Monkey Business... (Solo Training)

Yamazu, after all his years away, had finally returned to his home. Not the village he was born in, but the temple he had been raised in. The monks, bless their hearts, had believed that he was some great warrior prophesied to be given to them with no regret in the hearts of those that dwelled with him. True, he had been given to the monks. And true, he had been given without any regret (most of the villagers were glad to see the back of him since he was such a mischief-maker). And true again was the fact that he turned out to be a decent shinobi that in his prime had managed to take down one of the legendary tailed beasts pretty much on his own. But Yamazu was not a believer in prophesy.

He was glad that the nonsense had gotten him away from the village, but that did not make him a believer. The prophesy was too vague and could of applied to anyone. The fact that he had the tail of a monkey, the animal that the monks had used to make their own taijutsu from, was the real deciding factor. They would have taken him in anyway, tail or no tail.

But here he was again for the first time in many years, training. With things going slow in the world and his search for the Yonbi going so far unsuccessful, Yamazu had decided that it would be best if he went back to train a little so that he would be better prepared. He had no doubt that if he eventually managed to become one with Mr. Four-Tails, he would be hunted. People did not like things with too much power, or they wanted them for themselves. Like those Akatsuki people.

Shaking himself mentally, he focussed more at the task at hand. He was at the moment trying to perfect a sub-form of his staff fighting that would allow him to fight multiple opponents far more effectively than using his hands. It used one of the things that had helped him become great. His tail. It was flexible and strong thanks to the years of training he had with the monks before his time trapped in the stone seal. And with his Four-Tails Imitation Technique he could wield his Staff with even more skill. Still, it was not without its weaknesses. It tired him out quickly and his strikes were not as strong or as fast as when he used his hands.

Gripping his Staff with his tail, Yamazu made some handseals there was a slight uncomfortable moment when a second tail sprouted and it and his original tail grew finger-like digits. These strange digits grasped at his Staff and spun it around his head. Their grip was good, the fingers dexterous. It did not strain him to hold the Staff up. All this was good. Turing to the tree that had offended him by dropping a branch on his head during his last visit, Yamazu lept forwards. Well, backwards really. His tail was holding the Staff and thus he had to train with his back to his 'enemy'. A tree did not make for a very good partner, but Yamazu wanted to get the grip of things before asking any of the monks to join him.

Yamazu began hitting the tree with his Staff, never keeping still. Jumping to the left and right, or occasionally over it, the Monkey-Priest chipped away at the tree's trunk. With his back to it all the time, he missed his mark every now and then, but not often. Having been fighting almost his whole life, Yamazu had developed a great sense of where things were during a fight, even when he could not see them. Eventually, all his strikes were connecting, and the tree gave a pained groan as it crashed to the ground.

It began to roll down the mountainside, picking up speed as it went, heading straight towards the monks' huts. With a yelp of panic, Yamazu leaped after the fallen tree, using his Fuuton chakra to boost him through the air so that he could get ahead of it. Landing in it's path, Yamazu swung his Staff at the rolling tree, expelling chakra when it impacted on the old, gnarled bark. Against his Staff the Four-Tailed Beast had fallen, so a tree did not stand any chance. It exploded into hundreds of pieces, flying this way and that and covering the nearby monks in wood dust when they had come outside to see what the commotion was.

Yamazu pointed at the monks and laughed, clutching at his sides before falling to the ground, rolling around in laughter. Tears poured from his face and he started to turn red as he found it increasingly hard to breath between laughs. The monks, long accustomed to Yamazu's eccentric behaviour, waited for him to calm down, brushing the dust off their robes. When the Monkey-Priest had finally managed to get a grip he got back up, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I think I'm ready to take on people now, if you'd kindly volunteer", he asked, still chuckling. Four monks stepped forwards, taking up staffs as they did so. Yamazu led the way back up the mountain to the place where he had been practising, laughing all the way.

A Few Days Later...

The four monks surrounded Yamazu, all of them with staffs at the ready. So far, Yamazu's new technique had proven eerily efficient at taking on multiple foes. He seemed to be able to fight them off despite the noticeable handicap of having his back turned and his mind on other opponents and the monks were skilled fighters.

They ran at the Monkey-Priest, striking this way and that in an attempt to get by his defences. Yamazu laughed as he fought, his Staff-wielding tail knocking the attacks aside and striking back. The monks who attacked at the front were fairing no better, their blows being re-directed and countered. After a few more minutes of this, Yamazu finally found an opening. His Staff struck out, tripping one of the monks behind him while he lashed out with one of his hands, throwing a monk into a nearby tree. The last two monks went down at the same time, the monk behind him getting jabbed in the stomach and the last monk having his staff taken from him and strike him across the head.

