[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

The letter arriving in his hands before he so much as stepped into Nohara no Kuni came as a shock to Akihiko who had been mostly preparing for the exams, or at least doing his best to do so. Upon reading the letter, he was immediately in a rush to arrive in Nohara no Kuni, and all of his hyper excitement made the need to get there worse. As if his very heart was pounding out of his chest and his head was swimming in the clouds.

He was to camp outside of villages or outposts, that wouldn't be too hard he had been on some missions that required him to do that so for that, he was well prepared. Or so he believed. As instructed he would tie the provided piece of cloth around his arm, he didn't want to be seen as some enemy shinobi wandering around Nohara no Kuni completely uninvited. He was a friend! A very friendly friend.

The other things were noted, and he would read the letter several more times over before he arrived in Nohara no Kuni, dropped off at the border, all of this the day before.

He had spent the majority of the journey wondering which of the border villages to attend to first. And, he decided on Nishigo. So after a good night's rest, the first day of the exam would be spent with a short journey navigating to Nishigo. Arriving at what he could only assume was around eleven in the morning as the sun was up, but not quite *that* far up.

Two days, and he had to find the first clue. He was smiling the whole way, horribly excited and determined. Vibrating with life.

"Alright... Heart..." He murmured to himself and started into Nishigo being especially attentive to anything that could be seen as his clue. His Tennogan should help, or at least he hoped it would.

320 | @tagged | notes

ulla

SPOILER: Click to show

Special Ability #1
Tennogan | Dojutsu | Kekkei Genkai
Gifted with his clans dojutsu, even among clan members Akihiko can be seen as quite skilled with it, capable of utilizing both states of the dojutsu - sealing techniques within the four orbs that reside in his eyes, and seeing chakra from great distances (20m passively | 100m actively). At his level he is capable of sealing jutsu that top out at 'medium' in chakra usage, anything above this puts a high strain on him as he continues to work minimizing the strain his eyes put on his body and chakra supply.

Special Ability #2
Evasive Maneuvers
Knowing ones strengths and weaknesses is important and as a boy who barely dabbles with the physical arts - as far as specializations go - he has taken a focus to knowing how to get out of harms way when in close quarters with those that might try to close the distance on him. He's more of a long range fighter and he keeps it that way. This ability allows him to completely out-maneuver genin who have not trained in a similar manner to therefore match his twitch reactions, furthermore he is able to go toe-to-toe with genin who have not trained like he has, though a trained chunin will find themselves with an advantage over Akihiko.

Special Ability #3
Extreme Vitality
Akihiko's bubbly and unreserved personality is not all for show, he seems to have a higher than average will to live, an abundant and generous life force. Capable of standing up in battle when a normal shinobi of his level would have been put down. Though, this is not to imply total immunity as much as he is capable of withstanding what others may not be mentally equipped to deal with, if healing or help does not come Akihiko can be taken out though it takes a greater amount of force. Additionally, Akihiko needs less rest after all battle or rigorous activity to fully recover and go again.

Special Ability #4
Enhanced Chakra Reserves
If Akihiko's vitality alone was not enough, he was also born with an unnatural amount of chakra. To fit his reckless personality, and fighting style he is able to spit out jutsu at an alarming rate without tiring out. Like the annoying brat that he is, he seems to go on and on seeming to be ready to take on the whole world if he so chooses.

[Hisakawa Yamato]

0 Clues Found

@all

Shōwa and Nishigō, sister villages in the Land of Fields, similiar in many way was but different in a few others. This particular cloud shinobi had chosen to start his journey through the first round with the latter, arriving cordially just before noon. There was a number of places that Akihiko could investigate to find his first clue, but the options boiled down essentially to two main choices, each with their own sub-paths. Remaining near Nishigō, there was an assortment of crop-fields to go explore, with plenty of villagers working them and footmen patrolling nearby. Unlike Shōwa, Nishigō specialized in crops grown from bush and vine, with quite a few being red, like bell peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, raspberries, and cranberries.

Or perhaps the letter hadn't been quite so literal? Very close by was the military outpost of Hisui no Heiya. There seemed to be some buildings there that were colored red, and some of the shinobi and footmen there were also sporting that hue. Perhaps 'heart' referred to their burning hot passion for Nohara no Kuni?

