Author's Note: Training chapter 3/3!

It was the beginning of the second week of training. That left three more weeks until the third round of the exams. My ninjutsu training has been going pretty well now and generating lightning was almost second nature. I guess that's what I get for spending nearly every waking hour working on it.

After the usual morning exercises, we made our way up the cliff side once more. I think Kakashi-sensei decided I was ready to move on now, since he didn't stop at the clearing as usual.

"This seems like a good spot." He murmured while stopping in his tracks. I stood next to him and looked around. All around us were enormous trees that nearly blocked the sky completely. Although the area we were in wasn't very dense, it still didn't seem like a favorable training area. I'm sure he had something fancy up his sleeves.

Without any words, he began to form a series of hand seals and soon, lightning began to spark around his hand. In a blink of an eye, it shot out and morphed into the form of a hound. A tail of lightning stretched and remained connected to his hand, enabling him to continue controlling it as the lightning hound crashed through a few trees. The end result was a cloud of dust forming and our training space being enlarged.

As the lightning hound disappeared and the dust settled, Kakashi-sensei turned to me with a one-eyed smile. "Lightning Running Beast Technique. The majority of Lightning Release involves manipulating the lightning into many forms. It should be easier to figure out after your past training, but don't expect good results on your first attempt." He explained before turning me towards trees that still remained intact. "Now, you try. Just make sure you direct the attack away from me."

I just knew this was going to be a pain in the ass.

With a heavy sigh, I copied the hand signs and began to draw the chakra to my hand. Slightly taken aback by the sudden surge of power flowing to my arm, I readjusted my footing to get a hang of the jutsu and threw my hand out, launching the lightning along with it. Although it wasn't nearly as menacing or as graceful as Kakashi-sensei's hound, I made the lightning take shape and attack one of the trees. As it struck, the lightning hound dissipated into the air like Kakashi-sensei's attack did. There was barely a crack in the tree, but at least there was some visible damage. In the end, though, it was still pretty pathetic.

I dropped my arm by my side before looking up at the jounin with an unimpressed gaze.

"Not bad. Focus harder on shaping your chakra and put some more force into its movements. You could say the attack is like an extension of your body." After giving me a reassuring pat on the back, I nodded and faced the cracked tree to give it another go.

Draw chakra and focus. That's straightforward enough. Once again, the chakra flowed into my hand and lightning began to spark. In a matter of seconds, it came to life and the lightning was jumping about violently in my hand. With another thrust of my hand, it shot out and expanded, shaping into a less deformed hound this time. A few swift movements of my arm made it lunge at the damaged tree. This time, a loud snap sounded and there was a large crack in the bark.

"Much better." Kakashi-sensei praised. As I dropped my hand once more, he signaled for me to stay as he was already on his way out of the small clearing. "I'll leave you to it."

There was only a week and a half left until the final round of the Chuunin Exams, but I still had a lot to learn. My Lightning Running Beast Technique could actually do some decent damage now but of course, it could be a lot better.

Kakashi-sensei drilled me in chakra control and lightning manipulation to the point that I was minutes away from passing out. On the bright side, his no-mercy training method really pays off in the long run. I felt like I had been training for years.

"Take another go at it." He half-ordered, half-suggested. As the dust settled once more, I sighed and formed the hand seals.

"Lightning Running Beast Technique."

This time, Kakashi-sensei made clones to serve as moving targets to I could practice controlling the lightning hound's movements. Over time, I've gotten the hang of starting the jutsu, but my physical control of it was still lacking. With a clenched fist and a hard strike, I had the lightning hound attack the clones, taking out a couple of them in one go.

Soon after catching my breath, a firm hand was placed on my shoulder and Kakashi-sensei gave me his one-eyed smile. I took it as a sign that training was done for the day and followed him back to the cave we set our belongings in. It was getting dark and I didn't think I could get another lightning hound out of me so either way, training would have ended then.

"You're doing well, Riku." He stated once the fire was lit. Skewered and set around the fire were four gutted fish. Though they weren't as filling, the woods don't exactly serve meat every night. "There's another trick or two I want you to learn before your match, but it shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Sounds like fun." I responded plainly while poking at the fire with a stick. Sparks flew into the air and I followed them upwards to watch them burn out. "I feel like I'll need more than a couple of new tricks to beat down Tsura's techniques, though."

Kakashi-sensei nodded once while turning the skewers so the other sides of the fish would cook as well. "He has incredible stamina, but so do you. You're pretty agile, as well. Making him work while you play it safe would be your best bet, but it won't be easy."

I sighed, tossing the stick into the fire before leaning back on my hands. "A nice time-manipulation genjutsu would be helpful with that, but I don't think I'll be able to learn one in time for the match. I guess I'll just have to match him when it comes to techniques, or at least be somewhat of a challenge."

"Why else do you think I'm pushing all these new techniques onto you?" He asked rhetorically with a slight laugh before handing me two of the cooked fish. "Make sure you rest well. Training will only get harder from here."

After a morning of review and polishing my new techniques, Kakashi-sensei took me back to the clearing with the small pool of water that fell over the cliff. Once we reached the center of the clearing, he stopped and faced me like he has done many times before.

