---

If the Water team was doing anything well it was thinking on their feet, their synchrony was top notch for a rag tag team that had been created under such short circumstances. It seemed like the team was able to circumvent the fact that they were left without and extra teammate give them a higher disadvantage than most teams. It seemed like the barrier nin realized that the water had special properties and was quickly wearing away at his barriers. While the other two formulated to create a plan that involved explosives and the powerful chakra nature of wind. Perhaps the two were so focused they had not noticed the chakra infused water, outside of the barrier ninja’s input.

Another barrier formed, much smaller than the first, below the original as it served as their ticket back to the surface world. With perfect timing and enough explosives and wind the team skyrocketed out of the funeral pyre that was the room descending into the dark nether abyss. It seemed as if there was little no water resistance or friction at all. Zooming up so fast would also cause their bodies to go under tremendous stress from the cascading sea levels. Regardless they were quickly making it to the surface, perhaps this would be the first team to win their scroll. On their way to surface the rest of the water was calm and unmoving, not a good sign.

As they saw the surface they would soon burst through the other side, triumphant, or so they thought. Rather than exploded through the surface and see land and air, they had returned to the same spot as they were upon exiting the sinking room. But how? They were at the surface. There was no surface unfortunately for the team. It was as if they jumped through a mirror that had spat them back out. Right when the team penetrated the surface they were shot out into the direct parallel of the world they were in. No advancement, no movement, there was no surface just eternal water. Their acceleration still active would now plummet them to the shallow graves known to well to those lost at sea.

With no way to the surface they had exhausted their master plan and with it their fleeting hopes. The water would now begin to suffocate them, taking every second away from their lives, in a short notice they would run out of air and drown in the deeps.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gisho Omawarisan

---

The Amekage had such a way with words, it seemed like Ginsho was out skilled and outmatched for his fellow peer leaders. Each of them so genuinely interesting and had unique mannerisms that separated them from the regular population. Ginsho was of course was being modest as he was renown as the symbol of peace as much as he didn’t believe he was. The way Yogensha found a silver in everything the Hokage managed to trip and fall over, it was something to be admired as it seemed he could do no wrong in the face of the eccentric beauty. Had he been younger and more brazen he would have like to pursue the hand of this mysterious woman, but women like her are not meant to be tied down. “I was never one with word with the fluidity and mastery you have. I was never meant for politics or leading a village, to tell you the truth, I’d rather find peace in the environment and be a pillar for the village instead. While I do consider the weather and admire it, I should not speak so carelessly about it.” Ginsho was doing his best to keep appearances up, but it seemed he could never be himself around this matriarch.

However she did mention the state of peace of mind which is something Ginsho did have experience with, and for some reason he could feel the connection those two shared with it. “Ah yes, I am most at home in the tranquility of the sky.” A small eruption of laughter caught the battle worn warrior off guard, a new emotion he had not expected to rise out of the Amekage. “Please forgive me, I spoke out of term. Smaller numbers do mean more focused and trained ninja, something that can be quite envious. I assure your village is within good hands.” Ginsho complementing the small village. Ginsho had only been to the microvillage a handful of times throughout his years. The land was always full of rain, it seemed like it didn’t do much else besides rain. In his Sanin days the village itself however was quite advanced and industrialized, the technology and architecture quite a ways ahead of Konoha’s humble beginnings. He did remember however, how cut throat and short tempered the Shinobi of the Rain were.

Ginsho laughed boisterously, “You spoil me too much Yogensha-san” before his attention was forced elsewhere across the room. "You know, Gisho, it's not nice to speak ill of friends behind their backs,"It seemed all at once that Ginsho had shed his fake skin and turned with a great passion and happiness emanating from his body. “Speak of the devil, if it isn’t Kuroyaju.” Before the Tsuchikage could open his eyes he would feel large tree trunks of arms wrapped tightly around him, Ginsho hugging the Tsuchikage rocking him back and forth while laughing. Ginsho returned his hostage back to his seat as he made his way to his seat after his brief introductions with Yogensha. “Both of you are far too kind, I couldn’t have done it without your blessings and the aid of my assistant Shinko.” Ginsho about to continue, when interrupted by what seemed like a jumpy fox.

A bit confused at the stumbling words of the fox his arm seared in pain once more in protest. Ginsho’s vibrant aura fading only slightly. ”Something’s wrong. I have to be weary of this one. Ginsho all too quickly remembering his question for the fox boy. A bit flummoxed the memories flooded Ginsho’s head like a broken dam. “Tatsu…aka? Your father and I were very close friends, but he never once mentioned you and he always had pictures of his skulk. I haven’t refreshed the flowers for his grave, I must go after this exam is over and see him again.” Ginsho starting to size up the boy who had conveniently appeared at a time like this. “Your father liked to speak highly of himself, what he saw was different from what Namine and I had seen. He did manage to take out 4 of them but that was only after I dispatched the first 3 after an ambush. He’d most likely argue otherwise if he was still here. I miss him every day.” A moment of solemn silence. “Proud, yes. I don’t deserve the title though, if he was indeed with us he would be hosting this exam not I.” Resting a hand on the shoulder of the fox boy, injecting his empathic aura within.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ai listened to her teammates explanation. It seemed logical. The test was something she appreciated. She'd have to tell the Miko about this later. Already Ai was glad she'd come. And yet, ten directions...?

"It could also be the ten characteristics. Hmm... Well, I dunno, let's find out. I'll get ready."

She drew a sheet up out of her bag as Hikaru hit the drum. It wasn't like she had time to use it though. She was mesmerized by the happening of events. The flicker of lights off of buddha, the.... strange sound? Ai was on the ground before she knew it. Groaning, she slowly got up. It was a beast, and she couldn't see for the lights. Heh, ironic, she couldn't see because she was enLIGHTened.

"Well... This is odd. Someone's obviously put alot of thought into this exam. A ninja sees under the underneath...but we can't even see because of the lights. All I wanted was to see interesting sights. Hmmm. Well, if you don't mind me being bossy, Ayame, could you make a barrier for us before we beat that next drum? Don't include me. I want to see what happens."

With that, Ai drew a few seals from her bag. Floating infront of her, she tapped them, and they orbitted around her, forming a circular shield. Drawing a final tag, she flew it over to a drum, and beat it.

Like the last drum, this one too struck like a thunderstorm. Echoing through the chamber, and rattling it again like a child in a washing machine. But before things could settle, there was another flash. Coming this time from Buddha's left nipple. A force like a solid mass smashed into Ayame's barrier. A crackle of lightning filled the air, and the form bounced off. And for a moment, outside the shimmer of Ai could see clearly. For a moment, she could swear she saw a wolf. But that was only a moment before the force of impact hit her head on, knocking her several feet back, and the flash happened again. The wolf was gone, leaving Ai right on her butt. Her barrier continued circling her, before slowing down, various shields falling to the floor and deactivating.

Ai laid there dazed.

"I'm... I'm just going to lay here for a minute. If someone wants to try thinking.... feel free. Its probably ten directions of Buddha, which means we have to hit the other eight. Everytime we attack, there's a beast. Its there for a second, and disappears. It also does not like us.... like, at all. Doesn't just attack the one going for the drum. Let me know if anyone has anything to add."

