Initially Tashiro was relieved when he heard they were pass the first challenge but the next room the feeling of relief left. After crossing the bridge to the the dark room. Watching the room move and form into clones. The thing that made him a bit worried were the emergence of the two Hokage Clones. He instantly said when he saw them, "If I was a betting sort of guy, I'd say those aren't plain clone jutsu clones. I don't suppose we could ask them to let us through. This will be interesting"

Tashiro knew fighting even a clone of the Hokage would be difficult, if these were truly clones. If he knew better he would say he was caught in a genjutsu but Tashiro wasnt sure since his lack of skills in genjutsu This situation Tashiro was going to take it at face value as Tashiro believes i they dont and these clones are as strong as a kage should be then they wont be able to move ahead if they dont work together.

Plotting things up in his head on how to advance. First he thought of water clones but there was no water to be used that he knows of in the area or at least in plain sight. The chakra consumption for water clones was only a tenth of ones chakra but they aren't very strong if he could make them. Then he thought of his water saw technique. Once again lack of water was a problem, he could use the moisture in the air but that would take time as he has no way of knowing how much water was in the air . The longer it takes to form the saw the more chakra he would have to use to form the jutsu.

The only things he had he could use was his skills with his sword, a few tools he keeps on himself and his summons. Summoning was the last thing Tashiro was going to do if it ever came to it. It uses a lot of chakra and a lot can go wrong if he doesn't use enough chakra. So he had his sword skills, kenjutsu. The skills his former master drove into him for three years when he was a Genin .

Listening to Rumia then Tashiro says afterwards, "Alright the scroll is the goal, and two clones of the hokage blocking our path. If you are going for the scroll that means we need to distract those clones. I could run a distraction but I'd have to get close to those two. It's too bad there isn't any water could do this a bit better if i had a water source to use my jutsus with I guess I'll just use what I got." Drawing his sword and preparing for action. Building up chakra into his weapon getting ready to act waiting to see what the girls do so he can support them when they decide how to go ahead.

---

Sakana had a certain natural leadership that bothered Usagi slightly. She felt, right now, as if she was lagging behind the team, being the only one who made no suggestions or took no actions. Thing is, she was way too patient for that - while others rushed into action and tried things that worked very little, Usagi was a thinker - she was trying to take things in consideration before making a move. Except, it didn't work - it didn't taker her anywhere. And that was all because the rest of the team was too eager to prove themselves and become full pledged jounin. She could understand; look at Sakana, for example - the youngest of them all. How cool it would be to be a jounin at his age?

His natural arrogance was also a threat to Usagi's opinion. Any... word that came out wrong could ignite a heated discussion, so indeed Usagi's silence was for the best. That same arrogance was shared with Tsukiko - now, that one was a bit different. She had such a strange presence, unnerving even. Something about her screamed...



Things happened in the blink of an eye. Sakana was holding the scroll - and seemed to wince in pain, holding a hand against his head. There was no sign of actual burning, but Usagi could quickly comprehend what was happening; the fire was unnatural, so of course, it highly likely attacked in an unnatural manner, destroying Sakana's inside. Sakana tried to get rid of the pain by releasing chakra with the Kai seal - Usagi wasn't sure if that would work. Either way, Sakana seemed disappointed with the test, given his new few words. Once again, Usagi remained quiet. No reason to retort even though she disagreed completely - the thing is, they rushed into things. They didn't think it over, didn't wait, observe - a jounin wouldn't ever do that. More than a leader, a jounin is a high ranked shinobi.

The flamekeeper spoke once again - not before ridiculously choking on the grapes he so daringly ate in front of them. How further pathetic could the scene get? Well, his words were venom that poisoned Usagi's ears. She was angered, and that was something rare for the peaceful rabbit. The fact is, this so called test was a complete joke - it wasn't an experience, it wasn't a true test of character and skill, it was merely.. a joke. One that Sakana played along and got rewarded. A deep breath after, Usagi calmed herself, even though her brows remained furrowed and her expression of clear distaste.

