Quirky Killer Collection [Training]

Training

Spoiler:

Quirkiness embodied, no one living could be any more of a neurotic, psychotic abnormality than this unpredictable swordswoman. A kunoichi armed with the strongest entity in the world, no killer kunoichi would not be complete without her arsenal of killing techniques. Kurome brandished her Black Cold, a katana that her sensei V had given to her long ago, and now she, the youngest wielder, must earn her right to murder in cold blood with that sword, staining the black blade with red blood. Her Kenjutsu techniques were named after parts of the blade - her whole fighting style itself truly revolved around swordwork. Nothing could be more important, for Kurome, a child assassin, had a natural affinity for blades that most Kumogakure shinobi has yet to even attest to. Her aim was set on one of the upper-level of her Kenjutsu arsenal, which she personally called the 'Quirky Killer Collection" or simply 'The Collection" to make herself sound creepy and like a generic anime mad doctor. Although they broadly referred to her set of jutsus, Kurome mainly thinks of her brand of Kenjutsu techniques as "The Collection". Focusing chakra to her arm, streaming bits of it through her katana, as she prepared her muscles so she can swing at full speed. "Hi......" Kurome whispered under her breath. Hi referred to the "groove" of her blade, and is the most inner-part of the inner ridge. The blunt of her chakra made its way over there, and the preliminary step for the technique has already been completed. Kurome smiled, as most would say that the speed effect her sword attack will have is illusionary and beautiful among swordsmanship, but reality her technique makes what is an illusion into a reality. Non-corporeal mirages will take form, entering the world as an actual physical entity, and impale those who lack the genuineness to believe in stories and "fakes". And all of it will come from her sword. Course, what made Kurome happy is that she has to work it. It has to reach the necessary velocity to achieve the desired effect, so everything must come from her contribution. That is why this technique is difficult to muster up spontaneously in battle, so the assigned rank accurately reflects its lethality. She lifted her arm above her shoulder, before bringing it back down besides her hips, the sword drawn backwards behind her while her other arm was pointing towards at the blade, the palm of her hand directly above the blunt side of her blade. She concentrated, knowing fully well the secret of jutsu success for a shinobi, and this was further complemented by the encouragement and cheers of her dear friend Jimmy. Kurome smiled awkwardly as her best friend made her blush a bit. "I'm not gonna fail... we're gonna get stronker. Together!" she said. She had her mind concentrated, and what followed made her body move. She swung at full speed horizontally  at the neck of the wooden dummy. Her swung carried force and fluidity, emanating a glowing arch with emphasized speed effect to signify its deadly cutting power. Although she is capable of actually breaking the neck of the dummy head off, much less cutting it apart, she wanted to test the effectiveness of her technique. Executing the jutsu, once her blade accelerated to a certain speed, surpassing what she's normally capable of, it had occurred. The collaboration of chakra and mental determination bearing fruit, another glowing edge extended out and followed into the direction of the wooden dummy's neck. The extra edge momentarily surpassed the speed of the parent edge until it was an inch or two apart, where it moved at the same speed as the other edge. Although the dummy was a dummy, a normal person would be caught open by this sudden extension, and if believing it to be a trick of the eye, would fall victim to it. Course, chances are that Kurome would manipulate it so that it'd appear while the blade was still just a feet from the target, leaving almost no time for the enemy to actually react and counter, and be reduced into two parts - a dumb, severed head and a retarded body. The sword followed through, carrying the same cutting power as the Black Cold, and sliced the dummy' neck as it rolled on Kurome's feet. From a distance, no one could have detected this change in attack. The