16 Skip A Month

The month in which I had decided to focus solely on training had gone by. Kurenai had already informed me of the Chunin Exams beginnig the following week, so I had been sharpening a few points of my newer techniques that weren't still quite shiny.

Currently, I was sitting on the ground besides the pond where I usually trained in. If one looked around me, all they would see was sharp marks of claws all over the ground and even on boulders and trees cut in half. Total destruction. Guremaru was still training with the other Ninken, but he had proved to be a cut above the rest of his generation, probably from training with me.

"Phew... I'm dead beat. But I'll try one more time. I feel like if I do it just one more time... I'll perfect it"

The technique I had been working on for the past month was a combination of all my knowledge on Jutsus and Chakra. I was sure I had Yang release, since it was the one used to affect the physical aspect of the world. In this month I had come up with two different new techniques, though they worked best when combined.

"True Beast Ninja Arts: Okami" [1]

When I created this technique, Tsume immediately came to me and asked me to explain it to her. I tried teaching it to her and a few other members of the can, but no one was able to pull it off. The Inuzuka used Imitation Beast Ninja Arts but my Jutsu was different. It involved modifying the body with Chakra to and even greater level, which was only possible because of the Yang Element present in my Chakra naturally.

With this Technique, I was able to take on even more animalistic traits. My legs turned anthropomorphic and I grew a tail and ears, while my canine teeth grew even sharper and more pronounced, while my jaw and overall face took more traits of and animal. With this Jutsu, my physical capabilities were increased by a ton. I was pretty sure that just with this jutsu, I wouldn't lose to Lee in strenght or speed.

"Ok, this technique is already mastered, the next one is the problem..."

Besides this one technique I had created, with which I could use all of the Inuzuka clan techniques but stronger, I had been working on a Suiton Jutsu that had enough raw power to put me in the upper levels of strength. I had been working tirelessly to merge my Water Beast Ninja Arts to the utmost. Now I could become a true beast, all I needed was to perfect the Water Release jutsu I had been having problems with.

"Suiton: Shuryōba" [2]

This was the evolution of my Silent Hunting, the Hunting Grounds. It was a Jutsu that condesed the water in the air to provoke a drizzle and, with it, mist. That way, I was able to prepare my stage in one action. I had to fumble with the hand seals for a while, but in the end I found that Ox, Snake, Dragon and Tiger, in said order, worked the best. This jutsu was one able to be used by any Suiton user, so I sold it to the Hokage for a good sum of Ryo.

The next part was the actually difficult one. Shury��ba was only the preparation for my true "ultimate technique". This one I had spent a long time thinking about, and finally decided to do something simple and effective, but nonetheless hard to pull off.

"Water Beast Ninja Arts: Nagareru Tsume" [3]

Flowing Claw was a technique that merged the Tsūga with the Water Armor Jutsu and the Water Sword Jutsu. The idea behind the technique was to cover oneself in the Water Armor and create swords all around it, while using the spinning force of the Tsūga to create a bladed swirl. The strong point of the Jutsus was that it was designed to keep following the objective until the chakra output was cut. The good thing was that I could use this technique in combination with Guremaru, effectively doubling the danger it posed. According to Tsume and Kurenai, this Jutsu could be considered of the upper Jonin category, just a bit shy of Hokage level.

"Come on, don't fail me now!"

And it didn't. Reality was that I cheated on how I created this technique. I had used the cheat Naruto used to create his Rasenshuriken, just that I took more time than he did, in spite of already being good with nature and form manipulation. Shadow Clones. This was a Jutsu I only planned to use for the convenience of it in training purposes. I had no intention of using it in combat. That was, after all, Naruto's thing.

As I traversed the training ground with the Nagareru Tsume, the sound of the swirling water could be heard together with the slashes of the water blades on every surface. When I was sure I could keep going without loosing control, I cut the Chakra output and the Jutsu stopped. The result? Compete destruction. The amount of rotation in this Jutsu was second only to the Rasengan, and not by much.

"*phew*... I really am... dead beat"

For the last month I had slept only four to three hours a day, spending the rest of the time studying Water Release, form manipulation, nature manipulation and training. I was sure I needed to sleep for at least two days before being back to top shape. For the first time since my training began, I decided to check my status.

'Status'

[Name: Ryota Inuzuka Age: 12 Level: 38

STR: 382/390

AGI: 390/390

CHA: ?/390

Ninjutsu: <True Beast Ninja Arts: Okami> (New) [4]

<Suiton (Water Style): Water Armor - Drilling Water Spears - Water Torrent- Water Prison> (New)

<Genjutsu: Dispel>

<Water Beast Ninja Arts: Shuryōba - Nagareru Tsume> (New)]

"I've gotten stronger..."

While studying my new strength, I couldn't help but think of the reason why I wanted to become stronger. I remembered the smiles, laughs and even the eyes of everyone close and dear to me. I couldn't fail anymore. For them.

'Wonder what Tenten is doing now...'

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"True Beast Ninja Arts: Okami" [1] Okami means Wolf. That is the animal in which Ryota takes inspiration for his True Beast transformation (though it is more like morphing than transforming)

"Suiton: Shuryōba" [2] translates as "Water Release: Hunting Grounds"

"Water Beast Ninja Arts: Nagareru Tsume" [3] Nagareru Tsume translates as Flowing Claw. This one it Ryota's strongest Jutsu currently. At full power, it can destroy the Hokage Heads just by passing by them. Unfortunately, Ryota alone can't use the Jutsu's full power.

True Beast Ninja Arts [4] is going to be replacing Imitation Beast Ninja Arts from now on, so every technique under that category will be under this one now.