The road to Genin[P, Ita]

Birds could be heard chirping their melodic songs outside as a thin ray of light passed through a window pane shining across the drooling face of a young boy, clearly still asleep. A clear ringing sound like the clear chime of a bell began to ring out inside of the bedroom of the young Uchiha. Fumbling to turn off the alarm with his eyes still closed, Jace finally managed to hit the snooze. He opened his right eye to glance at the clock which told him it was just half past six in the morning. 

Jace had set the alarm so early so that he could get to the training grounds before it began to fill with activity from leaf shinobi. He was still an academy student, but he didn't plan on it staying that way for long. Today he was planning on learning the three jutsu that the academy teachers tested students on during the Genin exams. Jace wasn't particularly skilled and his shy personality made it hard for him to train around anyone he didn't feel comfortable with. So, this morning he made sure he would get a chance to start his training before prying eyes had arrived.

Wiping the drool from his mouth, Jace swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up. He clumsily made his way to the bathroom to wash himself and brush his teeth, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake his parents if they hadn't left the house yet. After pulling on his usual black pants, mesh undershirt and white jacket with the Uchiha clan symbol stitched into the back, he made his way downstairs and quickly scarfed down a small bowl of cereal before heading out of the door. 

The sun was just beginning to show itself in the sky over the horizon when Jace arrived at the training grounds. There was a chill in the brisk morning air that sent a small shiver down Jace's spine as he made his way to the far end of training field 3. He stopped in a spot where there was a small river seven meters to his left that stretched 10 meters wide while ten meters in front of him stretched a large expanse of trees that signified the edge of the training field. He had placed himself so that the sun was steadily rising behind him and wouldn't get into his eyes while he worked. 

After taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching him, Jace took a deep breath and steadied his thoughts, readying himself for the first technique. There were three basic techniques taught at the academy that students were tested on during their genin exams: transformation technique, clone technique, and substitution technique. Jace chose the transformation technique to start with. He remembered his few failed attempts during class at performing this jutsu. It wasn't that he was necessarily bad at molding chakra, it was his shy personality that made it hard for him. He felt like the entire class was judging him and he couldn't concentrate on maintaining his form or even holding an image of something in his mind to transform into. This ended up in more than a few failed transformations where he looked more like a poorly crafted paper mache version of a person or animal that a 4 year old made. Of course the transformations only lasted a second or two as well making the class laugh at Jace. 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He promised himself he would master these techniques and pass his genin exam with flying colors this time. He began to go over the seals for the technique in his mind first. Dog-Boar-Ram. Alright. Only three hand seals. Then Jace searched for a picture of something he was intimately familiar with. He ended up focusing on the image of a large black crow. That was what he decided he would transform into. Keeping the image centered in his mind, Jace began to mold his chakra and then finally performed the hand seals: Dog-Boar-Ram. There was a puff of smoke then a large black crow appeared to be standing where Jace had just been. He had managed to transform himself quite adequately. Next, he wanted to make sure he could maintain his form while performing other actions. If he couldn't do that then he hadn't fully mastered the technique. 

A soft caw came out from Jace's beak before he stretched his wings and took off toward the river. It only took him a few seconds to reach it as he flew. Jace tilted his head as he flew in a semi circle over the river intending to head back to his starting point. His reflection in the water showed him just how well he had done with this technique. He was the true image of a large crow. He let out another, louder, caw as he circled over head twice before landing back in his original position. He stayed as a crow for only a few seconds more before releasing the technique.

The sun was at its highest point in the sky. There was also a slight breeze in the air and a few clouds sporadically spread out through the sky. Ita, the boy of only 13, made his way through the wooden front doorway of his modest home where he was temporarily living until he got his shit together. As he exited, the bright sun light blinded him temporarily as he lifted his right hand and positioned it between his line of sight and the sun. He then used the same hand to run it through his jet black hair in order to make some sense of it. Ita was going to be heading to the Leaf’s training grounds today to think things over for a little bit and maybe get some training in or even help some of the academy students there get a training session in. After his last training session with a leaf academy student, Ita had actually started to enjoy being the teacher for once and give back to the community. Was this a step in the right direction for him? Whatever it was, it made the boy feel as though he had a place in the community, that he wasn’t just an outcast. The boy did strive for some degree of acceptance, although he wasn’t sure if acceptance was what he truly longed for. There was a small void in the boy and he was searching for a way to fill it.
 
Regardless, the boy made his way to the training grounds, sporting a loose white shirt that bore no symbol of allegiance and black shinobi pants. Along with that, he wore a pair of black sandals and bore two weapon pouches which were hidden beneath his long loose shirt. The boy also had his konoha head band tied tightly around his forehead, which was a bit unusual as he never really wore it on his head and more strapped to his waist. Ita figured he would wear it while there so that the academy students could recognize help if they needed it.
 

