GreedyShadow
Posts : 26
Join date : 2014-11-21
 | | Subject: Kujira Hoshigaki's Sage Training. Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:07 pm | |
| Kujira Sage training Part 1, Water
(This is Kujiras Sage Training Part 1 out of 20 Parts.)
Kujira Hoshigaki, a Large Blue warrior among the mists, sat peaceful on a platform surrounded by water yet the water still being so low that you could see the pillar that held the rock above the surface. A single drop of water falling into the pool around him every so often. He sat upon the stone, a special stone that drained him of his energy and chakra, to remain together, should he fall into the water, his training would fail and he would have to start all over again. He had been there for 7 days learning the first part of his training, the trial of Patience. Kujira Continues to drain his chakra into the stone while he meditates, he had gotten tired but he would not crack. He remembered starting the training 7 days ago.
*Flashback 7 days ago*
On an island, Days, maybe even weeks away from most civilization by the fastest boat, Kujira stood in front of the giant Hippopotamus, The great animal being so large that if it were to move, Kujira believed it may tip the island back into the sea from which he had summoned it back from. Kujira gave a polite bow to the creature, treating it with respect as he said. “I have received your message from Kokou, and I thank you for this opportunity to learn from you and all of the Hippo clan” Kujira said and the hippo gave a small hum, its giant mouth opening briefly as it replied.
“Kujira Hoshigaki, Warrior of the mist, you have been judged worthy of this training, do not thank us . . . for by the end of it you will be certain of your mistake. . . I promise you that, you will suffer through 20 different Elements, and each element has its own trials. The first few will be done by us . . . however . . . other elements you will need to travel to different lands and harsher weather conditions to truly study these elements to their full extent. . . You will Face Challenges from Water, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Fire, Ice, Blue flame, Dust, Storm, Lava, Plasma, Crystal, Wood, Boiling, White flame, and then you will face the final 6 elements . . . Light, Dark, Life, Death, Chaos, And then peace. After you have seen the glories of these elements and truly have seen nature itself in all forms will you be proclaimed a Sage . . . However you will not be alone, for every challenge, we the Hippo clan will stand by you and teach you what we have learned”
The White hippo then moves around a bit and giving a big yawn, Calls another hippo forward “Now go with him . . . and you will start the first Trial for Water. . .”
Kujira nods and a second hippo, much smaller than the boss Hippo, lead him to a large stone platform 10 feet above what looked to be a dried out pool. “Now for your First trial you must Learn patience, Go . . . stand on that rock there . . . and we will begin” Kujira does so, gracefully standing on the rock, just as he did so however a large crack in sued and the rock began to tip. “Don’t let it fall or you fail!” Kujira heard briefly before focusing his chakra into the rock, stopping its movement literally gluing the rock back with a constant stream of chakra.
Kujira turned to the hippo and frowned “Warning would have been . . . nice . . . “Kujira says with a bit of a chuckle, as he wavers slightly balancing on the rock ‘oh boy . . . this won’t be easy . . . ‘
The Hippo merely laughed “Warning? This is Training . . . and for first trial is the Patience of water, part 1 of 3 parts of training. You must remain steady and patient, and let the water slowly refill the pool. Only when it is truly full can you leave the rock . . . then you will have learned the patience of water” the hippo said and Kujira tilted his head.
“What wat-“ He was cut off just as a single drop fell from a small cliff side, and a few seconds later a second drop, the slow but steady dropping continuing and Kujira’s eyes widening as the slow amount of water.
“Well . . . that is going to take a while . . . “Kujira could already feel the drain and the hippo proceeded to leave Kujira there on the rock. Kujira looked at the sun high in the sky, even as it burned his skin and dried him quickly. ‘Oh lord . . . ‘
*Flashback end*
7 days . . . an entire week since he had eaten, drank, or even spoken with another intelligent human being. It was then Kujira sighed as he began to blink from tiredness, he had not slept either. It was then Kujira began to finally become more in touch with the water itself. Water was Time, it never truly stopped, and eventually it would succeed where others have failed. Water was more persistent then any Shinobi could ever be. Soon he began to see things he would normally know as illusions, from fever or lack of food and sleep, but in his state they were a god send, telling him to surrender and give up, yet Kujira didn’t, he remained still as stone.