Ai gave a thumbs up from the ground before letting her arm fall in a slump.

---


Kaito smirked after chosing the combat section as everyone around him just about was whisked away. Only the cockiest of the chunnin were left. And he was their king. The fact they dared to have confidence when he was around was an insult. The leaf had dozens of applicants. The Stone too. Other villages as well. And yet, for the Hidden Rain, it was only him. A village shouldn't send anymore for a job than was needed afterall. Talking to a proctor, he quickly got information that he was to report to an area called the Forest of Death. Kaito remembered it from his chunnin exams. Well, time to pay it a visit again. He held a handsign, and to everyone around him, faded into mist.

After a small travel, Kaito found himself in the entrance. He held his hand to the gate. For a minute, a memory passed. His team entering. Kaede had been scared, and Daisuke far too loud. If he hadn't been holding the scroll, they would have failed, they got ambushed within the hour of starting. Kaito's smirk only grew as he remembered the ambush. His teammates, completely useless. Kaito could have taken the other team, but that was far too much trouble. He'd just ran. Finding Kaded and Daisuke that had taken up most of the time limit. Kaito had been in there far too long. Oh, and the reunion. They'd screamed at him that they were going to fail because he ran off...

Kaito looked at his hand, and could almost see the two scrolls. He'd never liked his teammates. A taijutsu hothead, and a medic nin. He wondered how they were doing now? Certainly not being jonin. Hilarious he'd be back in the Leaf taking the Jonin exam before they would.

"And most of all... I wonder how dear old sensei is? Hehehe. Never amount to anything if I never learned to play nice? I bet I could take the smug look on his face off now. Well, if I don't do well, the Amekage will be mad at me. Not that I could possibly imagine that happening. I'm a sellsword, and pride is my price. She has paid me well, my service shall be rendered. Well, no use reminiscing, I have some dalcops to make cry. All I need is a single kunai..."

And with a quick slice of the fence, Kaito entered the area, carefully watching out for who the competition was. Who was actually dumb enough to fight him?

SUCCESS! Everything went off perfectly according to plan! Bumu couldn't be more proud of the team he had collected simply by pouncing on people and declaring they where now a team. Either Bumu was a secret genius, or he was surrounded by other geniuses who made up for her shortcomings. "You guys are the best!" Bumu grinned, showing off a set of teeth with way to many canines. Reaching out she hugged both of his allies in the small triangle, giggling like a psycho. "I'm serious, we all pulled through and we're taking home the p-"

In a shocking twist, as they reached for the sky, it all went tits up and upside down. The barrier cracking and breaking, and water rushed into the tight space. "Ah fox berries!" Her eyes went wide as the water rushed into the barrier, getting in through the hole used before hand to let out a surge of air. The sloshing water brushed the fox's legs, and he took the deepest breath he could. Eye bulging as water rushed in around them. Time for a crash course in swimming. AKA, furious foxxy paddling. Which is much better than doggy paddling, just saying. Well, going up failed, time to go down, down down. Since going up at this point would just be a repeat. Bumu swam hectically downward, doing her best to keep going.



It was always this way. The youngest son of the Hyuuga clan's leader, burdened with the great honors and prides of his noble clan. And yet, he often had to remind himself why he was the greatest. As if any moment could pass an he could lose everything. The exams themselves where for lesser ninja. Nothing for the great son of the Hyuuga clan and beholder of all things with his Byakugan. Refusing to soil his hands with the lesser ninja, he had moved on to the arena fights. A proud and noble sport. Few rooms for era in this ever growing danger the shinobi world called life. Thus is the life of Nousagi. His hands clenched as he approached the arena, stopping for a moment to take in the moment. Nousagi gazed the distance of the pale arena to the other side. There, his opponent for the day. How... Glorious. Nousagi pushed the doors open, his eyes closed as he walked closer and closer. A deep breath as he stopped in the center of the arena.

Nousagi didn't have a complex history, nor did he care to think about it. No, this moment, and all moments, was about him. Nousagi Hyuuga and his opponent. His eyes cracked open, a milky white gaze crossing the chasm of a distance. The veins of his cheeks erupted, and his brow furrowed. The world around Nousagi began to glow, a shimmering light of beautiful light. The gaze of the Hyuuga drifted onto the eyes of Kaito Chosokabe.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Nousagi said, voice echoing across the distance. "I am Nousagi Hyuuga, and I have been chosen as your opponent." A smile creaked across his lips. "I am ready when you are. If you accept my challenge." His stance widened, one hand in front of the other. A wide stance, he didn't even bother hiding what he could do. After all, the name of Hyuuga was so well known that pretending to be anything else would be an insult to himself and to his family name. He'd end this in one go.

Had 3 minutes really passed them by already? No matter. The activity they had to do to pass was likely simple as it appeared the room was meant to contain them rather than offer a hidden means of escape, evidenced by the acid having no effect. Still, there wasn't a lot of time left to really experiment and test out different hypothesizes and whatever they wanted to test, they had one shot at it. Hopefully, it would prove true, but what were the testers looking for? Clever solutions? Displays of proper reaction? Mushy-gooey stuff? The primary motivation of the test still had not been made clear and yet... Make a decision or fail the test.. Inaction wasn't the right thing but as their only male teammate rambled on about self sacrificed, Kyoka's brain finally putting the pieces together...

"Well I be damned..!" Kyoka bellowed her 'ah-ha!' moment allowed, turning to face Tashiro and approaching him carefully, gingerly grabbing him by the hand before squeezing it tightly as she dragged him along. Where to exactly? Well over to Rumia where Kyoka reached out and grabbed Rumia by the hand. "I know it, cuz! They be trying to be mushy-gooey!" before pulling both of them along over to their fourth teammate, Yuki. With a gentle but firm pull down, Kyoka was trying to indicate that they sit. Assuming they did so, Kyoka gently assisted Yuki to do the same so that the three of them were all sitting in a circle. Kyoka remained standing eyeing each of teammates before raising both her index fingers, apparently excited to explain something.

"Okay, I know abouts der likes of dem and what dey want! We a team, y'all, more den dat we a family! We can't go an' sacrifice ourselves all willy-nilly! Dat's why we don't play der game where one or two of us sacrifice, we win as a team and lose as one! Yin Yang isa 'bout sacrifice, true, but we demonstrated that we ain't willin' to sacrifice our teammates for gain but willin' to sacrifice our opportunity so as we fight 'nother day, y'all! Y'all got dat?"

While Kyoka may be a bit hard to understand, even with that wild explanation, the intention was hopefully understood. If the principle of Yin and Yang were of equal and opposite reaction, they had that covered with nobody walking through those doors. They didn't have to, assuming the diction of the god voice was meant to be ambiguous. They just had to come with a decision and the decision to wait and try again another day had a real life example tied to it. Kyoka had instantly pictured an assassination contract where if the conditions weren't right and there was a severe risk of losing a teammate, retreating and sacrificing that attempt there and now was preferable than maybe risking it and losing a teammate in the process!

Kyoka had a flimsy explanation for her comrades so she hoped they understood but the real one she was worried about was her cousin as the nuances of the challenge might have been lost on her. Kyoka turned to her cousin and placed an arm on her shoulder. "I know it, cuz!" Kyoka repeated again, trying make that phrase stick. "Ya gonna have to trust me."

