[Netsu Midori]

Midori grunts as she enters the training grounds, feeling a deep-seated need to work out more often so she's going to be ready for the Chuunin Exams this time. She had only gotten back from her years of training with her new master to be able to perfect her Kesshoton abilities after the sign-ups for the Chuunin Exams had already been taken care of, so now she had to train for another year before she'd be able to try again. Still, this gives her plenty of time to become a true menace in combat, so she has decided to take the opportunity to train by herself. Takigakure, being a fairly small village, would likely not be too busy that she couldn't take a chance at training both her Taijutsu and her ability with Kesshoton by herself. She starts off with some warm-up training by doing a few push-ups, though the suit that covers nearly her entire body allows her to heat up quickly. She follows up with some sit-ups and some stretches to get her muscles loosened for training before she stands back up and paces in front of the training dummy, tugging on the edges of her gloves to make sure they're fully taut around her hands.

Then Midori performs a quick set of four handseals before Kesshoton energy wraps around her hands, and she slams her fists into the training dummy, the chakra shrouding her hands causing far greater damage to the dummy than she would normally be capable of delivering with her own Taijutsu strikes. This style of fighting she'd invented herself, as most of the Netsu clan focused primarily on the more Ninjutsu side of their training. Midori, however, usually preferred doing a lot of close-range fighting. What she really wanted to do was learn how to perform handseals faster, although she was actually pretty good at getting them off already; but in order to make her Taijutsu use with Kesshoton energy work, she needed to be able to perform them even more quickly.

Midori finally stops beating the crap out of the training dummy with the concussive strikes from her fists, and she dissipates the chakra from around her fists so she can run fingers through her long, wavy black hair before noticing that she has a visitor, and she turns to look at the stranger that had likely just seen her nearly smash a training dummy to pieces.

[Jun Etsuko]

Though a strange individual for sure, it'd be likely 'no stranger' in the eye of the genin. Etsuko had arrived at the training field, perhaps a minute ago, it hadn't been long. Though it was in fact long enough to see the manner of strikes being delivered to the dummy. She'd been quietly contemplating the younger kunoichi's style, as a more guessing their skill than anything else. It wasn't like she knew Midori or even knew of them really. Though that odd chakra, it seemed somewhat familiar. Though the user of it previously was awfully overburdened in armor.

Unlike the genin though, Etsuko was a 'known' of Takigakure. She'd participated in two major events and her villagers had always been warned of her 'potential'. The warnings to be evasive of her were more or less five years passed? Heck it was close to a decade actually. She'd proven her 'control' over Matatabi, but the likelihood someone had mentioned the copper eyed jounin was high. They might of even been pointed out, as the two tails jinchuuriki didn't have a posse, they're often singled out in public. Given space for safety sake.

Her most standout features would be her copper cat like gaze and the fact her hair naturally stood itself up like cat ears. Despite no physical structure in them, as the genin looked over at Etsuko perched in a nearby tree, the jounin's fake cat ears would perk. She'd tilt her head and if the silence hadn't been broken, then Etsuko would break it after a slightly awkward stare off. "You're a genin aren't you?" Despite their being articles of clothes which helped determine rank, quite a few shinobi broke the mold and threw things like chuunin vest to the winds. The motion of the punches, the wildness of the chakra around them, it all left her feeling pretty confident this was a genin. She'd ask to be certain. Not that it really mattered, but her voice was rarely adjusted to be familiar or kind. Instead it'd come off as cold and serious, as though this question held great importance.

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[Netsu Midori]

Only now does Midori actually recognize this person watching her up in the tree as one Etsuko of the Jun family. Not that the name Jun had meant nearly so much before Etsuko. People rarely talked about Etsuko's father, despite being a skilled ninja in his own right; Etsuko had, in a way, "eaten" her own father by eclipsing most anything he had been famous for prior to this shinobi he had helped produce. Such is the way of life, that the parents should be "swallowed up", in a sense, by their children, and the parents are proud of their offspring when it happens. It's honestly the two bumps on her head shaped somewhat like ears that tip off Midori to who it actually is at first, but the copper-colored eyes confirm it, a nearly inhuman color more akin to cat eyes. Not that Midori herself should comment on eye color, as her own eyes are a nearly neon green that no human should normally be capable of producing in their body. She flips her hair over her right shoulder as she's greeted somewhat coldly by this woman who is well-known for her combat expertise, but also for things beyond that. Being referred to by rank, as though reminded that she's beneath this Jounin, gets her hackles up, though her expression doesn't change. Nevermind that insulting a Jounin isn't exactly clever, insulting a Jounin that has become particularly skilled in controlling their bijuu might be seen as suicidal.