From a distance, Akihiko was being watched by a rather unusual group of individuals, though they were careful not to be too conspicuous. It was merely a small flock of pigeons, and it was their duty to watch over this specific genin for the first leg of the first round.

Extra notes;

♥ Chou

[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

Akihiko would pause to note the two things that were most notable. The crops, and the buildings some distance away were sporting red. He would need to cover a lot of ground to make a decent amount of progress, of course, the plants were closer and were properly in the village so his mind ventured to that first. Why not cut out the emotions of what was at hand first? So, he would create a single hand seal.

"Fūton: Kaze Sanpo."

It was a whisper, and it would allow for wind chakra to appear beneath his feet and allow him to skate with ease and almost no exertion on his behalf towards the bushes of red vegetation! Upon arrival, he would begin to search through them, a little turbulently picking through the bushes and vines without picking at the actual berries or vegetables, since that would be theft and he wasn't trying to do that. But, maybe he would catch the attention of a villager or someone here that would attempt to reprimand him and then he would ask his questions. That seemed like a good way to do it, and if they didn't bother him then he would continue to rummage.

Anything in sight, absolutely anything would be combed over.

"Come on clues~"

214 | Hisakawa Yamato | notes

ulla

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu: NAME: Fūton: Kaze Sanpo [Wind Release: Wind Walk]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
DESCRIPTION:
This technique allows the user to create a wind like base under their feet, reducing friction and enhancing the user's speed. The user doesn't seem to be levitating unless under close inspection which they seem to be about 1.5 - 2cm off the ground. Apart from enhancing speed, this technique gives the user the ability to walk on water and evade projectile attacks with ease.

SA's:

Special Ability #1
Tennogan | Dojutsu | Kekkei Genkai
Gifted with his clans dojutsu, even among clan members Akihiko can be seen as quite skilled with it, capable of utilizing both states of the dojutsu - sealing techniques within the four orbs that reside in his eyes, and seeing chakra from great distances (20m passively | 100m actively). At his level he is capable of sealing jutsu that top out at 'medium' in chakra usage, anything above this puts a high strain on him as he continues to work minimizing the strain his eyes put on his body and chakra supply.

Special Ability #2
Evasive Maneuvers
Knowing ones strengths and weaknesses is important and as a boy who barely dabbles with the physical arts - as far as specializations go - he has taken a focus to knowing how to get out of harms way when in close quarters with those that might try to close the distance on him. He's more of a long range fighter and he keeps it that way. This ability allows him to completely out-maneuver genin who have not trained in a similar manner to therefore match his twitch reactions, furthermore he is able to go toe-to-toe with genin who have not trained like he has, though a trained chunin will find themselves with an advantage over Akihiko.

Special Ability #3
Extreme Vitality
Akihiko's bubbly and unreserved personality is not all for show, he seems to have a higher than average will to live, an abundant and generous life force. Capable of standing up in battle when a normal shinobi of his level would have been put down. Though, this is not to imply total immunity as much as he is capable of withstanding what others may not be mentally equipped to deal with, if healing or help does not come Akihiko can be taken out though it takes a greater amount of force. Additionally, Akihiko needs less rest after all battle or rigorous activity to fully recover and go again.

Special Ability #4
Enhanced Chakra Reserves
If Akihiko's vitality alone was not enough, he was also born with an unnatural amount of chakra. To fit his reckless personality, and fighting style he is able to spit out jutsu at an alarming rate without tiring out. Like the annoying brat that he is, he seems to go on and on seeming to be ready to take on the whole world if he so chooses.

[Hisakawa Yamato]

0 Clues Found

@all

Akihiko would quickly find his initial assumption to be absolutely correct. In what world would a young boy sliding around atop the ground towards hard worked crops not garner attention and some sort of response? Immediately, one of the nearby patrolling footmen took note of the sudden movement, shouting as he brandished his spear and approached the Kumo genin. Fortunately, the Omori need not truly fear as someone intervened almost immediately. An older woman, looking to be somewhere in her 50's or 60's croned out with her crotchety voice, raising a hand to stay the guard while waddling her way over to Akihiko.

"There there, that's quite alright, this young boy hasn't harmed any of the crops or anyone yet."