bright blur would be too fast for anyone aside from the person who this attack was directed to to detect, so her secret would be safe with the deceased. "Jimmy, jimmy, jimmy! I did it! He's down! He's down!" she jumped up and down in cheerful unison with her instructor, peer, and rival. "Okay, let's finish things properly", she said as  she picked back up on her pose again. She had to re-visualize her technique, although this time it was easier since she knew what it looked like now. This time, Jimmy helped her by helping to balance her and complementing her body movements. Together as fighting partners, they were unstoppable Kumogakure shinobi. This timed she aimed for the entire mid-section, trying to cut the whole thing in half. With a sharp sword, rock-shattering physical strength, and a high-level technique, surely Kurome is able to cut this thing in half. And if she can do that, then she can definitely cut  a human body in half as well. Metals like iron, steel, possibly even titanium would be split into two by her hands. One can only hope, eh? To cut down the enemy is an art itself, and is why swordsmanship became not only a respected sport, but also a deadly fighting style. Kurome could only imagine the gore and beauty from doing so, her tongue lapping the red blots scattering across the air. She swung, having the same blade appear from the edge as she swiftly cut the dummy in half as a skilled samuria would do to a bamboo stick - casual and fluid. Picking herself back up, she would continue on with the final phase of her jutsu. She didn't know exactly how frequently the usefulness of this application would be, but in her mind, it was something like a sneaky trick attack. Should her opponent dodge her first strike and immedaitely come back up, the second slash will literally lop their head off. Overall, she can't really do much with it outside of dealing with dodges and making trick attacks, but that was alright. Molding physical and mental energy together, she would mix it to mold chakra. Manipulating that chakra and drawing it in through the chakra circulatory system, Kurome would channel it through her arms, and out around her blade. Luckily with her skill in Kenjutsu and ninja arts, she is able to control chakra without having have to weave handseals as she has trained herself in doing so as part of her technique. This was the advantage granted to her by the power of Kenjutsu, having only have to apply chakra through her sword and the jutsu begins like magic. Energy given life, Kurome placed herself in a root stance while looking onwards to the lower parts of the dummy, which were its leg. Still standing, Kurome wanted to make it die lying on the floor and take away its badass end. Dying while standing? rubbish. Death will come to those who lay face flat on the ground. No one wants to see the face of a corpse, aside from Kurome. Her slash was a bright glowing arch, its trajectory moving across. She sliced apart the legs, making everything from the dummy's knees to its middle torso falling to the side. But with an extra twist. The blade moving from the blade's edge, but still following the same trajectory that it left, the extra blade sliced part of the falling dummy. It wasn't much, but it stilll left a wound, and as far as Kurome is concerned, wounds are the first step. Kurome could see that as her jutsu proved to be successful, she can move on to an equally high skill technique, and one that would also provide to be very useful in combat. She didn't remember all that much about the origin of her blade, but she did know that V got a hold of it and passed it onto her. She loved the sword very much as well as her techniques, and would hate to part with them. She hoped that even in death, she could see Black Cold as another friend, and the three of them - BC, Jimmy, and her would die together in this cruel world. She would continue to practice with this sword, but for now it is time for greener pastures. Kurome sheathed her sword, but then unsheathed it again in an Iai-like manner. Black Cold was as shiny as ever, and its glinted blade still lusts for motion. It wants the air to brush against it, friction heating its edge to make it hot. Blades like it hot, when it's not bending their form. It's why they can be employed in combat for so long.