Balls of steel and courage will never be enough to face the dangers of the shinobi world. That is a fact - it is written in any scroll of the stories of old. In any book. If Usagi was to become a jounin for an arrogant child's ignorant moves, then she wasn't becoming a jounin.

If someone were to look at Usagi right now, she was glaring at Sakana. But that dropped off quickly - just as quickly as she began walking towards the newly open door. Inside her mind, she was praying that there would be more tests than this joke.

@Reflection @Syn @BladeX

This... was not quite the situation that Koma had expected from Bumu's initial introduction, nor from her own silence as she waited for the queen to continue to talk. It could be completely expected from Kaba's outburst though, and now it was either going to need an attempt at damage control or a display of force to stop what could be considered their imminent demise.

It was admittedly difficult to drop down into a bowing position whilst in the water, but Koma managed it more or less. It may have been too late, but how were they to know if they didn't try at least? "Y-Your Highness! Please overlook our insult just this once, we've never encountered royalty before and didn't know how to properly act, nor did we know we would be sent here through the trial we chose to face. I-I b-beg that you give us a second chance, if we again fail to treat you with the respect you are deserving then... I... offer myself to you as collateral. We don't wish to worsen relations between your land and ours."

Whether things remained as they were or calmed down laid on whether the queen of the deep would accept a deal such as this, Koma loathed to admit it to herself, but she was already prepared for this to fail as well. Still in her bowed position, all but curled up like a ball really, Koma's hand was wrapped around the bowgrip in her pouch. If there was a benevolent being up above that was watching them, she could only try to pray to it that things would not worsen from here.

And if it did, she already had a plan in mind, at the very least....

Unfortunately Koma's words didn't seem to reach the aquatic royal, despite how ready she was for engaging in hostilities, she loathed to do it in what was considered a holy place of sorts.

The kunoichi quickly started to swim upwards as far as she could, grabbing and tugging on Kaba's sleeve and tugging so she could direct him to swim upwards alongside her. During her ascent to the "roof" of this undersea domain, Koma held one hand out to her side after forming seals and seemingly dragging another reality into view, converting the visual landscape of the interior into a murky and clouded expanse of water as she and Kaba would disappear into one such cloud of murky water to hide within, provided they hadn't been followed. She had no idea if the abyssal queen was clued in on how genjutsus worked, but this was better than nothing for the time being as she pushed Kaba in the direction of the pillar that housed the scroll. "Keep swimming that way and go for the scroll, I'll give you some cover from here."

The genjutsu, demonic false illusions, had been crafted with the intention of reaching the scroll without being spotted too soon with most of the clouded water brewing a small ways higher than the scroll, but covering a large enough area to grant them the chance to get into such a hiding spot.

Koma's bow was at the ready to fire as she'd come back out of the cloud and begin to obscure herself some by channelling chakra through her camo-cloak, giving herself a translucent appearance and making herself harder to actually see.

NO! Kurin had been too caught up in the moment. He tossed his ally into the air, right at the golem, failing to realize that it could move so fast. NO! STUPID! He held out his hand, reaching out towards Jaakuna. The poor boy was right in the path of the beam, could he reach in time!? Kuring arm splinted like wood, shooting out thick wooden stakes in the shape of a hand. Faster than a bullet, but still much to slow! The beam engulfed his ally, and his heart sunk like a brick. He'd just killed his own ally! What a fo- Wait, Jaakuna was still alive! Kurin's wooden arm grabbed the boy by the waist, dragging him back to his allies. And then... Kurin noticed the missiles.

Touching Jaakuna, he could feel something different. A magnetic field. Yes, he could tell in a moment. After all, the golems earlier all carried that magnetic charge, which gave them life. Like a battery! His eye zoomed in, looking at the missiles. Yep, those where drills, and... They where targetting the magnetic Jaakuna. "WHIPLASH!" Kurin shouted, spinning around in place. This arm still extended like a massive whip, still holding Jaakuna. It was like watching a pro throw a softball. A fast ball center pocket! But the target wasn't the beast this time. No, with expert skill, Jaakuna was going a step further. Wood grew up, supporting Jaakuna, and as he reached the right moment... He let go.

