Chapter 9 — Training Plans
After the tea, Arashi invited Rasa to the training room. The room was very large inside— like more than half the size of a football field — with thick walls lined with sealing inscriptions. The floor was lower than the rest of the house. The room was filled with sand, and there were some big and small rocks scattered around the training room.
Arashi walked straight to a weapon rack and picked up a thin short rapier. The blade of the rapier was maybe 20–25cm long, and then he invited him to do the same with a gesture . Rasa picked up a short Tachi with a flat blade and round handle which can be used for slashing and blocking. Because he is still a child the blade felt rather big to him. He gave it some practice swings — he can say confidently that he didn't like the feel of the weapon. And having no practice with the sword in his previous or current life's the blade felt foreign to him.
Arashi had already taken his place in the center of the training room. Rasa then had a sudden impulse to stab him from behind — that would be very ninja-like, isn't it? — but he controlled his impulse. He didn't want to ruin his chance to actually get some real practice by being an idiot, and the outcome of the match wouldn't change either way so he honestly took his position in front of Arashi.
When he stood opposite Arashi, he instantly gave a knowing smile. Rasa felt his little intention of being a back-stabber was already seen through by him, but Rasa maintained his poker face.
Standing in front of Arashi he felt a low mounting pressure — not the dreadful one he received when Arashi blasted his full aura at him yesterday. He doesn't think that Arashi is releasing any actual aura now, but he felt an instinctive fear of facing a killer –a being capable of robbing his life in a blink.
The more time passed, the more he felt his own momentum waning. And Arashi was just standing there without moving.
The shift of the momentum made Rasa like a cornered rat again and that actually made Rasa calmer. He let out a breath and relaxed — he realised this is a learning opportunity, not a fight to the death.
He charged straight forward, and right before reaching him he kicked up some dust to cover his sight and attacked his left waist.
Arashi's rapier promptly blocked the attack and gently pushed him aside. "Good kid...! Throwing sand at an old man's face and targeting the weak side of a handicap Hikari truly taught you well —" Arashi commented with some mirth in his voice.
He continued his attack without paying attention to the comments, and Arashi just blocked everything without even moving a single step. He almost looked bored while doing it, which was very intentional. Rasa also believed he was not using any chakra either.
This was turning out to be a very frustrating lesson in humility, but Rasa was stubborn-In some sense, he just needed to make Arashi move or make him use his chakra — that would be his win.
He redoubled his efforts, but his young body was tiring and Arashi just blocked all his efforts with a very obvious sleepy expression.
He decided to do a final gambit. He charged again and repeated his old move of kicking up the dust. This time he threw out the Tachi with the dust, aiming for the waist of Arashi. He also added almost half of his chakra into the blade for good measure. The blade flew out faster than he expected. He also took out a rock from his pocket which he had put discreetly in while selecting his weapon — he aimed the rock at Arashi's favourite sake bottle. His goal was to make him at least move or take a step. But the result was unexpected.
The moment he threw the Tachi, Arashi also threw his rapier at the Tachi. They collided in mid air and the Tachi's direction somehow changed, moving it toward the rock . He was also running forward at that moment. The Tachi and rock collided and caused him to almost plant his own face into the rock. He quickly slid under the collision and avoided the embarrassing scene.
But he felt a cold touch on his neck at that moment. He was right in front of Arashi on his knees with a blade directly on his neck.
Somehow the rapier had bounced back to Arashi's hand,
"Kid... always assume the enemy is more cunning than you. I showed you an obvious weakness and you fell into the trap head first. Oha... heh. Hikari, that cunning woman will be so embarrassed right now!... I should have taken a photo of your dumbfounded face with a clone He...hea….he"
After that almost embarrassing performance, Rasa really wanted to bury his head in the sand and hide. He is really a fool..!
"Okay, kid, don't be so embarrassed — it's not a shame to be beaten stupid by this great Arashi-Sensei…." saying that he ruffled hair and started belly laughing again with some wheezing noises.
It took some time for Arashi's madness to stop and return himself back to normal. Rasa just sat himself comfortably leaning on the rock and closed his eyes. He felt a slight fatigue from all over his body; there were also some minor aches. His chakra was also dipped to a quarter of his full capacity with just two throws.He was somewhat surprised by the speed boost received by the rock and the sword by adding a little of his own chakra. But his right hand is faintly aching now — maybe doing things on the fly is not such a good thing.
He reflected on the fight, but there were not many things he could do to change the outcome. The terrain itself is very predictable, removing the unexpected variables. Maybe he could have made some trap using the cross bows in the weapon rack — but he doubted that would change the outcome in any way.
"Hey kid, get up — we are leaving..." Arashi's prompt call brought him out of the stupor. He was already heading out so Rasa just followed him promptly.
"Where are we going?" Rasa asked. Arashi was leading Rasa into the south side of the village — an area Rasa had not yet explored. "To find you some playmates," Arashi answered him with a mischievous smile. Rasa was getting used to Arashi's way of talking, so he decided to wait and see.
On the way Arashi also gave him some tips on his training and how to manipulate chakra more fluidly. Arashi noted that he has good talent in control and manipulation of chakra so it will be beneficial to focus on that path…
Like that they reached very close to the edge of the village and there was actually a playground here. There was a mini oasis in the middle with some sparse trees around it, and also some big rocks scattered around the place. There was even a smoothed-out section around the wall where some older children were practicing wall-climbing exercises. Some of the children were making sand castles, some were playing hide and seek in the rocky terrain. There was children's laughter in the park and parents watched from the side with wary eyes looking out for any accidents or mischiefs
He had always imagined Suna as a dry, dreary place with little human warmth but this was truly unexpected for him. He felt like a true outsider for the first time.
He felt Arashi's arm on his shoulder which brought him out of his stupor and he heard seriousness in his voice for the first time. "Kid... ninja is a social profession, not a solitary one. You need to learn to socialize with your peers if you even want to achieve anything as a ninja."
"So listen carefully. This will be your plan from tomorrow on... You will continue Hikari's training in the morning, after which you will come to my home for some good old sparring. After that, you will come here—— and sit or do whatever you fancy.
"Don't look so upset, kid. I'm not forcing you to socialise, but you should at least come here. You can also learn to walk on the wall — but I must warn you, it is best if you don't use more than half of your chakra until you are 7 or 8… You are still growing"
With that, Arashi removed his hand from his shoulder and started walking away.
He looked quite heroic — with one hand behind his back against the backdrop of the rising sun — while the empty left sleeve flapped in the wind , but the glint of the green bottle reminded him of his destination, which spoiled the mood.
He looked back at the children playing and decided to take a brave step forward...