---

Koibito felt odd about the sensation he felt. Before he could grasp what was going on he had the sudden urge to duck. Not sure why, or even how he dropped to his face as the log flew past him and the others. Had he just developed some strange power to predict the future? Koibito kept himself on the floor to think about it for a few seconds. A evil smirk developed as he though of the advantage he could use with this power. Although his day dream was short lived when Senna began to explain that she had control over this feeling. Of course she did. It would be to lucky for him to randomly acquire this power.

"That's pretty awesome Senna! You'll be perfect for the team!" Koibito replied in a mirrored smile and sticking his thumb up in the air. Actually he never noticed how beautiful Senna looked before and her having this ability only made her more valuable in his eyes. Before he could trail off in thought, Koibito stopped himself. Remembering the whole 'Sharing Emotions' thing going on.

He caught himself staring and looked away towards Date and then to Kyo. He shake his head in agreeance. Getting some higher ground would probably allow them to get a better look at what was going on. So far to him it just seemed like a skilled Shinobi was just creating the Tornado himself. The power he would have to hold to create such a great Tornado let alone keep it going for more than a few seconds made Koi suspicious. Their had to be more than just one man. Or at least one man unassisted. Their was always a twist to these exams.

---

Here they were, all members of team Daddy DP ready to give a bit of themselves to activate the mechanism within the enigmatic Golem, the 'Jian-Huren'. A contrario to letting Jaakuna be the only one to power up it up, and potentially compromise him for the remainder of the trial. They clearly needed something big to revive the behemoth sitting inertly before them, and the leadership power-struggled seemed to have a penchant for collective sacrifice.

Shizuka was first to offer, and the followed by Kiku volunteering herself as the second offering to whatever gluttonous needs the stone beast would hold. Finally, Jaakuna would let up, and burden himself with a lighter punishment than the glyphs had expected from the Raiton user. All three were set, and once the trio willingly inserting their arms into the mechanisms, they would flash to life. Runes surrounding the machines lit up, and indicate the things actually working.

The tributes to the golem would, however, be completely locked in place, with the only escape being the swift amputations of their offered limb. The following would not be painful perse, but moreso draining, not very enjoyable. Chakra would escape their being by force, and in turn slowly light up the runes coating the avian golem. They would all eventually notice the manifestation of a seal on their forearm, ever so slightly out of the machine's maw. They were being marked with a seal similar to the one on the door that'd led them here, albeit black.

This process would last no longer than a minute, and the experience would not improve until the very end, where they would finally be freed. Forearm marked, but otherwise fully intact physically. Internally, however, the drain was genuine. Their strength absorbed and chakra levels depleted to nourish the beast that was supposedly promising them a solution to their current dilemma.

Their sacrifice would not be in vain, however, as once this odd transfer was finished, they could all hear the rattling coming from the golem's 'throne'. The Jian-Huren seemed to shiver ever so slightly, and the movements would become more pronounced by the second. And with one, sudden movement, all the accumulated dust and sand on the inert being would blast away from its figure, as it would emerge, tall and stiff to perform its duties. It was certainly tall, and far too big to pass through the access they had employed. Which is why the red runes all the wall would react in turn. Shifting from crimson to bright yellow, the corridor would seem to enlarge itself, as if it were all just a bunch of piled, metallic blocks clustered together to make a narrow path, now folding back deeper into the earth it once came from.

With that, the beast would march forward with heavy, seismic-like steps, and regain the seemingly malfunctioning turntable. It was still dark, with red runes barely illuminating it. The once stiff, robotic golem would suddenly shift to far more fluid movement as it'd 'inspect' the mechanism of the turntable. Its hollow, golem eyes scanned the area, body turning from left to right frequently in order to assess the situation. It did not take it more than fifteen seconds before it would confidently bend over and latch its palms onto the spinning, metallic disc on the floor. A small burst of electricity was then released from its figure, before it'd stand back once more, and paused.

Almost as if it were theatrical, the turntable's room would light up as it had once more, and the machine would spin again, and align itself as it was meant to. This would allow the rails to face the main, large door that stood in the way of Daddy DP. And with their path chosen, said door would open, revealing the next step of their adventure. All the while, The Jian-Huren apparently handling maintenance around here, set off for its throne, for its task was complete and could only envision eternal slumber once more.

The group could now advance, and would they do, they'd find a wall before them, with the rail dividing itself into two corridors to the left and to the right. The wall was small enough for them to notice that they both led to an area behind it, and seemed to be mostly for aesthetics. On said wall, however, they'd find another, far better preserved illustration than they had found beforehand.



As they would proceed, they would find the rail tracks leading to a dark, cold room. A very large, cold room. Not unnaturally cold, but they could tell they were deep in the frigid earth. One could distinguish a large figure in the massive darkness, with no signs of chakra or even movement. There'd be that, and the excessive amount of bones littering the first few meters of the chamber. Team Daddy DP had better tread carefully.

[With the collective nerf in place, these are the penalties our good friends will be receiving:
-Kiku: Larger loss of chakra than the others, being 40%, and elimination of her only A rank Genjutsu.
-Jaakuna: 25% Chakra loss, Sea of Flames and Lightning Wall are eliminated, larger self-damage when using Hiden as a medium to attack.
-Shizuka: 30% Chakra Loss, Samurai Sabre Technique loses potency (any enhancement ability). Combustion is eliminated, and like with samurai sabre technique, lower chakra control leads to AoE's such as Atsugai to be a far bigger hazard to the team.

Characters generally feel weaker, and this should affect their capabilities to an extent. I will en enforcing this, and you are warned that the upcoming fight might put you at very bad odds against your newly made weaknesses. They're only for this event, no need to be too spooked.]

The other three took some initiative, which was probably for the best as Kurin watched them approach the statue. All three pushing their chakra into it, powering the machine further. His telescopic eyes zoomed in, focusing on the metal core. Well, that's a start. A thin layer of dust coated him, before he was easily dusted off. The golem was impressive, and Kurin followed in suit. He admired the architecture, the way it was built and designed. Though he had to admit it was particularly cruel to weaken a team before a big fight. Especially since he was 99% sure at this point that there was a worm. But, the others had sacrificed their power so he could protect them with complete certainty, so that wasn't exactly going to leave the weight from his back.

Pride of the Senju, he was even more proud of the others in his team. Kiku for making the largest sacrifice, and Jaakuna for at least having a little initiative. Shizuka for working with the others, though he suspect him to be bitter over Kurin letting Kiku even take part in the draining. Either way, what's done is done, so there was no changing their choices. They all had a mark to bare now. So at least they had some memory to take away from this. Kurin would have the memory of his team, from Shizuka, to Kiku, and maybe Jaakuna too. Sad they hadn't been working on a more combat oriented challenge. Jaakuna would have been all the stronger for it.

Kurin took the lead, moving slowly and holding a hand up. Ready to defend against the first thing that moved. And yet, this area was unlike the others. No light, but no metal that could disrupt his wood jutsu. Thankful at the very least for that. he began to gesture to Shizuka, telling him to stand behind Kurin. If anything got past his defense, it was up to Shizuka's wind to block it. "Kiku, echolocation please?" Kurin whispered softly, knowing she'd hear him well enough to get an idea of what needed to be done. And then, he led the way, taking the right of the two doors. In the dark, he knew something was wrong. Bones littered the floor, human he suspected, leaning down to investigate closer. His telescopic eye gazed into the dark, as if he was trying to figure out what was in there, or if it was even alive.