"So I am. You're the Nibi Jinchuuriki, aren't you?"

Although Etsuko had been able to keep up a cold and serious tone in her own statement that was phrased as a question, Midori seems far more heated, though she crosses her arms; apparently, although she was prepared for a kind of verbal sparring, that did not automatically mean she thought she could punch any level of respect into the much stronger ninja, or even prepare for it if Etsuko decides to take the returned (perceived) slight as a challenge to combat. Midori was aggressive, harsh, and insulting, but she didn't seem to be delusional, at least.

"A little rude to just watch someone and then not even give them a hello when they happen to spot you. Being part beast doesn't mean you get to act like one."

Despite her very confrontational statements and the expression on her face that practically non-verbally tells the general population at large to find a hole and lay in it, her eyes hold more curiosity than anger. Maybe this is how Midori tests the waters to see how others react to her volatile insults and verbal jabs. If it is, it's not exactly what one might expect from most Genin.

[Jun Etsuko]

Etsuko would more or less care about the first part of Midori's answer. The confirmation they were a genin, thus as a genin sensei, she felt the authority or responsibility to teach. She more so was looking for away to waste time, as kicking her feet in a cell was quite boring. She also hadn't a particular training exercise planned for herself, but surely this genin wanted to be a chuunin and Etsuko was the appropriate individual to help. Even if she was just the village's weapon.

Though it'd be a lie to say that Etsuko didn't care about how she'd be recognized. Her face scrunching up momentarily to the title of Nibi Jinchuuriki, as she'd despite the clear look of disapproval reply. "Correct." Her tone was exactly the same as before, but now the coldness might of been a little more deserved. Though the things that'd come next from the genin's mouth sort of surprised the jounin. She'd be called both rude and a half beast, it was almost as insulting as the Nibi Jinchuuriki title. It didn't give Matatabi the respect the deserved and didn't fit their wonder.

It however was almost too common a reaction or description to throw the jounin off. Instead it'd make her have to question the words more clearly. She was too anti-social and too few people spoke up to her, so the sentiment simply wouldn't click. There was nothing rude about not saying hello, it was an unnecessary word, after all Midori didn't say hello upon seeing Etsuko either. "No, we shared glances, that was our hello. I'm a weapon not a beast..." Shrugging off her weighted cloak in a sudden wisp of wind the jounin would blur out of sight, as the wind quickly rushed around Midori and seemingly replaced the jounin behind them.

"... I'm also a genin team leader and thus teacher. So I should train you, no?" Etsuko would finish her words from behind Midori. Closer her tone would soften a little, but it'd still mostly lack emotion. She was quite blunt with her words and not the type of person to mess with. Whether it was intended to be a threat or merely to loosen herself up, the weighted cloak would hit the ground loudly with earth cracking force.

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori can tell that her words had probably gotten to Etsuko a little bit, judging by the look of disapproval she's given when she calls her the Nibi Jinchuuriki. Someone likely wouldn't appreciate being known for the demon living inside of them, but the Netsu clan member clearly didn't mind, if her tone and reaction to the critical look she's being given are any indication. The Genin simply shrugs when Etsuko mentions that neither of them had said hello; the Jounin had her there, she couldn't really criticize too harshly without either being a hypocrite or being rude. And rude she certainly was. The reaction she got from the Jounin wasn't nearly so harsh as she expected, and it certainly wasn't as aggressive as she'd thought it might be, although Etsuko calling herself a weapon might have been a veiled threat, she could conceivably recognize that it was more of a refutation of her statement rather than an actual voicing of her intent to cause damage.

Midori's eyebrows furrow when Etsuko suddenly seems to disappear once her cloak is removed, making her quite confused. She knows that Shunshin no Jutsu requires handseals, but from what she could see, Etsuko had not done any at all. She then hears Etsuko behind her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end because she manages to appear behind her before the cloak actually hits the ground, and she can feel the shockwave of that landing through her feet. Instead of letting the surprise or the fear show on her face, she lets out a low whistle of approval.