Kyoka turned away and glanced around the room, eventually settling her eyes on the camera that was watching them. "We choosin' alright! We choose to sacrifice in orda' to move on as a team! Yin n' Yang and we in full peace here!" Kyoka shouted to make sure those listening could hear but seeing as she was part of a team she turned to their team again. There was still time to change the plan had anyone had major reservations about this path Kyoka rashly put them on, but not a lot of time. "Uuhhh... Any y'all got objections?"

---

The treacherous machinery of the old had likely left a bitter-sweet taste in the mouths of team Daddy DP. And with the fruits of their stress being nothing more than a breakdown of the system leading to an obscure corridor, it wouldn't be surprising that they'd be a little bit suspicious as to what awaited them. Through the tight access they would eventually see quite the bright, crimson light, at the end of the tunnel. Far brighter than the runes that decorated the walls and illuminated their path.

Before them, a far thinner golem-like statue sat, legs crossed in the form of the lotus, hands over each knee, and gaze fixed toward the entrance the group would walk through. Beyond its silhouette, the golem would also vary in facial structure. Far less lizard-like, with a beak instead of a pronounced jaw. Though the most noticeable element that would distinguish it from the rest would be a red mechanism on its abdomen. It was large, ingrained in the figure's being, and metallic. Closer inspection would notice how similar it would be to transformers of the modern era, the world our protagonists had taken for granted. This civilization was old, but had made quite the interesting breakthroughs. This golem, despite being lankier, remained as big as the others encountered.

Jaakuna over everyone else, though Kiku's senses could likely pick up on it quite easily too, could sense a strong magnetic field surrounding the golem. Or rather the machinery in its center. It would not be hard to eventually correlate this to the inscriptions on the walls, representing the golem, along with many other smaller figures. Some were praising the statue, others were interacting with it in some way. A four-armed being would even be touching it, and seem to be offering something ethereal of its being. What exactly? It'd remain quite vague.

The second thing the group would notice was a set of three machines. One further to the left of the statue, one to the right. And with a little looking around, behind the 'throne' of the golem, they'd find the third mechanism. All of which were clearly connected to it in some way, and with a singular, large opening on each. An arm could most certainly fit in these peculiar mechanisms. Though before any hasty conclusions could be made, the team would be invited to take notice of the inscriptions below the representation of the sitting golem on the wall.

---

---

The hourglass was running low. That disconcerting voice made sure to remind them of that. All that was missing was some annoying little jeopardy-theme to come with the incessant ticking. More and more Rumia was inclined to simply walk into the pass door and kick out anyone that wasn't her cousin, including the cute lil' Hime. Though on the other hand, the ginger hoped her intellectual counterpart would figure something out and prevent anymore brain-hurtin' on her side.

Ol' Tashiro she didn't even keep the name in mind would propose they all walked into one of the doors, or do nothing. It sounded a bit daring, and even prompted the lass to raise an eyebrow. The fact of the matter was that if Kyoka had said the same thing, there'd be little to no skepticism on the lass' expression. But like any of her kind, she just had to slightly discredit the outsider. She didn't budge, as a slightly insult to his suggestion.

But then female Walter White would propose something of the same flavor. That they'd all go at this together. Though that wouldn't be before a forced group hug of sorts was shoehorned by the sexual deviant of the gang.

"Ayy cuz! Y'know you could just bring 'em all t'me. No need to be roughhousin' me."

It was followed by a chuckle as she'd finally lend her attention to the blonde gal. Something about family and all that, which would just prompt an eyeroll from the more belligerent factor of the group. It seemed Kyoka was more open to others, while Rumia's limited thinking kept her locked in a more traditionalist thing. Blood and kin first, the rest were mostly outsiders and distractions.

"I dunno cuz ... Y'sure you wanna risk this shitty trip for sum gamble? If we went like dat we could just raid one of these casinos ran by dem red-clays. Fuckin' red clays."

Her tangent was quick to derive from the issue, and thus distract her from the possible flaws of this logic. But Kyoka was the thinker, and Rumia's internal processor couldn't really be bothered to think beyond the immediate actions they were gonna take. A deadpan stare would capture the two doors they were meant to engage with for a brief moment before turning back to the druggie.

"Mmmm ... I'd say we take the winning door but I dunno. You're the one with the mighty fine brain, cousiiiin. But I guess we could kick tear that voice a new asshole if they fail us, as a team~"

Knuckles cracked, as she'd maliciously glanced toward the camera.

"No objections, lady."

-

Hime Yuki

@Pirouette @Savato @BladeSS4 @Odin

With all the talking going on, Hime barely noticed the ticking from the corner of the room, it wasn't prominent enough for her to really look for the source though, so she simply carried on as she was, happily waiting to see what would happen after having already volunteered as a sacrifice for the test.

Kyoka, having dragged Rumia and Tashiro over to Hime herself to get them all to sit down, began talking about the idea she had over what was going on. It sounded really familiar, like something Hime had said herself, if only in a different accent, but she didn't really linger on that, she liked the idea of sticking around without sacrificing one another for the sake of passing. And if the thought was right, that would mean that Kyoka and Rumia would be able to come back next time the test is on so she could hang out with them again. _{Not that they'd hung out yet, but they totally would be later, Hime was sure of it!}

"I like the way you're thinking, Kyo-Kyo, you took the words right out of my mouth!" She chimed in agreement, then taking notice of the camera as Rumia looked at the camera and threatened whomever was watching them from behind it. "Yeah, we'll show you what-for all-together like a good team should!" Of course the bubbly woman was likely less intimidating than the ginger redneck, but it was the thought that counted, right?

---

Koma Hitsugi

@Reflection @Syn @BladeX

The plan seemed to be going far better than Koma had originally thought it would, being fired through water that didn't seem to want to stop them no matter how fast they went as if it wasn't real water... Granted that much was obvious from the fact that it had been eroding the oil and the barrier at such an extreme pace.

As they breached the lack-of-surface and found themselves being plunged deeper into an abyss identical to the one they just escaped from, Koma was lost for thought on just what was going on. In a mad dash for sighting something out of the ordinary she activated her eagle-eye technique, but aside from the darkening depths of the ocean, and her current team-mates nearby, she couldn't see anything more than just... More water, holding her breath wasn't going to achieve much with so little to go on but she kept it held as long as she could after returning to her normal field of vision to assess her immediate surroundings.

Koma tucked her bow-grip away safely seeing as it wasn't needed now and began swimming over towards the floundering Bumu to lend aid with the whole inability to swim debacle as the... person seemingly began to furiously paddle with their arms and legs to go further down.

Well it was an idea at least. Instead of letting the ineffectual paddling go on though, which was in turn wasting the precious oxygen the nin had left, Koma swam over and gestured for them to grab the mesh of her cloak by tugging on it and pointing at Bumu. It seemed like Kaba, their other team member was capable of swimming normally at least, so she wouldn't have to pull him along too. Re-activating her eagle-eye technique, so she could have a better sight on whatever was down in the depths, Koma began to swim downwards as well.

All she could hope for is that there was actually something in the abyss aside from more water and their demise. The differences of this situation compared to being in an actual ocean gave her the impression that it was acting akin to a genjutsu, nothing else would be able to act this way if it weren't influenced by an illusion of some sort.