Clapping his hands, the Staff disappeared and Yamazu helped his fellow priests back up. Guiding them back towards the temple and first aid, Yamazu said cheerfully, "I think that this was a good result, don't you?", before bursting into laughter once more.

After finally master his new Buinjutsu form, Yamazu felt that he was ready to try out a new ninjutsu technique. Making sure that the monks he had sparred with made it to the hospital in the Temple, Yamazu rummaged through the monks' library, looking for some ninjutsu scrolls that he had yet to read and learn. After a few hours of searching through the extensive archive, the Monkey-Priest finally managed to locate a jutsu he did not know. It was called Katon Kobushi, a fire jutsu that caused the users hands to explode into flame. Now that would prove to be very useful! Yamazu thought to himself.

Taking the scroll outside with him, Yamazu gave it a careful read. He made sure that he brought a small barrel of water with him. With Katon jutsu, it always paid to be extra cautious. When things went wrong they really went wrong. Sure that he was ready to start, Yamazu stood, taking a deep breath. Making the handseals, he threw his fists out. They smoked a little, but did not combust. Patting his hands to stop the smoke, he thought about what might have gone wrong. Perhaps he had not been sending sufficient chakra to his hands for the technique to work? He did feel a certain reluctance to sent himself on fire. Yamazu gave himself a small slap on the face. Come on, only he who dares wins! thought the Monkey-Priest.

With another deep breath, Yamazu made the handseals once more and threw out his hands again. This time, they combusted. Yamazu was about to whoop in delight when he realised that the flame was in fact getting a little too hot for his hands to handle. Witha yelp of pain, he slammed his hands down into the barrel of water he had brought along with him. The water bubbled violently for a moment before settling down into a steam. Yamazu let out a sign of relief and his face was pulled into a comical look of satisfaction. Drawing his hands back out of the barrel, he dried them out on his robes before he tried again.

A Few Hours Later...

Yamazu prepared himself to access the jutsu once more. He had set five wooden dummies that the monks' often used to practise. They had flat out refused to help him practise this jutsu, but Yamazu had no idea why. Cracking his knuckles, the Monkey-Priest flexed his long, thin fingers. Making the handseals, his hands were once more engulphed in fire. With a cackle, Yamazu jumped towards the nearest dummie, lashing out with his flaming fists. With the first punch, he struck the dummie on the neck and it was charred on the point of contact. On the second blow, it caught aflame a little. With the third and final blow, its' head came off, its' neck weaked by the fire.

Smiling wide, Yamazu jumped around the clearing, taking care of the other dummies in short order. When he finally ended the jutsu, there was nothing left of the training dummies except for smoldering wood. Nodding in satisfaction, the Monkey-Priest wiped his hands on his robes again and set off back to the Temple of some well earned rest. Tomorrow, he would rais the library again. He needed to be strong when he resumed his search for Mr. Four-Tails.

Yamazu was sat at a table in the Temple library. He had a collection of scrolls the size of small mountains piled all around him, hiding him from view. The monks, having just finished with cleaning and tiding the library since his last raiding session, would not be best pleased with him, but this was something that he needed to do. He had to find as many new techniques as he could train before he needed to set out into the world once more in search for his old friend Yonbi. He had already learned a new staff form and a new Katon jutsu. He was running low on scrolls. The Monkey-Priest had assumed that all the scrolls in the library were jutsu. He was very mistaken. The majority of them were on scriptures the monks had written, diaries and the like. And most of the ones that did have techniques on he either already knew or lack the right affinity for. The only one so far he had found was the Katon jutsu. The staff form he had invented himself.

Placing another useless scroll aside, he yawned as he reached for a new one. Yamazu was not the type to sit a nd read for hours on end. He hated being still and quiet. He yearned for the open, rolling road and the roar of battle. The monks despaired his desire for fighting, but Yamazu could not help what he was. He was a warrior, through and through. He opened the next scroll glancing through it. His eyes widened and he jumped in his seat. A Doton technique! Something he could do. Reading through the scroll, he found that this jutsu was created to help put more power behind the blows of the Drunken Monkey Fist style taijutsu. Bursting through the mounds of paper, the Monkey-Priest ran for the Temple door, passing by the Head Monk as he did so. "Gotta run, found a new one!" he yelled as he ran by in a blur of movement.

Finding his way back to the clearing, Yamazu re-read the scroll. Nodding to himself, he placed the ancient roll of parchment carefully onto the ground. The Head Monk would have his head if he ended up destroying it. Closing his eyes, the Monkey-Priest made the handseal the technique required and slammed his fists into the ground as the scroll had dictated.

