"To properly align yourselves you must feel each other's chakra. This is the way of Ninshu." The Sage calmly stated.

"When do we get to learn how to fight and shoot fireballs?" Hiroki asked frustrated at not learning anything 'cool'.

"I agree with the shiteater for once," I said staring at the sage.

The sage closed his eyes in frustration.

"Ninshu isn't a weapon." The sage said exasperatedly.

Hiroki, as usual, looked confused.

The sage put a hand on Hiroki's head and smiled at him warmly.

"What do you want to learn Ninshu for young Hiroki?" The Sage asked Hiroki kindly.

Hiroki seemed to be more puzzled than usual.

"To protect the sect," Hiroki said after an annoyingly long pause.

"An honorable goal young Hiroki." The sage said ruffling his hair with the same warm smile.

Is the sage a nonce? I'll have to add butthole protection into my contingency plans.

The sage stopped rubbing Hiroki's head and looked at me weirdly.

Shit! Can that fucker read my mind or something?

I'm sure he just smirked! It was too quick to be sure but I definitely saw something.

The sage moved away from Hiroki and picked up some dirt in his hands.

"Hold out your hands like this." The sage said as he nestled the dirt between his two palms.

Hiroki did what he said and the sage poured the dirt onto his hands.

The Sage got some more dirt and came up to me.

The Sage looked at me expectingly. Well, he could fuck off there's no way I'm letting that dirt go anywhere near me.

"This is the quickest way to learning Ninshu." The sage said seemingly answering something I hadn't said.

I reluctantly held out my hands and he poured the dirt on my palms.

The Sage then placed something in both mine and Hiroki's hands.

"You are to channel your Chakra into the seed and make it grow. This will not only increase your Chakra control but also your Ninshu connection. Master that and I'll teach you how to 'fight and shoot fireballs'" The sage said slightly annoyed at the end.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Making a fucking plant grow is going to give me power? What type of hippie shit is this?

"I'm not going to be part of your flower display Sage," I said getting increasingly annoyed holding dirt.

"Then you can leave the sect." The Sage said in a happy tone.

I humphed and the Sage started to walk away.

"Wait! Where the fuck do you think you're going?" I demanded.

"I have business and you're going to be awhile." The Sage said smiling at me.

Whatever. I look over to my right and Hiroki is staring intensely at the mound of dirt in his hand ignoring my back and forth with the Sage.

Shit!

I can't let that inbred fucker learn this before me.

I too began to channel my chakra into the dirt.

It went on like this for hours with me and Hiroki standing completely still trying to channel our chakra into a small mound of dirt.

More and more hours past and day turned into midday and midday turned into night.

I had just managed to get my Chakra into the seed when my concentration was broken by a triumphant cry.

I glared up to see Hiroki brightly smiling down at the plant stem nestled between his palms.

The fucking inbred beat me? Beat me!

Hiroki turned his head excitedly back to me to see how I was doing.

Hiroki saw I had made little to no progress and instantly became long faced.

I could see pity in his eyes. This fucking inbred piece of crusty dog shit was pitying me.

"It's okay Takaoki, I'm sure you'll get it soo-" Hiroki went to say but I cut him off with a punch to the gut.

Hiroki collapsed in on himself and fell to the ground winded.

"Don't you fucking pity me," I said as I spat down on him my fists clenched into balls of anger.

Hiroki was still in a ball under the night sky as I was about to go back to my room when I saw my spilled soil was sprouting a withered plant.

I stared down and smirked at my accomplishment.

Looks like I was going about it the wrong way. Then I carried on walking.

The next day, me and Hiroki met the Sage at our usual training area.

"I see you both learned the technique." The Sage said staring at our bodies intensely.

Pedo...

Hiroki was avoiding making eye contact with me as the Sage mentioned yesterday.

"Now as promised you will learn to harness Ninshu in a more practical way." The Sage said stepping away from Hiroki and me.

"Attack me." The Sage said.

Both me and Hiroki were stunned. His demand caught us completely off guard.

Hiroki was the first one to talk.

"What do you mean Sage?" Hiroki asked still confused.

"I want you to both attack me at the same time. Don't hold back." The Sage said with his usual calm demeanor.

I was the first one to attack.

There was no way I was gonna let a free shot against the Sage pass me up.

I shot forward using my limited control of chakra to boost my speed.

I coiled back my right fist for a straight right, but that was just a diversion for the kick I had planned for his nuts.

I've been waiting for this for so long.

Just as predicted when I jumped at the Sage with my straight right he blocked it.

However, what was not expected was the Sage grabbing my extended arm and swinging me, onehanded, into a nearby tree.

Fuck that hurt.

"You are too slow and your movements a predictable." The Sage said still standing perfectly still in the spot where he began.

Fucking showoff.

Hiroki was the next to attack.

Hiroki was a lot slower than me and didn't have any idea on how to fight beside the Katas the Sage taught us so his attack was predictably bad.

He was sent flying at the tree which I had hit.

However, I was no longer there.

Having used Hiroki's attack as an opportunity to hide in the bushes.

Shit. The Sage is too powerful to fight head on and Hiroki won't be able to create a good enough distraction to cover me.

Grabbing Hiroki by the collar of his robe I drag his unconscious body back to the Sage.

"Give up?" The Sage asked with a smirk.

I glared at him wishing I had any way to even land a hit on him.

"For now Old man," I said still glaring at his weird eyes.

The sage's smirk got slightly bigger as he said

"Then you will learn Ninshu the way I ask you too?" The sage said with that same shit-eating smirk I was quickly coming to dislike.

I simply grunted my acceptance and dragged Hiroki back to the dormitory.