The guard reluctantly gave up chase, eyeing Akihiko before returning to his watch. Meanwhile, the old woman studied the genin thoughtfully, a big floppy straw hat atop her head and kindness shining bright even in those aged eyes.

"Don't you know it's very rude to touch things that aren't yours young man? These kinds of crops are quite fragile you know." She pointed a bony finger to the cloth at Akihiko's arm before continuing. "Ohhh I see that you're here for them fancy exams eh? They told us some youngins might be arriving soon. And from..." She stooped a bit to get a better view of the Omori's headband ".. Kumogakure too! Oh my you've come quite far indeed." There was another long pause as the woman seemed to think on something deeply, but eventually she would speak up again. "Say, why don't you use that youthful energy of yours to help us with our work in the fields? For your troubles maybe I can give you some useful advice for your journey."

Extra notes;

♥ Chou

[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

Akihiko came to an almost screeching halt when the spear was brandished in his direction, he didn't make a move to start fighting back more like flinched away as if he were going to get stabbed. But it never came, and instead, an elderly woman intervened shooing the man away. Aki let out a sigh of relief, and his expression softened a bit as he glanced over instead to the woman.

She chided him gently about rummaging through the supplies and he grimaced a bit, his teeth pressing tightly against each other in a mixture of regret and apology.

"Oh, I know.. I was just trying to do... Something... It's hard to explain!" His speech was a mixture of slowed down - moreso than usual - but still full of spirit and excited as if he were contemplating over something. But his natural vivid energy was leaking out anyway. He put a hand to his chin, attempting to appear more scholarly, perhaps the woman would give him an answer as a result?

The boy took pause however when offered to work in the fields, he had never done anything like that but in exchange, he might receive useful information? That seemed like a done deal, and Aki didn't necessarily have all the forethought in the world to see this as a potential trick or that he might not receive anything useful at all.

All he saw was a kind lady who stopped the man from stabbing him, asking him for some work in exchange for information. So, upon the offer processing in his head, his purple-blue eyes would widen, and his heart would pound harder and he seemed to have electricity charge through his body livening him up.

"OH! REALLY? OKAY! LET'S DO IT!"

292 | Hisakawa Yamato | notes

ulla

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu: NAME: Fūton: Kaze Sanpo [Wind Release: Wind Walk]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
DESCRIPTION:
This technique allows the user to create a wind like base under their feet, reducing friction and enhancing the user's speed. The user doesn't seem to be levitating unless under close inspection which they seem to be about 1.5 - 2cm off the ground. Apart from enhancing speed, this technique gives the user the ability to walk on water and evade projectile attacks with ease.

SA's:

Special Ability #1
Tennogan | Dojutsu | Kekkei Genkai
Gifted with his clans dojutsu, even among clan members Akihiko can be seen as quite skilled with it, capable of utilizing both states of the dojutsu - sealing techniques within the four orbs that reside in his eyes, and seeing chakra from great distances (20m passively | 100m actively). At his level he is capable of sealing jutsu that top out at 'medium' in chakra usage, anything above this puts a high strain on him as he continues to work minimizing the strain his eyes put on his body and chakra supply.

Special Ability #2
Evasive Maneuvers
Knowing ones strengths and weaknesses is important and as a boy who barely dabbles with the physical arts - as far as specializations go - he has taken a focus to knowing how to get out of harms way when in close quarters with those that might try to close the distance on him. He's more of a long range fighter and he keeps it that way. This ability allows him to completely out-maneuver genin who have not trained in a similar manner to therefore match his twitch reactions, furthermore he is able to go toe-to-toe with genin who have not trained like he has, though a trained chunin will find themselves with an advantage over Akihiko.

Special Ability #3
Extreme Vitality
Akihiko's bubbly and unreserved personality is not all for show, he seems to have a higher than average will to live, an abundant and generous life force. Capable of standing up in battle when a normal shinobi of his level would have been put down. Though, this is not to imply total immunity as much as he is capable of withstanding what others may not be mentally equipped to deal with, if healing or help does not come Akihiko can be taken out though it takes a greater amount of force. Additionally, Akihiko needs less rest after all battle or rigorous activity to fully recover and go again.