Day 8, Hunger had gotten to him, he felt its burn in his stomach, for the first few days it was normal and the pain dulled, but it had returned in full force Draining more of his energy even as he sat. Kujira closed his eyes briefly, before his ears heard a small sound, an unmistakable sound to his blood thirsty body. The sound of prey, or in this case a small squirrel jumping from the trees. The squirrel climbs up one of the trees and at that moment Kujira hatched a tiny plan. A few minutes later the squirrel landed in front of Kujira, strangely a small pile of ‘acorns’ on a pedestal where Kujira once sat. The squirrel jumping up would sniff the nuts and greedily reached for one. Just as he did though Kujira snapped his jaws. The pedestal and acorns being a small Henge disguising Kujira, and his acorns actually being his teeth. Blood dripping from his mouth, along with a tail sticking out, Kujira sucked the tail in like a bit of pasta and continued to meditate, slightly full now.
Day 10, now he was truly in pain, from the lack of sleep and the thirst, was too much for him to bare much longer, even as he watched the waters slowly fill. Kujira’s chakra waned slightly, the waters nearly filled the pool below him, yet always seem to stray just a few inches from full, the sun evaporating a good portion. The drip slowing to a crawl overnight. Kujira groaned a bit and took a small sip of the water, knowing that he could ration a bit, but it might cost him latter. ‘This trial is not meant to be beaten . . . but it is waning on my mind, what is the true purpose . . . it can’t truly be this. . I’ve accepted this too quickly . . .'
It was not until the 13th day did he notice the water did not continue to raise, he found the problem was a small crack would drain the water as it reached a point. Kujira sighed, he could not go any further, but that was when he had an epiphany. Kujira slowly raised his shaky hands up, and with great Reluctance. . He let the stone drop. He could not fight the water, because to be more persistent then water was to be more persistent then time itself.
The hippo returned and with a small smile on his face he spoke. “So . . . Have you figured the first part yet? You’ve been here long enough. . I am impressed. . 13 days must be a new record . . . we don’t last an hour”
Kujira Sweat drops at that but sighs as he nods to the Hippo “Time . . . Water is time. . . Like the endless sands of an hourglass. . Water will never stop, it will forever run. . . “The hippo nodded at the answer.
“Good. . . Now you know of Waters Endurance, you will learn the next lesson now, it will not be so easy I assure you . . . and this is the easiest of the 20 elements you will learn!”
Trial 2. Waters flexibility
The Hippo begins to lead Kujira to a large river, the River being 30 feet across and extremely fast as it moves down the water way. Kujira tilts his head at the river, knowing he helped form this river, but he never imagined it would be so rough. The hippo looks up at Kujira and gives a smirk.
“Heh Don’t be too proud . . . This was like this before you rebuilt the island. . .it’s a special formation of rocks, it isn’t hard to recreate but you managed it so I’ll give ya that. . . the Waters are moving at the fastest speed they possibly can for any river, see how there’s no rocks? There all whipped clean. . . Your trial is to somehow shrink the rivers edges . . . you may use any means you can. . Remember water is patient though. . And persistent....” The hippo would then begin to walk away again but before he does he turns his head back and says “Oh also you have as much time as you wish. Please rest and eat for a few days . . . 13 days on a rock in the sun is tough on a shinobi, and would kill a normal human . . . “
Kujira staggered over and without a word dropped down on his face onto the grassy edge of the river “I need to rest . . . and eat then I will continue this training . . . dear lord this is what it takes to become a sage?” Kujira would roll over, flat on his back under a tree resting his eyes, the Hippos nearby would not stop him, and they knew he spent 13 days without sleep or food, he can rest for the moment.
Kujira awoke after that blinking his eyes a bit and then checked his internal clock as well as the sun above him. “Hmm . . . seems like I’ve gotten a full 24 hours of sleep . . . good better than a coma heh . . . ugh . . .” Kujira held his stomach a bit before with a shark like urgency he growled and leapt into the river, the surprisingly deep river. ‘I need FOOOD! MEAT! RAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!’ Kujira having suffered days without food, only just resting, seemed to grow angry and excited at the same time instinctively as he searched for fish, literally eating them in a single bite. It was hours later he would finally fight the current and return to shore soaked and tired before laying back down. “My god . . . a blood feast . . . that had been my first one in a long time. . .” Kujira sat up and cracked his neck, it was time he gave some actual thought, now that his blood rage had cooled and his body rejuvenated itself.