"Something is there... Jaakuna, we need light to see. Once engagement happens, we'll need you to figure out a way to light up the room. It seems big enough to allow some loss of oxygen." Kurin whispered, glancing to look Jaakuna in the eyes. "I need you, okay buddy? Shizuka, I'll try to slow it down if I can, you need to deal the fatal blow if you're still up for it." He said, keeping as quiet as he could. "You all fine with that game plan?" Whatever it was in there, if it hadn't heard the massive door opening, then it was possible it had trouble hearing. Might rely on vibrations in the earth? Either way, they all had to be on their feet.





Bumu wasn't impressed. The area looked nice and shiny, but to call the fish people pretty? Far stretch. Then again, his opinion on what was beautiful involved a red fur coat. Human boobs didn't do a thing for her. So as they where greeted by the leader, Bumu floated around. Brushing a hand against each column, feeling the intricate design work of the whole ordeal.
As for the distorted voice, it sounded like his mother... She never said anything sweet. Guard the temple this. Clean the floor that. Being a guardian fox sent to protect temples and stuff was the worst! So as soon as Bumu could, he learned how to turn into a human. Stealing one of the sacred family robes, though it was just fancy clothing, the fox had opted to blend in with humans. Taking on her father's last name just for extra measure. Sometimes he wondered if he could ever return to her home if things went tits up in the human world.

But, more important matters where at hand. His eyes focused across the area, spotting the scroll alongside the rest of the team. As a shrine fox, Bumu knew well enough what a symbol of worship was. And how immediately it would be a bad idea to tell their savior exactly why they came here. "You see..." Bumu said, speaking up first. "We've traveled all this way because we heard of a glorious temple, and a shrine of great importance." Butter on the ego. "We didn't realize how dangerous the trip down was, but we sought to pray. Pray for good waters and seas to travel through on our later journeys." He smiled, sly as a fox that one was. Couldn't even call it lying, since they technically where there for the scroll on the shrine. "I even brought tribute from the surface world!" She declared, holding up a tag. "I grew up in a temple. In order to bring good luck and fortune, we would hang these up in shrines." Unless they where very versed in the ways of the surface world, it was doubtful they could tell an explosive tag form a shinto tag. Even better was how Bumu so easily controlled the tag, changing the color to a lovely white, more befitting honesty and purity to hide the truth further. "I offer this as tribute. But more so as a sign of good fortune, and faith between us. I brought enough to share with all of you if you wish."

Shizuka Ichimi

---

Shizuka was wondering if he would feel any pressure soon, hopefully this thing examined his blood pressure and let him know whether he was being healthy or not. He didn’t really track his vitals, but he was pretty athletic and ate modestly, except strudels, oh how they cursed him and taunted him with their delicate fluffy pastryness. Shizuka’s hair raised on end when he heard the shrill of his teammate "What're you doing!? We don't even know what that thing is gonna do yet!" Shizuka half wanted to start screaming in pain and fall to floor as if his arm was being shredded life cheese, but the other half of him couldn’t think since it was her turn to invade his personal space. Shizuka had never experienced a foreign power challenging him so closely, well he did, but it was never a female, generally all males. Time seemed to slow down as she got closer to him, there was something wrong with his body. His heartbeat started to rise slowly, had the pressure measurer started working? No it was something else. ”Thump…Thump…Thump” his heart playing in his ears now.

There was also a feint smell of lavender from what he could have only assumed was coming from the girl and her hair. It was a relaxing smell, one that reminded him of the plants in the garden his mother owned back when he lived in Sunagakure, it was nothing but sand yet his mother had a green thumb that could make everything grow. While the scent was essential for calming nerves and alleviating headaches, Shizuka’s mind was still doing laps. His temple had small beads of sweat and his cheeks began to gain a small hint of red. Before he could stumble over his words her finger met his forehead, positive energy injected into his body. She sauntered off and Shizuka coughed loudly while fixing his garments before shaking himself out of it and nodding in agreement.

Breaking the awkward air only he felt he turned and peered beyond the throne to his teammate whom he liked more and more as he was almost as open as Shizuka was. “Oi, Thunder God! I saw a fish. That is all. Go back to sticking your hand in stuff.” As soon as he finished Jaakuna thrusted his hand into the proper mechanism and the room began to transform once again. One again the flashing lights came on and the machine tightened around Shizuka’s arm leaving no room to move around. Quickly the feeling of draining coursed through his body, his chakra was being sapped, and he was feeling woozy this time not from Kiku passing by him. With the draining also came a seal that felt like a hot brand being placed on his skin. Trying to control his breathing, Shizuka bared the pain and kept his focus while the Golem was coming to life. Did miners really do this when they needed to move around?

With his arm released and the golem having paved the way for them to continue on, with hopefully their final challenge, Shizuka stood up and walked over to his other two teammates. “Are you guys alright? At least we got matching tattoos am I right?” Letting out a feint weakened chuckle. He may not have been the Leader Kurin intended to be, but he was a kind leader ensuring the safety and health of his comrades. He reached out a hand in case anyone had stumbled. Shizuka wanted to get out of this dreaded tombstone, he walked into the hallway and quickly glazed over the painting and its cryptic messages. There was no worm and the other inscriptions had been useless up until now, the creators really knew how to waste their time down here. There was a bitterness nipping at his skin upon entering the cold dark room. His wind senses had discovered something else was in that room, but there was no chakra leaking from it. His foot crunched whatever had been underneath, when he bent down to look it was a massive pile of human bones. Shizuka once again adorned his stoic and serious fighting intent. This was no time for games, Shizuka walked behind Kurin gripping and thumbing the guard from its scabbard showing the gorgeous black steel only slightly. “As long as we work together I’ll make short work of this beast. I may not be able to use wind against it, but I am a Samurai before I’m anything else. I’ll do my best to create openings and distract the beast. Do not worry about me, I need the rest of you to pass.” Shizuka gripped Kurin’s shoulder and turned to look at the other two with a stare and aura of conviction and protection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"One. Two. Three!"

Though all 3 subjected themselves to the same punishment, Kiku let out a small yelp of pain as her arm became locked in. She tried pulling it out in fear, and realized it wasn't going to happen. Her raised heartbeat could be felt in every limb, especially in the arm that was currently stuck. Kiku felt an intense movement of her chakra to the golem itself, and then began to feel weak, her knees quivered slightly as it continued to drain the poor almost-blind girl. Sweat beaded up on her forehead, as panic set into her nerves. "No, no no no no..." a whisper escaped her lips. But, finally after what felt like an eternity - it released her arm as well as her other two comrades. Kiku quickly recoiled the freed arm to her body, and took in a fearful deep breath. Her attention turned suddenly to Shizuka as he mentioned a marking. She ripped off the glove of her right arm (the one she had inserted), lifting up one side of her mask her eye widened in a mixture of shock and fear. Her eye quickly moved to each teammate, and reassured the fact it was the same one, she began to wonder the extent of their dismay.

It was in that same moment of having her arm back, that the golem began to come to life. She was amazed by the humanoid figure, but was also in shock about her chakra depletion. Assessing the situation in her own mind, she had come to terms to realize she wouldn't be much use until she could raise her chakra levels up. Thankfully on some miniscule upside, as the golem came alive and the air swooshed towards them - she didn't have to cover her eyes. Though some dust did find its way into her mouth, coughing slightly - exhaling the years of untouched machina as she stepped backwards. It was also in this instant she found the chains and daggers too heavy around her shoulders, throwing them to the ground with a loud thud. The Kunoichi fell to her knees and shuddered from this weird sensation. Breathing in deeply, slowly regaining herself. "In...out..." She repeated mentally, trying to center herself. The golem took a lot of her chakra, almost half if 100% - and this left her pretty bare compared to what was previously used. She coughed, producing some of the dust from the golem and sighed deeply in worry of what laid ahead next.