Jaakuna was a missile of his own. It'd all rely on the boy to situate himself, but with eyes between the gap in the robot's stance, Kurin knew his aim was perfect. Student president every year in a row, he was never wrong. The missiles would take the shortest route to Jaakuna, of that he was sure. And most importantly, the shortest route would take those drills right through the robot who had created him. A whiplash special if there ever was one!




SHIT! SHIT SHIT! Did Bumu think shit yet? SHIT! Of course! He'd gotten too wrapped up in being smart that he failed to do even common courtesy! What did mother always say!? Oh yes... 'Why are you wearing a façade?' Those words burned into the fox's mind. How many sleepless nights had Bumu spent trying to turn into a human. Why? Because the shrine was stiffing. A daily grind every day. Leaving Bumu to listen to the joyous humans who visited for blessings. Unaware that a small fox kit tended to the whole structure. In fact... Bumu remembered the moment his world changed.

It was a cold winter one day. The man came to the shrine the fox family took care of. The wind flooded through the halls, snuffing out the many candles that filled the room. As the man entered the now fireless shrine, closing the doors behind him, he turned back, and was amazed. A fire crackled on each candle where none had stood before. And there, lighting the last candle with a torch was a fox. Ash clung to the fox's body, and for a moment it could have been a shadow. Until he turned, spotting the human for the first time.
"Who, or what are you?" The old man asked, almost as if he was about to laugh. "I've never seen a fox lighting candles." Bumu didn't reply. Instead the fox was silent. Returning its attention to the last candle, and blowing out the torch. Mother always said to not speak with humans. Bumu's siblings always obeyed mother. They always hid when the humans came to the shrine to worship. And yet, Bumu watched. Mother said never to speak to them. For Bumu, unlike the rest of the young fox's siblings knew the dialect of humans.
"Wait, don't go." The human said, holding out a hand. "Do you have a name?"
"Bumu." He had no idea why, or how he'd let that slip past.
"Bumu... Such a nice name. But tell me, why are you pretending to be a fox?" It was doubtful the old man knew anything. He probably saw the fox as a human in disguise. Besides, what beasts could mimic the human language so easily? What beast would even tend for a shrine?
"But I am a fox."
"Why so sure?" Yes... Why so sure? Why does he have to be a fox? Why not... A human?

And yet as the Queen spoke, all Bumu could hear was the voice of the mother fox. Chastising! ALWAYS chastising! Every little mistake! Why!? Can't you make a mistake every now and then!? FOX OR HUMAN!? CHOOSE! The fake seal began to crumple in Bumu's hand, and the fox's heart began to race. Was it up? Who heard what she had said? Did the proctors hear? Did Koma and Kaba!? Would they trust the fox!? It was a snap back to reality as a cut sliced across Bumu's cheeks. Blood dripping into the water, and the fox could smell it. The iron that filled the room. His heart skipped a beat, and her eyes opened wide. The fox who tried so hard to hide his parentage... The fox who lied about his truth! In that moment, all who could see Bumu's eyes could tell the fox was out. A surge of chakra, but Bumu was at peace on that end. No. It was everything else firing all cylinders! Those fox eyes flicked to his allies, nodding as they all seemed to think as one.



Bumu placed his hands together, and spoke. "Barrier yourselves, now!" Bumu ordered, leaving himself to face the sea alone. And then, began a single act of carnage. See, blowing up a grenade underwater is 100% more lethal than blowing up a grenade on land. To put it simple, if you where within 15 feet of the explosion, you where dead, or giblets. Rockets erupted on mass from Bumu's body. Coming out the sleeves, pants, every hole in the fabric became a barrel. Not just one set of rockets... But hundreds. The fox knew this was now or never. And rockets flew through the sea. They didn't even need to hit. They just exploded when they got close enough. The first shark to take a rocket to the snout exploded into a sea of brilliant red gibs. The fishman next to him barrel got a scream out before his insides where crushed by the shockwave. Again and again, the jellyfish died as their insides where rearranged. The fox just laughed. Eyes wide, watching as a proud army that should have been a threat was killed by the one thing all underestimated. The simple act of an explosion underwater. The whole palace shaking as a result. But Bumu wasn't done. Those red eyes flicked to the queen, who could have attacked but would have failed. The fox's ears twitching, able to have heard any attack from her long before she made it.