Kurome looked at the edge with deep, passionate intent as if she were seeing treasure. "Ew..." Kurome commented at Jimmy's licking of the edge. The saliva left by the tongue-work was still there, and Kurome had to flick it off like any swordsman would have to flick blood off after a good kill. Then she resumed  looking at the blade. This next technique was called Ha, and it referred directly to the edge of her katana. Kurome walked over to the trees, while streamlining chakra throughout the edge of her katana, trying to maintain control over the metallic border as she conserved her own chakras. "Ha!" Kurome cried out. "Ha Ha Ha Ha!" she continued as if she were laughing. She appreciated the thrill Jimmy also putted into her work. "Ha....." she exhaled, which was part of jutsu execution. She molded her chakra and channeled it through the chakra circulatory system - the points of which were responsible for directing and guiding chakra flow. Should the Hyuuga's Jyuken hit that, then it would halt her ability to utilize technique altogether. Flowing chakra through out her arm, they'd streamline into the limb, conducting to the handle, the grip, and onto the metal blade itself. Nothing special had ot occur from the blade. Chakra can flow anywhere, for the energy of life is contagious. Using chakra to produce the desired effect, Kurome manipulated the thickness of the blade thinning it to down to half of its original width. THis would of course weaken her blade, but not specifically against recoil/rebound damage, but against blunt attacks directly used to resist against her sword. Her sword's durability was reduced so that B-rank attacks that protrude blunt damage is capable of severely damaging the blade, distorting its shape, inflicting fractures and nicks, and wearing it out. Should an A-rank attack hit it, it'd either outright break apart or be shattered into a few pieces. But today Kurome did not have to worry about that. With the thickness thinned, surface area mechanics took over. With a smaller surface area for her to concentrate the blunt of her force on, the easier it is for her to cut through something. Now, some S-rank defenses would still be penetrated by her blade, and it'd be an effortless effort for her to cut apart human bodies. Her wounds would be clean and efficient. Kurome believed that this technique could only pierce through so much against hard defenses specifically designed for cutting attacks, but she can get to that later. Now she positioned herself in the same stance as usual, plotting to cut the tree. Thick wood has  a harder density to them than human flesh and skin. Snapping a tree would no doubt more or less fracture half of a human's skeleton. Without this technique, she could probably only cut through a third of the tree's diameter - it was a thick, gigantic tree. But now she can probably cut through half of it, resistance be damned. She made her move, and successfully sliced through the bark like butter, and proceeded to enter its phylem and xylem. She put more effort into it as she felt the resistance increased, and Black Cold was able to make its way out of the other side. The tree stood still, which placed Kurome at ease. She couldn't continue off from the same wound, as it was illegal for her to cut down trees here. She moved to another spot, as she had to have the same elevation from sword to ground. When applied to that of the human body, this would usually be right under a person's belly button, where there's all this fleshy and plushy goo that'd make it easy for Kurome to cut through, slicing open the opponent's belly as a small wave of blood gushed out. She used Ha again, this time reducing the width to three times its amount, tripling the cutting power. Now many S-rank defenses were rnedered useless by her, but this time high class B-rank attacks are capable of breaking or shattering her blade apart. These included techniques like Zukkoku and possibly Gian. Kurome now aimed for the tree, and succeeded in cutting through three-quarters of the tree almost casually. She continue to walk up the tree, throwing around slashes here and there as the branches that they came off with such ease that it was like breaking a thin twig. She happily ran around cutting the nearby bark, as Jimmy ran after her with equal laughter, the two playmates synchronizing their happiness in unison. After a while, she turned off the technique, returning her blade to its uussal sharpness and its normal durability. As she practices, she could manipulate the thickness as she pleases, but for now it looks like thinning it by a third is as far as she can get. She wondered if it'd be good if she can customize a technique that could do the reverse, increasing the thickness and width of the blade though. She'd definitely lose that cutting edge that made a sword aht it was, but in exchange her sword gains the durability and blunt strength it needs to crush bones and form blood clots. Course, Kurome was a swordswoman, only knowing to make cuts and watch the blood flow. Anything out of that was beyond her care. It'd be against her pride.  This was to be a specialized technique used against people with heightened body defenses. She reserved this for the Domu technique. With this technique, it'd be like the earth shield was not there at all. She'd hack a human body apart as if it were regular skin and flesh. Although she didn't even need such a high skill technique for that, as she can just casually flow lightning chakra through her blade and allow the elemental law to take over from there. More like defenses with the same application as Domu, though. It was then did Kurome think of a good idea. Why ot combine her techniques together? With enhanced afterimage-like speed and decreased surface area, surely she can apply a lot more cutting power, or at least have an easier time getting through even the most durable S-rank defenses. "Jimmy! She cried out. "Bring it out!" And he did. Weaving handseals at speeds faster than the speed of light, Jimmy brought up a Hell's Gate, a Rashomon-like defense with high S-rank durability. She admired its hellish strucutre and its oni-like face. This was the gate that bakemono were said to pass to, or otherwise be unable to get through. Its alluring evil aura was something intoxicating to someone like Kurome. Kurome breathed in, channeling chakra through the edge of her blade, and focusing it right alongside her arm at the same time, triggering Ha and Hi toegther. She exhaled, and the blade was reduced to a third of its thickness. 'here goes nothing..." Kurome calls out. She inhaled, allowing her to build momentum and store her energy reserves. Chaining these two sword attacks together was something of an issue, but can be accomplished as if she was a Kenjutsu master. Plus the areas she needed to move chakra were right next to each other - the arm and the sword. This would give her the speed and cutting prowess needed in battle. Kumogakure's enemies could be wide and far. But with knowledge of the village's geography in mind, and is a mountain runner herself, she can kill her enemies even if they were long-range Ninjutsu blast spammers. Kurome may just be a Jounin with no formal ANBU training, but she still know the ANBU's way of assassination and how to kill like a real ninja. With the next breath out, she made her move. Swinging her blade with significantly greater speed than usual, Kurome slashed with quirky precision, exercising her blade skill right along the edge of Hell's Gate. A blade with a third of the thickness extended from, the edge of the Black Cold, and sliced into the hard, durable material of the Gate, opening up a wound. This made it easier for Kurome to cut through, a she pierced throguh the gate and sliced through it, cleanly putting a gap-like wound on it. "Another one bites the dust...!" she said with a pierce, quirky pride. She unsheathed her blade, having had consumed a lot of chakra. These A-rank techniques were not so easy, and should be draining for her since she puts forth all of her skill and effort into executing them. Kurome didn't care about becoming the greatest Kenjutsu master in Kumogakure or whatever. But it'd be nice for her sword abilities to be recognized as deadly and killer-lethal, and hopefully attract admirers that would become her friends. Kurome walked out of there with Jimmy, hand to hand, as friend and enemy.

