Luffy had embarked on a short journey through the ninja world as he set out to find a man located in the wind country. His mentor Reighley had told him that his progress had reached a halt. If he wanted to improve, he would have to get faster to incorporate his Hozuki fighting style in a more deadly and swiftly way. Luffy knew it was a long journey so naturally, he took with him a low of food, more specifically meat, as that's what he loved. Having finally reached the training grounds of the wind country where they had planned to meet, Luffy was seen feasting on a juicy steak on a bone. He quickly devoured it without as much as chewing down on it, almost as if he had vaccuumed the contents from the bone. Approuching the man standing from afar, Luffy tossed the bone into the air and opened his mouth, eating it whole, almost making it seem as if though he didnt chew on it either. He finalized by burping loudly as he wiped the drool off his mouth. At this point he was within talking distance of his new tutor.
"They do say you have to walk before you can run. Tehehe" Luffy walked towards the objects resting on the ground. Close enough to see what they were, Luffy realized they were some form of weighted attire. He strapped them to his legs, individually as he was then instructed to fill a bag-pack with things he would need. He reached into his own ninja pouch and activated one of his stored seals, quickly unsealing several rations of meat along with some water. He wrapped everything up and placed it inside of the bag. "I know I'll get hungry! hehehe."
Tehehe, you're funny! I don't need to see anyone, I just need my meat. Luffy began walking behind his teacher as he waved at the guards as he went into the outskirts of the village. The mere heat and wind were roasting his body. Luffy reached into his bag and grabbed a piece of meat with his hand, thereafter pointing it at the sun in order to heat it up as he drooled from the smell. Luffy was contemplating going into his hydrifed state, but he wanted to excel in his training, so short-cuts were not an option. "Yes, would you like some meat? =D"
OOC: Okay!
Sugoiiiii! Yelled out Luffy as he heard his teacher's former position within Sunagakure. Reighley had not told Luffy of the man's name but a smile out stretched on his face. Luffy was overwhelmed with excitement with his teacher and knew that his experience would be worthwhile as he applied it on his training. He felt safe alongside the former Kazekage. Luffy could feel a disturbance in the ground beneath them as they continued to walk. He lost his balance slightly, causing his piece of meat to hit his face. He looked down at the sand and saw abnormal patterns being created. "Stalked by what?... A monster?!" asked Luffy.
Suddenly Luffy could feel a tremendous pressure on his ankles and legs, he was unable to freely move his legs like he originally could. This came at a bad time as two of the bandits made their way towards Luffy's location. One of them was directly in front of him, wielding a blade, while the other was directly to his left. Upon noticing the frontal foe thrusting his blade forward, Luffy instinctively leaned his body backwards and widened his stance. In that same swift and fluid motion, Luffy materialized a source of water beneath the soles of his feet, allowing him to move them freely and ignoring the increase in weight. Taking advantage of the boosts granted by it, Luffy slid across the sand with his right foot, closing the distance between himself and the bandit thrusting his blade. Meanwhile Luffy's opposite foot was sliding backwards to completely widen his stance as he continued to lean backwards with his torso nearly horizontal with the ground. Meanwhile he slide and rotated his body slightly counter-clockwise as he positioned himself below the opposing blade as he performed an open palm thrust from below. The aim of the palm thrust was to strike the foe's wrist, knocking away the blade. In that same motion, Luffy would proceed to forcefully grab the bandit's wrist with both of his hands, thereafter sliding his entire body clock-wise, forcefully bringing the bandit along with him, swinging him with is body now horizontal to the ground. Using the speed gained by the rotation proceeded by the sliding of the ground, Luffy released the foe's body directly onto the second bandit, swinging his partner onto him, causing both of them to be thrown backwards as he attempted to throw a punch. Luffy continues by standing back up and attempting to pick up his legs, evaluating the weight of them. Picking his nose with his index finger, he looks towards his teacher with a an almost annoyed look in his face. "That wasn't nice Sensei.."