"I... AM BUMU AKA!" Those words could haunt the sea queen for her whole life. The haunting words of one mortal, angry beyond rational words. At this point, Bumu could take care of the underwater stuff, hopefully. The queen may be an issue. But... if they got the scroll, they where gone and free. Bumu raised both hands, pointing them at the queen. "I'm sorry I did all that. But if anybody asks, you made it personal."

Kaito rolled his eyes as he saw his opponent. Mostly at the eyes. He hadn't made a huge research effort of it, but everyone to grow in the Leaf knew of the Hyuga and their all seeing eye. Honestly, it was all Kaito knew, it could apparently see everything. Of all the opponents he could have been stuck with, it had to be one like this. Still... even if it made a huge disadvantage, Kaito swore what made him special had never been in his blood. He wasn't going to lose against some royal blood who never had to earn any of their skill, never had to think.

As soon as his opponent's eyes activated, Kaito went to work with handsigns. Just because his opponents eyes saw everything didn't mean he was immune. How could he be immune when he couldn't trust what he saw. What was real? What was illusion? It was all Kaito's prerogative. His opponent could see Kaito's chakra spike, to a rather high level. It spiked to his mouth especially. It didn't matter if he could see if it the 'all seeing eye' couldn't break it. Kaito smiled devilishly, and suddenly his handsigns seemed to repeat themselves. It was the same few, over and over again. He didn't move at all towards or away from the Hyuga. Something seemed wrong. The Kaito infront of Nousagi seemed completely normal, and that was what was weird. Beyond the chakra spike, he'd made no moves to escape, to defend himself, nor to attack. Suddenly his voice came from behind the Hyuga, without body.

"Now, see, the problem is... you lied twice there. Are you really ready? You should attack when you can, before things like this happen. And is it a pleasure to meet an enemy? I'm not near so nice. And as long as you are in my illusions, this battle is mine. Still, I don't like to have an overwhelming advantage. This jutsu is very breakable with pain. Why don't you try breaking out? Let's see which is faster, my genjutsu speed, or your Gentle fist..."

Kaba nervously chuckled when Bumu was grazed by the Queen's trident. Maybe he was wrong all along, and maybe his actions would cost them. If so, he'd sincerely apologize later but that was largely unimportant. It seemed as if the Queen saw through Bumu's initial trick and they had been doomed from the beginning. Regardless, there was no time to contemplate if they had made the right moves. A small army of various sea creatures charged the trio on the command of their leader. Kaba stood his ground, ready to defend them and lay waste to their new foes. Except Koma grabbed his attention, prompting Kaba to follow her as she swam upwards. It seemed as if Bumu had became quite infuriated with the Queen's words and planned to retaliate.

Blindly trusting Bumu to take care of the enemies, Kaba turned his focus back upon the scroll. Shortly after reaching the top, they received extra concealment due to Koma's handy genjutsu. He figured that it would now be fine to use his chakra without the water eating away at his techniques. He nodded as Koma ensured to give him cover so that he could retrieve what they came for. "Be ready to bolt once I grab the scroll. No telling how many more goons the fish lady might call!"

With that said, he bolted towards the pillar, attempting to draw as little attention as possible. As he neared the pillar, he noticed that the scroll was embedded into it in a way that would make it impossible for him to just grab it. The pillar was quite large, but it would prove to be no problem for the motivated chunin. Their goal was right before him, nothing would slow him.

Now in front of the pillar, Kaba raised his right arm which suddenly became encased in a chakra laden barrier. He struck the pillar in several vital points, causing the structure to collapse. The words 'Suijin' harmlessly drifted into the sand below as it was broken off upon impact. Kaba had recognized the name as the water god himself but it would not deter him from their purpose. It seemed incredibly important to the naiad community, but it was just a roadblock and Kaba had no time to consider feelings that may have or may not have been falsely generated. Due to Kaba's quick assault, the scroll was freed from the pillar, and he now grasped it firmly. His face lit up with a smile. It seemed as if the group had been down there for years, and they finally got what they came for, or so he hoped.

