[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." PORT CITY He had finally made it, he had become a Chuunin. The exams were intense, and at times he thought he was actually going to die, like when he had been poisoned and decided to stay behind during round 1, or when he blacked out after getting hit by Taki's chair on his head. Still, Shigure had overcome all the obstacles and proved to the world he was worthy of becoming a Chuunin. Still, he didn't come back home in delight, for he had left something very precious to him behind: Nara Yoru. The young Genin had died at the hands of Waruichi Asuna, a heartless Genin from the Mist. The fact that she didn't pass on the exams brought him no solace, for it didn't matter really, his friend's life would not be restored no matter what happened. It was extremely painful to lose yet another person who he held very dearly in his heart, and again there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Still, he managed to get ahold of his emotions and not giving to his hatred; he didn't want to feed the endless cycle of the shinobi world. Now, the vessel which carried the Hyuuga clan had arrived in Port City, and they were in the safety of their home country, or as safe as it could be things considered. Once there, he decided to give them the slip and head to the village on his own. He needed some time alone, and he would also use this opportunity to train. The whole time they were in Kagamino no Shi and Mizu no Tera were intense, but he couldn't really train much for it would risk revealing his abilities to his future opponents. With that in mind, Shigure started heading towards the Hidden Leaf Village, channeling chakra on his legs to increase his speed above his current limits. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [316 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." SWIFT AS WIND As he leaped from tree branch to tree branch, his mind drifted towards the recent past, to his bouts during the last round of the exams. During every single one of them, he noticed he had a hard time closing in on his foes, even though he was using his acceleration technique to go from his stationary position straight into his full speed. That happened in his fight against Okada Taki, Himishi Haruka and Yuki Kazu, where they all managed to escape from his Gentle Fist just in time. Many times he was close to landing a decisive hit, only for them to escape through his fingers - almost quite literally - and leave him in an almost vulnerable position. He needed to do better than that, he needed to move in such a way that they wouldn't even be able to react until it was already too late. The Hyuuga knew how fast he was in combat, how quick his reflexes were, and how swift his attacks were using the Gentle Fist, and he would continue to hone those skills in order to further enhance it. But the main flaw was in his approach, closing in the distance. It wasn't like he was slow or anything like it, for he was not; he could, however, improve that substantially. There were many shinobi out there know for moving almost like a blur, and deep down he knew he had it in him. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [244 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." MUSCLES His muscles were well-developed through his intense training, he had taijutsu as his main focus and he had specialised in that field, which helped him develop his body, but he still needed to further strength his legs and his lung capacity and overall stamina. Sustaining a good movement speed was way more taxing than moving the body fast in a combat situation. In combat the body moves in short spurs of movement, for a short span of time, whereas when one seeks to be fast while running, they need to be capable of pushing their bodies to that extreme continuously, but without getting completely drained, otherwise it would be pointless. "I already have a good foundation. I should start by using my chakra to give me a boost, get my lungs used to this level of effort, develop some more mitochondria in my cells, so I can make some better use of the oxygen I take. I also need to be very mindful of my breathing." he thought to himself, frowning his brows ever so slightly. "And while I'm doing that, my legs will be performing the movement, getting used to what it needs to do while being assisted by my chakra, and once that becomes natural, I will be able to replicate that without using my chakra." a smirk appeared on his face as his mind traced the course of his training. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [235 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." CHAKRA "Now... Once I'm able to replicate this without my chakra, doing so will be way less taxing on my body, but that's not all of it." the chakra continued to flow to his legs continuously as he flew from branch to branch like a beige and red blur, in a speed he was not yet used to. "Once that happens, my stamina will have increased enough that this won't even tire me much, and I should be able to do it for a longer time. So I can grow quite exponentially. Still, this training is going to be tough..." and he knew that. Despite his incredible chakra control preventing him from wasting any unnecessary chakra, which was made even better by the fact that he was a member of the Hyuuga clan, capable of controlling the tenketsus in his body, there were two main challenges he was currently facing. First and foremost, it was hard to keep the chakra flowing so constantly, for he was not really used to that. The only situations in which he had to constantly use chakra like that was while using the Tree Walking and Water Walking Technique. Indeed he had grown so used to the technique that it become second nature already, but they were restricted to the sole of his feet. Right now the chakra had to flow through the entirety of his legs and also his waist to help keep it firm enough so he wouldn't injure his own back while doing so, which made this considerably more draining. The second factor was him not really being used to this level of speed. Yes, his enhanced reflexes were helping him avoid missing a branch or hit a trunk while going at such a speed, but it was requiring an extreme level of focus, which was tiring by itself. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [308 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." BLURRED SIGHT Not long after leaving Port City, Shigure had managed to cover quite the substantial distance already with his movement speed being enhanced by his chakra, forcing his muscles beyond their limits. Still, even though only a short span of time had passed, he was already dripping in sweat and his breathe was becoming more laboured. "Wow... To think I would be getting this tired this quickly? This training will be way more taxing than I initially anticipated..." he thought to himself, pursing his lips and frowning his brows. "Still..." he smirked, feeling the excitement building up inside of him. "This is indeed exactly what I needed. If I was able to move like this back in the Chuunin Exams, I could've beat Taki for sure, and Haruka wouldn't have been able to escape my Palm Storm Dance... Same for Kazu. Hehehe... This is getting me fired up!" and with that renewed determination, the Hyuuga pressed through his tiredness and continued to push forward. He noticed yet another factor that was coming into play while moving at such speed: it was harder to see things. So even with his enhanced reflexes, he was having trouble perceiving the world around him properly, and that could leave him prone to exposing himself in a dangerous way. A breach in his guard like that in combat could very well determine the outcome of a fight. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [234 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." BYAKUGAN This new issue was not a major one for Shigure because he was a member of the Hyuuga clan and as such, he had access to their famed and coveted doujutsu, the Byakugan. To test this hypothesis, he prompted his doujutsu to activate and the veins bulged on the sides of his face, expanding the world around him. The visual enhancement granted by the Byakugan was the greatest among all the doujutsu, its perception was unparalleled. Moreover, due to his constant training, the doujutsu didn't drain much of his chakra unless he used it for a very long span of time. Travelling, he wouldn't need to keep the doujutsu activated while running, unless he was in enemy territory, but in battle it would be absolutely necessary. Still, it was good to confirm that he would be fine with that level of speed as long as he used his eyes in combat, a relief that also helped boost his motivation as tiredness lurked around the corner. At this point, his shirt was already soaked in his own sweat and he could feel the burning sensation coming from his ankles, calves, thighs and lower back, making him grimace a bit. "Ugh!" Shigure grunted. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [203 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." FALL A few more minutes in this rhythm and the pain was increasing more and more, to the point he couldn't keep up the same speed anymore. Shigure tried to keep on pushing through, but the strain on his body prompted him to make a mistake when he winced and hesitated, missing his mark and losing his footing. "Crap!!" he exclaimed, widening his eyes as he fell from the tree at that speed. Shigure managed to crouch into a ball and aim at a bush at the forest to try and soften his fall. It worked, to a degree, and he crashed down in a loud thud. "Ugh..." he groaned as he opened his eyes. He had smashed the bush and was scratched by some of its twigs, but other than that and the pain of the fall on his back, he was mostly fine. Well... That if you don't take into account the pain in his legs from the effort. Now that he had stopped and the adrenaline levels were reducing, the pain was increasing so much that it hurt to even move it. "Ouch... This is hurting like crazy... Until I get my muscles used to that, it will be complicated..." he thought to himself, sighing deeply. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [210 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." RECOVERING ENERGY Luckily, he was in a safe spot. The woods were dense, and he had made good progress towards the village. Resting down there, he grabbed his bottle of water and the snacks he had prepared before hand and decided he had to give his body a rest. It was unlikely that he would be able to continue his journey today, so he decided to camp there for the day. The process of setting up the camp, the bonfire and all that took way longer than before because the young man was essentially limping, but eventually he made it and sit by the fire, placed his bento near the bonfire to warm it up and rested. He ate slowly as well, savouring the food and thinking back on what he had done so far with this training. "I'm on the right path. Of course this will take time to build up the muscles and stamina, but just knowing it was doable is exciting! I just need to keep my focus and continue doing this in between my duties once I get back to the village." he thought to himself with an excited smile on his face as he grabbed a bite of his takoyaki. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [206 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." DAY TWO Once he finished eating, Shigure knew he needed to get some shut eye. He struggled a bit to move himself to find a comfortable position and lie down. The place he was at was relatively safe and he had scanned the area with his Byakugan, so he was confident he wouldn't be jumped during the time he needed to rest. And he was right. Shigure slept a bit more than he was initially anticipating, but the tiredness had accumulated from the long stressful time in the Land of Water, and the huge physical effort he had performed on the previous day. As he got up, he drank up the rest of his first bottle of water and grabbed some cereal bars for a quick breakfast. "Well, I'm still quite sore, but I can continue today... Maybe not push it for so long, take another break before reaching the Hidden Leaf, and then doing it one more time. Once I'm back home I can just crash in my room and get a decent night of sleep in a comfortable bed, maybe get some medical treatment to hasten my recovery and such." he thought to himself, satisfied with the course of action. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [203 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." IT GETS HARDER Once he had eaten something and hydrated himself, he stretched his limbs and warmed himself up a bit. The soreness of his body would definitely make this day harder than the previous one, but that didn't dissuade the Hyuuga from continuing his training. It was about time he took his shinobi life even more serious. Yoru had died during the exams, and he believed part of the reason that happened was because he didn't push him hard enough during their trainings, and even though they had been on a few missions together, the Nara was always being protected by Shigure or Wahei. Speaking of Wahei, he wondered how he was doing in his imprisonment in the Hidden Mist Village. He still couldn't believe what had happened to him. Shigure knew Wahei enough to know he was not spying on the Mist, but being from enemy villages, even an innocent inquiry could be seen as just that. "I hope you can solve this situation, Keisuke-sama. I will put my trust in you." he thought to himself. And shrugging away those thoughts from is mind, Shigure leaped onto a tree branch, focused the chakra on his legs and lower back, and dashed like a blur towards his home. Of course he couldn't go on for as long as he did before, but that didn't frustrate him. He had learned that pushing himself to break his limits was good, but he also needed to respect his body and accept that improvement doesn't come overnight, and he would need to keep on pushing himself for weeks and months to come in order to attain a consistent level of speed, to the point it could become natural. Therefore, the Hyuuga continued for as long as he could manage, taking a few short breaks along the way to recover his chakra and stamina, until it was close to the sunset, moment in which he decided to call it a day. The Hyuuga went down to a small meadow in the woods, and set up camp once again. The pain was bothering him and he was limping. "If I rest tonight, I will be able to reach the Hidden Leaf in just a few more hours tomorrow... It's good. It's definitely a good first step." he talked to himself, as he finished setting up his camp and warming up some of the food he had brought with him. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [n/a] [405 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." DAWN OF THE LAST DAY Shigure had some weird dreams this night, he dreamt about Wahei in a cell, crying and begging for mercy while he sit on a bench, just like a spectator of a trial, doing absolutely nothing. His friend was there, just within the reach of his hands, and yet he didn't move or say a word. It made him wake up with a bitter taste in his mouth, and for once, he didn't have much of an appetite. Shigure got up, stretched his sore body and walked around for a bit, trying to put his own thoughts in order and not feel guilty for what happened with Wahei. By the time he heard about it, he was already on his boat, very close to Port City. Going back was not really an option, for they were no longer under any sort of truce, and it would mean not only his death, but the deaths of the other members of his clan who were accompanying him. No, he had to trust his leader and the other members of the council. He knew they would do their best to save Wahei, especially because he had a coveted kekkei genkai in his eyes, and there was no way in hell the Hyuuga clan would let that escape from the Leaf's influence. Heck, he even feared his father insisting on branding Wahei if he was returned to the village, a decision that he would have a hard time fighting, things considered. Still, there was no use in trying to picture those scenarios, the only thing Shigure could do was to wait, and continue with his work and training. The Leaf needed strong shinobi now more than ever. The short walk to put his thoughts in order helped warm up his body for the final stretch of this trip. Just a few more hours and he would be arriving at the Hidden Leaf Village if he was able to keep up something close to the speed he had displayed the last couple days. Obviously his body was reaching its limits, but he had come too far to give up now. This would be the foundation of his future growth, so there was no way he would give up; the Will of Fire burned intensely inside his heart. With that renewed determination, he dashed towards the Hidden Leaf, forcing his body to its maximum with his chakra. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Land of Fire [N/A] [406 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"fast track home". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." HOME SWEET HOME Compared to how much he endured on the first day of his trip, Shigure's body was almost refusing to go on. The pain was sharper than ever, and it felt like every leap he took from branch to branch sent a jolt of lightning searing through his legs and back. He was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists hard, but he wasn't going to give up. With his Byakugan, he could already see the Hidden Leaf Village in the distance. "Just a bit more! Come on body, don't let me down!" he continuously repeated that mantra to himself. People often speak about runner's high, and he did feel it on the first day, and a little bit on the second day, but now he felt only pain. Beads of sweat constantly streamed down his face. He was stinking, and if even he could notice that, he was afraid of getting close to other people. Basically all he did the past two and a half days was to run as much as he could and stop to rest and eat something. He didn't shower or did much of anything else. Yes, he wanted to give up, he wanted to sit down and sleep for a whole day and just walk to the village, even if it took much longer. But that's the thing about training, it's not easy. If you don't endure the pain, you can never reap the rewards of your effort, and he knew that well. Powering through the feeling of giving up and the physical pain, the Hyuuga continued for around three hours until he finally reached the gates of the Hidden Leaf. The sigh of relief was one of the longest he had in a long time, and the moment he crossed the gates, he finally stopped, leaned against his burning thighs and panted heavily... And puked. Yes, he was feeling a bit nauseous for a while, and he had finally reached his breaking point now that the adrenaline was gone from his bloodstream. After a few minutes just panting, he took a deep breathe and forced himself to walk again. It was painful, his soles were on fire, but he had made it, he had ran to the village at his top speed for as long as he could handle it. In a way it was funny, for the walk to the Hyuuga District felt almost harder than his running to the village. It was his body just telling him it had enough, and now he would sleep for a long time. And shower later, once he woke up. Well... Hanako would probably not be sharing his bed this evening. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training End [N/A] [447 words]