War and Peace (Takeda Training)

[Takeda Shingen]

As soldiers from both Yukimura and Koboyashi's units managing to get across the lake, though Katsuyori was not happy about it, as a General, seeing the men getting across, whether through sheer spirit and encouragement from their General, or from bribery, he would begrudgingly accept the men were more competent than he gave them credit for. Though there were still some men who were caught by the current and tossed back out, a majority managed to get across, and considering how difficult he made the exercise, that said a lot about their determination and physical prowess. Continuing to maintain the level of difficulty he had already set, Katsuyori would remain focused on making the riptides and currents difficult to overcome, moving them as close to the surface as he possibly could, while keeping the surface of the lake calm.

[Sanada Yukimura]

Continuing to keep up the roars of encouragement to his men still stuck on the other side of the shore, with their General believing so fervently in them, they would not lose hope, and with their spirits rejuvenated, would tackle the exercise with OVERFLOWING PASSION, powering their way through the currents through pure physical power. It was no easy task, but soon enough, all of Yukimura's men would make it across the lake, completing the exercise. Proud of their success, having utilized his fire Musou and dried his armor up with heat energy, as each of his men had finished the exercise and came up on shore, Yukimura had dried their armor for them, to prevent rust from settling in. They had done a good job, all of them.

[Yamabara Shou]

Shou's smiled turned into a frown when he saw that even still some of the men didn't make it across the water. 2 of Koboyashi unit had been forced back. With a sigh, Shou pulled the two up off the ground. "Just hold on lets get this over with. Swim as hard as you can and I'll keep you afloat." Shou would order pretty much dragging the two into the water. He hadn't wanted to get wet once more. But the general insistence at making it so hard was annoying him. 

Taking a deep breath Shou would go under the water, kicking his legs he fought against the harshest of the currents below the surface, while pushing the two men as close to the top of the water, so that the could swim above the forces that keep pushing them back. However eventually Shou began to tire, this was not like running at all, but he would manage to get them quite far across, the save strenght from not having to fight the worse of the currents allowing them to final make the last part with a burst of energy.

Shou broke from below the water, gasping for air and was thrown out much like most of the men had done back where he had started. He had already done it once, he just hoped that the man didnt demand that he do it again since he had help the others get across. With another sigh, Shou picked himself up and started to wring out his clothes once more. 

[Takeda Shingen]

Though Katsuyori could see that Shou was annoyed by the difficulty curve he had set, the General did not care. He had been commanded by his father, Lord Shingen, to make his exercise difficult for the men, to test them, and he had completed his objective. It was simply up to the commanders and soldiers of each unit to think outside the box and figure out the best strategy to get across the lake. With Shou aiding the two remaining soldiers of the Koboyashi unit across, though it resulted in him being tossed back onto the starting shore, as impetuous and hot-tempered Katsuyori was, he knew when he was beaten, and would not force Shou to complete the exercise a second time, as he already completed it once. He wasn't so petty and such a sore loser to exercise his power over the soldiers and courier and force them to do more than their fair share.

"Humph. So you men are more competent than I gave you credit for. You all have successfully passed the exercise, one way or another, and with that, earned your fifteen minute break. Rest up, drink your wine, or whatever you wish, then report to Head Priestess Mochizuki Chiyome and Sarutobi Sasuke for your next exercise. Dismissed!"

[Yamabara Shou]

Shou was glad when he heard that the men were told to take a break before heading on. He hadn't wanted to get in the lake again, he felt like his clothes were going to be ruin after the amount of wringing out they had taken with him trying to get them dry. Rejoining Koboyashi unit, Shou sat among them for the break. Getting his breath back and trying to get warm once more. Time however felt like it passed quickly,and soon enough he got back to his feet, and followed Koboyashi to the next exercise. 

Shou couldn't help but wonder what was going to be thrown at them next. Climbing and swimming had been physically tiring tasks. Yet the training so far seemed lacking in combat training. However he didn't think that combat exercises would be what they face next. Not with who they were reporting to to lead it. 

[Sanada Yukimura]

Despite General Katsuyori's reluctance to acknowledge the capabilities of the soldiers, including his own men, in the end, he would give them the credit that was due, and told them to take a break before moving on to the next exercise, which would be commanded by Head Priestess Mochizuki Chiyome and Yukimura's own captain of the Sanada Ten Braves, Sarutobi Sasuke. Gratefully taking the break, he would take the opportunity to finish drying the rest of his men's armor and clothing, before moving on to the Koboyashi unit, and Shou himself as well.

It wasn't much, but it would at least help them to warm back up for the next exercise, and Yukimura had a feeling he knew what the exercise would be like, and it might involve some combat training, but with Sasuke, it was hard to tell. Taking a long drink of water, to parch his throat, he would feel his throat loosen up and his headache fade, which meant he had been heavily dehydrated, especially given how physically exhausting the exercise had been, and would rest up for the exercise ahead.