Kaba hesitated for a moment, initially not wanting to draw attention to his whereabouts, but he had realized that the large pillar being destroyed would probably draw scrutiny of the fish people anyways. "Koma! Bumu! I have it!" Now it was time to escape this fortress. Kaba frantically began searching for an escape route so that they could avoid the immediate danger, uncertain that things would be simple from here on out.

Nousagi couldn't help but wonder what his opponent had in mind. Was this a ninjutsu fight? A taijutsu fight? He looked at his opponent, eyes passing through his clothing. And... A single kunai? Just the one, really? He couldn't help but be amused, but the blade seemed to used that he could sense the chakra that had become so much a part of the metal. Guess he was fighting a weapon user then. Well, Nousagi wasn't too worried about that. After all, the deadliest weapon could very well be a touch if he wanted it to be. Nousagi tapped his foot, a self made rhythm. After all, the gentle fist was a dance in the hands of a master. Tap... Tap... Tap...

And yet, his opponent was forming handseals, a spark of chakra moving to his lips. But no sound. No attack, just repetition. There was something very suspicious about that already, but... The lack of sound was the bit that told him something was wrong. Not the handsigns. Not the repetition. And... He charged as he heard words behind him. But not behind him. Not to defend himself... No. He knew something was wrong right off the bat. After all, a genjutsu needed a catalyst. And if that rush of chakra went to the lips, that meant it was vocal. Kaito hadn't said a word. Instead... He was throwing his voice. Not a unique skill by any means. Assassins did it all the time. Some could do it without jutsu.

Nousagi was a blur as he charged Kaito head on. Tap... Tap... Tap... His feet hit the ground three times, and when he landed in front of Kaito, he decided to start with something simple. One hand held out, full palm, aimed for the chest. This wasn't a gentle fist. No, it was a thrust. Like a shotgun shell that could shut down a system with a single smack. If he struck the chest, or a limb, he expected a full shutdown on the area he struck, and the surrounding area.

"An illusion of you would be preferable. After all, something that doesn't exist can't possibly be more disappointing than the very real coward in front of me!" Those words weren't hot, but cold. Cold like a white rabbit in a snowstorm.





The proctor watching the lightning challenge had to admit that they where a clever bunch. Unlike any other challengers they actually intended to agitate their enemy. Shame they didn't try much else. They might have noticed the ultimate give away hidden in the shadows. But as each drum echoed with a thundering boom the whole room shook. Violently at that. A lamb on the ceiling rattled free, crashing to the ground and losing its flame. Three more followed suit, smashing to the floor. A few more shadows danced around the room, but that was fine. But where shadows drifted, something odd was happening. Budha's golden frame was less... Golden. Not that it mattered much. They still couldn't see it for what it really was.

But the beast? They could see that. The barrier shook with a flash of impact, rattling their world again. And as the attack, reverberated through the room, they could see all together for a moment what the beast really was. A wolf. A blue wolf at least twenty feet tall. But it wasn't the fact that it was a wolf that drew the most attention, it was what the wolf was made of. Another flash of light and the room rattled. The beast slamming against each wall in turn as if the drums terrified it. This... Was Raiju, the wolf made of lightning! Crackling lightning scorched the ground, tearing up floor boards as it ran. And then... Vanished. Hiding somewhere on the glorious budha's body.

Clever kids. But it wasn't over yet.

It came as no surprise when Kyoka heard the words that they had passed the first round even despite the momentary pause after the timer had expired. Though Kyoka had to admit, there was an academic interest in what the other methods of passing were. Well regardless of the different possibilities in that test, Kyoka had more important factors to consider, namely the next challenge. Though, Kyoka kept an ear out for any clues provided in the congratulations explanation. Just in case...