Senna had united the remainder of team becoming one conglomerate, one mind, one person. The other two would soon feel a warmth to their bodies that they had never experienced before, sensory overload. Feelings and thoughts from each of them were shared amongst all of them within mere seconds of thinking it. However, before they could really agree to the wind scroll indefinitely the thundering voice of the Hokage returned once more and in an instant a blinding white light permeated from the ground in a large circle. Unlike the rest of the ninja’s taking the exam, this group was excluded from the white waiting room that housed each team. Instead they were greeted with the great outdoors and all of its scenery.

When Kyo and Senna’s vision was restored they were able to see the challenge ahead of them. It was a dense forested area almost as if they were on the outskirts of Konoha. Coupled with the forest were hills and the darkness of the sky. A tornado ahead was in ripping through the forest like paper, devastation and carnage was all that was left behind. A natural disaster like this rarely occurred in the village or really any part of the world with the ease of just sending a ninja outside with correct chakra nature to deal with it. Yet they were only gifted with fire and lightning, well at least Kyo was. Although there was something eerily different about this tornado. There were human tracks left trekking behind it with no others, not even a squirrel had scurried by. Kyo’s suspicion grew as his face stayed stoic, only letting his heightened arousal leaking into Senna’s body.

Kyo’s eye flickered red growing the three tomoe’s around his iris, his Sharingan had activated, easily identifying the log being hurled at them. Calmly, he grabbed senna and forced the two of them to dodge under the large wooden stake, the same sensation would be felt by the other two to instinctly dodge. Senna approached the other two teammates in an excited attitude, “Hi, we didn’t get to properly introduced ourselves before! My name is Senna Akizakura, unfortunately I’m not an Uchiha, but I’m so glad to meet two others! I’ve only ever been surrounded by this tough guy, don’t worry he might look nasty, but deep down he’s a puppy.” Motioning behind her to Kyo as she hid her mouth. “Anyways I don’t have a chakra nature but I do have quite a powerful Kekkei Genkai. As you could tell I’ve connected us all emotionally. I can sense and the energy and emotions of anyone around me. I’m a pretty good sensor too you know, now that I have a sample of your chakra I can track you pretty much anywhere now. Invasion of privacy I know I know that’s what you’re thinking, it works more like an on/off switch so when I don’t need to find you then I can turn it off.”

“So yeah I can do a lot of useful stuff.” Senna sound with a cute and closed eyed smile.

Kyo smirked internally at Senna’s bout of her abilities, it was one of the many reasons the two had become so close recently, she indeed was a catch. Letting her finish before he returned to his serious and callous demeanor, he walked over and reintroduced himself. “So we’re going to be the first ones to complete their scroll exam and prepare to take another one if possible. Each of us having a sharingan between the 4 of us should let us breeze through most of this. There’s something not right about this tornado, the environment is too serene for it to have naturally occurred and it only formed a few meters away from where we’re standing now. Not only that, but there was footprints behind it, human foot prints, nothing else. Good catch Date-san, we should head for the tree line since we’ll be on higher ground and that’s where the foot prints last left out. We’re not looking for where the scroll is, but whomever has it.” Kyo half commanded and half suggested, waiting for the others to make heads or tails of his suggestion.



”Tsk…such insolent wretches. What a sorry excuse for a pack of shinobi, there’s no defined leader or teamwork even established. They all just seem like rabid dogs barking at one another and hiding their true natures like some deeply emotional snowflake.” Suzaku thought to himself as he looked down towards the ants that were planning his demise and/or an elaborate set of plans to test the flame and its properties. “You know standing around doing nothing isn’t going to help.” He spat hoping they would try something new quick, otherwise he would soon grow bored and impatient. Leaning back in the air Suzaku reclined and a bowl of grapes had appeared in his hand. As he watched the ninja like a hawk he would soon proceed to start popping grapes into his mouth one by one, he had to keep entertained some way or another.

“Oh by the way don’t get cute. There’s no hidden agenda here girly, you don’t need to illuminate the room or evacuate shit. It’s just the three of us here now, you guys, me, and scroll-buddy over here.” Suzaku said flicking a grape at the Kunoichi. Suzaku’s eyes widened in amusement as one of the ninja decided to test the waters, or rather fires, with a shadow clone. As the clone got closer and reached its hands to touch the scroll the white fire didn’t engulf the clone but instead slowly a singular wisp touched the hand of the clone before it erupted into a line of fire that sprinted up the clones body before it erupted into a lovely consumption of white fire. The fire did not simply just burn the clone it absorbed its chakra and now became part of the flame emanating from the scroll, now only a bit larger. Whatever chakra was used by the ninja would not be returned but converted into the chakra of the flame.

Suzaku let out a mocking laugh as he almost choked on a grape. “Good try kid, but you’ll get em next time. Or well I hope you do at least. Back to square one for you guys.” Suzaku briefly mentioned in his condescending ton before going back to his bowl of grapes. The scroll still floating 15 meters above the ground and a safe distance away from the team of fire.

Kaba confidently smirked as his team approached what they originally thought to be the surface. But alas, they had been thrown another curveball. In an unexpected twist, the group never breached water, it was almost like they were warped to their starting point once again. 'What in the hell...is this possibly an illusion?' - he thought to himself. No amount of training could have prepared him for this predicament, and there was much time to react due the fact Kaba wasn't fortunate enough to be born with gills.

He sensed as his barrier was rapidly reaching it's breaking point, and before it did Kaba took in a large breath of air. He braced himself as water suddenly engulfed him and his team, opening his eyes a few moments later. His vision was limited but he was able to make out his comrades who were close by. Bumu seemed to garner assistance from Koma as they headed in the opposite direction. Kaba would definitely not win any underwater races, but he could get to his destination usually. The only problem was that there were no immediate opportunities to take in oxygen to avoid passing out and downright drowning. He was pleasantly surprised at how in sync the trio was despite the circumstances. Kaba's first instinct was to also swim downwards if going up would not let the escape this odd sea. He closely followed Koma and Bumu as they headed towards the darkness, praying that luck would finally be on their side.

---

---

Sakana looked at his team members as they spoke, carefully weighing the suggestions they put forwards. When Kamui sent his clone forwards to attempt the first suggestion Sakana had made, he made sure to watch closely, seeing the clone disappear into the fire. “It siphoned the chakra from the clone,” he mentioned, then looked towards Kamui. That was a waste of chakra. “Let's not waste any more of our chakra on it, then. I'll just go get it.”

Without much time for the others to argue with him, Sakana stepped backwards and made some distance, before running at the giant pillar of earth that Tsukiko had summoned on the fire. Nimbly, he jumped on top of the pillar, and was now much closer to the fiery scroll. Once there, he glanced at the scroll once before looking down at the ground. He formed handseals rapidly, bit his thumb to create some blood and then slammed down his fist. A moment later he was covered in a cloud of thick smoke, which slowly cleared out to reveal an axolotl, quite large in size, barely being able to sit on the platform. The axolotl shifted eerily from side to side while it found it's footing, before looking around slowly. “What's this?” he asked curiously. “The exam?”

Sakana didn't answer, but only nodded, gesturing towards the scroll that was on fire. “I've got my gloves on, I just want you to splash some water on my hands just in case. I don't think the fire is actually hot, but I'm not sure.”