[Takeda Shingen]

After the fifteen minute break was up, the soldiers would report to the next area, where Chiyome and Sasuke both stood, Chiyome with her hands clasped in front of her, and Sasuke with one hand scratching the back of his neck while yawning widely. Once all the soldiers had formed up in the bamboo grove in front of them, Chiyome would smile warmly at the men, while Sasuke would crack one eye open and glance at the men briefly, before focusing on his master, Yukimura.

"Please listen closely. For our exercise, you will be combating against our doppelgangers, and in full armor, with any and all of your weapons at your disposal to defeat the both of them."

"Try and defeat our doppelgangers, if you can, but if you are knocked to the ground, you will be considered defeated, and will have to try again."

Both Chiyome and Sasuke disappearing in a whirlwind of leaves, reappearing high above in trees on either side, on the ground, both their doppelgangers, consisting of pure wind and shadow respectively, would appear. All the men would soon find this would not be an ordinary combat exercise, and just as difficult as the two previous exercises. The moment the first soldier stepped forward to face them, a dome of wind and shadow would form around them, completely encircling the bamboo grove, stopping just short of the line of men. Inside the dome, all their senses would be nullified, touch the only sense that would be retained.

Though the first soldier would try his best to fight against the doppelgangers, he would soon be knocked to the ground. Touch would not be the only sense each soldier would have to use to fight back, but also a sixth sense of sorts, their spiritual energy sense, if they wished to defeat Chiyome and Sasuke's doppelgangers, who were just as powerful as their originators are.

[Yamabara Shou]

Shou would watch impressed with the powers that two to leading the exercise showed off. They used there powers well and with experienced, how exactly where they meant to take this sort of exercises on alone. However that is what it seemed was expected of them. Shou would wait impatiently tapping his foot while men attempted the exercise, until it was his turn. Stepping forth Shou would be surrounded, his sense seemingly disappearing. 

However while he couldn't see, there was no reason to believe that the doppelgänger themselves couldn't see, seeing that the obscuration making it so he couldn't was the same powers that made them. Instinctively Shou would vanish from sight using his own powers just in case they could, while also remaining still just in case they could also hear. . It was only then that Shou felt something, a sort of meeting of forces around him. It was as the force fuelling his own powers, as the came from him, like a spiritual wind was bending in ways that one wouldn't expects. Like it was interacting with powers like his own, like those of the doppelgänger. With a flash, Shou sword would come to hand, and he would pull up his guard. Closing his eyes as they were useless anyway and focusing on the instinctive feeling inside, waiting for the doppelgänger to attempt to take him down. 

(OOC: Musou 1 of 8 post used, Activating, cloak of the intrepid spymaster, silent while standing on the spot)

[Takeda Shingen]

While Sasuke's doppelganger would blend in with the shadows, Chiyome's doppelganger would use its own wind musou to lift itself up and float through the air, allowing it to move through the air silently. With fan in hand, Chiyome's doppelganger would flip it completely open, before flying silently towards Shou and with a wave of the fan, would send a gust of razor sharp wind at the courier, but not to harm him, but merely keep him distracted. While Shou's concentration was focused on Chiyome's doppelganger, Sasuke's doppelganger, after traveling through the shadows, would pop up from behind Shou and swing one of the two dual giant shuriken it wielded in a horizontal arc at Shou's back, in order to knock him to the ground.

[Yamabara Shou]

Shou mind was ablaze. Trying to think of what the two doppelgänger would be capable of, and how to react accordingly. With how the dome cutting him of from the other was made of wind and shadow. It was quite easy to assume that each of the doppelgänger would also have powers over the same. Surely someone with powers over darkness and shadow would be the kind to use it to strike from behind unexpected. Shou himself had no qualms about using such tactics and would not doubt that someone else would be willing to do the same. 

So when from ahead of him, powerful winds buffered him, Shou jumped. The razor sharp wind also had some force behind them. Turning in the air, Shou would swing his sword out around him. The arc of his own blade was off, as it was more a random swing at were he would have expected the second doppelgänger to attack from. AS such Shou would feel the shadow doppelgänger weapon dig into his arm, before his own blade would come around completely. A loud grunt of pain wouldn't even reach his own ears, but Shou forced himself to remain standing. The goal here was to not be knock to the ground. 