"I'm reckon there be more to it than just a pit, cuz." Kyoka hollered to her cousin as she strode across the bridge to the black room. Judging from the theme so far, this seemed like it was bound to be their last challenge. The nature of the challenge appeared to be a more direct one. Two Hokage clones appeared cutting off their path from the scroll. Obviously, the scroll was the objective while beating the Hokages were unnecessary. However, Kyoka did not expect this portion to be as lax as the previous challenge. In the theme, they had their peace, now came war. Thus it was a fair, and likely correct, assumption that these weren't just some passive images but rather a full physical embodiment meaning Kyoka could skip the experimenting with the peaceful approach. Instead focus can be taken on the more aggressive side.

In a battle of four against two, these clones must have been made to be extremely capable of handling all four. Therefore Kyoka and her team's approach must be coordinated and executed well. However, there was an issue with that. Kyoka had no experience with Yuki or Tashiro, leaving her own teammates in the list of unknowns for this challenge. "Don't suppose y'all two can clue me in to ya strengths, huh? I'ma need all da details. Spare me, nuttin'" Kyoka inquired to her two unknowns before turning her attention away and to her cousin. She charged and leapt up onto Rumia's back, sliding her legs around the green female's waist and her hands, finding their grip on both her cousin's breasts. Kyoka let a slight thrilled giggle escape her lips as she rested her chin down onto Rumia's shoulder.

"Cuz! I know ya ready for dis' but I'ma need ya to go on and walk straight towards dat der scroll there and get it. I'ma need a feel for what dez baboons can do. That's why ya just need to ignore em and keep on trucking! And for y'all two..." Kyoka started turning around. "I suggest y'all take a few long breaths cuz I reckon y'all gonna need my shield. I, uh, tend to get too excited!" Kyoka offered that vague threat to them, offering no other mention about it. What Yuki and Tashiro would begin to notice eventually is a faint fog rolling over their body and if they were taking long, drawn out breaths, the fog would thicken more and more. It wasn't mentioned but Kyoka's bubble barrier ability was using their exhaled breath to form a vaporous cloud over their entire body, not dense enough to hide the person but enough to notice something was there. This was Kyoka's safeguard measure for her real nasty abilities. Rumia even had one developing but Kyoka did not, being completely immune from not only her own but all types of chemical hazards to her body.

"I suggest y'all two try and get to dat der scroll, too! Cuz and I will go down the middle, y'all two decide to split or team is fine with me on dis here first bout! But, I reckon y'all should stick to the sides. Oh! And der is a fair chance dis here challenge is nuttin' more than a hoax and deez here guys ain't nuttin' but haints, but I ain't so sure! So dat is why cuz and I are going down da center, to test dat!" Kyoka still wasn't sure the best approach but it was time to start testing the limits of this test. "Alright, cuz... nuttin' aggressive just straight to dat scroll!"

Hime Yuki

@Pirouette @Savato @BladeSS4 @Odin

The heinously loud ticking was probably the only thing that was getting on Hime's nerves as they awaited their fate for deciding to stick together as a team. But it paid off no matter how annoying the ticking had been as they discovered that both doors had been traps, wasn't it a good thing that this team was so clever? So clever that as soon as they were faced with their second challenge, the other three seemed to be so on the ball with what to do that they didn't really need to stop and make a plan, it was right to the action as Rumia and Kyoka joined forces in some kinda interestingly weird way.

The goal was simple though, get to the scroll and grab it... And try not to be beaten up by the Hokage clones. Without any hesitation though Hime triggered her fairy mode and little crystalline ice wings sprouted from her back, giving her just enough lift to skim off of the frost building up around her feet and she took a deeeeeeeeeeeep breath before bellowing at the top of her lungs.

"FULL SPEED FAIRY, CHAAAAAAARGE!"

Hime's battle-cry was questionable to say the least as she took off to the right-hand side of the two clones, clutching a fistful of tags and throwing them at the pair to first see what they would do with such a smattering of unknown tags dispersed around them as Hime aimed to dash right past them and gained momentum. The self-proclaimed "fairy" was prepared to activate the tags if either of the clones found themselves to be above one of the tags, which would create a sudden pillar of ice to sprout from beneath them, it was good for either deterring enemies or flinging them up into the air if the hit landed.