CRUNCH!

With a yowl of pain, Yamazu jumped into the air, rubbing his broken knuckles. Forgetting all about the scroll, he ran back to the Temple hospital to be treated. After he had had his fists heald, he was scolded by the Head Monk for leaving the scroll outside. Getting a hard kick to the backside, Yamazu ran back to the clearing, relieved that the scroll was where he left it, undamaged. The memory of his broken bones still fresh in his mind, the Monkey-Priest once more made the handseals and slammed his fists into the ground. This time, his hands penetrated the rocky surface, and Yamazu felt the earth itself moving around his hands. It flowed around them like water, attaching to his fists. Heaving, Yamazu pulled his hands from the ground. They looked like they were made of stone, bringing back memories of when The Sealing man had tried to seal him away. Laughing, Yamazu looked over at the wooden dummy that he had armoured in metal. Crying out a whooping battle-cry, the Monkey-Priest struck the metal platemail.

With a loud ding, Yamazu's hand punched right through the metal and into the chest of the wooden training dummy, making a hole in its' chest. Smiling wide, yamazu pulled his fist out and ended the technique, the dirt and rock crumbling away from his hands. Another jutsu mastered!

Yamazu was sitting in a tree, hiding. The Head Monk was out for his blood again. He had left the library in such a state of affairs a few days ago that it was still being tidied up by the monks. He had swiped the last jutsu he would be able to learn during this stay. It was clear that he had begun to outstay his welcome. Opening the scroll, he re-read the contents, almost drooling over it. It described a taijutsu technique that allowed Yamazu to access reserves of speed that put him on level with the Eight Gates. Of course, it did come with a downside. While in this state, he needed to compress his chakra very tightly and as a result, he would not be able to use any ninjutsu or genjutsu. Quite a disability, to be sure, but the speeds he would reach would surely protect him against most enemy attacks.

After a quick look around to make sure that he was definately alone, the Monkey-Priest jumped down from his perch in the tree. Rolling the scoll back up and placing it in his satchel, Yamazu put his hands together as if in prayer. He begun compressing his chakra, winding it tighter and tighter until he was sure that it was enough to start the technique. He jumped into the air, feeling like he was trying to move in water. He looked down and was found that he could not see if he was actually moving fast enough to make the doubles that the scroll spoke of. Landing back onto the ground, he put his long fingers to his chin in thought. Suddenly it occured to him that if he used a clone, he would attain the knowledge on whether or not he was going fast enough.

Making a Monkey Clone, they waved at each other before the clone jumped back to observe his creator in his attempts. Putting his hands together again, Yamazu closed his mind from external distractions, just like he did during meditation. After a few minutes of this, the Monkey-Priest felt more collected and ready for the task. Once again compressing his chakra tightly, he ran up the tree he had been sitting in and jumped back to his original position. Dismissing the clone, Yamazu found that his outline had only blurred a little bit. Snapping his fingers in disappointment, he made another clone and started again, running up the tree and around on the ground in his attempts to go fast enough to make doubles of himself. After about an hour of this, he dismissed his thirtieth clone to find that he had just managed to make one blurry copy of himself. Yamazu collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. Making so many clones had eaten away his chakra supply. He would have to rest and try again tomorrow. Pulling a bedspread out of his satchel, he laid on the floor and fell to sleep the moment his head touched the ground.

A Few Days Later...

Panting, Yamazu once again dismissed his clone, who gave him a sympathetic look just before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Monkey-Priest nodded to himself with a smile. He had managed to make another two blurry copies of himself during his last few days of training. He also had the added fun of evading capture from the monks, who seemed hell bent on bringing him back to the Temple to help tidy the mess he had made in the library. He had even seen the Head Monk with them, so he knew that they were serious. But Yamazu was not one for tidying, and had managed to avoid capture thanks to his Smiling Stealth technique. He liked playing hide and seek with the monks, but he needed to get on with his training. He knew that he would reach his limit with this technique soon, he could not push it to be much faster.

Making his last clone, it patted him encouragingly on the shoulder before retreating to observe. Yamazu took several deep breaths before compressing his chakra. He set of running, feeling the familiar feeling of drag, like moving in water. He continued on for about ten seconds before allowing his chakra to return to normal. Yamazu looked over to his clone, who gave him a thumbs up as he dismissed it. The Monkey-Priest whooped in delight. He had pulled it off! Four blurry copies!

His joy was short lived however. He felt a familiar clip around the ear as the Head Monk caught him. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, the monk dragged him back towards the Temple and tedious chores. Yamazu wished that he had stayed with the hapless bandits that had tried to ambush him. At least they would have just finished him, not force him to clean...