"Well, if you can teach me to be strong enough for that, you've got yourself a student."

While it had seemed at first that Midori had been almost crazy in her rudeness to someone her superior, she certainly didn't hold that attitude for very long. At least, not when she seemingly thought that she could get something out of a more positive interaction. As it is, Midori doesn't know a great deal of Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, and she feels that she might at least learn something useful from such a powerful Jounin. Having a jinchuuriki for a sensei couldn't be too bad, especially if she can learn to use that kind of speed herself. The combination of that level of speed with the concussive power of her Kesshoton strikes could be just what she needs.

[Jun Etsuko]

Weight training was less a lesson of words and more an art of endurance, fortitude and patience. In time if the genin was willing to pick up the weight, then one day they'd grow more or less used to them. She'd gone through weight training at a relatively young age. Stepping forward and turning around to look her new student up and down, she'd wager based on their build they could start with roughly ten or so of her weighted plates. Though she didn't really have a spare set of weights on her.

"Of course, though strength is mostly effort and little skill. What style are you trying to implement and where do you feel you're lacking in it?" Etsuko would ask in an attempt to draft up the days training lesson. This wasn't actually one of her students, so they really hadn't had the greeting she'd be used to. Though to her that was a part of the fun, if she was such a good weapon, then surely she could impart any lesson to some degree. It was to most a rather common feat of a jounin, so she'd be confident in her ability to bullshit with the best of them.

That pretty chakra seemed to be somewhat important, but that obviously was something out of her reach. Granted she was powerful enough likely to survive most hits. A live target was an improvement over a dummy, but what'd this genin want to truly learn? Etsuko would keep her mind as open as possible, but her mind was rather spoiled in it's militaristic raising. The distance given to her in her youth made her a bit estrange among others.

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori seems quite curious about the weighted cloak, approaching it cautiously like she thought it might break through the ground, but just lightly poking at it with her boot while Etsuko asks what style she's trying to implement and where she feels lacking lets her know that there's no way she could even hope to lift it in her current state. It was difficult enough to even move the thing an inch or so, and she feels like she might break something if she tries to move it any further than that, so she leaves the cloak rest where it lay at the moment before she turns to give her attention to Etsuko once more.

"Oh, this style? It's one of my own making. Yeah, I use my clan's Plasma Release in conjunction with what I know about Taijutsu so my punches hit extra hard with the concussive force caused by Plasma Release. It's really strong... But, y'know, I bet if I had more chakra I could pump it up way harder."

Midori seems to be considering this option, then shrugs and turns back to the training dummy, then considers all the spots where her fists had slammed into the training dummy hard enough to splinter the wood, which wasn't too terribly common for a Genin from what she'd seen of others and their training. But an actual Taijutsu master was likely capable of doing much more damage with far less chakra usage. Using up so much chakra to imitate a fraction of that power was somewhat annoying for her to realize, but it didn't dissuade her from continuing with her training.

"Then again, needing to use handseals before I use it is way more frustrating and dangerous. Okay, new idea, I've got to get faster at making handseals..."

This was a lot of requests from one Genin, but that last statement is made with some finality, so she starts forming the four handseals needed for the previous technique, the one she'd developed herself called the Atsuki Ken, causing her fists to glow a neon green once more.

[Jun Etsuko]

Plasma release was something she'd seen and heard about, but she could of sworn she'd only seen them in full covers. An armor of sorts to deny the world sight of them, though that might of been just a users desire to not share glances with the jinchuuriki. A lot of people seemed to be scared of matching her gaze when she was young and still in training. They to her understanding obviously feared the release of Matatabi. A reasonable concern, as the magnificent blue flamed being was quite the power.

"Interesting, I had been told plasma required an armor to wield, is yours special or are you?" Etsuko would ask inquisitively, as she'd like the answer to her memories failing her. To be aware and alert of those she'd possibly clash with or perhaps against one day. "Chakra certainly can add to an attack and I have heard overtime one's continued practice increases their reserves." She'd state this fact without uncertainty, as she'd been a jinchuuriki all her life. She'd only known of reserves beyond any she'd personally met, so the concept of it growing seemed to be foreign.