Kiku marveled at how the beast ignored them, and then disappeared into the cavity they came from. Relief washied over the girl, as she was not up to fight in this instance. "I'm not sure about you guys...but..." She groaned, leaning forward on the floor almost into fetal position - trying to stabilize herself. The drain of her chakra could be felt immensely and she wondered if her teammates were just as drained, "I-I'm not that okay..." The lavender Kunoichi finally admitted, sliding her glove back on that she had previously ripped off. She was at a decent level of chakra, but the amount that got ripped from her left her body trying to adjust, and this did not sit well with the Kunoichi. It didn't take but a minute or two for her to stand back up, and act fine, as she picked back up her weapon of choice. The chains and dagger felt heavy in her hand, she mentally annihilated herself for nor being stronger. It was something deep in her that told her to not appear weak. "I know..." She slightly murmured, and exhaled deeply. Kiku stood up, and began to follow after Kurin.

She heard Kurin, and gave a small moan in acceptance to her name being called. Her senses already were all in a mess (though naturally heightened) it was now almost tasking for her to send chakra to her senses. "Uhm..." She stood up straight, and clicked with her tongue...not much. She then sent chakra to her tongue and let out another louder click. It did it's job, but this also made her feel a bit weary. As she went to grasp something, her hand collided with that of none other than - Shizuka's. The current Shinobi that was sliding his was under her skin. Though at this point of such a dramatically quick exit of chakra - she really wasn't feeling up to her earlier childish events. Her body still needing to catch up on the drastic depletion. "Go straight Kurin...feel the wall...I will tell you if it opens up, or anything..." She stated, moving her hand from Shizuka's hand to his arm. Holding it tightly in her own two arms. Kiku didn't want to rely on anyone. but going blind, and losing almost half your chakra in under a minute took a weird strain on your already weakening body. Aside from already using chakra to send to your senses, she was a little under half at this moment. Not expecting this twist in the challenge. She pushed her face into his arm, and in one movement pushed away from the boy. Beginning to move on her own.

Kurin led the way, and she was slowly stabilizing her body to its current state, her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth - making a weary scene of what was around them. Bones. Kiku almost gasped, but held her composure - death was not one she was familiar with. A different aura entered her body, her arms slowly wrapped around her. An unbearable stench entered her nostrils, and almost made her want to puke. "I-I don't like how this feels....at all...."

_{@Syn@Reflection@Altered Tundra}

---

---

Somewhat shocked, she was stirred from her brief moment of trepidation by her sister Ai. Bidden to put up a barrier around the rest of their teammates, she acquiesced, throwing down three barrier rods to form a triangular barrier around her and the two others. Then she watched as Ai took a risk.

Eyes widening, attention rapt, she watched as some kind of beast, perhaps made of lightning, struck her sister's barrier and knocked her backwards...and then onto her back, where she laid. When Ai spoke, Ayame exhaled, not having even noticed that she was holding her breath.

Bad form. She frowned a bit, but was glad that Ai was alright. She'd lost her once and she didn't want to again. Letting the barrier down she walked over to her sister.

"Will you be alright to continue?" She asked, a touch of concern in her voice as she looked down at her sister. That asked she glanced at the other drums and then at the other half of their team.

"I think we should try to hit as many drums as we can within a short period of time. I know Ai is fast when she wants to be. I'm...not really suited to that sort of thing. Do either of you have experience in that area?"

She glanced between the two men and then away, though she still expected a response. She began extracting barrier rods from her clothes. Eventually she had taken out twenty(20).

"Well, regardless, I think we should make sure we're defended from attack while we hit the drums. You three figure out how to go about hitting the drums in rapid succession. I'm going to set up these barrier rods to create a ring shaped barrier that should separate the drums from the rest of this space."

She glanced at them, and then threw two rods down. The stabbed into the ground on either side of the drum nearest to them, somehow doing so straight up and down. One of the rods was closer to the buddha statue, while the other had the drum between it and the statue. This done Ayame walked towards the statue and then used Shunshin, vanishing and reappearing near the top of it on this floor. Once there she began throwing barrier rods out towards the drums. Her aim was impeccable and they all arranged themselves. The end result was two concentric rings of barrier rods. It took her about 30 or so seconds to set it up and confirm that things were placed properly. Once she had done so, she slid down the statue and headed for her teammates.

She wondered what they'd come up with.

---

---

---

Glancing at the doors as they were flung open, the Tsuchikage watched and listened closely as he was prone to doing. He made sure not to show any change in expression when they woman mentioned that the 'boy' had been Aka, Jaakuna. Memories and research rushed back to him though and he was mildly shocked to know that the individual was somehow alive.

How were they alive anyways? Some kind of resurrection, it must be. Then she mentioned his kunai, illiciting from him a smile. He pulled his hands out of his sleeves, holding them up in a gesture of surrender, kunai in one hand, smiling all the while. "I simply did not trust the 'boy'. The one you say is Jaakuna. I suppose I know why I didn't now, haha. I'll put this away, don't worry I mean none of you any harm."

He stowed the kunai back in its proper place. Of course, while he did so he chuckled lightly, lowering his hands. The thought crossed his mind that if he did wish them harm, that he would certainly not use a kunai to initiate combat. No, instead he would play a simple child's game.

"Ah, and don't mind the nickname so much, but I appreciate the sentiment," he lied. Of course, he knew she could tell, but his look and smile was probably enough to relay to her that he'd rather not discuss the issue further.

---

The moment they all stepped into the room, they felt the oppressive cold almost trying to possess them. All figuratively, of course. But this chilling, morbid feeling they'd all receive was not one they could ignore. It'd only be natural for Team Daddy DP to express concern, worry, anxiety ... After all, they were doing nothing but dive deeper into an unknown far too foreign to the world they had known all their lives, whether poor or wealthy, difficult or aided. A civilization so distant from theirs, it could only appear alien to the youths. The oppressive nature of the area would be made worse with a metallic door closing behind them, successfully sealing the team within.

Before they could investigate further, runes engraved in the metal plated portions of the floor and carvings on the more rocky walls would flash in a bright white. As if conferring the spotlight to all those in the room, at the pleasure of any omnipresent onlooker to admire. They were still alone, at least when it came to living beings anyway. However, as eyes and senses adjusted to the bright lights and the massive increase in the spread of electromagnetic currents, they could all witness it before them. A Golem dwarfing even the giants they had interacted with. Thirty meters in height, with the room barely ten higher, and of a width of about half that size. Luckily for the team, the circular room, coating in untapped Phonzite, was most certainly large enough to only have the beast before them take a quarter of the available space.

In front of Team Daddy DP, stood Fan'Shuo's Military Pride. The gargantuan Dajian, General to all other war golems. Armed with thick metal plating meshed with carefully crafted stone laced with Phonzite. Its shape was humanoid, with many compartments littering its physiology, supposedly to hold weaponry or odd mechanisms. It stood stiff, and motionless, with only the runes in the room slowly spreading to eventually reach its thick, metallic feet. From there, like some vile disease, the markings spread through its body, and energized it as a form of response to intruders. Though given the many skeletons spread around the area, one could perhaps deduce that it had since them indiscriminately eliminated whatever bothered it.

The squad couldn't really do much about it, for it was clear through the texts that this thing was designed to attack, and defend. Attacking it now while it seemed to wind up could be a good idea just as it was a bad one. To any omniscient onlooker, they'd know it'd be a bad idea. They'd have no idea what to expect from the silver, Immobile giant.

