[i]"She's being, serious..."[/i] Tao clenched his teeth lightly as he listened to their sensei, noting every word she spoke as if it was the difference between life and death. What would she possibly gain from breaking up the team? This had to be a joke, she couldn't hope to have a fully functioning ninja team with only two people. Then again, she could just put someone else in where the failure would be sent back. Either way, she was correct when she said that the only way through this was teamwork. Wether they all failed or lost, they would do so together. One of them would be left behind, what could that be compared to? A sacrifice? Would one of them sacrifice themselves for the others to move on? Tao had always believed that if put in a situation where he could save the others by offering himself to the god of death, he would. It was time to prove that those words were not empty, but rather filled with the same fiery passion that drove him. 

The boy narrowed his eyes as he watched the woman standing in front of them, nearly mocking her genin with the rules she laid out before them. One would lose, or everyone would lose. One would be sacrificed, or none would continue. If this was her plan, Tao would need to run with it. He didn't like it at all, of course. Had he come this far only to fall beneath the weight of test that had no rate of success? Clenching his fists, the boy remained surprisingly calm, trying to analyse the situation through and through. [i]"Show no weakness, right...?"[/i] The words swirled around his mind like a bouncing ball.[i] "See the hidden within the hidden..."[/i] The true purpose of this test was to put the mission before one's own personal desires, that much was obvious. One must be willing to make sacrifices to be a ninja, and Tao was ready to take that step. He was sure that the other two shared his views, especially the frantic fool Ozuko. Speaking of which, would he let teamwork have its way here or would he attempt to go at this by himself? 

Ozuko's attacks would greatly damage their sensei's equilibrium if they were successful, leaving Shingetsu to use her water techniques on the pond over there. Wether Ozuko's attack would be successful or not, she'd try to avoid Shingetsu's water attack which would be where Tao would send a firebolt in her direction. Of course, being as powerful as she is, their sensei would manage to dodge the firebolt wether it went straight for her or the ground beneath her feet. That's why the bolt would head for the water and create a cloud of boiling steam to temporarily stun Nagisa for a brief second. That second would be long enough for the team to temporarily neutralise their teacher in hopes of getting past her if only for a moment to get the bells. The idea could work, but unless the attacks were executed in synch and with precise timing, the whole plan would go to hell. Tao knew very little of his teammates' special abilities, all he knew was the little he had seen at the academy. He knew enough to note their signature feats however and that was enough to establish a team strategy no matter how weak at the moment. "Guys, listen..." The boy breathed out, looking to his teammates before sharing his plan. "Ozuko, try to get her off balance, distract her long enough for Shingetsu to strike with water. I'll make sure to create a sauna hot enough to keep Sensei busy for a second. You two can use that opening to get the bells...whatever happened back in the classroom, let's do this right. If we fail, let's at least be remembered as genin who gave it their all." A small smile stretched across his lips as he spoke to his teammates in a soft, quiet whisper. "We can resume our drama later, Ozuko. For now, let's pretend we're best friends..." He grinned as swirling flames gathered in his palm to create a glowing ember.