Wake-Up Call; I'm Not The Best (Lucifer, maybe Skwad Dad)

His current stage in training was an awkward one for Roku.  Previously, he had always been one of the most powerful people among his peers.   Of course he was; he'd always had a rather natural talent for all things ninja, be it hand-to-hand combat, or even the formation of some simple jutsu.  He'd managed to learn many of the simple academy jutsu by simply watching his friends brag about the new jutsu they'd learned on a particular day and often-times replicating it.  He knew not of the reason these things came so easily to him however;  he knew not of the powerful Senju blood coursing through his veins.   As far as he knew, he was descended from powerful ninja, as he knew his parents were very powerful, but he did not belong to a clan.  He was simply talented.  So to finally be a Genin and have to compete with other Genin already with years of specialized training under their belts and all having mentors, Roku struggled to keep up, even with how skilled he was.

So today, as he sat practicing molding his chakra the way so many ninja before him have, struggling to make it turn into fire, he was growing very frustrated and very discouraged, very quickly.  He cursed to himself as his forehead beaded with sweat, unsure of how, if at all, he could make his chakra become fire.  He'd seen others do it, but no one would actually teach him.  It was his parents fault; it was their jobs to teach him things.  But he'd only ever met them once because they put the village's needs before their own son's.  A migraine sprouted in his forehead as he focused, though he focused almost too hard to notice the pain above his brow.   He felt his chakra reacting, but for the life of him, he couldn't manage to get it to turn to fire... maybe he shouldn't have skipped the academy. Giving up for the moment, drenched in sweat, Roku flopped on his back, alone in the training grounds at four in the morning.  He'd been asked why he trained so early by some people, and they all got the same responses; because our enemies are asleep right now, and in order to be the better combatant, I have to train like the better combatant.

Confusion and frustration still eating at his mind, Roku breathed deeply, using one of the meditation techniques taught to him by one of the masseuse girls that catered to Lord Joko. He had to relax, and think through his dilemma, or he'd get nowhere. Immediately however, I noticed he was lying in the grass and dirt with his previously immaculate suit on and scrambled to his feet before he ruined the suit even more. Yes, it was modified to resist dirt and damage from his sweat, but that didn't make it something he could justify smearing all over the ground. Remembering his dilemma however, he pushed the thoughts of his clothing aside, but not before making a mental note to either try to repair the suit, or if that was impossible, to replace them.

He stood still a moment, pondering what he'd have to do to use fire type jutsu. He stood like this, and in the time he stood and thought, eventually squatting and then again returning to a standing position multiple times, the sun rose, peaking through the leaves of the trees as it had yet to crest the canopy. But, Roku thought of a solution. Perhaps, instead of changing his chakra to fire, Roku's chakra had to FUEL the fire, or provide the energy for it. Remember that heat was just energy, and that both manifested in atoms that bounced and vibrated more quickly, Roku applied this concept to his chakra, and nearly instantly, as he clasped his hands together, a small bit of flame flickered between his hands before puffing out of existence. He knew he wouldn't get a stronger reaction, as he had not actually used a jutsu; but he had figured out how to mold his chakra when using Fire Release jutsu.

Fire Release learned
400 EXP first post
100 EXP this post
500 EXP total

Lucifer was up quite early this morning in fact the Jugo man had just returned to the village after a rather long mission. He of course was on his way home to get some well deserved rest but before he did so he had wanted to work on a few techniques of his. He of course would make his way to the closest training grounds near his home and expected not to find anyone there at least someone talented enough to compete with his running for the Kage seat. The blue haired Jugo had already had enough competition with the Namikaze, Senka he couldn't handle anymore then her right now...

To his surprise there was someone in the training field but this person was much to young to be a jounin hell Lucifer had even doubted if he was a chunnin. The boy infront of him had been so engrossed in what Lucifer assumed was Fire Release training that he had yet to notice his presence. As time passed it would seem that Lucifer's inital judgement of the boy had been wrong he easily could have been of chunnin class, despite his clear troubles with learning the fire release nature the boy was able to get past it incredibly fast, this level of adaptability was something that had even passed Lucifer in every aspect besides Senjutsu, who was this kid? In any case Lucifer would began molding storm chakra into his hands he was here to train but alerting his presence to the boy wouldnt hurt as well...

"Hey, Kid what's your name?"

[1/6]

Finally managing to mold his chakra in the necessary way for using Fire Release jutsu, Roku thought back began to try to remember Fire Release jutsu that he had seen before. Fire was a relatively common element to his knowledge, as he'd seen quite a few techniques utilizing it, and he thought for a moment on how best to utilize the techniques when the voice of someone he hadn't seen called out to him and he jumped, nearly leaving his skin behind. "Oh! So sorry Master-" and then Roku recognized the man. Lucifer. The man that pretty much everyone knew was going to become Raikage one day was training right next to him! Feeling rather excited, and then filling with dread, Roku responded to the other individual's inquiry. "Hello Master Lucifer," Roku sputtered, "My name is Roku Enzoka. I was simply going to see if I can get the hang of... well, Sage Mode, actually. I read some books on it... if you don't mind, I'm going to practice doing absolutely nothing and sitting completely still. Please don't feel offended." Roku's refined tone and regal appearance, as always, was a strange match to the boy's obvious youth at fourteen. It would be rare for one to find someone, even the most highly trained of stewards, to be more refined than Roku.

With that, and being satisfied that Roku was far enough out of the way as to not intrude on the other's training, the boy sat down, grudgingly as he did not want to dirty his clothes yet again, and practiced remaining completely and perfectly still. While at first he had random and involuntary twitches, he eventually relaxed and his muscles obeyed his mind, remaining completely and perfectly still. He did not welcome any energy to his body however; instead after a few moments, he rose, sprinted to the other side of the training field and back to his original place, and sat on the ground again, allowing his body to relax and become perfectly still. He repeated this process a few times, still making sure not to intrude upon Lucifer's training.