Well, immobile until its figure would be fully decorated with the bright glyphs. The final lines reached the 'eyes' of the giant figure, and once finally given the juice it craved, they'd open wide. Another blinding flash, before the beams of light focused onto the intruders. Like giant search lights, they would seem vehemently fixated on the group, before they'd actually spread out. They could scramble at this point, but the Dajian had not fully awakened yet. Gears and motors increased yield tenfold as the beast's joints unbuckled and released themselves from their century-long rest. Finally, the Dajian could walk once more.

The first step was seismic, albeit slow. Easy to make any land dweller lose their footing. It marched toward our protagonists' initial location, and slowly managed to articular the remaining of its limbs the same way. With the exception of its right arm, which would pull back instead of following the movement. An odd, bluish energy very rapidly coated the massive palm of the metallic beast, before it would slap said member onto the room's floor. Needless to say, if the group hadn't moved by then, they'd be completely crushed.

While it seemed like a belligerent assault, it seemed to have been focused on something other than them. Yes, for it would not remove its palm immediately, and instead remained fixed onto a semi-kneeling position with its palm flattened on the earth. A sensor like Kiku could notice it, the golem was draining the Facility of its final reserves, and empowering itself to reach astronomical levels of potency. The drainage was fast, too fast to reliably stop. It did not take long for the monstrosity to finally stand, and hold its ground against the aspiring Chuunin.

As it removed its palm, one could notice a similar mechanism found on the abdomen of the maintenance golem. This would be the case on the opposing hand as well. There'd be a final, large compartment on its back, heavily protected, and emitting an gargantuan electro-magnetic field from it, even larger than from any of its hands.

Pumped with power, it was about time they discovered why this thing would be considered a military marvel. With its hand still coated in the blue aura, the Dajian would be abnormally swift at pointing it at their general direction, before firing a concentrated beam of dark-blue energy. It didn't seem to be damaging the environment all too much as it would be guided rather swiftly to try and blast the individual members of the squad. It was very clearly hostile, and there'd be no escape.

Shizuka Ichimi

---

It seemed as though the siphoning of their resources had affected his teammates greatly as well, the most detrimental one being Kiku. When Shizuka turned his back after speaking with Kurin, he saw her fall to the floor along with her weapons and her lavish lavender hair. It was weird, while it was true of any leader or friend to be extra protective of their squad, Shizuka couldn’t get past this weird sensation he had started to get ever since the beginning of the exams when involved with this girl. Shizuka wanted to reach out and run forward to go help her, but it seemed she was stronger than any of them had imagined as she struggled to her feet and made her way towards the group.

Jaakuna had made his way over to the group first, perhaps the one that was the least effected by the branding procedure. Jolly as ever he unintentionally rose the morale of the team with his overwhelmingly positive and optimistic vibe. Before he could say anything to Thunder God, Kiku had collapsed and latched onto Shizuka. The sudden grasp onto his hands triggered his instincts as he clenched tight, but not to the point it was causing any pain. Shizuka turned to face her only to see what state she was in. He needed to get his team out of these caves so they could properly rest or seek the aid of a medical ninja. She pawed her way up to his arm slowly getting used to the effects of the trade.

If it weren’t for the dire situation presented to them, Shizuka would have noticed how closely she was holding him in her two arms, that and the obvious buxom beauty making contact with his arm, but then again he probably didn’t know what that sensation was either. Just then the light bulb in Jaakuna’s head went off and with it the creation of light in his hand, well it was lightning, but you get the gist. As he complimented her on her scent, she pushed herself into Shizuka, before rebounding off of him. He knew she didn’t want to seem weak so he bit his tongue, but for her to lead them in the state she was in was quite questionable.

Slapping the back of the Sundance kid, Shizuka spoke, “Well let’s hope the Kingdom Comes when we see whatever’s inside of here. I’m counting on you sparky, I hope your aim is better than my nicknames. Sparky Sparky boom man.” Little did he know that was the last time there would be a moment of tranquility and laughter. With all four of them stepping into the room the mood quickly shifted from bad to worse. The door sealed shut behind them with no way to open quickly filled the room with dread. Shizuka’s wind senses were going crazy, there was something wrong, something that should be avoided at all costs. A sudden flash of white light cast down on each of them separately, what was this trial and it’s fetish with lights and runes?

It seemed like it was all for the curtain reveal of their next challenge, an actual challenge, a monstrous golem so large it could have only been a shadow of the colossus. Whatever weird sheek metal lined the room and the sleeping giant was of no real importance to Shizuka, Kurin would most likely be well versed in metals and how they interacted with his wood. Shizuka tasked himself with finding the beasts weak spots. There was something off about the way the runes were interacting, it seemed as though it were a loading bar that was uploading their deaths. The golem was alive now and was taking its first steps in what must have been centuries. The floor shook more violently than their arrival and the room of the first exam, the might of this behemoth was too much for anyone one of them to handle alone.

Now moving at a normal pace and drawing energy to what seemed to be its palms, Shizuka’s gut wrenched in anticipation for what seemed to be an attack. “RUN, NOW!” he screamed before scooping up Kiku into his arms and taking off with a propulsion of wind beneath his feet. Looking down at Kiku to check her condition he casually smiled at her, “Are you okay? Didn’t mean to sweep you off your feet.” Although it was a nice alternative to being crushed. “Can you try your best to use your senses and see if you can see anything auspicious about the golem for us? I’m counting on you cloudy eyes.” Shizuka landed softly and gently let down Kiku since it was clear she was still getting used to her weakened state. The Golem didn’t see so much as care about the ninja rather it was feeding off of the room itself.

Too fast for them to stop Shizuka needed to bring his A game. From what he could tell, it seemed the Golems, like the one before with the transformer abdomen, relied on a source of power as if they had localized batteries within their bodies. That was it! They had battery like appendages that conducted electricity. They just needed to destroy the palms of the beast and they would be victorious. Shizuka being on the other side of the room and the noise being in favor of the Golem, he quickly whispered into his hand before he let his words travel through his wind which would hopefully carry the good news to the two on the other side. Being split up would make it harder for them to be hit, but would also prevent them from executing a plan cleanly. But before they could even consider catching a break the monster was already charging up what seemed to be a very destructive blast. If he learned anything in his 17 years of life, it was to not get hit by a giant laser cannon of death.
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Hikaru couldn't help but lose the grin that he wore under his makeshift mask as he observed the considerably more violent reaction that the weird being had to Ai's attempt of hitting the drum, his expression turning into a frown as he tried to cope with what just happened - The reasons for such a sudden change of mood? To start with, he couldn't even see what attacked his teammate due to the sudden brightness, and the simple fact that he wasn't attacked clearly demonstrated that the test wasn't exactly simple, so he couldn't simply beat another drum and expect a similarly straightforward attack for him to counter.

No need to say that the sound of crackling lightning that he heard during the attack didn't exactly make his mood any better, for the possibility of his targets being made out of lightning was quite the bad new for him, who depended on his Kekkei Genkai- conveniently weak against lightning - to attack.

"Hitting as many drums as possibles in a small time span? Leave that to me. I have quite the experience with making lots of noise after all~" He quickly said as soon as Ayame made her suggestion, his not-so-reassuring grin once more returning to his face as he started to circle around the area, stopping in front of each drum to take a certain something from inside his strange umbrella and fix it to the surface of each drum that he could reach. The identity of the mysterious something? Easy: explosive tags. A considerable amount of explosive tags - something that was hardly unexpected when you considered his identity - previously stored inside his closed umbrella due to the fact that it was the most resistant thing he carried, avoiding some accidents such as failing to control one of his own explosions and accidentally letting it come in contact with his tags, triggering a chain of explosions that could damage himself.