The axolotl hummed in agreement, and moved it's head forwards slightly towards Sakana's hands, which were held up in a cup. After a second of molding chakra, the creature spewed forwards a large quantity of water from it's mouth, which soaked Sakana's hands entirely in water. “Hoy, there we go. Good luck now, huh?” it said, glancing towards the scroll itself while Sakana made himself ready. There was no confirmation from the black-eyed boy as he stepped back and prepared to jump for it.

Thud, thud, thud. His footsteps resonated in the entire room, as he jumped up and got some extra air by using the axolotl as a stepping stone. “So much for that will of fire,” he'd yell, his voice bouncing off the walls of the room. He sailed through the sky, straight at the scroll, and then grabbed it straight from the sky.

In the case that the fire would start coming up his arms which were entirely covered in his long gloves and despite the gloves and water, he'd quickly try to take it off and throw it aside, ensuring that he'd do whatever it took to get rid of the fire while holding on to the scroll.

If he managed to 'complete' the test and grab it without running into problems, he'd simply let himself fall onto the floor with a simple but effective landing, before looking over at his team and tossing the scroll towards Tsukiko. “That was a good idea,” he'd tell her, nodding at her in acknowledgement of her theory. Credit would be where the credit was due.

It was so odd seeing Gisho have to delegate between three different people. A dirty rain person, A dirty mud person with the title of Tsuchikage, and himself. A dirty fox person who wondered if any bath could get that smell of dirt out out of his nose. Being buried dead was probably the second worst thing to happen to him. First worst... That was Seijuro. He was tasked with keeping Seijuro in hell. One lone duty to preform over the rest of time until both of them where forgotten and it could get easier. And yet, it didn't. He swore he'd fended off at least three different attempts to rescue Seijuro from hell. At least two of them where Seijuro's own plans. Maybe if the puppet fuck didn't complain so much he wouldn't have had to resort to an improvised muzzle for him. Either way, hell had been humbling. And then the chains broke. One second holding them, the next they where breaking apart in his grip. Only to watch as that cackling madman returned to the world. And now? Jaakuna was dragged out too.

Well, in the very least Gisho really did care about h- WAIT A MINUTE! Did he just called Jaakuna's family a skulk!? As in a bunch of foxes! How long did Gisho sit on that jab!? Did it take a funeral to give the guy a good sense of humor and witty comebacks!? "You son of a-" Wait... He was still in disguise. "Ah... Yes..." He leaned back, fingers pressing together. Oops, a bit too much of his signature relaxing pose. "Well, my father loved to tell stories. He'd gather us around, make a little circle, and spend hours just recounting his adventures. I admit, the ninja life was never for me, and I became a merchant." He laughed softly at this. "Ha ho!" Was he even trying to hide who he was anymore? Maybe he just wanted to see how blatant he could get? "I bet that if he was still around, he'd be insisting you still do all that stuff for him. You're doing a great job." He leaned forward, watching the TVs with a smile.

Everybody was doing such a great job. Especially that boy who seemed to be stealing his clan emblem. Not a familiar face he had to admit. But there must have been at least one kid he had before he died. So that was something. Couldn't swim worth shit. And the Earth Challenge? Riveting stuff. To be honest, he'd have failed that one in a moment. Patience was never his thing and he would have just called on Kurama to tear the whole mountain apart. Thankfully he had Gisho back then to help him remain focused on something other than building up his combo score or juggling routine.

And then, he felt that surge. His heart cracking in two, and it was over. A single tear ran down his cheek, and then another. His eyes drifted to the hand clutching his shoulder, but he didn't pull away. No, he deserved all of this for screwing up so badly. This was his punishment, and everything bad from here on out was on him for not keeping Seijuro in hell. Tears streamed out like a waterfall, crashing to the ground in soft plips. Tears running down his sleeves as he tried to wipe his cheeks. "I'm so sorry... Gautama." And then, he couldn't hold it together. Before anybody could protest, Jaakuna slammed his hands together, and poofed. The fox tipping his hand and revealing they'd been playing with a clone.

Miles away, the real Jaakuna sat alone on a branch. Occassionally he looked down, to make sure his least favorite person was still around. Until he placed a hand to his cheek. Feeling the tears running down and soaking into his pants. "Damn it... I'm going to set things right... I swear Gautama." He whispered to himself. "I swear it."





Golems, of course. They'd seen a few earlier. To Kurin at the very least this seemed to be rather obvious. He stepped closer, a hand running along the rock structure, appreciating just how it seemed to be structured. Impressive, and the stone was magnificently carved. And yet, it was very clear what they where expected to do. At least from what the designer of the event had in mind. These where guardians, and they where most likely intruders. But still, even intruders could admit that something was well designed, if a bit of a stand out difference from the others. "Incredible." He whispered to himself, leaning in to look at the core.

But the writing on the wall made it clear how it worked. Raiton jutsu. And electrical charge that would power the metal core. And judging from what he knew of the others from the exams, only one of the four was skilled in Raiton techniques. "I don't think Shizuka will have much to say." Kurin said, looking to his ally. His telescopic eye whizzing and whirring as he looked at the most important person in the room. "I think this is all your choice here. The machine needs a charge. A structure this big, no matter how efficent will require a great deal of energy." Kurin said, trying his best not to sound bossy. "In effect, you're the only person here who can make the choice of what to do next. So, I guess that makes you team captain for the moment. Will you take the burden all yourself, or delegate?" This was a lot of pressure to suddenly dump on somebody, and Kurin knew it. Unfortunately breaking this hard point down into something easily digestible was nearly impossible.

"Keep in mind, whatever choice you make, I'll back you up." Kurin added, throwing in a smile for extra measure. He had faith in his team at the moment. While very little seemed to have been done, they could at least work together when the moment called for it. But even for what he had to say, he knew Shizuka's vote of confidence was needed. After all, he brought them through the last challenge. Taking a step back, the senju tapped the floors and walls. Investigating the rest of the room. The shafts of light seemed to give him a bit of a shimmer as he walked around. But he never strayed too far from the other three.
"Kiku, what do you think?" Kurin said, as if acknowledging the blind ninja for the first time. It probably was. "Do you sense any way forward that may not require charging the golem?" He knew that Kiku would probably sacrifice some of her energy to help Jaakuna, if only because at this point, the team was in a situation in which none of their particular brand of skills worked. Genjutsu may not be useful against the golem if it turned out to be the enemy for the challenge. But, he could hope.





Bumu's fingers dug into the seams of Koma's robes, holding on tightly as if her life depended on it. And chances are his life DID depend on it. It was clear that Bumu never properly learned how to swim, but at least the others did. The way down though? Bumu was struggling to hold on fairly quickly. Fingers seemed to slip more and more frequently as the lack of air made him ache from the inside out. Vision dimming, and senses swimming in confusion. In all honesty, it seemed the trial was over. Losing grip, Bumu black out, mouth open to take a deep breath. And then, air! But it didn't come in through the lungs, but something new that tickled the sides of her neck. Bumu's vision cleared suddenly, hands reaching up to his neck, only to be stopped by one of the mermaids surrounding them. Oh shit, merfolk. So the legends where true! Wonder what they tasted like...