‘Alright . . . the first trial of this training was hard . . . but the answer was simple, it was to teach me . . . it also knocked me from my arrogance pretty damn hard. If I’m going to get through this I need to truly think on my goals . . . but I also need to experiment and do my best to try every method . . . now the river flows fast, very strongly might I add, and its already pretty deep, maybe even 10 or 15 feet, the source of this river may be multiple rivers but the mountain but group together and go through a large incline. . It’s nearly a vertical slope . . . where is this water coming from?’ Kujira looked up the river, even as the trees began to block his view, it was obvious that the river began to form up several miles up hill.
‘Hmm . . . I have an idea. . But I wish to see what would happen if I tried to slow the river down with some boulders first, maybe even try with some water manipulation. . might be good to actually use this as an exercise before I solve its true puzzle . . . ‘ Kujira nodding to himself walked over to one of the large boulders, a large rock while not the largest down the river, seemed to be a good test subject. Kujira lifting his hands placed them onto the side of the rock. . And pushed.
It took a good few seconds, but the rock began to give way and slammed into the river, with a huge clash. After a minute Kujira took some breaths and looked at the rock ‘hmm . . . that seemed to work. . but it can’t have been that easy. . . why else- oh’ And just like his prediction a large crack sounded, before the force of the water literally tore through the boulder like sharks ripping into the flesh of a corpse, before finally the boulder broke to piece and the rocks disappeared.
“Well that didn't work . . . should have expected that. . . “Kujira laughed as he sat back down resting his arms as he looked at the mountain and took a deep breath, spreading his senses he began to meditate and listen to the flow of the water up stream.
‘. . . The rivers are the source, Water is versatile. And powerful. With time water can conquer all things however . . . water is easily distracted and delayed, that is its weakness. . . I have to divide the rivers. . But how. . Ah I see’ Kujira grinned, a plan forming in his mind as he stood and began to climb the mountain following the rivers path. Avoiding loose stones and easily making his way up.
‘A large hill is nothing. I will move onto the last trial. . .’ Kujira thought to himself, as he bounced on a tree and followed the river, he knew what he needed to do. It took him hours even on foot, but finally he made it to the first break of the river. And he examined the 2 rivers that joined together. ‘Hmm . . . how interesting. There appear to be 2 rivers that join, which much help the flow . . .but the 2 still seem quite strong. . .the one from the east must be a side river, yet the north river is still quite strong. . . I see. . I need to stop the smaller rivers to weaken the main river . . . but to do that I need to form a trench. . . ‘
Kujira jumping onto a high rock, looked below at the 2 rivers, taking a deep breath he raised his arms up and formed a horse seal, with large bursts of chakra Kujira forced the water from the smaller river . . . and formed a large wedge. ‘I can’t turn the river itself . . .i need to dig out the path before I smooth the river out. . . .after that the water will form a new river’ Kujira thought to himself as he used the giant water wedge and forced it into the ground near the branch river, it took hours, by the time he was finished the sun had begun to fall, but the trench was nearly complete.
Kujira took some breathes and raised his arm, and with 1 more burst of energy broke the last barrier holding the river from forming a new path. The water went slowly at first, picking up a steady speed before it seemed to form a new river going farther away from the main one successfully. ‘Good . . . it worked. . Now to cut it off from the other path. . ‘ Kujira though as he began to throw rocks and boulders into the river again, this time placing them perfectly and stacking them correctly, even using his earth chakra to mash them together ‘with this wall in place. . . it won’t be inclined to form back. . .perfect. . .’ Kujira rested by the river bank and seeing the sun fall over the land and begin to darken around him, he decided to set up camp.
‘I’ll continue forward tomorrow, I think about 3 more rivers like that will slow the force of the powerful water flow, but no point in doing it at night where I could mess up . . . now I need to find a place to sleep.’