"NANI?!" yelled out Luffy in response to his teacher's comment as he showed n innocently mad expression which was plastered on Luffy's face. To adjust himself to the heaviness of the weights, Luffy raised both of his arms and interlocked his fingers behind his head, using them as a support while he attempted to walk. With the sand hindering his movement, it was a lot harder than originally anticipated. Luffy found himself dragging his feet on the sand as he was unable to pick them up off of the surface high enough. Not only that but he began to feel dehydrated from the scorching temperatures of the desert. He followed suit behind his teacher through the treacherous sunagakure sands. A few hours into the trip and Luffy had collapsed once, completely passing out from dehydration, something very serious for a Hozuki Clansmen. He flopped like a corpse onto the hot sand, directly one his side, leaving one of his arms facing the scorching hot directly. Within minutes, Luffy's arm felt like it was being mummified from the dehydration. It reminded him of the time that he fought against Crocodile. After a few hours, Luffy began to regain his consciousness as the temperature began to drop as the sun was setting. His teacher was no-where to be seen. All Luffy could do was muster what little strength he had left and push himself off of the sand and sit on his legs, looking in all directions for signs of his Sensei. Eventually Luffy stood himself up and began walking in the general direction that he was originally going in, dragging his feet in the process while his head pointing towards the ground as if it weighed several tons and his back arced like a camel. Out of nowhere, Luffy was hit in the back of the head with something hard. Whining in response, he caressed the back of his head with is hand as he turned around to see what had hit him. His eyes widen are the sight of a small wooden hand-held barrel of what seemed to be water, with a straw coming out of it. Launching himself towards it, Luffy picked it up and grabbed it with his life. Without as much as a second of hesitation, Luffy began sipping from it in order to hydrate his body. The fluid coursed through his body, freshening up all of his pores, specially the arm that had been almost turned into dried beef jerky. From a distance he saw a shadow as he squinted his eyes to see who it was.
You must be registered for see images
''*Pant pant* I'm still kicking.. barely." Luffy reached into his bag as the shade covered his body from the earthen dome. He began chowing down on the little food he had left. He was unsure on whether or not he had sealed any reserves in his scrolls. With his belly bloated, Luffy burped in response to being filled. He finished what little water he had left and stood back up, ready to continue. Having rested and eaten under the shade had rejuvenated both his spirit and body. His legs no longer felt as heavy as they used to. "I'm ready, let's go!"
After several months of traveling through the dessert, Luffy felt like the bond between him and his teacher had grown much closer. Luffy felt exhausted yet, refreshed because his body had gotten used to the gruesome heats of the desert. Looking towards his teacher as he spoke out, Luffy looked down on his weights as he couldnt feel any difference. But then in a slight blink of an eye, he realized how much easier it had become to move his legs around, naturally. "Now that you mention it, I am finally moving normally again." Suddenly his sensei began walking into the distance. "Sensei, every time you leave me, something bad happens!" It seemed as though his shouts went unheard as his teacher continued walking into the distance. Following his instructions, Luffy made his way onto one of the houses that seemed to be made out of compressed sand. He picked the one that had a half dome opening for shade, and cautiously walked inside.
Luffy could suddenly feel the ground beneath him violently shake, as what little remained of the structure began falling apart, causing debris to come falling down everywhere. Luffy turned around in response to the voice of his teacher calling out to him. "We have a problem" he said, while covered in sand and breathing heavily. Luffy's eyes widen at the sight of a large creature made of sand rising from the ground behind Tasuke, launching itself directly into the air. The distance between himself, the creature and Luffy were too far apart for ordinary running to make the cut. Being confident in his Sensei's wisdom, Luffy kneeled down and unstrapped his weights, causing them to fall. Upon physical contact with the ground, a small tremor was released as the weights sunk into the sand, carving through it like a hot knife through butter. Standing back up, Luffy accidentally leaped into the air, unable to control his own weight, feeling light as a feather. The strength in his legs were immeasurable at the moment. "SENSEI!!"
