the water, but his foot rested on the surface. Umetaro’s face lit up, and he chuckled.

"I… I think I’ve got it!” He said.

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

He was getting so nervous about this it seemed, breathing hard and mind clearly reeling. Tomomi hoped they hadn’t overwhelmed him too much with the explanation. Maybe he was the type who needed to learn slower and they’d been tossing too many jutsu at him lately. Just as they were reconsidering their approach, Umetaro slowly placed his foot down on top of the water, and it didn’t sink right through. Very good progress!

"I think you do,” Tomomi agreed, swiftly praising him. They didn’t become too excited about it, as they never got particularly animated about anything, but also because they wouldn’t like to surprise him out of his progress. Still, he needed praise. Other instructors might treat this kind of progress like it was minor, expected. That was not the kind of reinforcement Umetaro needed. You should already know this never helped anyone as a method of teaching.

"Very good. Just like that. Now, try to bring your other leg forward onto the water while keeping that balance,” Tomomi encouraged. They held incredibly still on the water so they could avoid creating any more ripples that might throw Umetaro off. Actually practicing with waving water would be a matter for later, though.

"Tell me when you feel steady.”

[Uchiha Umetaro]

Umetaro pushed down, placing weight onto his leg. The water did not break through, as he feared, but it did bend down. Much like what happens when someone stands on a cardboard box, right before it breaks and falls apart. Something was definitely not right about his technique.

"I… give me a minute, I think I might know where I’m going wrong,” he said. Water was mercurial. What exactly had Yamanaka Tomomi said earlier? Water shifts and moves and unless you’re skilled with suiton, you will not be in control of its motion. You couldn’t control the water, since it’s in constant motion. What could you control then? You’re own chakra.

"Just like the pond skater,” Umetaro said, and focused his mind. His chakra needed to be flatter. He needed to walk on the chakra, not on the water itself! Just like climbing a tree. Gravity was the enemy here, not a friend.

He lifted his foot back up, and breathed in. He needed to wrap just the bottom half inch of his foot, give or take a few millimeters, and then let it flare. He put his foot back down, and it lightly bounced off of the surface of the water, barely causing more than three ripples. He grinned.

"Muuuuuch better,” he said.

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

"There we go,” Tomomi said, smile shifting to something proud even if subtle. She watched him get his bearings. The water didn’t sway under him, he wasn’t outputting too much chakra. It seemed like he had found that decent balance. Now that he understood how to actually perform the basics of the technique, he had to practice putting it into motion, though. So Tomomi took a few careful steps back.

They were very skilled at this, so it wouldn’t cause the water to move very much, just sending a few small ripples outwards from the point of contact, but it would give Umetaro a little waver, make him test out the control he was focusing and make certain he could maintain it.

"When you’re using this technique in practice, you often end up sharing the water’s surface with another shinobi. It might be a teammate, but it also might be an enemy. It can cause the water to move quite a bit at times. It’s important to practice being able to walk while the water is moving,” he explained. "It’s also important to make sure you’re able to fight while moving on the water’s surface.”

"Do you think you’d be able to hold your balance if I started to make the water move more?” Tomomi asked. "We could practice your dodging on the water, too, but only if you would like to.” Again, they wished to avoid overwhelming him with too much at once.

[Uchiha Umetaro]

Umetaro braced himself and put his other foot down. He rocked a little on the surface of the water, but soon he was upright and mostly steady. While Tomomi gave further instruction, he paced in a tiny box, shifting his body slowly between the four cardinal directions. Like some kind of dance social shuffle. He kept his arms tight to his chest, vertical and balled into fists. He kept his gaze down to his feet. He was listening, but keeping his balance as he moved was of the utmost importance. He did not want to get wet anymore than he already was.

Thank god the Uchiha were a fire based clan, not a water based one. He couldn’t imagine having to learn Suiton from birth. Wouldn’t you just constantly be soaked from missed techniques? A miserable enterprise if he ever heard one.

But still, he was confident. He had this. Tomomi made a good point towards the end: you couldn’t rely on calm waters, especially not with anyone else around. If he wanted to master the art of the pond skater, he’d need to be able to utilize the technique under any conditions.

"Yeah, throw it at me,” he said. "I got this. I got this.”

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

Good confidence. He was still holding his arms tight to himself, having to focus too much on every step to avoid breaking through. Hopefully giving him something else to focus on would help him relax and begin to move more naturally, balance on the water becoming instinctual instead of something he had to put all his attention into with every step.

Time to put that idea to the test. He started off with something simple, which was picking up the pace. Just a quick dash around the pond. It would cause it to waver a little more, making the balance somewhat trickier. Nothing too intense for the first few seconds, but then Tomomi took a jump, and caused a slightly larger ripple to rush Umetaro’s way.

All that was child’s play once you had the balance down, though. Dodging and all was the real test. Tomomi took a kunai from their belt and held it up. "I’m going to toss this at you,” they informed him, as they attached a chakra string to it. "Try to dodge it. But don’t worry, I won’t actually hurt you.”

Benefit of being a puppeteer with such excellent chakra control. They could make a promise like that and mean it. They twirled the kunai between their fingers for a second before flicking it at Umetaro. If he couldn’t dodge, they would pull back on the puppet string and make sure it avoided him, but if he could, they’d let it sail right into the water with a satisfying plonk.

[Uchiha Umetaro]

Umetaro’s eyes widened. A real challenge! He focused on the kunai, hoping to not get impaled by it. It came very close, but he bounced up and to the side, the kunai whizzing by one shoulder with a foot of clearance.

His feet landed hard on the water, and suddenly he remembered that they were not on solid ground. But it was already too late for doubt: he bounced back up on the water and then came down to an unsteady equilibrium.

"Oh! Oh!” He said, and grinned. "I didn’t even have to think about it.”

He walked a few steps forward, keeping his breathing steady. He had his arms stock straight and walked with comically large strides. Maybe someone would compare him to a puppet, if they saw. But the giant strides made him keep one foot on the water for a long time. He didn’t want to lose an anchor point in case the technique magically leaked out of his ears or something.

You never knew with chakra, especially not with known spooky person Yamanaka Tomomi. They did once puppet him like a doll to teach him a different technique, so who's to say that they hadn’t performed a secret ritual to teach Umetaro? But he would need to do it on his own. He could do it!