Spoiler:

This duo of techniques require strenuous, physical effort. One more so than the other. The other just requires some good chakra manipulation. But as she's starting with the Kojiri technique, that's something that requires a lot of things working together at once, to create a successful attack. She also needs a live partner for it, so Jimmy fits that perfectly. The two consoled on each other, knowing that whatever happens happens and they will still remain frenemies despite the fact that Jimmy's legs would be cut off. It was all to promote Kurome's assassination technique; the hero and her sidekick are a team. There was a ten meter distance between Jimmy and Kurome. Kurome had been practicing for this. Her Taijutsu and Kenjutsu prowess trained to its fullest extent, she had begin working out on her muscle reactions and reflexes to execute a well-timed attack that most cannot defend from. Mind over matter, fantasy becomes a reality as her body would burst forward with increased velocity. The concept of the technique was simple, but hard to take advantage of, unless of course you're a master with the sword. Honing her sixth sense, Kurome's concentration spread out around her, but specifically targeted Jimmy. She was ready for this. Timing and accuracy aside, she can now react to the proper "step" to cut down the enemy. 'The Step" here is the most important step, because it is the first step into Kurome's range where the opponent can be caught off guard. Now there are times when and where this could go wrong. Of course ,by keeping herself in that stance, she can telegraph her attack, and her opponent will grow suspicious. The opponent may keep his distance, or simply slow down so he can push all of his energy into reacting and countering. Kurome grabbed onto her handle and scabbard, horizontally facing her. "Kojiri". This technique referred to the tip of her scabbard. She unsheathed the blade, revealing Black Cold in all of its dark glory.

Jimmy was all too ready, and actually was taunting her. He was pepped. This was all part of Jimmy's way of provoking Kurome, to sever whatever bonds they have momentarily so she can concentrate on her killing stats. What a friend Jimmy is. Without chakra faciliating this technique, Kurome simply relied on the acceleration of burst speed to push herself beyond what she's normally capable of momentarily, and achieve the speed that Kumogakure speedsters pride themselves in. Someday, she hoped that she'd be able to achieve that level of speed on her own herself. That would make her technique twice as deadly. Kurome got into position, the stance that would maximum the efficiency of her body to attain accelerated speed. 'Explosive" burst speed. She bent her back forward, bending her knees so they're just under a foot from the ground, while keeping her head tilted downwards at an angle, but so that she can still see Jimmy coming towards her. She need not see, but feel. It is only feeling that gives her the instinct of knowing when is the real time. Her elbows went lower in elevation and so she placed the tip of her blade just above the ground with the palm of her other hand right besides the blunt side of her blade. It'd look like she was stabbing the ground, but she wasn't. Jimmy ran towards her now at full speed, at velocities faster than a mach 177 lightning bolt. Kurome breathed in and out casually. In.... and... Jimmy stepped within just three meters of her. It was time. Out... Kurome darted upwards with all of her speed and power. Training to be a sprinter, track training teaches one to "jump" upwards off of the blocks to get that head-start in a race. Using the ground as that lever, Kurome's trigger muscles worked in conjunction with her knee and hip bones, garnering that energy and forceful "push" that'd give her a 25% boost in speed.