He returned to the inside of the barrier as soon as he finished setting up his "tools", clearly happy for being able to cause such a massive mayhem right at the start of the test, stopping just to throw an inquisive glance to his teammates. "Anything to suggest before I do something really stupid?" He asked in a jokingly tone - as soon as all the members of the group got into the barrier and gave their confirmation, he would trigger the explosions. Hopefully, the examinators would agree that it counted as a valid method to drum the drums - and even more hopefully, he didn't make any mistake while calculating the resulting explosions and accidentally used too many tags, expanding the explosions to the point where they'd cause damage to the barrier.

Though her teammates world illuminated from the light-bender Jaakuna, Kiku's remained dark. But that was fine for the Kunoichi. Her attention was caught by the SunBoy as he complimented her smell, she raised an eyebrow and grabbed her hair smelling it - the locks still had the residual of her Lavender shampoo oddly enough. "Hey thanks!" She chirped smiling, and giving Jakkuna a thumbs up. The small bit of good energy from Jaakuna - fueled her slightly in her own. Still immensely tired, she at least wasn't feeling nauseous anymore. Kiku heard the sound of the doors shutting door, and her stomach tightened slightly. The smell of death, and bones that had crunched under her feet also sent red flags. Sensing that the emotion had changed in the room, and now everyone was just as tense and ready as her.

Dropping her hair from her face, she then heard the crackings and bendings of something starting up in front of them. The nature that had littered its body since its slumber fell off, and the machine wildly came to life as quickly after they became trapped in the room. Gripping the handles of her daggers, she tensed her body up for whatever was gonna come next as the machine continued to ignite and come alive in front of her. Kiku had let out a few more clicks during this time and could see the machine evolving, now lifting one foot up - it took a harsh step forward. The ground tremored and the Kunoichi did lose her footing for a moment, but sank down on all fours like some weird animal. Her hair piled over her and the ground, feeling the tremors subside in the ground she stood back up - sensing the heat from the bright lights.

As she began to rise a side of her mask up, Shizuka's cry alerted her - feeling a force come at her swiftly. Hands suddenly wrapped around her waist and legs and cradled the small Kunoichi. She let out a yelp in surprise as it had all happened so quickly. For whatever reason, she felt completely safe in that moment - her thumb was still under mask, and she raised it up to see his Ruby eyes staring down at her. Of course, her face turned red again - especially over his little comment. "You don't have to - " She began to rebuttal softly, but stopped as he asked her to try and asses the situation. He let go of her gently, and her feet reached the ground like a ballerina - slowly lowering herself down. "I am alright, Thank you Shizuka," she smiled at him - Kiku turned away from him and became more stern. They were now officially in danger. Looking back to the being, and dropping the mask - the sound of the smack from its palm hitting the ground sent enough vibrations back to her ear that every pebble was now in focus. She breathed in sharply, "Do you guys feel that?" Kiku barked out, and tensed herself up again "Its draining this place of power" It's hand stayed in place for a moment longer and finally moved again. She felt beads of sweat accumulate on her forehead, "Shit, it's just charged itself even more"

Her ears caught Shizuka's whisper as well, and she brought herself closer to the beings hands in her head. Almost like pausing a video, she quickly examined the working of it hands, remembering she saw it in the abdomen of the previous golem. Her head facing the golem, she realized it was rather wide and large - it wouldn't be able to move too entirely swiftly. "Attacking it head on isn't going to do anything, its covered in armor..." Not really caring if Shizuka heard her or not, thinking outloud she continued studying the figure. Kiku placed her hands to her mouth cupping them, sending chakra to her vocal cords her voice boomed across to the other part of their team, "Kurin! Jaakuna! From the inside out! And aim for its palms!"

The Golem then turned towards the lavender Kunoichi and ruby-eyed Shinobi at an alarming speed. Kiku grabbed Shizuka brining their bodies very close together, "Propel off of me!" She commanded, and pushed off of him and the ground - in hopes he'd use his wind to send them both flying farther back and out of the way of the beam. But it was also in that same moment, that she had quickly placed her chained daggers around his neck. Hoping he would take initiative in knowing what to do with them. In her state, she couldn't send them with much force, but someone who could put more speed behind them - he could possibly destroy the palms of the hands of the Golem if aimed correctly and thrown at a time the hands weren't charged.

_{@Syn@Reflection@Altered Tundra}

As the crew waited out their two minutes and decided not to make a choice at all, time would keep ticking, the ticking noise in the corner becoming louder by the second until it was unbearable. When it was about to shatter their eardrums, or at least it'd probably feel that way, the room suddenly went entirely quiet, just like when they had first entered the room. They could feel the blood surging in their ears, which would be a good indicator of just how quiet it was.

Although the time had passed, nothing seemed to happen. Did they make the right choice? Did they make the wrong choice? For another minute it would seem that nothing had happened at all - potentially making them doubt their decision. In truth this was the last part of their test - or the first round, at any rate - would they stand by their decision even in the face of potential failure?

But then finally the 'door' opened. The wall in front of them slid open, revealing two large holes where the original doors had been, indicating that they had potentially walked into a trap if they went in any of the rooms. At the bottom of the pits were long stone spikes - definitely not a pleasant fall. The voice reappeared in their head, seeming just as booming as before. “Congratulations. You have chosen a correct response,” it said, the wording inferring that there were multiple 'good' solutions. “Sometimes sacrifice is required, but in situations where it is known in advance that one will lose comrades, it is best to avoid the situation all together. This, too, is a balance. Remember that this is a test to test your capabilities as jonin - your teammates should come first. You are the sole responsible for them. Please proceed across the bridge to the next room.”

Then a new set of doors opened up in the distance, lining up with the stone 'bridge' that stood between the two large holes. This room was entirely black - yin and yang, it seemed - and not lit at all. When the team entered the room, the doors would shut again, leaving them in total darkness. Seemingly out of nowhere, the room would light up very dimly so, as chakra began manifesting itself. It was not the standard light blue hue that chakra was most of the times, but rather it was white and black, circling each other in the shape of the yin-yang symbol.

Suddenly, the white and black would split, and move closer to the floor, where it began taking the shape of two individuals. After they had completed forming, the room lit up completely revealing the black floor, ceiling and walls. In front of them were two 'clones' of the Hokage. The voice would no longer instruct them and instead, the scroll the team was after seemed to morph through the wall on the other side. The problem now, however, was getting there.

Both of the hokages clones too a fighting stance and, if the team got close, they would be charged by the hokages.

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Yogensha focused her attention on the exam, and let the others pass words around her, only replying when she was spoken to. But, despite her apparent occupation with the exams, she was paying attention, listening closely. Something was off, but she didn't know these people well enough to figure out what it was. But, as was expected from Konohagakure, everyone soon revealed their hands with little care about the aftermath. For shinobi, they were awfully transparent. The strange non-shinobi suddenly revealed his position as a shinobi and, simultaneously, a clone, and the Tsuchikage reacted as if oblivious. “Yes,” she answered him without looking. “So easily.” Her eyes remained on the TV screens in front of her but, in her head, she was wondering just what type of ordeal she'd brought herself into with her presence.