It didn’t take long for Kujira to use the environment around him to create a Campsite. A simple tent, and bed was all he needed for tonight, if he felt like it he may have made a campfire as well but decided to just get a few hours of sleep and to keep moving in the morning. Kujira sighed in his little tent made of branches and sticks, hearing the calm flow of water on both sides of him as he began to drift into sleep.
His eyes opened immediately once the sun had hit his eyes from the opening and he stood up and walked outside. Giving a large stretch and a yawn Kujira began to go through his normal stretches and getting the kinks from his joints. Crack snap crack, was the sound that followed as he began to move his joints and stretch them to capacity. ‘Alright . . . let’s move!’ Kujira grinned at the thought and began to move up river once again, the land slowly turning into a large swamp like forest surrounding him.
As he entered the forest he found that the next river may be a bit tougher to dislocate, due to the trees that seem to be in his way. The stood like normal trees but there roots seem to hold the ground tighter. After a while Kujira began to dig another trench, and just like he feared . . . the roots stopped the water significantly. ‘Hmm . . .This won’t work’ Kujira though letting the water fall. ‘Well it will but may take me days. . There must be a better way. . .’
Kujira thinks for a bit, but then spots a giant rock on the top of a hill ‘That’ll do. . . ‘ It didn’t take long for Kujira to make his way up, he sat on top of the giant boulder and held his thumb out, testing the wind, just as he does so he falls backwards off the rock. Landing on the ground he delivers a devastating punch, blowing up the rock from its base and sending it crashing down the rock tearing through the roots and trees forming a larger trench. “HAH! GOT IT!” after that the new river was formed with ease and Kujira continued his journey, stopping to eat a bit and drink occasionally.
Trial 3: Balance
Kujira climbed the mountain, using tricks and his abilities to fix the rivers, but as he reached a large clearing he found a sight that made his eyes widen. 3 giant hippos sitting in the clearing, each of huge size. “Oh your finally here . . . took you long enough been waiting for days . . . hahaha” The hippo on the left said laughing.
“Oi oi. Don’t pick on him too much, those rivers you made were tough to fix . . . besides have you seen his gut? Hardly any bulk there he’s so tiny. . “The right hippo said joining in the laugh making Kujira Stare blankly and blink a bit.
“. . . Ah so you set the rivers like that . . . Knew it didn’t seem natural. . “Kujira remarked as he relaxed his stance and scratches his arm a bit. “So . . . I’m guessing that was the Second test. .. There must be another am I right?” Kujira said grinning even as the middle hippo tilted his head.
“Heh . . . slow down there Kujira-san . . . so you learned from the first test . . . that water is patient . . . What have you learned this time?” the hippo shifted around getting comfortable.
“. . . Water can be Violent, and persistent. . It will fight against anything in its way, it can’t truly be fought but its power can be divided. . . Water is like a Raging force that will fight through defenses despite inevitability” Kujira said without much hesitation and the Hippo nodded.
“Good . . . I knew this would be easy for you . . . Since you live with water and breath its power. . However. . There is one more thing I don’t know you know yet . . . the final Trial. . . Survive!” The hippos without hesitation stood up and opened there mouths and Kujira looked down into them, unsure of what to think, just as the water came pouring out like a giant faucet making his eyes widen. “oh cra-“ Kujira is hit with the water and sent flying away into the river, the water forcing him down the river violently.
Kujira tries and tries to stabilize himself yet for some reason it seems useless, the water was too strong he could barely move his limbs. Bang1 his head hit a rock Bang then his leg. BANG! That time his shoulder, it seemed Endless as he flew down the river. Just when all hope was lost. Looked to his side and saw. . A Baby hippo floating peaceful past him. His eyes followed the hippo and just as it neared a rock. . It jumped off the rock and continued to flow with the river. Kujira blinked and he moved his body into position, he placed his hands in front of him and saw the rock coming up fast. He pushed the rock . . . and floated for a bit but then the rocks came again, and he pushed. He continued to do this until finally he was safely into the lake at the bottom.