Ita made it to the training grounds in time to observe one of the only other people there transform into a crow, take flight, and land; returning to their original form. Upon further observation, he noticed the boy looked somewhat similar to him and bore an Uchiha symbol on the back of his white shirt. It would be pretty apparent to the boy that Ita was staring at him. Ita also thought to himself that he had never seen him before so he must be an academy student. The symbol on the back intrigued Ita so he figured he would go make small talk since his clans past interested him since he knew very little about it. Ita would simply walk up to the boy who looked around Ita’s age and introduce himself, “Hello, I am Ita a genin of the leaf. I couldn’t help but notice the symbol on your back. Are you a shinobi by any chance?” Ita would wait for the boys response.

As Jace let his transformation end, he was about to start on the next technique he intended on working on when he noticed someone else in the training field with him. The boy seemed to be around Jace's age. They even looked a little similar, as if they could be relatives or something, but Jace had never seen this boy before. He was wearing black shinobi pants and a white shirt and even had jet black hair. What stood out the most to Jace was the leaf headband clearly visible on the boy's forehead. Jace's face paled a little at the realization he had been being watched by a stranger, one who was clearly more experienced than himself. 

The boy calmly walked over to Jace and introduced himself as Ita, a genin of the leaf. He mentioned seeing the Uchiha clan symbol on the back of Jace's shirt and asked if he was a shinobi. This was exactly why Jace had wanted to start his training before anyone got to the training fields. He wasn't very good at meeting new people, his awkwardness usually always kicked in. "H-hello! My-shinobi-is-uchiha-student-training-jace!" he spat out quickly, clearly making no sense. He managed to correct himself before Ita could say anything in response. "Um, I mean....My name is Jace Uchiha. I'm still an academy student sir." There it was, the awkwardness of Jace Uchiha at it's finest. He mentally berated himself about getting so worked up. He had just been asked if he was a shinobi. He made a mental note to work on being less socially awkward in the future. 

At this point in time, after having completely embarrassed himself in front of Ita, Jace would be looking at the ground twiddling his thumbs as he waited for a response. Every few seconds he would glance up to look at Ita while listening to anything the Genin had to say.

Ita, who’s manner was typically calm and his facial expression blank, had seemed a bit cheerful this morning. Ita made a half smile trying to be pleasant as he awaited the boys introduction. Ita was really enjoying meeting new people recently, especial Uchiha’s. The boy’s response was awkward at least, but he did confirm the fact he was an Uchiha and he was an academy student. Him being an academy student wasn’t hard to tell though, based on his awkward body language and gestures, he was clearly a little bit nervous and was probably a bit embarrassed to see someone the same age as him already a higher rank as him, or so he thought anyways. Ita couldn’t help but sympathize with the boy because Ita had gone through a lot to make it to where he was and since this boy was clearly dedicated by showing up so early and working hard as well as being from the same clan as himself, he wanted nothing less than to help him. Maybe they could even be friends. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m guessing you’re trying to train for your Genin exam and I’d be glad to help out if you want.” If the boy so wished Ita would comply to his request. “I haven’t trained many people so sorry if I seem a bit awkward myself.” Ita said, trying to make the boy feel a bit more comfortable. Ita then began to speak once more after taking a deep breath, “I saw you transform earlier. You seemed to have that down and nice choice by the way. I like crows myself.” Ita finished, thinking about the time he signed his crow contract. “I taught another student the other day the substitution technique, I could teach you if you want?” Assuming the boy would be pleased by Ita’s gesture, he would motion to a dead tree nearby, “This will do.” Upon finishing his sentence, Ita raised his hand up and raition illuminated his fingertips, immediately after, a stream of lightning shot from his right hand and he struck the tree, making swift chopping motions and retracting the raition chakra, producing several sizeable logs perfect for training the substitution technique.
 

Where there was stood a dead tree, was now several logs piled up. Ita bent of and picked one up so that it was standing up right. The cuts were all clean and the ends of each log were perfectly straight, a result of Ita’s training and his chidori spear jutsu. “Ok, this technique requires replacing yourself with a nearby object the moment an enimies attack hits you, giving them the idea that their attack indeed landed, but in reality they simply struck an object of your choosing. It’s a good way to get out of a sticky situation.” Ita ended his sentence and made several hand signs, speaking aloud as he created each one, making sure to go slow enough so that he could clearly see which hand signs this technique required. “Tiger-Boar-Ox-Dog-Snake” As soon as Ita finished, there was a puff of smoke and as the smoke cleared Ita appeared to be standing where he was before. Ita then released the jutsu and what appeared to be Ita, turned into one of the logs from earlier in front of the boys eyes. Ita then stepped out from behind a nearby tree. “It’s fairly simple, now you try. If you need help let me know.” Ita said and then leaned against said tree.
TWC: 1097

Jace, who had still been twiddling his thumbs and looking at the ground, looked up in surprise when Ita had offered to help him with his training. Jace wasn't used to strangers helping him train. His father always helped him when he wasn't out on missions but other than that he usually kept to himself. He had already decided he would work on being less shy so after a brief pause Jace would say "Y-yes! That would be great, thank you!" 