"Are we all having the same dying hallucination, or did sushi just save us?" Bumu whispered with incredible difficulty. After all, learning to talk underwater was a trial in and of itself. It was all very pretty underwater, despite the salt hurting her eyes a little. But the challenge itself seemed to point in one direction, as there weren't any other structures around that seemed to be so pointed to. And yet, the fish people gave Bumu the hibby jibbys. They may have saved them, but boy was it never a good sign to see the mystical side of things.
"Oh! And thanks for the help! But, I have a question..." Bumu said, raising a hand at one of the merfolks. "What's that building? Do you know what's inside?"

"No objections from me." Tashiro said with confidence. The idea and plan Kyoka had said seemed like the right one to Tashiro and he wasnt about to argue against it. It fits a lot of principles that Tashiro was taught and it fit a lot of situations that would happen in a lot of missions. Choosing between the success of a mission or leaving a teammate behind or leaving them for dead to complete a mission. This may not be the exact kind situation as that but the principle was the same.

This was a situation that Tashiro believed Koyka has a soild idea of what to do and Tashiro was going to let her take the lead. Out of the group Kyoka came up with a definite answer and that was enough for Tashiro to let her lead. Listening to Rumia then Hime after Kyoka sat them all down. "So it seems we all are in agree then, none of us has objections and we have made a solid plan. We move as a team or not at all. If the examiner wants to come out here and test that him or herself let them come we will show them what a team that doesn't sacrifice teammates can do." Mostly speaking to keep up with his past bravado but at the same time keeping the same tone as the others.

Tashiro's decision was to follow his team and do as they do. Whether he fails or passes is whether the team fails or passes at this point and he was very confident in this now as the rest seemingly coming around to his conclusion. Hime and Rumia, even though the latter seemed to be following her cousin but Tashiro couldnt fault anyone for following family. So now Tashiro will wait with his team.

Shizuka Ichimi

---

It was rather clear that Shizuka had ruffled some feather or in this case lavender ends within the blind beauty. Strange how Shizuka was picking up on social cues for once in his life, however it seemed he was still at the immature infant stage of understanding right now. Hopefully his teammates and the blind girl could help him learn faster. He did however feel quite spiteful since the girl had taken up his challenge of a friendly spar the exams. Feeling her hair fall over and her tongue stuck out, shizuka sneakily put one hand under his opposite armpit with just his index finger sticking out. With a careful flick he let out a gust of air that would blow her wildly across her face and perhaps maybe cause some frizzing. Shizuka turned around and lowered his one eyelid while he stuck his tongue out at her imitating her sassy pose.

Without much delay the team continued onward down the dark tenebrous hallway, basically blind in vision like someone he knew, but with his passive wind sense he could still coordinate around himself. What felt like a few feet eventually led them from the corridor into an incandescent room illuminated far prettier than the runes had provided in trials before. Shizuka was quite impressed upon stumbling into the room. Quite unhappy at what his sight brought him, another lame ass golem statue, but this time it was far more distinct in appearance. To be honest Shizuka was growing rather bored with these challenges, he wanted to be tested with something exciting, and not with games his dad taught him to overcome using some deeper thinking, whatever that meant.

The air around his body fluctuated there was a disturbance in the force, he could feel a sharp magnetic field being projected from the abdomen of the strange statue almost as if it were alive. One thing Shizuka did notice was the constant appearance of the runes ever since the entrance of the cave, perhaps they would be of some use eventually or were just some stupid dainty decorations to keep the morale of miners high. Being drawn to the set of machines that centered around the statue, Shizuka decided to approach the mechanism behind the throne of the golem while his teammates began to discuss what they had uncovered. Ignoring the interpretation completely, on a whim Shizuka inserted his arm into the slot provided.

“Hmm, oh right I’m windseeker. Windseeker to Thunder God, over. It seems like I found something, over.” Shizuka pointing to his arm that was now stuck in the machine behind the throne. Shizuka was waiting for the disapproving glances he would receive from Cloudy Eyes and Kurin, they did seem to care about him however little it was. “Stick boy is right, I think this is dumb and we should just stick our hands in. Except Cloud eyes she’s a nice lady so we should leave her out of this, right Mr. President?” the truth was Shizuka did seem to have a weakness for women, it was something his mother ingrained in him as a youth.
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---

---

Chuckling a bit at the hug, though he did wince almost imperceptibly at the use of that rather...unsavory nickname. Smiling politely at it, and later grinning at the boy's reaction to his sake, Yatsu watched the proceeding. He smiled at Yogensha's comment about there not being a need for more men in the room, but decided not to comment.

All things considered, he wasn't necessarily present to talk. Relations between Iwagakure and Konohagakure were relatively well, especially considering that he was friends with Gisho. He paid close attention to the boy, but only from the corner of his eye most times. That was until he began to cry. Raising a brow, Kazayatsu grabbed a kunai from within the sleeve of his robe, unseen. Something was off.

Confirming this, the boy clapped his hands together...and vanished in a puff of smoke. Yatsu's eyes narrowed faintly, and then he smiled cheerily.

"Ah, youth. So easily overwhelmed with emotion, are they not?" His mind was whirring between possibilities already, because something was clearly going on. He had noticed the slight hesitation, the waiting, of Gisho after the boy's actions a moment before. He had noticed the boy's attempt to redirect conversation away from his identity.

He closed his eyes and began searching through the veritable archives of intel and historical information he had. Who did the boy look like?

It took him about 30 seconds to find something promising, or it would have been if Jaakuna hadn't been dead.

Odd.

He opened his eyes and took another drink from his sake. Realizing he had become lost in thought he turned his gaze to Yogensha. "Are they? That's good to hear. There are a few of note that I've been keeping an eye on. I hope they pass, personally." He grinned and glanced up at the screen, checking on things.

Very promising, he thought. Soon he would be gaining some very reliable jounin, it seemed.

All at once, she could feel a wave of pressure coming at her. Quickly, she put her hands out in front of her face to evade the wind blow that Shizuka had sent her way, but it wasn't that effective as her hair snaked out behind her crazily. Washing over her, as did a few new emotions towards the Shinobi that brought upon the airwave. Her nose slightly scrunched in catching the smell of sweat again from him, though it wasn't that repulsive to her. Also, the nose scrunching was partially caused by catching him mimic her pose she had just made to him, she gasped and then pursed her lips. Only reason she was able to notice it was because of the swirling air creating a moving world for her. "Thank you, it was getting warm in here," Kiku chirped, grabbing her ridiculously long hair and bringing it over her right shoulder, combing through it with her fingers. She squinted her eyes at the boy as he walked away from her with the rest of their comrades. Though, with the mask being on - that facial expression would have been unnoticed. Kiku walked over hurridly, picking up her daggers from where she had left them on the ground, and began to make her way to her teammates. Sighing as they walked along through the corridor, not exactly annoyed but honing in on her next childish move to aim at the red eyed teammate. But, upon realizing this she stopped - inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. She couldn't allow herself to feed off her childish side too much.