It was then that the Hokage's assistant also appeared. She spoke a lot of words in a brief time, but it was only near the end that Yogensha gracefully turned around and looked upon her. “It's quite alright,” she said rather matter-of-factly. “I am surprised that I was invited at all, standing here among these kage when I am merely a leader of a small village.” She bowed slightly in response to the womans bow, according to the standards of how deep one should bow in accordance to the other persons' rank. Again, showing her mastery of etiquette. “As for your offer, it is much appreciated, but I must return to Amegakure soon. There are matters I wish to attend to, and there are questions I need to ponder in the seclusion of my personal shrine.” Truthfully, she wasn't lying - but she had only just understood the questions she needed answers to. She wondered, perhaps the Sage of the Six Paths could give her some form of .. information, some pattern of thought or a hint and sliver of information as to this strange person that had just vanished from the room. Just what was going on? What was her role?

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Sakana held on to the scroll even after it began siphoning his chakra, not wanting to give up the prize so soon. As he landed, he sat down on one knee and raised one of his hands to his head to get a grip on the pain - he was burning up from the inside. But rather than think about pain, his mind was thinking of solutions. A million thoughts rushed through his head and, after a second, he thought he had the answer.

If the foreign chakra was entering his body, then he should be able to expel it by forcing some chakra out of his body from all tenketsu. At least, this was his thought pattern. Slowly he forced himself to get up and, with some struggle of pain, raised his hand to make the tiger seal. One of his eyes was squinted shut to alleviate some pain by giving him something to focus on. Then, he loudly proclaimed, “KAI!” as he expelled chakra, a light blue-ish hue of the chakra coming from his body as he expelled it from all tenketsu. Hopefully that did the trick.

“What the hell kind of test is this anyway,” he said to himself. “I thought we were testing leadership capabilities to be a jonin, not our capability to do.. whatever the fuck this is testing..”

As the room began to glow, it was clear the team only had a short while to set up. Kurin took in everything, mostly the large room, the golem, and it was clear that thing was their enemy. His hands clasped together, knowing that between the four of them he had the up on chakra and he wasn't as fatigued at the others. So, guess he should get the first move in while the golem was powering up. The branches of trees began to grow from the ceiling, thick roots digging in above them, step one in his first plan. A quick look at the golem made it clear he may not get the chance to use the stone it was made of as a basis for any good jutsu. But, sometimes he didn't need that.

Spores began to drift from above, a light dusting that fell onto the golem. And then, it was full alive. Kurin raised a hand, blocking the extreme light that filled the room, blinded for just a moment as he adjusted to the new source of light. Well, that alone made this whole thing a bit harder, but spores continued to drift down, getting between the exposed cracks in the golems joints. Good, for now. Because step one was-

DODGE!

Kurin jumped to the side, grabbing Jaakuna sleeve and pulling him closer just in case. Better that he take the extra precaution than let his ally get crushed. They skidded along the floor, as Kurin's eyes zipped back and forth to the two obvious batteries. It was clear Shizuka and Kiku where game planning right now, and he nodded across the distance when he received the message. As for the golem, by now it was starting to draw in energy, and Kurin was on the case. Forming a handseal, he activated the spores that had drifted into the golem's cracks. Between each gear the spores began to puff up and grow. Dense, thin roots began to grow, wrapping around the gears as the golem was knelt over. Slowly growing in thick plant matter that squished between the gears. Into the joints of the knees, arms, and head he began to grow his counter attack. This would by the team time at the very least.

"But I might need a push. You think you can whip up something like that?" Kurin smiled as he looked at Jaakuna, having to stiffle a laugh. "You sure about this?" He said, grabbing the scruff of his jacket. His grip tightened, wood starting to grow from his fingers, and he began to spin. Being bigger and heavier than Jaakuna helped matters, and all it took was one quick spin to build up the momentum he needed. Like a whip, he tossed Jaakuna up into the air, more than enough force what what his ally had in mind. And because it had to be mentioned, he jumped to the side, avoiding the laser when it passed by him.

As they entered the astounding palace, Kaba's eyes glossed over. His belief that they were stuck in a genjutsu somehow engineered by the proctors of the exam began to strengthen. While continuing on, a voice rang out to him and only him. It seemed as if the others were experiencing their own distortion. Again, somehow his grandfather seemed to enter his mind. My only surviving grandchild, and yet such a worthless weakling. Hmph..... You will never surpass me, BOY'

Kaba sucked his teeth and smacked his forehead. He knew he could only take so much before his 'other self' took over. He wanted to hurry and retrieve the scroll. After regaining his composure, he resumed in taking in his exceptional surroundings. In all his years he had never heard of a place like this, but maybe that was due to his own ignorance. And that ignorance finally convinced him that this was no doubt the results of an illusory technique.

Eventually, the trio would enter a building that somehow loomed larger than the other structures. It certainly drew their attention. Despite the amazing structures they had witnessed, none compared to the beauty that appeared upon them in the temple. Kaba fawned as the 'Queen' of this water temple spoke. Her voice alone was enough to make Kaba swoon. He hadn't even paid any attention to the soldiers that seemed to be guarding something. "Yeah, guys we're definitely being tricked." Kaba whispered to his teammates. "No such beauty actually exists in the real world." Kaba kept his gaze on the queen, barely listening to Bumu as he offered disguised tags to the fish people.

Even though he had been lost in his own gaze, Kaba at last noticed the pillar and embedded inside was a scroll - THAT scroll! Kaba's goals came back in focus. He admittedly thought what they were experiencing was amazing, but was ready to proceed with the exams. Before the queen could even respond to Bumu, Kaba waved the fox down. "I'm sure you two have noticed the pillar. I have a strong feeling that we are trapped in a genjutsu. Let's not waste time here." He turned his attention back to the queen and addressed her in an almost sarcastic tone. "No doubt you're pretty cute and this is a neat little trick, but we're kind of in a rush. We NEED that scroll!" He swiftly pointed in the pillar's direction. "I appreciate the help-" Kaba used air quotes as he spoke, not believing he was addressing true royalty. Not usually would he be disrespectful to others, but Kaba truly feared no consequences and it might cost him this time. His own confidence may screw the team, but his doubt was nonexistent."-BUT I have to take that, sorry." Kaba began moving in the direction of the pillar, unsure of the reactions of the fish people, but still un-intimidated.

---

They scattered, a sound tactic against a monumental foe. But one that omitted the fact that this was a war golem, designed for the front lines and the military pride of this long dead culture. Masses were what it dealt with before all, and small units divided for a guerrilla-like approach was something it was designed to handle. They had dodged the initial assault, and pursued to formulate a counter-attack in the hopes of halting whatever world-ending maneuver is was going for.

Kurin would be the most cautious of the bunch, with his spores application. Just as the blue cannon would be fired, there'd be a clogging in the gears within the beast. Plants, wood, they made the golem's earthen insides their home. Well, to an extent. The golem was by no means immobilized, with the Phonzite ore within grinding the organic mass and providing a suboptimal base for it to fester and grow. Nonetheless, it'd halt, before seemingly charging some sort of attack. The runes on its body shone, before finally the fissures of its being igniting for barely a second, and releasing nothing more than black smoke. A large discharge was made throughout its being, and the unfortunate lifeforms within were swiftly purged, with nothing but ashes and their frail remains.

But that would not be all. While the beam was making its course through the room, at the moment directing itself toward Kiku and Shizuka, there'd be a very sudden shift in the chakra on its being. One could also notice the magnetic fields on its being dilated at an unusual rate for just a second.

Jaakuna, propelled in the air, would have before him an open palm. A red target for him to attack, and the opposing hand to the one firing the cannon. Well, not for long. Without the same charging time as the previous beam, the same blast of blue energy would be fired from that hand, would simultaneously stopping on the initial one (let's say the one attacking Jaakuna now the left one). The Golem was subpar in movement speed, yes, but its attacks were designed to kill even enemy Jonin. Jaakuna certainly had options in the air, with his Firebending Ozai-tier rocket movement, but his hindrance would come into effect. Pain, and loss of his chakra made the use of the hiden harder, and most certainly unequipped to handle this surprise attack while being just sent in mid-air.