And an explosive speed it was. That sudden jump would alarm an opponent's spinal cord before the stimulus reaches the brain. This creates a "reflex lag" in the opponent. Afferent neurons sent over to the spine, efferent neurons would be sent over to the chest, causing the thing to "heave" or "contract" and stiffen the legs as they know that danger is coming towards to the lower half of the body, but moving at a speed that one cannot easily defend against it if it's not anticipated. Reflex is involuntary, and out of control from the person in charge. It would only come later before an efferent is sent from the brain to produce a voluntary response to decide decision-making, but now Kurome has taken advantage of that "interval leg". Darting towards the area in between hip and knee, Kurome swung her sword with all of her power and speed, her sword moving at the speed of her push-off right now, and with enough power to severe the tissue and tendons of the human body. Jimmy's legs were cut in a swift instant, everything from knee down sent flying of as if they were separate body parts. And ther... their friendship was severed.... not. Kurome's attack was successful, and she turned around to see Jimmy's legs picking themselves back up and walking back to where they were severed. In a few seconds, they re-attached themselves to reform the legs and Jimmy was back and healthy again. Kurome smiled, but she did want to test one more thing. It was good to have an immortal regenerator as a partner, as then she could do whatever she wants with him and it wouldn't even matter. She picked her scabbard back up, and sheathed her blade. This time she wanted to try something else. Something new, and probably more damaging as part of her Kenjutsu style. She adopted the same crouching stance, so momentum can build up in her knees and behind her hips again. Everything was in that hip movement - that lurch forward. Jimmy ran towards her again, but this time she had her hand on the handle of Black Cold while it was still sheathed. Anyway could tell what would happen next. It was Iai. Although, her Iaido is going to be amateur form. A form practiced but one who does know the samurai art. This ninja variant was something anyone can do really. She burst forward using the same Kojiri technique, but at the same time she drew her blade out in an instant. Friction and trajectory allowed her to draw her blade with more force, and palced more emphasized on cutting power. Jimmy's legs were sliced, but they soon came back again. Their friendship was preserved.

Now this next technique was directly combat applicable in a more supplementary way. The technique was Mune. Mune referred to the "back" or the outer edge of the blade ridge. Manipulating chakra, she mixed in physical energy and mental energy to produce her own chakra - the energy of life individual to her own as it was synthesized using the energy from her own quirky, lewd body and her neurotic, psychotic mental energy. Nothing can replicate her chakra, or else risk a severe disadvantage to their mental stabilities. She poured that molded chakra through the circulatory system, through which teh tenketsu points would help channel her chakra to parts of her body. Ninjutsu focuses on shape and elemental transformation, but she need not do that here today. Her chakra can remain raw, free, and free-flowing, pure in form and nature. The technique does not require any fancy changes to the chakra. She focused and stored that chakra to her fist, and that was to be the end of it. Right now, she doesn't need to do anything except to make the move. Jimmy does not have to be her living target anymore, for she can produce with some wooden dummies. Granted boards don't hit back, but it was more fun to hit something solid and suited for training than to hack up thin air and look like a fool. Swordsmen do that a lot, though. They can visualize what is in front of them,and sometimes place themselves as if they were in a real battle with a sworsman of equal skill. Kurome was not at that level yet. Her neurotic impulses could not produce that image as Jimmy would get in the way. Jimmy's prescence was all she needed, and was a lot better than anything abstract foe could provide for her. She swung her blade at the dummy, her slash a bit like a blur. But the moment she released her blade, she released all of that chakra right onto the very handle she gripped on, which was a very easy and instantaneous process as there was not even a milimeter of gap between her grip and the handle. Chakra acting as a physical force now, using the air to supplement her striking ability, the "Mune" technique activated and contributed artificial push force onto the blade before dispersing to the edge of the blade. It was there was the cutting power amplified with reinforced strength. She sliced the dummy cleanly in half. This technnique did boost velocity, making it harder for people to see things coming at them, especially for ninja who are Weaponry Masters, because their perceptions are significantly greater than a Ninjutsu, Puppetry, and Taijutsu Master's. It is in their reactions that Kurome targeted. Plus the added cutting power also helped her to breach through some defenses. Not a lot though, but it would meant that her attack would cut right through almost all A-rank defenses as it stands. Perhaps when engaging with an enemy that can stand on their own two feet, she'd be able to overwhelm them in melee combat. Most of her techniques gave her the edge in close quarters combat anyway. Once within swinging range, the skill advantage shifts over to her side. Kurome sighed. But there was a cool-down period for this technique. She can't consecutively spam it, and is more like a special move, though it recharges relatively quickly. Not then.... to combine them! Kurome liked mixing her techniques together.