"However, I didn't master her reserves by having greater reserves. Though by comparison, I am no master of Matatabi's chakra, to be honest I'd rather win my battles without it. I can't really teach chakra or strength, but speed, that I think I can help you with." Etsuko would state feeling fairly good in Midori's finalized request. She similarly to boundless chakra, hadn't really known a shinobi to out pace her. So when it came to being fast, she definitely felt she knew a thing or to. Perhaps not especially in the field of fast hand seals, but it seemed like something her lessons could work towards.

"What jutsu would you say you've performed the most and most recently?" Etsuko would ask knowing that it'd be easier to build off something well known, then to try to get Midori to mimic any of her techniques. Sometimes a lesson could be shared without certain levels of sensei familiarity. Obviously Etsuko didn't 'know' Plasma release, but hand seals were built on the same language of seals.

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[Netsu Midori]

When Etsuko asks if she or her own version of Plasma Release was special, Midori crosses her arms, a defensive stance. She didn't really know how much Etsuko knows about the Netsu clan's kekkei tota, and she wonders just how much the Jounin should know about such a clan. Then she decides that knowing about the Kesshoton Meditation wouldn't hurt too much, especially since she already seemed aware that the armor was usually necessary for the safe usage of Plasma Release. She'd essentially figured it out anyway, since she'd seen someone with the Netsu clan armor and now she'd seen Midori herself utilizing Kesshoton without the armor.

"What I do is rare. I'm able to utilize Kesshoton without the need for the armor to keep myself and others safe. Doing so requires many years of study, perfection, and training to be able to do, and I still require focus when I do it. It comes naturally to me now."

Midori shrugs nonchalantly; it wasn't a boast, it was simply a fact for her. The idea that continued use of chakra could help to improve how much chakra she has naturally over time made some sense to her. To make a muscle stronger, you had to work it out until it failed, and then when it was finished resting, it would be even more powerful than before. Maybe chakra reserves are kind of like a muscle, you have to work it out until it fails and then let it rest to recover. Midori uncrosses her arms now that she's asked what jutsu she's performed most recently and the most in general. She performs four quick handseals and focuses Kesshoton chakra to both fists, causing them to glow a bright neon green that matches both the color of her eyes as well as the green colors of her outfit, making it quite eye-catching and lighting Midori's face even in this sunlight.

"I use Atsuki Ken the most. I can keep it going for a long time, but if it gets hit with Raiton chakra, I'll hit way harder... but it also makes it more draining to try and keep it under control instead of blasting me."

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NAME: Atsuki Ken [Heated Fists]

RANK: B

CHAKRA USAGE: Medium [Initial] | Low [Constant] to High [Constant]

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu

ELEMENT: Kesshoton

HANDSEALS: 4

REQUIREMENT: Netsu clan

DESCRIPTION:

Rather than expelling the Kesshoton element quickly in order to damage the opponent with a blast, this technique allows the user to cover both their hands in Kesshoton energy, causing them to glow with erratic plasmic energy that can add a concussive component to their physical strikes with their hands, increasing the power caused by their Taijutsu strikes to a level that matches the amount of chakra usage of the technique. Although their hands have a high level of absorption, absorbing such a large amount of electrical energy requires an equally high amount of chakra from the user in order to contain the energy until it can be released through Taijutsu. After absorbing that Raiton chakra or electrical energy, the chakra usage for the technique increases from Medium to High in order to keep the energy absorbed under control for further use of the Atsuki Ken.

[Jun Etsuko]

Etsuko would be happy to know she wasn't lied to, but that past Plasma user was much older than this one. It'd make her nonchalant statement of being rare all the more impressive. "Ooooh!" Her words weren't all that expressive, but she was someone who had no poker face. Instead her looks always deceived her true thoughts, as the hair which seemed to stand as cat ears would perk. Her eyes would sparkle with that excitement of being treated, as well as her mouth opened in a look of momentary surprise.

A rare genin would be quite the nice student to have under her, she'd be in between teams so to say too. As her last genin had graduated and moved on somewhat recently, perhaps she could pull some strings to takeover this girls team. These just being thoughts, as a familiar voice would chime only in the jounin's head. "It's just like you always seeking the next interesting group of misfits to train." Matatabi's thoughts and Etsuko's were at this point shared, so there wasn't much which slipped past the bijuu. The jounin her prime form of entertainment being sealed away in her.