The finish
The Hippos that inhabited the lake paid no mind as the giant amount of water was added to their bathing lakes. In fact some were rather pleased by it and shook their heads a bit as it splashed them like some sort of giant slide. Kujira swam to the surface, and for the first time in his life he actually got OUT of the water and laid down on its surface. A large White Hippo wades through the waters towards him, this hippo much larger than all the rest by a huge factor. The hippo stops in front of him, the water balancing once again as the Hippo lowers its head to Kujira and speaks. “Hey are you alright there Kuji? Took quite the tumble. . . “
Kujira looks up at the Hippo and groans. “Ya know, this has been the most exhausting 20 days I’ve ever had . . . And I’m pretty sure there’s going to be more to this . . . so want to just tell me what happens now?” Kujira said as he slowly stood up, shakily to his feet.
The White hippopotamus nods sagely and slowly turns through the water, creating large waves making the smaller hippos shake their heads and some to move away. “Alright . . . I owe you that much, Follow me and I will show you the final ‘test’ as it were . . . Well not really a test more of a proving grounds. . .’ The hippo then began to lead Kujira towards the land.
Soon both hippos were walking down a large pathway, walking through grass and a small dirt road, the giant White hippo stopped at the cliff side and turned his head. “Right up ahead is the Cave you seek . . . it is guarded by Time/Space barrier seals, but it will let you inside. It has been there since before this island fell, and has been there since it was rebuilt. When you enter, follow these instructions. Sit down into the middle of the seal, in front of you will be a large Sage Crystal that will judge you, if you are Judge not worthy then the process will do nothing. . .but if you are worthy then you will know” The hippo says before walking away, its massive steps shaking the trees leaving Kujira to his fate.
Kujira gulps a bit, he hadn’t been this nervous since he had an actual Jounin teacher as a Genin. Slowly walking forward Kujira made note of the barrier seals that flashed when he entered, signally his change into a new dimension. He walked down the cave for about 5 minutes, he was sure he was in the heart of the mountain now, just as he was on the 6th minute he finally entered a small room, in front of him was a massive Crystal with a purple rope surrounding it loosely. He entered the room, looking at the massive amounts of seals that adorned the walls, but more specifically locating the Kanji symbols that glowed around the room. 20 different kanji symbols, each with a different color. He looked at them briefly but noticed the Blue kanji was the symbol for Water.
Sitting down in the room he noticed that it was complete silence, not even an echo, he briefly wondered . . . where this location was. Of course he had no other time to think as all the seals around him began to glow. Kujira gulped again and waited. He had been through the water trials and this was his moment of truth. Suddenly the glowing stopped and Kujira lowered his head in shame. ‘I guess I’m not ready . . .’
Just then a blue glow erupted from the Water kanji making Kujira raise his head back and blink at the symbol. Just as he stared the kanji began to. . Float out of the wall, and form . . . Into a Blue crystal looking ball, but the ball itself had the Kanji symbol adorning its face. The kanji for water floated towards him and then entered into his body disappearing.
Nothing else happened then but Kujira raised his hand. As though something was telling him to focus, he did so and the blue orb came out of his hand. “I . . . I did it . . . but if that was just for one . . .” Kujira looked back at the 19 other orbs. “They weren’t kidding when they said 20 challenges. . . “
Kujira then walked from the cave and returned to the White hippo. The walk was peaceful, like a weight had been lifted but yet unfulfilling as though he wasn’t yet complete. The White hippo turned to him and nodded. “I see . . . So you have proved yourself worthy for the water orb . . . and if you are smart you saw the other 19 orbs . . . yet your training is far from over . . . but it’s a start eh?”
“Yes . . . I saw the orbs, and yes this will be a difficult journey . . . But every sage must begin somewhere and a true sage does not give up so easily! Hoshigaki- no. . . I DO NOT give up so easily. Please teach me the ways of the Hippopotamus and the Secrets of the Elements” Kujira then Bowed low, giving his full respect to the Hippo
“Calm yourself Kujira. We will help you with the next few challenges, but after that you must journey on your own! And seek new teachers for we cannot help you for the entire journey, a Sage’s knowledge is gathered from nature, not by voice or Ear” Kujira just nods to the wisdom and continues to smile. He had completed his first challenge, He knew he was ready for the next.
End | |
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