With his free hand, Shou would grab out blindly but from where the weapon had hit, he would be able to make a pretty good guess as to where the shadow doppelgänger arm was. If he manage to grab a hold of him, Shou would spin quickly and the spot. Pulling the shadows with him. With all his strength Shou would try to throw the Shadow doppelgänger, at were the wind that had come at him before had come from. Before lashing out with his sword arm and letting the sword fly forward hopefully towards were both doppelgänger would now be.  If he managed to pull it off, the sword would swing back round towards him. But blinded as it were, he would be unable to catch the sword on its return path, and it would fly passed him before falling to the ground. And even if he managed to pull things off, the following would be even harder. He doubted they would use the same tactics twice and he wouldn't be able to predict them this time. He really needed to figure out a better method to pin point them in this dome. For that vague feeling in him, to actually tell him where they were. Just how they must be able to do, seeing as he couldn't be seen himself. 

(OOC: Musou 2 of 8 posts used.)

[Takeda Shingen]

Though Shou managed to grab onto the shuriken of Sasuke's doppelganger, because of the wire attached to the shuriken, the doppelganger would leap back and avoid being grabbed and subsequently thrown to the ground, while simultaneously yanking its shuriken with it, ripping it free from Shou's grip and causing a shallow wound on Shou's hand. Sasuke's doppelganger would then meld back in with the shadows, disappearing from "view," while Chiyome's doppelganger would swing its fan back and forth, sending blast after blast of wind at Shou, but the blasts merely meant to serve as a distraction.

It would then launch its real attack while Shou was hopefully distracted, a cyclone of wind that would completely engulf Shou, to buffet him, while Sasuke's doppelganger would re-appear up above Shou and launch its own attack, a vortex of darkness, and combine it with the cyclone to knock Shou to the ground, before once more disappearing into the shadows.

[Yamabara Shou]

A unheard curse would come from Shou lips as he failed to follow through on his attempt to take on the doppelgänger, as well from the pain of the weapon being torn away from him. Before once again he would be hit by winds. Turning towards the direction they came, Shou would get ready to attack, before around him he would feel something inside. Something that felt like it would be really bad. However the feeling would come to late, and he would indeed be engulfed by the cyclone. He doubted he wouldn't not get attacked once, more but without knowing from which direction he would be attacked he went with instinct.  Surrounding himself in light, he would blast it out in all directions. It wasn't a force meant to hurt his attackers, but he would feel the resistance where his own power met the wind. 

Then he would dive, pushing at what seemed like would be the weakest point. However the wind and darkness would hold him back and prevent him from escaping fast enough, allowing the vortex of wind and darkness to tear at his clothes and skin painfully, before he would manage to break free, turning his dive into a roll, and landing slightly crouched on the floor out of breath. If they wanted to count it as being taken to the floor they could. However Shou would stop as if it wasn't over then he couldn't afford to hesitate. 

As Shou hadn't managed to throw the shadow doppelgänger before, he would never of thrown his sword as he had originally planned, and now he would do so. Throwing it with all the force he could to the remains of the cyclone vortex. Not knowing that neither of the doppelgänger would really be hit unless it travelled up the cyclone to were the shadow doppelgänger was. Before he would flick multiply throwing daggers into both hands and throwing them spread randomly through out the dome. Hoping that instinct would once again guide him. He doubted however, that he could withstand such distract and attack tactic like this for long. He relied to much on his eyes in a fight, and this task was quickly proving that. 

---

OOC: 3 of 8 Musou posts used. 

[Takeda Shingen]

Neither Sasuke nor Chiyome would count it as Shou being knocked down to the ground, as he was not completely sprawled out on the floor, and thus, would continue with the exercise. For it to count as a failure on Shou's part, he had to be knocked down either on his back or front completely, but since he had not, but instead dived, he was still fine. When Shou had blasted light outwards in all directions, he would indeed sense faintly the collision of spiritual energy between his own light Musou and Sasuke and Chiyome's Musou's, though their own combined would overpower his.

When Shou threw his sword at the shadow and wind cyclone vortex, as it traveled up the cyclone, Sasuke's doppelganger would meld back into shadows and Chiyome's doppelganger would rise high into the air using its Musou, before generating a blast of wind to counter and redirect Shou's own throwing daggers back at him, then launch sharp blades of wind to surround Shou and prevent him from escaping, while Sasuke's doppelganger would summon several tendrils of shadow that would rise into the air before curving down towards Shou, to simply knock him down to the ground.

[Yamabara Shou]

Shou just didn't see a way to take on the pair of doppelgänger he was facing. While the instinctual feeling, his intuition or as some might call it a sixth sense. It just didn't seem enough, unrefined. HE had never seen people use their inner power as effectively as the doppelgänger were in a fight. He was new to his own power, and as of yet hadn't learned as much as those he was facing. However he did have some understanding of the powers they were using, and knew that the winds could be used to redirect his own weapons back at him. As such he made sure to move, to try and stay out of the way of them if they were redirected. Only for him to once again be held back by the winds. 