This time, Jimmy was not needed for this. She used another dummy, and placed herself three meters away. Although the realism was taken away, all she wanted to see is how the "cut" was produced. Everything was in the cut, which deals the damage. She stored chakra to her fist. This did create a disadvantage for her. Doujutsu users who can see chakra like SHaringan and Byakugan would be able to be suspicious of her intentions. Couple that with the fact that her stance telegraphs what she's gonna do suggests that her technique would be seen through. Trigger muscles at the ready, she bursted forward reacting very quickly, taking no more than two sprint steps before slashing her blade outwards towards the dummy's legs. The legs had pretty low surface area and against the length and edge of the blade, were pretty easy to target as after the first one was cut, the second would also will be. Diameter was not an issue here, and so long as Kurome aims right in between the knee and hips, it'd be impossible to jump over it because the distance it'd take between the edge of her sword and a leg is shorter the the distance between the opponent's knee and bottom of their shoe. At the same time she dashed forward, she flowed chakra through the blade. No chakra conductory system needed to exist in the blade, for any changes to the chakra could already be conducted within herself. Moving at Taijutsu Mastery speed and slashing at Taijutsu MAstery + speed, she could likely force her way through low S-rank defenses. In combat, this deadly combination would render the enemy without their legs. Kurome pondered whether she should hit higher. If she did, then it'd be harder for the enemy to survive it by dodging. And more of the enemy would be sliced. If she aimed lower, that's lower surface area to work with so it'd be faster to cut through, but it'd be relatively easier for Taijutsu and Kenjutsu Masters to flip over her. Even Ninjutsu Masters may be able to form a hand seal in time to defend themselves. So she decided that her choice of attack was accurate.

Spoiler:

Kurome stood her ground amidst the thunderous air, braving through this harsh weather. Environemntal adaption was part of her training regime, supplemented by her own improvement in her Kenjutsu ability. Kurome took out the sheath on her blade, revealing Black Cold. She didn't want to get it too wed or risk having its edge lose its cutting deadliness. This was one of her most prized techniques, simply because it gives her a sharp edge in melee combat; with speed and quantity working together to deliver a series of lethal strikes to vital points on the enemy's body. This technique was called "Kissaki" and it referred to the tip, the very point of the blade. The energy expended on her arm muscle would be large, so it's not someething she can spam consecutively. Luckily she has learned to be ambidextrous, so all was well. Requiring no chakra at all, but the technique itself revolves around pushing one's muscles to move the arm at maximum extension and contraction speeds. The enemy wouldn't even be able to see it coming, and since Kurome's ability to move her sword is incredibly high, you can bet that no one easide from an equal Weaponry MAstery would be able to dodge all such strikes. Or an insanely skilled Taijutsu Master superior to her. But Kurome would skewer them anyway. She tilted her sword horizontally flat from the ground, elevated just along her midsection of her torso. Blade pointing at the wooden dummy just two meters away from her, Kurome brought her elbow inwards a bit to build up that momentum. Joints and trigger muscles working together with eye coordination and her mastered preciison and accuracy with the sword, Kurome began to execute her technique. She thrusted forward at high speed, but then brought it back at equally high speed, and then out again... and then back in... and out... and back in. Course, this would all occur at nigh-instantaneous intervals, at rates faster than the blinking of the human eye. Out back, out back, out, and back, Kurome executed a barrage of high-speed thrusts at max speed as the blunt of her power was in the tip, allowing her to skewer through A-rank defenses. The "kissaki" placed many holes in that dummy, all around the same spot. Her muscles worked themselves very hard, as she maintained that same linear precision in all of her strikes, only moving slightly to give more variety in the damage she'll inflict on the dummy. At the end of the day, after executing some number of thrust motions, she could see that there were several elliptical holes that went all the way through the body of the wooden dummy and out. It was all at the heart area. Any normal person would be dead. If they move away, she'll just follow them while coordinating her balance to maintain that same accuracy and precision. It's good to aim at the vital points. Kurome's arm felt kinda stiff, so she had to rest for a minute before getting that flow back in. No doubt her muscle knots would kick in, but it's alright.

She moved onto the next technique, one that actually requires chakra. Magical works taking effect, this technique was a real jutsu. This technique was called Hamon and it referred to the "tempered line" of the katana blade. Manipulating chakra now, mixing in physical and mental energy, and channeling it through the circulatory system where it exitted from her hands and along the edge of her blade. It was a moderate amount of chakra, but it was all compressed to the tip of her sword, where the jutsu will originate from. Pointing at th dummy, she was curious at what effects it would have. Clearly it was meant to be a supplementary jutsu designed to help her escape from something, but perhaps if the tip was just a few inches from the head of a human being, perhaps some considerable damage would take place. It'd be fun to wathc a person's face cave in or splatter all across the floor. She maintained her stance and simply held the grip with two hands, with tip of the blade right from the head of the dummy. Compressing, focusing, it'll violently release a miniature shockwave. "Hamon!" she cried out. The shockwave expanding from the tip and outwards, Kurome flew back several meters - 8 meters to be precise, but was able to maintain her balance as she skidded across the ground, and remained back in control. She looked at the dummy, and could see there was a clear dent in the wood. Clearly the shockwave had some effect here. To the face of a human, the skull will basically cave in and the face wll be distorted. She then went back, jumped, and use Hamon on the head again. Now, she flew up to ten meters into the air, but while in mid-air, she could see that the wooden dummy had fallen out of its post, with half of its face caved in. How fun!

Kurome thought about combining the two techniques, although it probably wouldn't be efficient past the first strike. The first thrust would definitely carry a lot more power to it, but she'll just be pushed back and unable to launch multiple strikes at the enemy, so it was better just to not bother. Her arm muscles seemed to have retuirned to normal now, which was good. Kurome just looked at her sword and then at a tree. She walked over to a tree and compressed chakra to a tip, before releasing the shockwave. Sent flying backwards, Kurome would then regain her balance and stab the tip of her sword right on another tree bark, while at the same time releasing the chakra pent up in her tip to sent her flying again. It was like she was playing pinball with herself, trying to release her chakra right as the tip touches the bark, to see how far she can go as far as controlling the technique and applying it in battle. She was semi-successful in that cause. Bringing herself back down, Kurome scrubedd off the dirt, and decided it was time to re-stimulate her chakra levels after a nice workout.