It was in the moment of their propulsion from each other, that Jaakuna was under attack. With all the commotion in the room, her current dark world was illuminated rather brightly. But it was a grim bright world the Kunoichi saw in her head. "Jaakuna!!" Kiku screamed, and landed on her hands and feet - again in a low crouching position as she sailed backwards. Hurriedly, getting back to her feet - she reached around her neck for her chains, but remembered she'd passed them off to Wind-Seeker. She had faith in her teammates and their abilities, but death was something the Kunoichi hadn't experienced yet. Something she didn't want to experience. Relief hit her as she realized Kurin had come to his rescue, but only a moment too late. Her stomach dropped again, but then saw Jaakuna had come out clean from the situation, though now something in his Aura was different.

It wasn't that she was blinded by the light, but she could now feel a heat now upon her skin. Reminding her of stepping out into the sun for the first time of the day. Kiku knew it meant the beast's lights were shining upon them. She heard, and felt the rockets come alive in the air, and they were heading straight towards Jaakuna. If her mask were removed - her eyes would be wide with fear, and horror for her teammate. Not even thinking back to the warmth that was now tinging her skin. She tried to recover, and took in a deep breath attempting to assess everyone's location, and what she could even do. Her Genjutstu was useless, her Taijutsu could help - but not against a large armored Golem, and she had some Ninjutsu that unfortunately wasn't enough to stop this thing.

Her hair seemed to rise with the swoosh that was coming at them - hearing it first. Kiku then saw the Hand coming at them, and was ready to jump out of the way of its smash. But then, Raiton nets shot down from the golems fingers, quicker than she had time to react. Her first thought was to quickly jump through the biggest hole, but there were none. Kiku's fists came to her temple's, almost in a feeble attempt to beat an answer out of her head. But really, she was upset at how useless she currently was. Then the floor rose, she could feel them coming closer to the energy of the palm. As she began to argue with herself, childishly, she was swept up again. His arm came around her pulling the two close together, again. She was very trusting of this Shinobi. Well, she should be - he was of her village, they were teammates, and both wanted the same thing. To advance forward. Her arms were in a rather weird positon, as he pulled her close her thumb instinctively lifted one side to fully check her surroundings with her failing eyesight. Her arms folded up in between the two, rather uncomfortable. She quickly fixed this, and wrapped her arms around her neck. In some weird essence, this would probably be a moment she'd remember.

Her mask did fall, the wind sphere he was creating was slightly lifting some of her hair and keeping her mask slightly risen. He was stern, and sweat dripped from his chin, his brown mop flopping around in the self-created wind storm. Concentrated, he was another person in these instances. Still strudel boy, but now he was strudel boy with a different cause. She felt her breath stop in her lungs, and then smiled at the weirdest of times to be smiling. It hit her what she could do. It would deplete a good portion of her Chakra, and reserves, to use it at the force she wanted too - but it'd save them. "Bukijutsu..." She stated, pulling him in tighter to make the handsigns she needed behind his back. The daggers suddenly pointed out of the earth on either side of them - rising slowly, she looked up as the palm came closer. With Shizuka's current windforce, they'd shoot up - and faster thanks to his help, unknowingly. Also, they were still coated with his chakra. The daggers fully emerged from the ground, Kiku then quickly unwrapped Shizuka's arm.

Freeing herself she then stuck her arms out to the side where the Chained Daggers honed into it the palms of her own hands. She completely crouched down, and then jumped up towards the palm. With even more chakra being sent to her arms, she swiftly threw both of the daggers straight for the center of the palm. Connecting, the chains then wrapped around the palm, and she made another handsign as they suddenly began to tighten. Sinking the daggers in further, and restraining the fingers together. Her free eye with now limited vision looked back to Shizuka, as she fell back to the ground. The breath of relief she inhaled couldn't be compared to none other, the swift escape of near death. Another moment of happiness sweltered up in the girl as she heard Jaakuna's voice on the transmitter, that was still attached to the top of her boot. As she landed right back in front of Shizuka, her hair waved out wildly - and then settled as the air did. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she smiled, but also felt a bit weak and was trying to stabilize herself But, as luck would have it - Jaakuna had one more thing to add, and now it sent worry through her as she realized where he had landed.