His own daggers, designed as well as they were. Actually seemed quite suited to being used by the winds, and would slash passed him. Causing a lot of pain as the ripped through clothes and flesh. Making him wish that he had actually designed them for piecing flesh rather then rending it. Shou would stagger back held from pain, only to be held back again by the winds. Raising his hands, he could feel something different among the winds, the shadow doppelgänger attack not that he knew that what it was. Raising his hands in front of him, Shou would summon up his own powers into his hands, and fire a beam of light from each hand, moving them through the air to cause the beams to cut through the tendrils, and were he felt that they came from. However he wouldn't be able to destroy all of them, and one would get pass his attack. Slamming into him, Shou started to go over backwards.

He knew he wouldn't be able to recover mid air in time to land in away to keep the exercise going. So instead of trying, he decided to go down metaphorically swinging. From the blast he had fired before, he could feel in relation to them were the other two forms of powers seemed to come from. Once more beams of light would fire out, however they were not aimed at the doppelgänger. But at either side of the dome of powers surrounding them. One aimed at each of the doppelgänger creators, in the trees outside the dome. Shou didn't care if the breach the barrier or not. He was just pleased that he managed to pick out their locations, as he slammed into the ground painfully, exhaling sharply as he did. He hadn't quite done what was meant, he had fallen but even so he was please with himself, due to skill and experience of what they were facing. He may get in trouble for aiming at them and not the doppelgänger, except in here, he had to deal with he pain and tiredness the exercise caused while they did not. 

---
OOC: Musou 4 of 8 posts used.

[Takeda Shingen]

Shou managing to destroy a good portion of the shadow tendrils Sasuke's doppelganger had summoned, he wasn't able to destroy all of them though, and a decent number would slam into Shou, sending him falling. Before he fell though, as the beams of light he fired shot towards the real Sasuke and Chiyome, they would be nullified by the dome of wind and shadow, as both Sasuke and Chiyome had combined their spiritual energies together, making the dome more stronger than any of the other Musou users in the group.

However, on the contrary, Sasuke and Chiyome were not irritated that Shou had fired at them, not their doppelgangers, but instead, Chiyome was pleased, while Sasuke was amused. It showed them that though Shou had failed the exercise, he had made some progress in refining his own spiritual sense, and that was part of the goal of the exercise. Once Shou had fallen to the ground, he would be lifted up and out of the dome, as Sasuke and Chiyome would re-position themselves in a different set of trees, their doppelgangers re-materializing and awaiting the next soldier to tackle the exercise.

[Sanada Yukimura]

As soon as he saw Shou emerge from the dome, lifted out by Sasuke and Chiyome's Musou, once he was out, the line of men in front of him would slowly dwindle down to nothing, and soon enough, it was his turn. Pulling his dual jumonji-yari free from his back the moment he stepped into the dome, immediately all his senses, except for touch, would be cut off, leaving Yukimura literally, in the dark. This exercise was one where he could not rely on his sight or hearing to help him.

What he had to rely on was a sense that he had been learning to refine, but had only managed a bit of progress in: his spiritual sense. Immediately engulfing the blades of his spears in fire, it would allow him to sense the clashing of his own spiritual energy with that of Sasuke and Chiyome's when their doppelgangers attacked, which would help him to fight back if and when he got the chance and opportunity.

[Takeda Shingen]

After Shou had been unwillingly vacated from the dome and Yukimura had stepped inside, Sasuke's doppelganger would once more immediately blend into the shadows, while Chiyome's doppelganger would use its wind musou to lift itself up into the air once more. Though Shou had proven himself a tough challenger for both doppelgangers, both Sasuke and Chiyome knew that Yukimura was much more powerful, and would prove to be more difficult for them to take down and knock to the ground. Not pulling any punches, Chiyome's doppelganger would immediately launch its attack, a mini-typhoon that would envelop Yukimura in wind, to keep him in place, while Sasuke's doppelganger would pop up in front of Yukimura and summon a long shadow blade from the ground, before swinging it to the right, to hit Yukimura with the flat side and knock him over and to the ground.

[Sanada Yukimura]

Right off the bat, Yukimura knew this was going to be a difficult challenge. Left without any of his senses except for touch, he could only react at the last minute to the mini-typhoon Chiyome's doppelganger enveloped him in to keep him in place because of the clashing of his own Musou with hers, and using his spears, would launch himself up and flip over Sasuke's doppelganger just as it swung the long shadow blade it summoned from the ground. Landing behind Sasuke's doppelganger, Yukimura would then quickly leap backwards while simultaneously firing a barrage of fire blasts at Sasuke's doppelganger, before landing lightly on the ground and hold his spears in front of him. He'd then cloak himself in fire, the flames swirling like a whirlwind around him, making use of the clashing of Musou to his advantage.