Walking into the next room, she threw all her hair back over shoulder and it waterfalled down her back. Landing mere centimeters from the ground. She lifted up a side of the mask, and placed her daggers and chains over shoulders. Snapping her fingers to get a better feel of the room, looking around and staring at the bird-like golem that sat before them. It was poised, and currently seemed more of a spiritual being - but something in the room was offsetting her senses. A pull, or push - she couldn't exactly tell. It made her take note that she needed to practice on her sensesory abilities more. But as she moved closer to the being, the feeling was a little more vibrat - her one free eye connecting with the ruby device that lay within its chest. Staring it curiously, her eye then hovered around the being - seeing all the other parts of it. Deducing the possibility of what was needed from this machine, her eye then moved to the scripture - letting out a small hum of thought.

Her ears were picking up her teammates conversation, but it was only until Kurin said her name that she came back too. She turned her head over her shoulder to stare at him with her one free eye, and blinked a few times. Her head then turned to Shizuka, who seemed to come in as a white knight and try to push her out of harms way. As nice as an incentive as it was, she was currently in no mood to be spared - "I think..." she began, and let her mask drop crossing her arms. "If Jaakuna charges it himself....well that could be a toll on him. If 3 of us do, could be weakened against....who knows". She pointed at the golem, "I'm assuming this thing though...." Kiku muttered, "It really is up to Jaakuna - but I believe he will be most useful in the fight against a stone golem. Wind as well...and Earth...." Kiku rubbed the back of her head and sighed, bringing her index finger to her temple and tapping it "My genjutsu is useless here...taijutsu is my next best..... As long as I have these, I'm fine". Kiku grabbed the daggers that hung over her shoulders, and then turned her head towards Shizuka almost jumping. "What're you doing!? We don't even know what that thing is gonna do yet!" She exclaimed confused, and jogged over to him - lifting her one side of the mask again and examining his hand in the contraption. Rising up, this time she invaded his personal space by bringing her face close. If that was possible. Taking her index finger and sticking it on Shizuka's forehead, upon doing this she sent positive energy through her finger to the Shinobi, "You're so impulsive....but" She turned back to the other two teammates, and her hand left Shizuka's head, "I'm with...Windseeker here, split the weight". Walking over to one of the other mechanisms, and pointing at it for herself, "I volunteer".

_{@Syn@Reflection@Altered Tundra}

@Reflection @Syn @BladeX

Descending and Drowning.

With Bumu clinging to her cloak for dear life and Kaba following her swimming pace, Koma kept her gaze focused below them, peering into the inky depths of the ocean that refused to let them escape. She had no idea how long she'd been trying to swim for but it was feeling more and more futile the longer she swam. Her muscles arched from over-use, her joints stiffened as she continued to exert herself, her eyes stung from the constant exposure to the water and finally... She ran out of what little air she had left when she began her descent and panic spread through her mind, an exam wasn't supposed to be deadly, this had to be some kind of messed up genjutsu that was only making them think this was happening, it had to be!

Koma was wrought from her mental ravings before she got too enamoured with them by the sight of something moving in the depths, but the young kunoichi couldn't hold on any longer and she too succumbed to her body's desire to try and breathe, taking in anything but the oxygen she needed to keep going. In that moment where the world began to darken the things she'd seen in the deep closed in and did... something.

The next thing she remembered was gasping and soon breathing once more, still submerged yet somehow not drowning this time whilst human-esque figures began to dance, play and swim around her, giggling and laughing amongst themselves all the while. Calling the beings beautiful was both a compliment and an insult, there probably wasn't a way for her to really define their appearance compared to humans anyway.
The girl couldn't understand the cause for their joy and began to paddle herself in an attempt to shrink away from the affectionate maids of the ocean, but before she could actually do that many hands grabbed hers and the trio were guided deeper into the water, Koma red in the face at the exaggerated attention she was getting from them.

What made this situation even more absurd was the sensation of growing webbing over her body, no doubt to allow her to swim in these waters with ease, but she never remembered being able to change like this so it had to be either an effect that they had on her and the others or something in the water itself.
But again, any thought about such matters was whisked away as she laid eyes upon the underwater palace that merfolk seemed to be coming in and out of without concern, again it was a beauty that Koma didn't have human words for. For a time she forgot to shut off her eagle eye technique, surveying every visible surface of the building as she soon heard Bumu manage to speak up, prompting her to de-activate her technique and look to the foxish ninja.

Koma took a moment herself re-developing the ability to speak as well, but voiced her opinion shortly afterwards. "I... Think it's a home for the denizens of this ocean, and the water scroll." She began swimming towards the entrance without another word, she'd had her fill of wonder, marvel and terror by now. Koma just wanted to get back to the relative normality of the shinobi world after all this over-exposure to interaction and unpredictability.

As they neared the darkness, Kaba could feel himself grow weaker. He was nearly out of oxygen and his vision had begun to blur. 'Heh....So this is how it ends, eh? All my training and I'm gonna end up fucking drowned.' Kaba closed his eyes, and in that same exact moment his grandfather's arrogant voice entered his mind. 'Don't be a failure all your life...DO NOT DISGRACE US' His eyes quickly flashed open and to his surprise it seemed as if the trio was no longer alone. Slowly, Kaba made out the figures of multiple female like silhouettes. As his eyesight came to focus, one of the figures approached him, brushing against his neck.

In shock Kaba stood still, not knowing what he should expect from these foreign creatures. As he looked on in astonishment, he suddenly realized that he hadn't passed out yet for some reason. The shock prevented him from realizing that he had somehow grown gills and could breathe. Energy rushed back into his body as the oxygen began to flow in again. This was a dream, it had to be. This was certainly not the afterlife Kaba had envisioned. He began to study the creatures that had seemingly saved him, causing a barrage of confusion to enter his mind. What were these strange creatures? Were they actually stuck in a genjutsu? Had their bodies actually even been transported from the arena, or was it all just an illusion after all?

Though his mind was racing, Kaba stayed speechless. He turned to survey his teammates' reactions as the sea creatures seemingly tried to communicate with them. They emanated an almost otherworldly sound that gave Kaba chills. Quickly thereafter, one of the creatures grabbed Kaba's hand as to instruct him to follow along. They were led deeper into the unknown darkness, knifing through the water that had previously given them issues as if they were floating through the air. As the trio was led further, Kaba finally began to calm. He took notice to the changes in body, unsure whether to freak out or be amazed. He certainly wouldn't complain, as this new body was perfect for their current environment, but he definitely didn't want to stay a fishman forever.

Eventually, they would approach a light, and upon entering said light Kaba would find himself stunned once again. As he took in the group's new surroundings he felt a strange feeling enter his body. He was amazed to a level that he had never experience once in his life. There were more creatures to observe and even what seemed to be male versions of the beautiful sea maidens that had saved their lives. Noticing the gesture made by the naiads, Kaba stared at what seemed to be the entrance to the insane underwater structure currently presented to the three Jounin hopefuls. He almost felt like rushing in, but understood that it would be better to confer with Bumu and Koma, though it seemed as if Bumu was attempting to conversate with their saviors. Expecting Bumu's question to be ignored due to the fact it seemed the naiads could not speak their language, Kaba turned his attention towards talking with his two comrades before making any other decisions. "Well this was...unexpected haha. Whatever those things were, I don't think they meant us harm. They saved our lives. I think we should enter this...place. Cautiously of course-" But before Kaba could finish his words, Koma began swimming towards the entrance. Apparently nothing else needed to be said. He quickly caught up with her, mind racing once again as they approached the entrance.

