The sky released its haze to the earth, letting out its own natural 'smoke screen' which limited everyone's vision. Katsumi didn't like it, but he needed to train in the haze of fog. Though it didn't completely hinder him; Katsumi could still manage to train several of the techniques he had read about in the scrolls and files he was allowed to look at.

As he stepped into the training center, he couldn't see or hear anyone, which casued him to let out a sigh of relief. He really despised others being around as he trained. Ninjutsu wasn't the strongest of his elements of combat, but his grasp was far to superior others. He first looked around for the training dummies so that he could first work on the Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu and its timing. Though not a difficult technique, the Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu still held some timing in its element.

Katsumi took his distance from the training dummy, and prepared his chakra to meld into its natural combination so that he could perform the jutsu with minor difficulty. In most cases this jutsu would require little to no prepertaion, but he didn't want to leave it to chance. Katsumi started to form hand seals with slow precision, making sure each handseal interlocked before changing into the next one. He took the third and last hand seal and pressed his hand to the ground. The ground opened up quickly, and allowed him to enter. He took his hand and quickly raised it, breaching through the earth. He then looked as he jumped, realizing that he hadn't gotten any closer to the training dummy. He looked puzzled for a moment, thinking to himself, 'Perhaps this jutsu needed to be coupled with something else, something a little more complex, before being used...or it needs to be coupled with something else after being used....Hm....'

Katsumi took his time forming the handseal again, as he moved down to the next training dummy. He took his right hand and quickly grabbed a smoke bomb, releasing it as he dropped into the earth. He then moved his hand forward slighty, so that he would direct his body close to the dummy. He pressed upward, and breached through the softer earth. The earth tore open, and Katsumi found himself holding the end of the training dummy's 'foot'. He turned his head, and realized that the hole he first entered the ground with was still covered up by the smoke. The fog aided its lingering posistion, allowing it stay longer than normal. Of course this jutsu took little time to perform, leaving Katsumi with several other ideas for this jutsu.

He stood completely out of the ground, and shook off some of the lingering dirt that had made its way into his kimono. He took his time trying to find an area that would be suitable for the next jutsu. He knew it wouldn't take long to try out the jutsu, but would it be enough to master as a whole?

Katsumi found a smaller area that seemed off the normal training grounds, which meant he could cause the earth to be disperced. He took his time forming the handseals as he did before, waiting for the right moment to unleash the jutsu. He slowly let his hands fall after forming the right seals, and placed them on the ground, palms down. He extended his fingers, letting the chakra flow from his hands into the earth. The ground rummbled for a moment before changing radically into a hole. Though Katsumi looked disappointed. He knew the jutsu was more powerful than this, and with the little time he had to prepare his assortment of techinques he knew slip ups like this couldn't continue to happen. He sighed and took his time again, forming his handseals with ease. He let his hands hit the ground as they did last time, flexing his fingers as the earth changed its form. His chakra melded into the earth, and ripped it open into a void, lifting the smaller material to the sides. He realized this jutsu still hadn't been pushed to its limits, and though he had performed it correctly his understanding of it was still too limited for futher use. He took his time finding another area that looked untouched, and after taking the same precautions as before, Katsumi formed the needed handseals and pressed his hands to the ground. His fingers extended outward and pressed deeper into the ground. The ground shook for a brief moment, and then moved as it did before. Katsumi shook his head, and waited until the jutsu finished. He knew he'd have to work on getting the jutsu not to annouce itself before he used it in battle. He also knew that he needed to further its distance in use. He thought to himself, 'Just 1 meter from my position is not going to work...by that time the opponent will know what is going on and counter my actions or otherwise move....'

Katsumi sat down and looked at the earth for a moment. He began to think about the element of earth, how simple it really was. Yet at the sametime the complex idea behind moving such a natural thing was far too complex to understand in the time he had. Was it that he needed to encode the earth with more of his chakra? Or did he need to push his chakra further into the ground? No, perhaps he needed to stem his own chakra into a dance of power. Power from within...Was that the secret to it all? No, that couldn't be it. It was something a bit deeper, but the idea behind inner strength leading to an understanding of the world around them was something to take note of.

Katsumi took his hands and formed them into handseals with great haste. He quickly planted his hands into the earth, and allowed the jutsu to flow from his mind as well as his chakra. The earth didn't shake, it simply moved with great speed. The hole appeared and moved the edges aside to the ridges of the hole. Katsumi looked up, and realized the jutsu was 3 meters from his original position. He smirked, and wiped his hands clean.