"That's cool..." Etsuko would state to the genin explaining she'd have her abilities enhanced by Raiton, as she'd open one of her hands and channel raiton to create clear sparks and chains of light between her fingers. That was until the immediate follow up that it'd make the techniques more costing too. "...Or not?" Etsuko would end her chakra channeling, tilting her head and raising a brow in confusion. Uncertain how to best use this information for the genin before her, but it wasn't like this lesson needed to be about the Kesshoton at all. She could do more research and pry into the clan for help with that later.

"Nonetheless, I don't need you to activate the jutsu at all or channel your chakra. If anything for the present it'd be better you didn't." The Nibi Jinchuuriki would explain flatly. "Can you dispel the jutsu without using it? If not finish off that training dummy or at least the jutsu and I'll explain how you'll beat record speeds with hand seals." Etsuko would state forming a rather proud smile, as she'd have the whole 'training' in mind now; the origin of speed, the tools to immediate enhancement and most importantly the raw practice.

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori is a bit curious about what kind of training method Etsuko is going to be using if utilizing chakra isn't going to be necessary, and how it would be even easier to not do so. Thankfully, Midori can easily end the jutsu by simply stopping the flow of chakra to her hand momentarily, and so she does just that. The instant the Kesshoton chakra is no longer being fed, the energy instantly dissipates, turning off like a light after one flips the switch. She considers crossing her arms afterwards, then decides that might get in the way of the training that Etsuko is planning on doing, so she doesn't do that. She simply juts out her left hip and places the same side hand on it, raising one thin and carefully trimmed black eyebrow at the older kunoichi. She'd said that her Plasma Release was apparently cool, and she looked a lot younger when she'd said that, almost as giddy as a teenager.

Midori had spent her entire life being told that Kesshoton was dangerous, and deadly even to herself, and nobody else had ever described it as being cool. The sight of electricity dancing between Etsuko's fingers, on the other hand, had seemed pretty cool to Midori, and she wonders if she'll ever get to that level of intense and focused control with her own Plasma Release. She very well might, but she might also empty her chakra core of the Kesshoton chakra before she ever reaches that level. In any case, her curiosity has been piqued. Being trained by the Matatabi Jinchuuriki, despite her earlier insulting behavior, would certainly be something she was very interested in. She might look rather nonchalantly curious at the moment on the outside, but inside she was almost giddy. Midori was well on her way to making a name for herself, and this would surely get her parents' attention.

"All right then, let's get started. What do I need to do first?"

[Jun Etsuko]

"In the academy they teach you or well drill you on the form of hand seals. However, as you get out into the world, you'll notice people do these seals one handed or supplement these seals entirely with some new method of concentration. These things are excessive and excess is typically waste, but what matters is that you can form a seal 'roughly' to equal success." Etsuko would begin to explain, as she'd crack her knuckles by splitting her fingers between each hand flexing them together. Afterwards she'd do a very quick demonstration, she'd perform the exact same seals her student performed. However she'd do so in a manner that appeared incredibly loose, almost as though she'd completed none of the hand seals truthfully.

"A seal is completed by an ignition of channeled chakra, it's easiest to accomplish this as trained in the academy. However it's slower to be certain, so you need to break past that habit to get even faster than the rest." Etsuko would cross her arms speaking with a certainty she probably shouldn't. It was exactly what she'd personally practiced, but she'd been gifted with inherent speed and honed it excessively. She couldn't as she stated train a progress typically made over time, but she had a firm belief this special student could grasp and perfect her described method.

"Knowing what you need to do, here's how you're going to do it. They don't talk or focus on it enough, but your actions all start here." Etsuko would tap her head, as to refer to an individuals thoughts. "What I need you to do, is tell yourself up here, the next seal prior to completing the first. You need to will your body to act without the comfort of successfully completing that first action. Luckily you've performed this jutsu a bunch, so these seals should be almost reflexive, thus you commanding the next action won't actually happen until the bodies completed the first. In theory at least, it wouldn't be learning if you'd already known it." Etsuko would explain, then give a slight nod of encouragement. "Alright, give it a try, remember without chakra. Channeling chakra into a failed jutsu can cause an unintended technique to be performed instead."