"This technique won't deal much physical damage to your opponents, but it'll definitely give you some extra time if you need it. It's called Blinding Darkness." Soon after, he began to make the hand seals. For merely a second, a bright light shone from his hands and filled my vision with dark spots. I winced and slammed my eyes shut. Although the effect didn't last long, I could see what he was getting at. "Think of this technique like a flash bomb. You condense the lightning and release all at once, creating a bright flash of light to blind your opponents. Of course, I didn't go full out on you just now. Depending on how well you can use it and when you use it, it can impair your opponent for at least a minute."

A minute may not seem like much, but every second counts in a battle. It would definitely be useful in getting Tsura to stay put while I prepared a bigger attack.

Kakashi-sensei first started me off by focusing chakra to my hands and releasing it quickly, to get the feel of it. Although I could see that the lightning was much brighter when I did so, it definitely wasn't enough to temporarily blind somebody. Soon, he told me to focus more and more chakra into my hands until they were sparking wildly. After learning how to manipulate lightning for the past couple of weeks, this came a lot more natural, which I was thankful for.

When told to, I released the chakra and the light flashed from my hands.

"Simple, isn't it." The jounin stated with a one-eyed smile. "Knowing that technique will help you get the hang of this next trick. It's a combination between the Lightning Running Beast Technique and the one I just taught you, but it's also a little bit of a double-edged sword. Watch."

Soon enough, the lightning hound jumped from Kakashi-sensei's hand. After distance was put between the lightning hound and us, it was suddenly condensed into a white ball and seemed to explode, causing another bright light to appear. This time, however, the grass around the light was burnt and smoke was rising from them.

"A larger form of Blinding Darkness can be used with virtually any lightning technique, but it produces a lot of heat as well. If enough chakra is condensed, it might even burn your own hand."

I nodded in response before trying it out myself. Within a moment's notice, I formed my own lightning hound and furrowed my brows as I tried to condense the amount of lightning and chakra. It felt like I was trying to crush a rock with my bare hands from the amount of resistance I was feeling. Slowly, the hound form was lost as it became smaller and the lightning became brighter. The sparks flew about more violently until suddenly, I let it slip and the lightning expanded into a burst of light. I winced from the sudden heat that stung my hand, but my gloves protected me from any burns. I'd definitely need more control to use this technique.

It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but it didn't seem like I let him down completely. "You'll get the feel for it soon. Don't strain yourself too much, though. Focus, but stay relaxed. You shouldn't have to strain so much to condense the lightning and chakra. It's your own chakra, after all."

With that, he sat himself down on one of the nearby boulders – one of the few that weren't destroyed yet – to observe my progress. I nodded once and tried again, which got me the same results as last time. I decided then that this technique would probably take up the rest of the week.

After getting the hang of the final technique Kakashi-sensei taught me, the last few days consisted of long hours of sparring that built my endurance and ninjutsu efficiency. Naturally, I was left with bruises and cuts here and there, but nothing that would leave me unable to fight on the day of the Exams. I was always a fast healer anyway, so they probably wouldn't even be there by the time it was my turn.

There were times when he would put limits on what I could do, such as only using taijutsu or not using genjutsu. There were a few times where told me to stay in one place while he attacked me. In a shinobi battle, just about anything was possible. I was certain that Tsura had many more tricks up his sleeve, too. Thankfully, I have a few new things to surprise him and the other Kumo shinobi with as well. Maybe I would even surprise my own teammates while I was at it.

Kakashi-sensei had taught me a useful trick after I got the hang of Blinding Darkness, but whether or not I'd get the chance to use it, I'm not sure. It should definitely make some people gasp if I managed to use it, though.

"Don't let your footwork falter." He pointed out as I spun to the side, knocking my foot against the other a bit by mistake. "It's the little things that may change the course of the entire battle."

Remaining silent, I blocked the series of punches and grabbed his wrist. Leaning in so his elbow bent, I raised my knee to strike him in the gut. He blocked it with ease and with his free hand, grabbed my raised foot and threw it out, causing me to lose balance momentarily. Before he could land a kick, I regained my footing and ducked down while throwing my legs out. They spun in such a way that they attacked Kakashi-sensei's legs from behind, causing his knees to briefly collapse.

As he got up, I flipped back and began the series of hand seals. Just as he began to make the same hand seals, my lightning hound jumped from my hand and towards the jounin, teeth bared and ready to attack. It was no surprise that Kakashi-sensei formed one of his own and sent it after mine, causing the two lightning hounds to clash in the center. I found myself clenching my jaw as I fought against the opposing jutsu, but it was obvious I wouldn't be able to take his down.

Deciding that I wouldn't win this battle, I brought my hands together and condensed the chakra, releasing it into the explosive light that burned the grass and caused Kakashi-sensei's lightning hound to disappear as well. Looking back at him, he gave me a nod of approval and lowered his guard.

"It's getting late. Let's head back and get some rest. You need to be ready for tomorrow, after all." He stated while making his way over to me, hand resting on my shoulder.

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "Sounds like a plan."

Thanks for reading ^^