Having been summoned some days ago to meet with the great owl sages, Kosuke was astonished at the scenery that was all around him. The very essence of this place screamed nature. From the lush pine forests made of trees bigger than he had ever seen, and cliffsides overlooking an ocean, he was astounded at the Owl’s summoning realm. He had been called here to learn the use of a sacred technique passed through the generations of owl summoners, but it wouldn’t be easy or simple and the great owl elder had to help him. His name was Fukurojii. He took Kosuke to a sacred place where he could learn how to harness the very energy abundant in nature and use it for himself. He hadn’t had much luck with it thus far, but the great elder told him to keep returning here until he could access it.
Kosuke arrived at the waterfall to work on one of the more important skills he would be able to develop. He had made a lot of progress with regards to his chakra levels, but it was time for something new. He could feel the senjutsu energy flowing into him, slowly but surely. He could still feel that it wasn't yet balanced with his current chakra reserves and as such wouldn't be sufficient to enter the famed "Sage Mode" but it would be to that point soon enough, he just had to focus and be patient. As he meditated, he glanced over the shrubs and lily pads dotting the pond. Thinking of how peaceful it was here. He felt that he could get lost in the tranquility around him, but for the moment he focused inwards. He could feel a warmth growing within himself. It was slowly growing to match what he could feel of his own chakra. Thinking of chakra and nature chakra, he knew that the body naturally produced yin and yang chakra, physical and spiritual, that mixed inside of the body to form the normal chakra reserves.
Then, for one to enter sage mode, they had to gather enough nature chakra to balance out the equation so to speak. He could feel that his natural chakra that he had gathered thus far was at around two thirds of his maximum chakra levels. This is what he could estimate anyways. Next, one had to remain completely still, which was much harder to accomplish than drawing the chakra in on its own. It was in a human's basic needs to move and be in motion of some sort at all times. This fact in and of itself was what made sage training as difficult a task as it was. This is why most people learned from animal sages or didn't learn it at all, simply because it was such a difficult form to learn and even more difficult to master. It was the moment he achieved the delicate balancing act within himself that he felt it. A calming aura spread around him and he felt at one with everything around him, the air, the trees and even the water falling down in front of him. He was actually in sage mode now.
He could feel the different creatures moving about the island, and even his sensei who was off training. He could feel his chakra was far stronger than before. He also felt his body was far superior to how it had been before. Much like a rush of excess energy that empowered him and gave him the tools he needed to defeat almost any opponent. He felt almost as strong as when he had fought using all his power, but this was just much more connected to everything. He felt at one with the world, and this granted him strength and insight into the inner workings of a grander picture than he would have ever imagined had he not attained sage mode. So sensing was a major part of this ability, next came the physical enhancement, then there was the strength he could feel, he felt that his chakra had been supercharged and that any jutsu he used would show this. Forming a fireball was now second nature, it formed instantly and effortlessly, he wondered how he had ever casted the jutsu before now. But that was most certainly not the only thing he noticed about this form.
He could also feel that his understanding of nature had gained insight. As he could now feel the inner workings of a body that he was working on, he would be better suited to healing than he had been in his original form. He could only imagine the ramifications of combining this ability with his fighting styles or with Fukuroichi and the strength and power he would have then. He looked out at the trees, observing a bug fly about around a bush that was nearly 100 meters away. It had improved his senses beyond that of what was normal for even someone as powerful at base as he was. Looking at his own hand, he could feel his chakra was surging with excitement of how he could use this form to help himself grow stronger and faster, to help him act as the guardian of his precious people that he longed to be. He was not power hungry by any means, but with this power, he knew he stood a better chance of defending his friends and family from any threat that he came across. The animals in the surroundings seemed to have gotten somewhat relaxed too, if the feeling he was getting from the area was anything to go by. The owls that dotted the sky flying about seemed to enjoy the feeling he was giving off.
Releasing the form, he would smile to himself. That would prove to be invaluable in his battle with future opponents and his ultimate fight with Shojin to prove his skill. He was glad he had found the tome that contained the knowledge of the techniques. He could only imagine how this would improve his techniques, the power that the form gave him was just unreal. Thinking of the peaceful chakra that it gave off he was amazed that his own chakra could feel that way. For one that was as aggressive in combat as he tended to be, he was amazed he was able to calm his chakra down so much as he was. Walking slowly back to his house, he couldn’t help but feel accomplished in his improvement during the day thus far. He had succeeded in mastering the use of sage mode and he would now be able to go into the form during combat and thus would be able to match most any opponent he came across. But that only opened new doors for improvement to his training. He was only getting started, not reaching an apex. He was still at the base of his mountain of improvement.