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[Netsu Midori]

This type of training was certainly new to Midori, but she paid careful attention to the instructions she was given, as well as watching how Etsuko performs the handseals with what she feels is a level of sloppiness that shouldn't really result in a successful use of jutsu, if she were to actually put chakra into the technique. At least Etsuko has made it clear that she's not to channel any chakra into her attempt, at least for now, and that this is just to be able to practice having her mind focus on creating the next handseal instead of focusing on doing the handseals one after another. It could also be that Etsuko had performed the handseals too quickly for Midori to see them clearly, so they had simply appeared sloppy to her untrained eyes. In any case, the training she'd had from the Netsu clan on Kesshoton Meditation had instilled in her a focus on exact handseals, but she'd have to try and become more "loose" with the interpretation.

She takes a deep breath, then focuses intently on the positions of her hands and fingers at first, as she prepares to perform the handseals for the Atsuki Ken, just without any chakra being pulled from her core. Midori raises both hands then and focuses on keeping her mind one handseal ahead of the one her fingers are already shifting to. While she's still firm in forming each handseal, there's a marked improvement on the speed of her fingers into the next form, since she's not focusing so intently on making the correct movement for the current form. She still felt it was dreadfully slow, and in a fight, she'd probably still get interrupted, but now she would probably be interrupted by the third handseal instead of the second. While the Genin is certainly already improving, it definitely helps that her use of these handseals in particular is bordering on reflexive.

"Huh. Well, that's already an improvement. Just gotta practice..."

Without needing any further pushing from Etsuko, Midori returns to her work with making all four handseals, learning to visualize the exact movements she can use to form each handseal from the previous, and then working both forwards and backwards through the handseals to further familiarize her hands and fingers with the movement that she wants her hands to make. She could even keep her hands quite close together as she shifts between each seal.

[Jun Etsuko]

"You're doing an amazing job! I'm quite impressed how naturally you're still making those seals." Etsuko would state with a thumbs up, her face clearly showing genuine wonder. Her hair which looked like cat ears stood at attention, as her cheeks puffed up all squirrely. However as it became clear the speed was hitting sort of a limit and the success of the practice was consistent. Etsuko would move in a bit closer to her present student, as her hand which gave an approving thumbs up slowly drifted down to the handle of one of her katana.

"I think it's time for the next step in stepping up your hand seal game. It'll come naturally in combat and there's other ways to trigger it, but you'll notice a step in your speeds when induced with adrenaline. For this session, I am going to slice between each of your handseal motions. So long as you're moving fast enough it'll be harmless!" Etsuko would state without removing her excited demeanor from prior, she was either confident in Midori's skill or perhaps just a few screws short of sane. Though a lot of different sensei's in the shinobi world were a bit cruel to some edge, it wasn't like the battlefield was forgiving.

The Nibi host however wasn't the type to be cruel to her students, they were a reflection of her effort. A potential risk to the progress she'd been making to better herself. Someone she needed to nurture more often than not, so her plan wasn't to actually threaten the girls hands. She'd instead use the difference in their skill and speed to simply shift the out of the path for the brief moment of the hand contact zone. Simultaneously though, she'd channel the cutting force of her wind chakra in the path the blade would travel. Creating the illusion the sword seamlessly passed through the crafted hand seals.

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori is, to put it nicely, somewhat hesitant when Etsuko draws her blade and gives her suggestion to perform the hand seals even faster with the motivation that if she doesn't perform them quickly enough that she'll end up missing fingers. Such a failure would likely mean an end to her ninja career, unless she focuses exclusively on combat with Taijutsu alone, and then only Taijutsu that won't need her to perform hand seals and focus her chakra through the hands.

"Are you insane?!"

Well, Midori was generally quite blunt. She can also see that Etsuko is quite serious, judging by the excitement on her face, and although she's highly opposed to the very idea of using the end of her ninja career when it's only just started as a mere motivating factor to improve her hand seal speed, it's not like she has any better options for teachers. After all, she's the famous jinchuuriki of Takigakure, and she's offering to help her train such a helpful skill. She lets out a bit of a shaky sigh, but she steels herself, not allowing fear to make her hands shake or twitch.

"Fine, but you better hope my fingers can grow back if you're the one that messes up."

Midori starts forming hand seals more quickly than before, focused on forming them correctly rather than the terror danger sharp that slips between her hands every time they come apart from one another to prepare for the next seal. She has to focus on her hand seals, because she knows that if she thinks about anything else, the sword will end up hitting her, or at least she thinks this. She's unaware that with the difference in skill with her hand seals and Etsuko's sword movements, the other woman would be able to avoid slicing apart her fingers rather easily.