A speedy attack! Could someone defend Jaakuna? Unlikely, but possible. However, the grim truth would be simply that the beam wouldn't be stopped regardless. It would not destroy obstacles, no, even if slightly burning them, but would phase through them. Jaakuna would at least take some of it, but only feel a mild discomfort and maybe first degree burns in select areas, but nothing that would be be bother in an adrenaline-fueled fight. No, but he would feel it. A magnetic field, shaping itself around him. One far more potent than the passive ones on the Dajian. Once fired, the palm sealed itself, having left only a minor window for them to exploit if they even could after this surprise attack.

The beast's eyes remained robotically absent, focusing on nothing and particular and letting its limbs do the work. With Jaakuna exposed to its ray, however, it would very suddenly twist its gaze toward the love birds. Wide, white optics fixating the two with a blinding light, worthy of a UFO abduction scene. All the while, five odd objects would be ejected from its shoulders. They were shaped like triangles, with a sphere levitating behind each. They were around on meter in length, and about half of that in width. As they took off, they would commence spinning, like drills, and fire at the direction of Jaakuna.

By this point, one would deduce what was going on. Sundance had been magnetized, and these projectiles that were ejected, were very much attracted to the big ass magnetic field he was emitting. They were fired like bullets, slowing down once in the field, and existing only to home onto Jaakuna. The drilling was a sadistic means to push through obstacles and kill off stubborn enemies, and if it wasn't enough, a nice explosion would occur once they would be immobilized for too long or on impact. No one wants to get hit by that.

Most enemies of the Dajian were most certainly dead once hit by its Magnetizing Ray. As such, the golem considered them 'resolved' and oriented its focus on another cluster. It was designed well enough to deduce that Kurin was more likely the help Jaakuna in this sticky situation than relentlessly assault. As such, Kiku and Shizuka were getting the spotlight for the time being.

With an arm already extended in their direction, the golem would not waste this positioning. Fingers widening as Kiku requested that they'd bounce off, thin, blue lasers would be fired off from each of the five tips. Fast as one would expect from a raiton laser, though would be nowhere close to actually hitting the duo. No, instead, the gaps between each laser would have a raiton 'net' knitted to keep them trapped. They had a wide area to work with, since the golem was more or less in the center of the arena, and the net got wider the closer that they were to the earth.

Like Jaakuna, they'd have a target right before them. But that would often signal something dangerous. Not a magnetizing ray, however. Close, but not quite. No, instead, whether in the air or on the ground, they'd feel a piece of the stone and metal within the perimeter of the net slowly rise. The Dajian was literally employing advanced Earth and Magnet style to pull earth and Phonzite alike upwards, toward its hand. And of course, as it rose, the edges would be burned and shredded. If the two were to hit the net, they'd be burned and mostly stunned over actually being cut up. Nonetheless, the golem's intentions were clear: They were to be crushed against its palm, if they did not find a way to get out of this mess.

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Even if sword boy's final addition to this 'friendship is everything' moment was most certainly gay, Rumia certainly hoped this was the case. The lass kept a permanent scowl on her visage, expecting the worst from this decision, but subservient to her cousin's superior intellect. One of the few that could actually tell this monster what and what was right. But still, doubt reigned, and on an impatient critter like our resident ginger did not cope well with stress. The ticking clock was the worst, but it'd finally end, only to give place to a disappointing silence that'd make even the most confident doubt their choice. Arms crossed, the lass couldn't take it.

"... Tch. Them fuckers think its mighty funny to waste our time 'n' money?! I'll fucking sho- Huh."

The doors opened eventually and right as she was going to explode, revealing a trap on both ends. A couple of blinks, before a dull stare was thrown at the direction of the pits. With a squint, the Shinrikyo added with sass after spitting down said deathtrap.

"'Tis only a problem if ya' can't fly. Whatever."

Some more stuff about balance, things that were beyond the thought process of our simple friend. Her attention was quickly harnessed by new sounds and movement. A set of doors leading the group to the next area upon crossing the bridge between the holes. An expected contrast from the white room was found, with a pitch black color correlating with the theme of the trial.

Odd wisps could be noticed dancing in the air, one white, and the other black and somehow visible. Rumia's connection to nature allowed the youth to acknowledge whatever presence could be existing within the room, while making herself spiritually scarce ad she remained still with her team while the show commenced. The scroll was visible on the other side, once the display was finished and the room finally illuminated.

Their opponents, or at least Rumia assumed they were, presented themselves. 'Clones' of the guy that introduced this exam. The Hokage. The thug could only smirk in satisfaction as she could smell the inevitable belligerence to come. Perhaps she was wrong, but she hoped to get a little action here. Knuckles cracked, the ginger wouldn't hesitate to march toward the ephemeral duo, her pace steady and far from hasty.

"Muh gut says them boys will not play real nice with our kind. Cuz, y'know the drill. Stay real close, but not too close, 'n' gimme the smog. I'm grabbing that scroll. Gonna help or have anything to say, now's the time shitheads."

Shizuka Ichimi

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There was something about her smile that melted the wind walls that protected his heart, although it’s kind of impossible to melt wind, but regardless. Shizuka scratched his head looking for words to stumble and trip over, but they didn’t come out. What was worse was the fact he had almost completely forgotten about the large behemoth in front of them. If only he had a chicken and got the golem to attack it, that’d show him, never attack the chickens . Everything was happening so fast, Shizuka didn’t have time for an epiphany he had to focus. Slapping himself in the face he snapped back to reality when he heard Kiku’s master plan. Well rather than hear her he was up close and personal again. Andddd then his mind went back to step 1. There it was the sweet aroma of lavender, but this time it actually did its job and soothed the gentle whirlwind.

All he could do was nod before an adrenaline filled crooked smile found its way etched onto his face. Shizuka jumped and pushed his arms out letting a small, but strong gust of wind jet out from his palms. The force was enough to push them away at an accelerated pace, not enough to hurl them into their impending doom though. This was starting to get fun, Shizuka was an addict, he had an unhealthy addiction when it came to fighting. When the fights broke out he could ride the high for days. This was looking to paint a bad picture for the Golem once the breezy ninja was in his element, despite him being a shell of his max strength. Cold steel kissed his neck gently wrapping their arms around his neck.

Untangling the crux of kiku, Shizuka took the chained daggers into his hand before infusing it with his chakra. Combining his weakened samurai sabre technique and elements of the wind sharpening technique, Shizuka doubled the cutting power and durability of the weapon with a layer of chakra and an aura of win surrounding it. Spinning them wildly he let out a devilish laugh before releasing them at max speed, hurling towards the open palm of the golem. All while he could sense and slightly make out his teammate being blasted by some rather strange beam, which did no initial damage that would kill. As much as he wanted to help his teammates they were separated and had divided the attention of this massive killing machine. They had to fight their own battles and win their own wars.