He was glad to have someone there to help him with his training. Ita had praised him on his transformation technique and now was about to teach Jace the substitution technique. He followed Ita over to a dead looking tree and stopped only a few meters behind him. Once there, Ita used some kind of lightning technique to chop the tree into a few clean cut and identical logs. Jace listened intently as Ita told Jace that this technique was meant to switch places with a nearby object as an opponent's attack made contact. Of course Jace already knew that much from the academy but he didn't mention that. Instead he just listened respectfully and then watched as Ita demonstrated the technique. He had performed the hand seals clearly and slowly so that Jace could see them. Tiger-Boar-Ox-Dog-Snake. 

Where Ita had been standing there was soon a puff of smoke and in his place was one of the logs Ita had created just a few moments before. Jace looked around to see if he could see where Ita had gone. He saw the Genin almost immediately come out from behind a nearby tree. He told Jace it was pretty simple and for Jace to go ahead and give it a try. 

Jace closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself for his attempt at this jutsu. There was a soft breeze across his face. He could feel the warmth of the sun on his back. After a few brief seconds he opened his eyes, ready to begin. Slowly, he would perform the hand seals: Tiger-Boar-Ox-Dog-Snake. He molded his chakra and tried to imagine himself being replaced by one of the logs that Ita had laid out for him. There was a sudden puff of smoke and where Jace had been standing was now one of the logs that Ita had created for Jace to use. A second later Jace stepped out from the tree directly to Ita's left. "I think I have that one down. Should we move onto the clone jutsu, sir?"

Ita stood leaning against a tree waiting for the boy to attempt the jutsu he had just showed him. Ita watched closely as Jace performed the correct hand signs and completed the jutsu perfectly on his first attempt. Ita couldn’t help but be impressed. This Uchiha’s raw talent for learning jutsu was comparable to his own. Even though the technique was beginner level, he still was able to do it in one shot. Not even Ita was able to do that when he was an Academy student, although he was a bit younger at the time. After watching the event go down, Ita couldn’t help but feel a new spark of interest manifesting itself within him. This was going to be very interest to say the least. The boy then appeared next to Ita behind the tree, stating that he had gotten the jutsu down and was ready to move onto the next technique, which was the clone technique.
 
Teaching these academy jutsu made Ita reminisce of his time as an academy student, which felt like it was only yesterday. This technique in particular was one of Ita’s favorite. Ita spoke to Jace, “Well you sure are a fast learner, but not as fast at me.” Ita stated in a half serious voice as he was only trying to feel out the boy and see what he was about. For the most part, he seemed pretty serious about becoming a strong shinobi, and he did in fact bare the Uchiha’s genes. He just lacked some self-confidence. Maybe it was wrong of Ita to assume such a thing, because he too felt a bit shy at first when he was just in the academy. Regardless, Ita would move on with their training.
 
“For this technique, I’m going to be doing something a bit different as I have to do some training myself while I’m here.” On that note, Ita bit his finger and place his hand on the ground. A seal covered the surface and Ita summoned roughly 10 crows in that location and he then stood up straight once more. What happened next would most likely confuse the academy student a little bit. The crows began moving strangely and then crowding together, some flocking and some simply scampering across the earth’s surface. The crows then morphed together in a black mass, eventually producing an exact clone replica of Ita. Ita then spoke to the boy who was now staring at two Itas’. “This is my crow clone technique. My clone will be training you for the rest of this lesson as I have some training to tend to.” Before Ita took off, he would say one more thing to him, “Oh, and when you finish your Genin exam and get a cool headband like this..” Ita said while pointing to his Konohagakure head band with his right hand, “Then come find me.” Ita would end on that note, knowing fully that once the boy graduated the academy he would search him out in search of his knowledge. Ita then raised one hand and disappeared in a blur of speed, leaving a single leaf, which floated slowly to the ground in the exact area he had been standing before.
 