Katsumi was starting to learn the minor aspects of the doton style, and he didn't want to lose this moment as it was. Katsumi sat down and started to form another set of handseals entirely different than before. As he formed the handseals he thought to himself, 'Doton is respectable element, and even more so it is a sign of true self-understanding. When someone truly masters this element they can be considered among the same group as this village's third original leader, and the name of the 'White Fang', which was mentioned several times during the study of this element...'

Katsumi knew that this technique was simple when compared to that of what he truly wanted to achieved, but to every journey there was a starting point, and perhaps this was his real starting point. He finished the handseals and jumped to his feet. His feet clapped on the surface of the ground, echoing into the fog. He looked down, and realized that nothing happened. He shook his head in disappointment, and waited for a moment before trying to attempt the jutsu again. He knew that the timing had to be right for this jutsu, and that he didn't need to force his hands into the earth to perform it properly, just that he needed to understand the surface he was standing on.

He looked at the sky and realized he had wasted too much time for the day and he needed some food and rest before trying to master the other simple jutsu he needed to proceed in his quest.

He rose with the sun, and walked to the arena in the dense fog. The fog had masked the village for several days now, and Katsumi was getting concerned with what was going on. He knew that it would be settled later so he didn't concern himself with it now. As he arrived at the arena, he looked around, trying to find the same area he had been when he had molded all the earth. He notice that some of the ground had been molded back, perhaps the work of some of the guards...but it didn't matter to him now. He needed to quickly measure out these jutsu. He took his hands and quickly formed a quick three seal combination. The earth infront of him molded open slightly. He looked down into it, wondering how this jutsu would work. The earth continued to fold as he walked closer and closer into it.

He had heard of something like this... Doton movement was possible, but it wasn't as easy as it seemed. The fear of the jutsu had caused some simply stay away from the idea. The earth could collapse if you remained in the ground for too long, and if someone was powerful enough with their lightining element they could easily harm you if you appeared to close. The jutsu itself was a guessing game when it came to the user's position. As for an item? Katsumi started to think, ' These chains can fit in that hole...and I'm sure that even if the hole collapsed around them it wouldn't matter for the purpose....A trap, forming as many chains as I possibly can, then rigging them to appear out of the ground as I move? Perhaps something to look in later to. As form now I'm going to have to muster my courage and plunge into the earth...'

Katsumi first let him foot into the hole, and waited. The hole opened up slightly as he continued to let the rest of his body enter. The jutsu then finished, and Katsumi felt his chakra exhuast a lot more for this jutsu than he thought it would. He sighed, and knew that his fear had resulted in him allowing more chakra to waste than he originally wanted. He then allowed himself to full enter the hole. The earth collapsed around him for a moment, and rested just at an arm's distance. He had limited air, and limited time, but he knew he would be able to move. He just had to. The earth folded from him as he moved, and with a few long strides he met the end of the jutsu's length. 5 meters, just like the scroll had said. He then looked up, or what he hoped would help him reach the surface. He quickly jumped, and pressed his hand through the ground, which softly moved out of his way.

He quickly landed on the ground, and looked around. The hole that he had first come into was completely sealed, but it was covered with newly moved earth. It wasn't completely fool proof, but the jutsu worked.

Katsumi laughed to himself, and walked away from the hole looking at the path he had taken. The jutsu would work with his chains, but how far would they go?

Katsumi quickly let his chakra meld into the seal that was just on the middle of his forearm, calling forth a single chain. The chain now rested at 2 meters, nothing too amazing, but it would soon be much longer, and have much more of a purpose. He took his hands, and reformed the same three seal combination that he did before, and opened another hole in the ground. He allowed his chain's tip to rest in the hole before stepping away. The hole closed up, but he could feel the earth still moving slightly underneath him. He knew that he would have to take his time as he moved the chain's further into the position he wanted it in.

He quickly jumped back, allowing the chain the extend from the seal. He allowed the chain to go slack from the hole. The chain stopped moving from the hole, and Katsumi knew that the chain had reached its full length. He took his hand, and gripped that chain that was already taught with his skin. He pulled, and watched as the chain moved from underneath the earth. The ground spat out small bits of earth as it rasied up. The chain finally made it to the end of its length, and lifted from the earth in a snap. The whip-like action caused the entire chain to raise, and then quickly land next to the hole that it had been resting in.

Katsumi then let the chain de-summon, watching it leave with a small white cloud where it had been. He sighed, and kneeled down, looking at the ground. He didn't know how he would manage the real trap, but when the time came he knew he would be able to perform it like he always had.

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