In retaliation the behemoth shifted its spotlight like gaze at the two ninja, aiming its next attack at them. Raiton nets shot out at quite the jarring speed, the chain blades would however be able to slice through any ration that challenged it due to its augmented wind properties, however the two weren’t so safe from its wrath. Uneasy about the effects of his wind with his chakra drain, Shizuka wasn’t willing to risk the lavender haired heroines life, she had already sustained enough injury and she was doing all she could to defeat the beast. He had seconds to think, knowing she had no defensive jutsu to counter these nets. Shizuka sprinted towards the girl and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her closer in. “Heads up. Fūton: Kennai (Wind Release: Sphere)” With his free arm, his palm around the girl, his mouth, and his feet, Shizuka generated as much futon he could with his remaining chakra to create a massive Hakkeshō Kaiten to protect them from the incoming nets.
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It seemed as though the ninja were taking the water temple for granted. While perceived as a genjutsu by the most apt minds, they would soon realize that it was indeed reality. There was one ninja who bit her tongue and confided in herself to not oppose or upset the leader of the waters they had almost drowned in. Although it seemed like the other two had ousted her and took their own approached to seizing the scroll. While amicable the loud mouth approach seemed as dull and forgoing as the foxes attempts to sneak an explosive tag into the shrine cloaked as a Shinto tag. Whatever path they chose would ultimately seal their fate, why none of them attempted to divide their attentions or use subterfuge was beyond the proctor’s wildest dreams. Alas we arrived at their crossroads and can only sit back and watch the fiasco unwind.

“I had it in good faith to treat you as my honored guest, yet you don’t bow to me as customary rules would suggest. You also failed to address me by a title and speak out of turn when I have yet to introduce you to myself and my fellow aquatians. It seemed the humans on the surface are just as despicable as the lot that casted you down. And don’t speak such shrill tone.” The mermaid queen said pointing her trident at the fox human. Dolphins swam alongside her glaring at the fox as if they were ready to take it to one of their rape caves. “I know what you are, you are no human so why are you wearing a façade?” Revealing Bumu’s cosmetic fallacy. “Many men and beings like you two have tried smarter charades than that shallow attempt at a peace offering.” Without any warning or inclination of her actions, her trident shot from her pearl bed and cut through the explosive tag and skimming the foxes cheek, sucking the blood from its cheek.

With the smell of blood on the waters, a ravenous pack of sharks appeared slicing through the waters at the backs of where the ninjas had entered from. “And to think I was going to grant you an opportunity to be an ambassador to our people.” The queen now pointing at kaba “The naiads here were quite found of you and your distinct skin color. It’s a shame that you won’t get to see the light of day. Boys fetch me their heads” The mermaid pointed before her battalion of fish men charged at the ninja. The sharks roaring behind them, while a feint whistle could be heard escaping the succulent lips of the mermaid queen. The rest of her entourage of aquatics came, killer whales, jelly fish, giant squid. She laughed and brushed her away quite majestically as her eyes laid their sights on the band of ninja.

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Suzaku rose from his seat of air almost choking on a grape that had passed down his esophagus. He wasn’t expecting the one shinobi to cast the rest aside and grab the scroll which would set his chakra ablaze. The amount of pain he was enduring was quite endearing, it seemed this ninja was heads above the rest. No doubt it wasn’t the reaction or the allotted time he thought it would take for this group of misfits to complete the exam. After all they were still a pretty broken squad if you asked him. It was an army of one, two at most if you count the one ninja who used a clone to draw out the secrets of the fire of men.

Suzaku’s brows furrowed in anger, his eye twitching in disdain, arms crossed under one another in contempt as he made his way down elegantly from his high horse. “It would have been a better challenge if you four all came at me instead. Oh how I would have loved to hear your scream as I murdered you one by one. Regardless it seems like your friend over here did what the three of you couldn’t do. You should be proud kid you have balls of steel, but you might want to go get checked out before the next part of the exams. Or else you’ll more than likely die. And that was with me going easy on you.” Suzaku rested his arm on the boys shoulder before getting closer, whispering in his ear “Next time you try that I’ll kill you” Laughing as he walked off and snapping his finger.

Suzaku vanished in an eruption of flames that quickly died out, but not before leaving the door open across the room for the so-called winners to pass through with their newfound achievement. A scroll with the emblem of fire was materialized in the hands or the waists of the newfound shinobi. Whether this signified they would move on to be Jonin was still yet to be decided, yet they had a rather good chance now that they had obtained theirs. Once they walked through the door they would arrive into the forest of death awaiting the words of the wise and confident Hokage, their pillar of strength. There was no way for them to invade another exam and try to reclaim another scroll so for now they had to wait as the first group to have accomplished the first exam.

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Everything happened so abruptly, one moment Ginsho was reminiscing of the golden years he had spent and cherished with his wise friend Jaakuna Aka, and the next moment he was reliving the hell that was the memory of the night he perished. "I'm so sorry... Gautama." Those words didn’t really connect in his mind, or was it the denial that was preventing them from invading his dormant and repressed memories? "I'm so sorry... Gautama." Those words seemed to be stuck on repeat in his head. There was no one, and he meant no one who knew that nickname, well except of course for his dead best friend. Dead, not living, not breathing, and not holding a conversation in front of him passing off as an illegitimate son. Ginsho saw it with his own eyes, seijuro’s ghostly hands ripping the life out of Jaakuna as he sacrificed himself to seal that monsters fate to his while they both struggled in hell for eternity, it was his fault his friend had died.

The pain was too much, it manifested itself once again into his phantom limb, this time it was a bit too unbearable to keep his face or body from reacting out in public, he needed shinko he needed him now. And what did he mean he was going to set things right? His mind was racing and it wasn’t a good sign there was already too much chakra pouring out of him. That was until a calming waved passed through his body and with it a smack to the back of his head. It was a feeling that was all too familiar, Namine. The other kindred spirit that made up the three great Sannin of the Leaf village arrived in as always, unintentionally provocative fashion. Namine was different, she liked to keep to herself and enjoy her peace and quiet but she also came off as a very strong woman who could also carry herself in conversation, she didn’t need anyone’s guidance but her own and people seemed to flock to her instead.

His head still bowed in silence, Ginsho let out a shallow laugh and put on a smile, his heart had still been struck, but the irony of Namine punishing him like old times was bittersweet. “Will you knock it off already, my eyes were looking at the monitors I was staring at the guy. And how come you didn’t enter before and tell me when he was here. I’m sure he would have loved to see you.” Ginsho grumbling to himself as she elegantly made her way to open formalities with the two other great leaders.

“Is that right? You’re also getting weary in your old age Kaza-san. It’s a shame I might have to move to Iwa and run in competition to you.” Namine retorting back to the white haired flamboyant ninja. The isolated queen of the rain seemed quite distant to the other three in the room, the gap in power and leadership shouldn’t outweigh their positions this heavily. Namine could feel the uncertainty flowing from the Amekage, although she bit her tongue and left her to her own devices as she made her way out. “Take care of yourself Yogensha, and call me for that ladies night.” Namine said hoping it would give her some semblance of reassurance.

“Oh farwell my lady, I hope to meet your acquaintance rather soon again. Don’t be a stranger. You’re welcome back any time regardless of how big or small the land you rule over is. Have a blessed day.” Ginsho waved at the solemn beauty before she made her exit. “Alright how do we explain what just happened?” Ginsho turning a tone a hair more serious.

“Well if you didn’t know or couldn’t feel it. I’ve been sensing hostile and malicious presences since the start of the exams. I’m sure you knew it too, but Seijuro is back and our friend with him. I don’t know how or why, but this isn’t safe for the exams we need to cancel them right away before someone get hurts. Kazayatsu, I assure you would oversee the safe return of your ninja?” turning to include the Tsuchikage into their conversation.

“There’s no need to create panic or end the exams. The ninja are almost done and I can take care of this myself or with the help of one of you two, while the rest stays here and watches over the students with Shinko. The less Seijuro knows about us being onto him the better, I already lost too much to that demon. I will see this through to the end, I have a score to settle, I won’t be as so kind and foolish as last time. I have to live with that every day.” Ginsho said grabbing his arm.