Special Ability #4
Enhanced Chakra Reserves
If Akihiko's vitality alone was not enough, he was also born with an unnatural amount of chakra. To fit his reckless personality, and fighting style he is able to spit out jutsu at an alarming rate without tiring out. Like the annoying brat that he is, he seems to go on and on seeming to be ready to take on the whole world if he so chooses.

[Hisakawa Yamato]

1 Clue Found

@all

The old lady couldn't help but chuckle at Akihiko's energetic acceptance of her offer, turning slowly around and gesturing for the young boy to follow along. Provided that the Kumo genin didn't bail out on the offer early, the old woman, who would reveal that her name was Chio, would put him to work for the rest of the day. Throughout the light hours, Akihiko would get the opportunity to meet a handful of other farmers working the fields as well as help out with a variety of activities. This included digging ditches and irrigation channels, picking pests off of the crops, pulling weeds, harvesting ripe fruits and veggies, planting new crops, and everything else in between.

As Akihiko worked, his needs would be met without question: food or water provided to him whenever he was hungry or thirsty, and a break if it was necessary. Eventually, the workday would come to an end, the sun dipping lower in the sky and signalling the time for the genin to make his exit from the village. Before he left, however, Chio pulled the young lad aside, handing him a small wooden box before sharing a few parting words and returning to her home.

"There you go dearie, that's for all your help today. Now remember, hard work is always well rewarded hm? Good luck with those exams you whippersnapper."

Opening the box would reveal an assortment of red fruits and vegetables. Pickled or dried and otherwise prepared in such a way that they would keep for quite a long time. What was probably more exciting to Akihiko, however, was the presence of two small notecards. One was simply another thank you from Chio, with another piece of advice to save the gift for when he truly needed it, and on the other notecard, Akihiko's first clue.

Travel down south
to the capital of stone.
Or search the outpost down further
where grasshopper make their home.

Discover the truth
of Field Country heart.
Loyal and fierce,
fine and stalwart.

Once again, you have 2 days, good luck!

Extra notes;

♥ Chou

[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

And Akihiko loyally and unabashedly followed, he had given his word that he would be providing help to the farmers and the old lady so, he did just that. Working hard and making sure to expedite some of the processes using some of his learned shinobi skills, not by over-exerting himself though as he still needed to make sure he had energy for the rest of this... Round. Either way, he would be given food, water, and even some time to rest. Which, he took that opportunity - however many opportunities he would be allowed when asked - to take intermittent naps throughout the day boosting him with energy over and over again.

Until the sun started to set, and the day was over and he would be pulled aside by the old lady. She handed him a wooden box and told him that hard work was well rewarded and he grinned brightly at her.

"You're right about that!" Aki had a tendency to be lazy at home, having grown up as the heir of the Omori clan... But there were some things that he could not be lazy about, these exams were one of them, and when he trained his Tennogan as his father dictated. The old woman was right. So he received the box with both hands and bowed gently.

"Thank you!" And with that he was off to the wilderness, well not fully, first he would open the box and look at the contents just outside of the village he had been in. Inside were pickled fruits and veggies. He wasn't feeling very hungry, but if he recalled his first letter this was to help him in the second round, so it would be kept instead of consumed.

Aki would double-check his first letter even to make sure that he was right, and the implication of it? Well, he was right to keep the fruits and veggies. For now, his interest could fall upon the two notecards. He picked them up and flipped them over to read. One read to save the gift, which he had ironically already verified for himself. The second was another riddle!

South. Stone. Or the outpost with grasshoppers.

Aki would take out his map then look it over. True south would mean he would ultimately end up in Hi no Kuni and he knew that wasn't the point of this, plain-minded as he might be, he wasn't quite that lacking in brains. The closest south of his location was Yugawa.. So.. Yugawa he would go.

The trek wasn't horribly long, but he kept his eyes and ears listening and looking for anything suspicious. He would likely reach the town - unless something stopped him - before sunrise, where he would lean up against the outskirts wall to take a nap, waking up at the first sign of merchant movement at dawn.

And from there? Well, he was off inside of Yugawa to find his next clue!