Sage Mode C-Rank, 1/4

Lucifer was confused as to when the boy had called him master... Had they met before? No he would have remembered someone of his skill at such a young age. It was even more strange when the boy had knew his name... Had he been this well known throughout the village? I mean he had been on of the only contenders for the Kage seat this time around but he didn't expect to be known by people just yet. In any case Lucifer was going to watch this boy while he did a little training of his own he certainly had skill that could someday be useful to the village...

Lucifer would burst out in a loud laugh as the boy blatantly told him he was going to sit down and do nothing as if that would help him master sage mode. It indeed was one of the steps but ability to absorb senjutsu chakra was not only dangerous for those without the finest of chakra control but incredibly difficult. While continuing to mold his own Storm Release chakra into his hands he would decide to give the boy a few pointers in how to start the process of gathering senjutsu chakra while it came naturally to Jugo, Lucifer was still skilled enough to gather senjutsu chakra the traditional way.

"Hey Kid- I mean Roku... That's not how you learn sage mode. Well its part of it but slightly different. While standing or sitting still you allow your chakra to flow freely from your body while your in a meditative state. Your chakra then calls out to the nature around you and thus nature absorbs and converts your chakra into senjutsu chakra and returns it back to you in a steady flow. Thats not the technical definition of what happens but its what I teach people and what helps them to understand it better. If you break that meditative state even once or release to much chakra at once you run the risk of nature rejecting you or even turning yourself into stone by taking into much senjutsu chakra... Hope that helps."

[2/6]

As grateful as Roku was for Lucifer's help, it still annoyed him when people knew more about things than he did.  He liked to know things.  Knowing things made a person feel important, powerful, and most importantly, prevented him from feeling dumb.  All that said, the feeling of slight annoyance with himself did not show on Roku's face, as when he addressed the man, he spoke in a respectful and gracious tone.  "Yes, Master Lucifer, I will remember that.  I had just heard that trying that before one learned to remain completely still could... well... cause them to turn to stone."  Unsure of whether this was completely true, as most information on Sage Mode was either scarce or word-of-mouth, Roku glanced away in slight embarrassment for fear of being incorrect in front of someone so important.

Now, however, when Roku returned to his motionless meditation he cast his chakra out, allowing his body to absorb nature energy.  Immediately, however, Roku felt a torrent unfamiliar and seemingly dangerous energy and pulled back into himself.  He wasn't sure if the sensation meant that he was in danger or that he was doing it right.  Determined to find out however, Roku pulled nature energy into his body once more, this time taking it a bit further until he felt the energy return again.  This time, however, Roku followed his instincts; he matched the energy with his own, and the energy mixed and and became something new. Something warm, something powerful.  Feeling significantly more powerful, Roku stood, having entered what he assumed was Sage Mode.  "Master Lucifer! How's this?"

2/4 C-Rank Sage Mode
Using 2 post discount
C-Rank Sage Mode Achieved

It had taken a while for Lucifer to realize that he might have spoke out of turn at least too soon. He was entirely to quick to give the kid the answer and didnt let him come to that conclusion himself or at least ask Lucifer. He could understand how frustrating that could be and it was for that very reason that he tended to train by him self. Yes help from an outside person could certainly help but it was best when one learned on his own achievements.

It was just like Lucifer to say something in a rather insulting way. He didnt intend for it to come off that way but a lot of the time he didnt not have a filter until it was too late. He would be glad that the boy took his advice in a good manor as well as him starting to put it into pratice.

"Hey, Roku I didnt mean to overstep... I should let you figure out things your own way first..."

Lucifer would turn away from the boy for a moment to allow him to gather his thoughts and formulate a response. But before he would do so Lucifer would feel the immediate change of nature chakra round them. In fact the nature energy would gravitate more towards the young boy and due to Lucifer's extensive experince with the process he could tell the boy was beginning the progress of becoming a sage, a non animal based sage.

This was incredible. The boy was mastering Sage Mode much quicker than most especially the more difficult of the two types. There were not many of people besides those in his clan who were capable of such a skill and maybe those of the clan present in Konoha the famed Senju. But this kid didnt seem to be of either of these groups initally so who was he truly? In any case Lucifer needed to start forming the build of Storm Chakra in his hands before it would over flow.

Forming a white sphere of energy in his hands made purely of Storm Release chakra he would let the sphere slowly grow as he returned his attention back to Roku.

"That... That is truly incredible did you say your last name was Enzoka? I was just wondering because your ability to tap into sage mode is a lot similar to that of people in my clan...

Hmm actually maybe its more like those of the Senju clan while they don't particularly have a background in senjutsu their mastery of most of the ninja arts are phenomenal. In any case if you don't feel comfortable about me asking then fell free to continue your training. Good job in any case."

[3/6]

Being completely unaware that he was actually of the Senju Clan, Roku's expression was simply puzzled. "Yes Master Lucifer, my surname is Enzoka. I do wish, however, I was a part of such a powerful clan... Ah! That said, I have to go, I have a few missions I have to take care of!" Roku had actually forgotten until that moment that he had missions to do that day. It did leave him to ponder, however, why Lucifer would ask him about his heritage. It seemed strange to connect him to a clan based on his mastery of a particular jutsu. But perhaps... well, maybe the Senju Clan was simply so good that Lucifer automatically wondered about them when someone did something impressive. Roku had heard a lot about the Senju Clan of Konohagakure, and he'd heard rumors that he was from the village himself, but that was preposterous. He was, of course, from Kumogakure, where his parents were very, very high ranking ANBU members.

700 EXP, C-Rank Sage Learned, Fire Release Learned