Now Ita’s crow clone stood in front of Jace ready to finish the lesson and return from where it had come. The clone spoke, “Well I assume you are ready to carry on the lesson.” Ita’s clone lacked Ita’s somewhat growing, bubbly personality, but was still able to get the job done. “The clone technique is like my crow clone technique, except for the fact that it isn’t a tangible clone and can’t really do much but fool your opponent.” The clone spoke. “It’s fairly simple. Follow my lead and try and clear your head and concentrate. You should be fine seeing as you were able to transform easily before.” The clone then spoke out loud as he formed the following three hand signs so that the boy could learn. “Ram. Snake. Tiger.” Immediately after finishing the last hand sign, a replica of Ita’s crow clone appeared directly a meter away from him. Ita’s clone then proceeded to wave his hand through the clone, to show him that it was indeed intangible. The clone would then wait for the student to try it, if he succeeded as fast as he did before, the clone would wait and try to accommodate the boy further if he had anymore requests. If the boy was all set, the clone would simply disperse into 10 crows and they would soar into the sky, eventually disappearing in a puff of smoke and returning to their dimension. After they returned, all the information that the crow clone had received and relayed would then be transmitted to Ita himself.
 
Meanwhile.., Ita had body flickered to an area not too far away from Jace and his clone, but out of their line of sight. Ita wanted to take this time to get in some extra Chidori training, as he had been neglecting the technique for some time. The area which he had gone had some logs which Ita had put together prior to this engagement. He then proceeded to line them up, in different angle and formations as though they were enemies. Ita would then stand before them and perform several hand signs, weaving them masterfully. As he finished the last hand sign, he would thrust his right hand down and grip his wrist with his left hand. The sound of a thousand birds chirping would fill the air and the raition chakra surging through his right hand would cast a blue hue onto the ground. Next, Ita would dash towards the first cluster of logs and elegantly, but brutally quick thrust his chidori through each log, turning them to nothing but wood chips. Ita would then continue this type of training until every last log had been reduced to saw dust. The more Ita trained Chidori, the easier for him it was to perform the technique and the longer he was able to use it for. As he trained, he thought hard about the Uchiha he had gotten to meet today. He sure did excel in the new technique he had taught him, much faster than the other academy student he had taught the other day. Ita hoped that they would meet again someday, and maybe they could even be friends or even develop a healthy rivalry where they could push each other to their limits. Whatever happened next was not up to him. Ita would simply wait it out. Ita now stood panting, using up most of his chakra by now. He figured it was time to take a break and get something to eat, maybe stop for ramen? Ita raised his right sleeve to his forhead and whipped off the sweat before turning and leaving the training grounds in search of a good meal.
[Pending exit depending on Jace]
[Pending claim: 2254 TWC, 2254 words towards Chidori Mastery, 11 stats]

Ita would tell Jace that he was a quick learner but not as quick as Ita after seeing him perform the substitution technique perfectly on his first attempt. Of course what Ita didn't know was that Jace had been practicing these three techniques at the academy so it wasn't exactly his first time performing them. Still, he needed to make sure he had them down for his genin exam later today. 

Jace listened and watched as Ita told Jace that he would be doing something slightly different for this technique. Ita bit his finger and placed his hand on the ground. Ten crows appeared from a puff of smoke and flocked together to take the shape of an exact replica of Ita. Ita would tell Jace that it was his crow clone and it would be finishing training Jace on the clone technique so that the real Ita could work on some training for himself. Ita would then tell Jace that when he became a Genin he should search him out. Then Ita disappeared into thin air, leaving only Jace and the crow clone left behind. 

The clone said something about assuming Jace was ready to continue and went on to explain that the clone technique was similar to the crow clone technique except the clone Jace would be creating was intangible. The clone would then slowly and pointedly perform the few hand seals needed to perform the technique. Like the original, the crow clone made sure that Jace could easily see what needed to be done. After it had performed the hand seals, a copy of the clone would appear one meter to the clone's right. The crow clone would wave his hand through the clone he had just made to show Jace that it was indeed intangible. 

Ita's clone would tell Jace to go ahead and try the clone technique after he had demonstrated it. He always teased Jace a little about his confidence, but it seemed to be in more of a playful manner. Jace blushed a bit at that remark and mumbled something about working on it, though the clone probably couldn't hear him. Jace quickly focused his mind again and tried to picture himself. He began molding his chakra as he kept the image of himself centered in his mind. Finally, he weaved the necessary seals. Ram-Snake-Tiger. There was a puff of smoke and just one meter to Jace's right appeared an exact replica of the young academy student. It didn't look anything like the crappy paper mache images he had produced before. No. This was a true replica of Jace. Jace flexed his right arm in front of his chest and watched as the clone he had created copied his movements. He turned to look at Ita's clone and smiled before finally releasing the clone in another puff of smoke. 

"I think I got this one down too. Thank you for all your help! I need to get going so I can make it to my Genin exam on time" he said to the crow clone, letting a little pride creep into his voice this time. He would then watch as the clone disappeared before his eyes. Jace thought that crow clone technique was pretty cool. He made a mental note to ask Ita to teach him it the next time they ran into each other. Jace would then leave the training fields, heading off to the academy for his exam.
[exit]

TWC: 2166

Claiming clone, substitution and transformation techniques and 10 stats

I'll approve..