Training started when Kosuke was just waking up, with the grand elder sitting him down with Kosuke’s summon Fukuroichi and his two elder siblings to explain something they already knew but he needed to hear. The somber look on his face was enough to tell Kosuke of the gravity of what was to be discussed. The man started, sitting across from the three of them on mats in the sitting area of the house, clearing his throat before he began to speak, “Alright, your siblings already know this, but it is time that you learned the truth as well. Kosuke, we owls are but one of the summoning clans held by those in the leaf. We aren’t well known yet, but if you train hard and learn all the things we have to teach you, then you can surely become even stronger. Fukuroichi and his two siblings have already learned the things I have to teach you. But it is now time for you to begin your own training.”
It was a few weeks later that Kosuke found himself taking a long trek up the side of a mountain following closely behind the Grand Elder. He had been told that his training would begin in earnest over the coming months where he would be training in their family's facility at the top of a nearby mountain peak. Something about how thin the air was there is what’s so special about the area. The higher up the mountain he got, the more he understood why that was important as he found it harder and harder to breathe properly. As they reached the peak of the mountain, the Grand Elder began to explain to him about the importance of proper breathing for an owl summoner as their ability to fly with their summons was critical and flying high, meant less air available which could be detrimental, particularly for fire style users like kosuke as he required proper breathing to utilize most of his jutsu. They remained on the mountaintop for what felt like a full year, but was really just a month or so where he learned to focus on his breathing and did a ton of physical conditioning in the limited oxygen environment. By the time he was ready to come back down, the twelve year old was in much better shape than he had been in the past and he felt like he was ready for the challenges that awaited him back at their family home.
When he finally made it home, he was given a week to rest and prepare himself for the next phase of his training, which would be with the Grand Elder. When the time came, he met him outside the house, which was quiet since fukuroichi’s sister was off on missions and his brother was gone for his sage test. “Our family has used a unique style of weapon throughout the generations. It is known as a whip sword or sometimes a snake sword due to the way it can be used as either a normal blade or it can come apart into numerous bladed compartments attached to a steel cable that connects them to each other and then to the hilt of the blade. It is a versatile weapon but can be dangerous without the proper training.” With that, his training began in learning to use his summon family’s traditional weapon style. It started with training in katas with a wooden kendo stick to get used to using a sword. He practiced with that for weeks on end that turned into months before he moved to using a whip for training as opposed to a blade. After around six weeks of that he finally was out training with a blunted replica of the actual whip sword he would eventually be using with their family’s style. It took a month, but he was finally able to master the basic Katas and forms.
His next year was spent training with both the Grand Elder and Fukuroichi in learning the movements and breathing techniques for what they called perfect synchronization. They said it was best suited to him as he was so in tune with working with Fukuroichi. He learned the visualizations for the techniques which usually had a pink or violet line that his blade would follow either in sword or whip form. It was here that he learned even more from his summons. the Grand Elder was a master of sage mode and the Grand Elder had mastered the use of all forms of elemental manipulation regarding fire and wind ninjutsu, but both of them knew he was the best there was to learn from. He had learned a lot from the two of them and had managed to master several of the forms they taught him in the course of the two months that he did the training and they told him that he only had a couple more years of training left before he was ready for the final selection test if he still wanted to become a slayer. But he had already made his mind up to become one as he wanted to do his part to defend his family and everyone else against the demon threat.
In his final month of training, he was taken back to the top of the mountain to take the final test that members of his family had to take before they were allowed to leave the house and take on the final sage test. He had to get through an obstacle course in the middle of the night with only a dimly lit pathway to guide him in the proper direction for the course. He took off running through the obstacles climbing and ducking around the various obstacles, following his sharp sense of sight to find the lanterns and avoid the traps which held a metallic glint in them or even the slightest footprint of his summons where they had set the traps for him. It took him three hours to get through the course and come out at the bottom of the mountain, which was the second fastest time only beaten by fukuroichi’s sister. It was once he finished this test that his summons considered him to be truly ready to take on the rigors of life as an owl summoner and to carry their summoning family’s legacy forward with pride and passion. So, after another few weeks of mentally and physically preparing himself, he was going to leave home to head where he needed to go, with the knowledge that it was going to be the hardest thing he had ever attempted to do in his entire life, he knew he would need to keep his wits about him if he wanted to pass the tests of time and follow in his summon’s footsteps to being a true sage.
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Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:45 am by Guest