490 | Hisakawa Yamato | notes

ulla

SPOILER: Click to show

SA's:

Special Ability #1
Tennogan | Dojutsu | Kekkei Genkai
Gifted with his clans dojutsu, even among clan members Akihiko can be seen as quite skilled with it, capable of utilizing both states of the dojutsu - sealing techniques within the four orbs that reside in his eyes, and seeing chakra from great distances (20m passively | 100m actively). At his level he is capable of sealing jutsu that top out at 'medium' in chakra usage, anything above this puts a high strain on him as he continues to work minimizing the strain his eyes put on his body and chakra supply.

Special Ability #2
Evasive Maneuvers
Knowing ones strengths and weaknesses is important and as a boy who barely dabbles with the physical arts - as far as specializations go - he has taken a focus to knowing how to get out of harms way when in close quarters with those that might try to close the distance on him. He's more of a long range fighter and he keeps it that way. This ability allows him to completely out-maneuver genin who have not trained in a similar manner to therefore match his twitch reactions, furthermore he is able to go toe-to-toe with genin who have not trained like he has, though a trained chunin will find themselves with an advantage over Akihiko.

Special Ability #3
Extreme Vitality
Akihiko's bubbly and unreserved personality is not all for show, he seems to have a higher than average will to live, an abundant and generous life force. Capable of standing up in battle when a normal shinobi of his level would have been put down. Though, this is not to imply total immunity as much as he is capable of withstanding what others may not be mentally equipped to deal with, if healing or help does not come Akihiko can be taken out though it takes a greater amount of force. Additionally, Akihiko needs less rest after all battle or rigorous activity to fully recover and go again.

Special Ability #4
Enhanced Chakra Reserves
If Akihiko's vitality alone was not enough, he was also born with an unnatural amount of chakra. To fit his reckless personality, and fighting style he is able to spit out jutsu at an alarming rate without tiring out. Like the annoying brat that he is, he seems to go on and on seeming to be ready to take on the whole world if he so chooses.

[Hisakawa Yamato]

1 Clue Found

@all

Moving quickly, the genin crossed the open plains of Nohara no Kuni, crossing the Basin River before arriving on the outskirts of Yugawa. The first thing the Kumo genin would notice was the slightly different change in scenery. It was stilly mostly plains, but broken up with much more rocky terrain. In some cases, the land completely fell away, revealing deep quarries where some villagers were already hard at work in, breaking and moving large quantities of stone. The genin could choose to speak to these laborers, or he could choose to enter the village itself.

If Akihiko chose to enter the village itself, he'd see mostly stone and concrete buildings, a stark contrast to the mostly wooden Nishigō. Further exploration would eventually reveal the most notable thing about the village: the Yugawa Center of Learning. It was an incredibly large complex, consisting of several concrete structures, beautiful walking paths, and a mixture of art pieces and nature areas in between.

One constant that Akihiko might take note of, however, was the presence of the same type of footmen that had been in Nishigō. No matter where he travelled in the nation, he was sure to encounter them, their armor pieces varying somewhat in form and function, but overall maintaining a sense of uniformity.

Extra notes;

♥ Chou

[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

Once on the outskirts of Yugawa he realized he must have come to the right place, there were plenty of quarries and stone. Even a change of scenery with how rocky it was around here, probably close to Tsuchi no Kuni or something like that. There was no confirmation that this was the capital of stone but there was a good indication that it might be. For now, though, he decided to go inside of the village itself. He wandered around for a little while, quietly until he saw a big building inside it was labelled as a learning center. He wasn't sure if there was much to take away from it... At least not yet.

Instead, his eyes would travel to the footmen that were everywhere. Walking around with different pieces of armor on them. A little different from Nishigo but they were nonetheless here kind of like Nishigo.

After a few moments of pondering, Aki got a really good idea. Or, at least what he thought was a VERY good idea. Sure, one of the footmen tried to stab him with a spear in the other village, but it's okay, he would approach calmly this time!

So, he approached the nearest one.

"Excuse me! Sir! Or.. er.. ma'am?" He tilted his head, unsure of the gender of the individual immediately as he paused a few feet away, waving.

"I have a question!" He would take a few steps closer, hoping that the footman or woman would stop to listen, if they didn't he'd just follow after, and if they did he'd continue speaking.

"What is the secret, the truth to your countries heart?" Too obvious? Maybe. But who exemplified a countries heart more than the warriors that protected it?