---

There’s was something vexing about the appearance of the temple, almost as if it were too radiant to be true. The fact that the Naiads, the one group of navigators that had given them a second chance of life and led them here, and left them at the entrance was odd. Whatever the case was the temple was calling out to the group of ninja. Each would hear their own unique distorted voice that rang familiar to them. Whether it was a distant relative or a dead friend. Whether they felt it or not there was a slight ever so delicate pull on the water that surrounded the three ninja pulling them close the temple.

The group of ninja had made it quite far, further thank the expectations of whomever was watching surely or the proctor of the exam. Whatever was the case the ninja had suggested to explore the temple, well there was rather little else where they could go. Upon entering the palace they were greeted with a deceptive interior. Inside of the temple was an almost human like industrialized city but still outdoors, it seemed as the temple acted as a large cloaking dome that camouflaged anyone from discovering the whereabouts of their secret society.

The water was quite bright inside depicting the day time, statues of fish soldiers capable of holding trident like weapons lined the walkways of the lost city, up towards one building. The building was impossible to miss, it dwarfed the size of the surrounding builds by almost triple. The almost castle like structure sat on a bed of sand which had been encompassed by a massive opened oyster. On their way into the castle there lie larger pillars that kept the building structure, tattered with seaweed and a carpet leading to what seemed like a throne.

Once in the throne room they were greeted by a small battalion of mermen soldiers who sat at the feet of the massive throne behind them, and on that bed of pearls was the Queen of the underwater civilization, The Mermaid Goddess.

Hider [+]

They had once thought they had witness unparalleled beauty when they were rescued by the Naiads, but that was no match of measure for the true queen in all of her exquisite allure. ”I’m glad you were able to make it here without injury or confusion. This is the Water Temple, I am the Queen of this domain and personally see everything that enters and exits these waters. We never have human dwelling quests before, or if we did, they weren’t allowed any memory of this place.” Her voice was silk and smooth cradling their ears with sweet murmurs. Although her candor would not be mistaken for weakness as she did carry an aura of swift justice. The queen while very prominent in appearance to most men was rather obscured by the pillar in the distance behind the throne. A small shrine had been erected and in the forefront was a large pillar that had ancient writing, but one world would stand familiar to the ninja, “Suijin” the water god, it was a pillar where the sea people went to pray and pay their tributes. However, the ninja would be more focused on the scroll that was embedded in the stone itself.

“Pray do tell me why you have all gathered here, hmm?” the queen reclaiming any attention that might have trailed off.

---

The group of ninja were correct in assuming that the white flames had siphoned chakra out of the user, but that was only a half truth. The self-proclaimed leader took to action in a mere seconds, it seemed as if they had grown tired of Suzaku’s mouth and the vague test pronounced before them. The first mistake was assuming that the flame could only siphon the chakra of clones and the user alike. The flames fed on all forms of chakra. The earth prison constructed by the female ninja was all for naught as the flames consumed the earth which soon disappeared and aided in growing the flames of the scroll. The power and range of the flames were becoming dangerous.

If Sakana played close enough attention with every meter he took getting closer to the scroll the larger the flames would get and the greater the reach the scrolls cloaks would get, not only with his approach, but he would have to factor in if this was the case with just one person or multiple people. The pillar was crumbling and receding into the flames while the ninja seemed to summon an axolotl which spat water onto his hands. This would help in any case where it was normal fire that fed on oxygen, but the flames of men feasted on something else so water was not an easily apparent weakness. While he did take an extra precaution of wearing gloves, they would prove to be an ill attempt at stoking the flames emanating from the scroll.

There was no retaliation from the scroll in the momentary grasp of the young ninja. What the boy figured would ignite his gloves and water did not take. Instead the fire ignited the chakra system within the boy. This Hiden is a passive cloak of energy that takes the form of a transparent aura that is always surrounding the user even if it's not always visible. When Nu exerts his energy it takes on the appearance of translucent blue-green flames whose opacity thickens or lessens based on how much energy Nu is putting out at any given time. The more energy and is exerting, the brighter and more opaque the cloak becomes. While it may take on the appearance of flames, it is not in fact fire at all nor does it have any affiliation to Fire Release, however the bane of its existence is Amaterasu.

The nature of this energy cloak is simple. The flames consume anything made out of energy and consume it, assimilating it into the cloak. The flames purify all energy it comes into contact with, nullifying any negative effects it may have on Nu himself. To give you an example, someone uses the fireball technique. Nu exerts his own chakra into the cloak causing it to grow and manifests a wall of Suzaku flame out of the cloak. The wall of Suzaku flame come in contact with the fireball and consumes it, creating more Suzaku flame from the chakra the fireball was made out of. Totally awesome right?

With the ignition of the boy’s chakra, he had the choice of letting go or to continue his grip on the scroll.

---

Namine Akizakura

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Heels could be clicking on the marble floor. Clack, Clack, Clack. Namine had enough of waiting around to make her presence known to all of those that waited behind the closed doors of the spectators room. Cloaking her presence, Namine had been invisible to any ninja who tried to perceive her location. The entire time that Jaakuna had been inside using his clone she could feel his presence, there was no hiding from here she would never forget the signature chakra of their fellow fallen Sanin. Lie after lie was woven in a basket that he prepositioned for Ginsho, his long standing friend and for what? There was something different about Aka, he was hiding something and somehow he was affiliated with the outside forces exuding the same dark and murderous intent around the testing grounds, Ginsho had to know before anything got out of hand.

Unfortunately for her, before she could expose that weasel or fox, he had vanished, Ginsho’s kindness and empathy was too much of a burden for Jaakuna to handle. A little provoked and irked by his actions Namine slammed the doors open entering the room. Immediately the lower ninja in the room bowed in respect of the only female Sanin of the village. Her perfectly shaded red hair flowed in the wind and delicately bounced as it rested on her perfectly broad and soft shoulders. One might think she was flaunting her hair from its immerse beauty, then of course they would be making the right estimation. Not only was her perfect hair distracting, but she was quite the ample woman, her breasts were rather large and prominent despite her best efforts to hide them under layers of bandages. She was quite the seductress physically, while being an empathic mute on the inside. Her body challenged that of her words.

Namine’s body was wrapped in elegant purple silk clothing, hugging the sides of her arms as it drifted down creating a v shape around the cleavage of her breasts. It was met with a complimentary black sash that wrapped around her waist. The purple silk continued down her legs leaving a slit big enough for her legs to move freely. Underneath she wore traditional black leggings allowing her versatility and movement even in combat. Lastly were her elegant black laced heels that hugged her feet comfortable and showed off her midnight purple nail polish on her toenails. She furiously walked towards Ginsho and smacked the back of his head, “You fool how could you not tell that was our friend Jaakuna Aka. You’ve grown weak in your old age.” Namine then glared at the Tsuchikage feeling there was another agenda he had in mind. “Always nice to see you Kazayatsu-san, I’m sorry this oaf still calls you by that ugly name. Is that a kunai in your sleeve or are you just happy to see me?” bowing in respect to her peer, before turning to bow for Yogensha. “Are these men bothering you my dear? We should catch up and have a woman’s night out, get away from this world of men.” Namine said with a coy and playful smile to the beautiful Amekage.