Spoiler:

Another physical workout, and this little session was no less demanding than her reputed Kojiri techniques. This was the real deal, and required even more ounces of her body. Kojiri assumed that the user was already crouched up, but this technique actually set-ups her for the Kojiri no matter what she is doing, whether she's running while an enemy is after her or not. Furthermore, this was a technique that required chakra, but the change and manipulation were so subtle that not even Doujutsu users aside from Sharingan masters should be able to deduce something useful and significant from the chakra focused around her knees. Course by the time they even detect it, Kurome would already be on the move, prowling to launch the killing blow. Meditating and mediating her breath, Kurome began a dash towards Jimmy, who was sixty meters away. During this, she had channeled chakra in her circulatory system and fed it to her knee area, keeping it maintained there so she could "trigger" it at the right moment, activating the desired effect of the jutsu. Kurome can't run at maximum speed, or risk a fracture here and there after she swings her sword. However, she can still run just below the velocity height, so she can still give off the impression of someone trying to burst in through a door or something. This technique was called Yokote and it referred to the "dividing line" of the katana. Chakra surging down there, she approached perhaps five meters of Jimmy, who was frantically charging towards her at a greater speed. It was then did Kurome, with an instant will of thought, decided to force the chakra to contract her knees and begin the assassination. Her knees bent, causing it to hinge as the bottom of her feet leveled up at an angle, her laps bent right on her knees, and the whole rest of her upper body bent forward towards the direction of the ground. Kurome was prepared for this contraction, as she had trained for it previously. With great timing, this sudden movement caused Jimmy to stop abruptly, a motor decision made based on confusion and failure to anticipate the unpredictable. The concept was same for Kojiri. This sudden movement merely sparked a reflex response rather than a voluntary reaction in her opponent. Afferent neurons would be sent to the spine, which would send an efferent neuron causing the stomach to contract within, legs to stiffen, and high energy movements on the part of the enemy to rapidly seize as the body awaits for the efferent neuron from the brain to return the brain's decision on what to do next. How a skilled assassin could intercept that message and finish the target off before it should be received.

Kurome, just a meter away, handled the contraction well and immedaitely pushed off after, after training herself how to force her knees to extend back as fast as possible after Yokote is executed. She went in and thrusted Black Cold right in Jimmy's chest. Nothing came out. No blood or anything, just a blade through a body. Kurome withdrew her blade and bowed before her almighty, immortal friend and thanked him for helping her out as always. The technique was a success, though her knees did feel kinda sore. She would rest for several minutes before continuining. She thought about the weaknesses and applications of the technique. Obviously this was to create an opening in the opponent's guard, but it is limited to when she's running towards her opponent and her opponent is doing the same. This also works only in melee situations, which means that no matter if long-range Ninjutsu is spammed at her at close range, chances are that she won't be able to have the chance to use this technique. This was best against Taijutsu and Kenjutsu masters, who have already trained their body reflexes to an extent that her technique can easily exploit that, and raise that alertness and super-fast response into an involuntary reaction.

Now comes a harder part. Combining Kojiri and Yokote. With these two fraternal twin techniques, she'd be able to get the drop on practically anybody she gets within swinging range. Jimmy was positioned far away as usual, and Kurome had already concentrated the chakra to her knees. She would use the contraction now instead to build up the momentum in her bent legs, and then leap off suddenly, pushing herself off with immense speed as she uses trigger muscles to make herself burst like a rocket projectile. She now ran towards Jimmy, excited to try this new killing duo out. They were now within five meters again, when Kurome used the chakra to contract her knees for taht reflex lag to occur once more. Now technically once used against an enemy multiple times, prefeerable more than twice, they'd be better able to get used to it, because they're expecting it this time and is aware of what the technique looks like. This cautions Kurome to perhaps be careful about showing this around to the general public. Once she has contracted, she got into Kojiri position. Knees bent, elbows lowered, and Black Cold's grip over her shoulder as the tip of the blade was just an inch off the ground behind her. Head lowered, she would then go back up like a spring, immediately taking advantage of the build-up momentum and burst speed to achieve that sudden Taijutsu-Mastery level burst velocity. Although her opponent would have cralwed to a stop by the time she leapt off, the opponent would still be caught off guard in an instant and she would use that to make an attack that simply cannot be dodgd at this range. She swung her sword diagonally, and Black Cold sliced off Jimmy's legs right below the knee right off as she flew past him. Leg parts flying away, Kurome would once again see them return to their master, and regain the sense of complete self that they used to have. Seeing that she has done a good deed today, Kurome and Jimmy walked home together. Friends out for each other's backs and throats.