291 | Hisakawa Yamato | notes

ulla

[Hisakawa Yamato]

1 Clue Found

@all

The ashigaru typically patrolled in pairs at the very least, and so when Akihiko approached at least two pairs of eyes were turned his way. His initial assumption was correct, with these footmen both appearing to be men.

"Sir will do just fine." He paused to hear the genin out, arching an eyebrow at the forwardness of the young lad, but also doing his best to keep the amusement from showing on his face. The other ashigaru let out an audible 'huh' when Akihiko posed his question, a look of concern coming across his face. "That er... that's quite the strange question, do... you have any sort of context to go along with that?"

The other soldier leaned over to whisper something in his companion's ear, not too loudly, but the genin would definitely be able to catch a few words like 'bonkers' and 'lost.' Thankfully, the man that Akihiko had chosen to speak to was a bit more perceptive, finally taking note of the armband that was tied to the genin's arm and pointing it out.

"Oh! I see you're one of those genin that are here for the chuunin exams. I'm... guessing this question has something to do with that then? If you lay out the whole situation, I might be to be of a bit more assistance."

Extra notes;

♥ Chou

[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

"Hey now..! That's not very nice!" He would respond to the second individual who he had briefly overheard speaking of him as being a little off his rocker. He was in fact, now off his rocker, he was just asking an innocent question. Fortunately for Aki, it seemed that the man that he had in fact asked, was a bit more helpful and had noticed that he was in the chunin exams, blue-purpleish eyes would brighten and he would grin up at the man.

"Okay okay! So here's how it goes!" He would reach into his pocket and pull out the letter from before and start to rattle off the rhyme.

"Travel down south to the capital of stone... See? I'm here! There's a bunch of stone here!" He would motion to the village all around.

"Or search the outpost down further where grasshopper make their home. I'm not sure about this one, probably an outpost somewhere south of here, if this place doesn't work out I'll be sure to check there." He would figure it out as he would go, but he hoped that the soldier could help him here and now instead.

"Here's the good bit: Discover the truth of Field Country heart. Loyal and fierce, fine and stalwart." There was a pause and Akihiko would point at the footman.

"That's you, no? You're loyal and fierce, fine and stalwart! All soldiers and shinobi are, that's our job..! So, I was hoping that you'd be the answer, or I guess you'd be able to point me towards the right answer if you're not?"

265 | Hisakawa Yamato | notes

ulla

[Hisakawa Yamato]

1 Clue Found

@all

The ashigaru were initially confused by the boy's sudden retrieval of a slip of paper, but when they realized there was a sort of riddle to be solved, their interest was definitely piqued. Upon hearing the first few lines of the puzzle, something seemed to click in the men's minds, with the more helpful of the men raising a finger inquisitively.

"Yugawa could be the stone capital... in a sense. But it's more likely referring to Hohei-chō, the actual capital of Nohara no Kuni. Most of the buildings there are made of stone." The last sentence was tacked on a bit sheepishly, but the footmen's partner left little time for him to remain abashed, piping up on the latter part of the riddle. "The heart of Field Country definitely is us ashigaru, I'm rather fierce and loyal if I do say so myself. But if you're supposed to be going to the capital, then you'll probably want to talk to one of the ashigaru guarding the palace." The original ashigaru cut back into the conversation, solidifying their proposed solution to Akihiko's riddle. "Besides, Hohei-chō is much closer to Kōrogi Inaka than we are, that outpost is practically swarming with grasshoppers. If you head out now and book it, you can probably reach Hohei-chō by nightfall."
Extra notes;

♥ Chou

[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

Akihiko listened with the greatest amount of attention that he had likely ever lent to anyone for any reason up to this point. It was clear that he was engaged and determined to do well in the exams. His tongue was poking out a little bit at the corner of his lips as he soaked up the information given to him.

"Hohei-cho! Got it!" He grinned and pointed at the two that were giving him advice. "You guys are great. Thanks for all your help, I don't have anything to give you in return, but, maybe I will one day bring you a gift!" He would however give them both a very generous bow at about ninety degrees before he turned and rushed out of the village. Only opening the map to determine where he was going, forming a few hand seals so that he could create his wind skating motion if only to significantly improve his speed, as he would begin to rush across the land in the direction of Hohei-cho. Leaned forward, he was practically appearing to skate across the ground using his fuuton, laser-focused hoping to get to Hohei-cho before nightfall with the help of his little wind skates, but, if that didn't happen then he would sleep at the gates and wait until dawn to enter and rush towards the center, the heart of the city. One way or another, he was going to rush towards the center.

Towards one of the ashigaru with a raised hand and the slip of paper.

"I need the heart of Field Country! Loyal and fierce!" He announced quite loudly, it was probably a bit too loud for dawn but he was really trying to get this done quickly. He didn't have much time left... This was the last day to pick up the second clue.

306 | Hisakawa Yamato | notes

ulla

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Fūton: Kaze Sanpo [Wind Release: Wind Walk]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
DESCRIPTION:
This technique allows the user to create a wind like base under their feet, reducing friction and enhancing the user's speed. The user doesn't seem to be levitating unless under close inspection which they seem to be about 1.5 - 2cm off the ground. Apart from enhancing speed, this technique gives the user the ability to walk on water and evade projectile attacks with ease.

[Hisakawa Yamato]

2 Clues Found

@all

The two ashigaru watched with a mixture of confusion and amusement as Akihiko promptly thanked them for their help before taking his exit. The young Kumo genin traversed the landscape at incredible speed, allowing him to arrive in the capital just an our or so before sundown. The Daimyo's palace was easily the most prominent building within the city, meaning Akihiko certainly wouldn't have had any trouble finding it, and while the genin wouldn't be allowed to bypass the walls surrounding the complex, there'd be no shortage of patrolling ashigaru to intercept and speak to. But as the fiery headed boy moved to speak to one of the footmen, he'd find a figure materializing just in front of him, stopping him in his tracks but with no hostility in his posture or actions.

This figure resembled a shinobi much more than a simple footman, donning a flak jacket as well as several pouches that no doubt held ninja tools. His hair was mostly black peppered with touches of gray, which combined with his eyepatch gave off the impression that this was a seasoned veteran. If Akihiko was especially observant, he'd be able to note that the man wore both Kusagakure's insignia as well as the symbol that all the other ashigaru he had met also wore. The man eyed him with his single, coal-colored eye before letting out a small huff, reach down to undo the clasp of one of the pouches on his person and tossing it over to the genin.

"You got here later than I thought you would, but... no matter. Yes, it is we, the loyal servants of the Daimyo that are the heart of this land, for what is a ruler without his people?" The man paused, seeming to consider something for a moment before shaking his head and beckoning the boy closer. "Alright, no riddle for your second clue, take out your map. You see here? Just south of Kusagakure there is a forest, the 'Hummingbird's Forest'. In the direct center of those woods you will find your third and final clue."

The man would wait to see if Akihiko had any questions, though for the most part he'd decline to answer most of them. He had been instructed to give the boy the clue and the pouch and nothing more, and when their business was concluded, the man would hold up a handseal, exiting the same way he arrived, disappearing almost instantly. In the pouch, Akihiko would find 5 plain kunai and nothing more.

Extra notes;

♥ Chou

[Omori Akihiko]

 i am a red fire quickly rising 

Akihiko was happy that he had arrived at the city in time, the jutsu really did work! Just before sundown allowing him to get into the city with time to spare.

He came to a screeching halt when someone showed up and chided him for showing up later than expected. Well, Aki wasn't the smartest boy in the world after all. A lot of what he did was just... Asking around, it seemed to be working for him though so he couldn't complain too much. Either way, he caught what was tossed and looked inside of it to find five kunai. Oh... But he already had kunai?

Odd.

Either way, he looked back to the eye-patched man and gave him a bow to thank him for the thing that was given to him. Before he was commanded to take out his map and was pointed towards the hummingbird's forest.

"Ooooh.. Okay! Thank you Mr. Eyepatch sir!" He grinned widely and gave a few nods before putting away everything he had been given and going back onto his merry way. Once again, his pace was quite quick though lacking the jutsu as he wanted to conserve some of his chakra. Instead, he worked towards the forest, moving through the fields and through trees to try and find this third and final clue that was allegedly at the heart of the forest.

230 | Hisakawa Yamato | notes

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