_{@Syn@Reflection@Altered Tundra}

---

The group remained divided, and the Dajian insured it would remain that way for a little while longer. One half left to deal with the deathdealing projectiles while the other was trapped in an electrifying bind. Both were facing an imminent death if inaction were to reign on their performance. This incomplete, but still merciless tool of war was not going to display any form of leniency to the Daddy DP team.

Squad Kunaa would be handling the five homing drill-missiles attracted specifically to the nail polish homosexual. Kurin could do very little by himself against this inevitable danger, as such, he'd be support, propelling Jaakuna toward the beast's lower levels. Like a rocket with the use of his fire bending Zuko skills, he'd easily out-speed the missiles and land himself near the leg/foot of the stone monstrosity, only to place himself on its front, in order to trick the projectiles into hitting the Dajian's heels. He would succeed, with the metal tools drilling into the metal and rock, before exploding.

Debris and such would be abundant, as the lower portion of the leg would be blown off completely. Jaakuna would receive punishment for this, for he could not advance much further without being stunned by the lightning cage, and moving too far off to another direction would lure too many projectiles to his direction, thus ruining his plan. Like bullets, pieces of metal shrapnel would be lodged on his core, and the same goes with stone, though it'd be quick to disintegrate into sand upon impact. A big amount of damage to the poor land who'd rely on his body's performances to be efficient. Added to that, it'd force the Dajian to kneel over somewhat, risking the gay boy to be crushed after his initial damage. What will he do?!

On the other half, Kizuka would act quickly, with oxygen lad hurling projectiles enhanced by his chakra, and wind, toward the big battery on the Dajian's active palm. It'd hit, obviously, as it'd be stationary, but would not suffice to actually break it. Shizuka would notice just how weaker his tool enhancement was, a nasty side effect of the donation he had made. But Kiku would not falter despite the pressure brought forth by the inevitable death by crushing. She herself employed her Bukijutsu, and added the pressure needed onto the palm's mechanism to force a malfunction.

With both events being almost simultaneous, the Dajian would not only lose its footing and focus with the leg damage, but also have its palm's batter explode. The cage would thus be gone, though Shizuka would still have wasted a gargantuan amount of his chakra. Poor lad. But at least the right palm was now in flames with the Golem seemingly struggling to keep up, with its free palm trying to support it in this dire time. But as it seemed vulnerable, Team Daddy DP would quickly discover that things were not going to be so simple.

Very swiftly and suddenly, the Goliath would raise its burning, damaged hand into the air, before crashing it on the hemisphere in which Kiku and Shizuka fought. They were in a good position to avoid this, given how straightforward the movement was. If they didn't, they'd die. But anyway, once cashed onto the ground, the impact would be mighty enough to cause a noteworthy earthquake. Rock slides from the ceiling were abundant, keeping the team unable to rest. But the worst was yet to come, as they could suddenly feel the room's temperature augment astronomically.

The earth in which the golem had slammed its damaged limb would burn up, and this mercilessly fire would spread underneath the metal and rock that had previously been pulled up. It wouldn't take long before one third of the arena would become molten, burning hot magma. The heat was unbearable, the gasses emitted noxious and lethal to the skin if they were to go over it. The room would remain awfully hot, with Wind and Water jutsu losing 50% potency, while fire would have a meager 10% boost. Added to that, the Dajian would stand again, its foot slowly regenerated from a combination of magnetism, earth control and the Phonzite littering the room, though this time it would be charged with multiple fissures glowing orange with heat and magma. This was not going to be easy.

Once standing again, its intact arm would commence charging itself, the blue glyphs on the limb shining cobalt, and with every passing second the shine would get more intense. A powerful attack was coming. All the while, the damage limb would emerge from the melted earth, now but a giant, amalgamation of lava vaguely resembling an arm. With one swift movement, it would swing its arm, and cause a wave of molten matter to descend upon our heroes. They had one third of their field consumed, and the golem took a good portion too. There wouldn't be many places to hide. Teamwork would be essential here!

Date ducked in tune with the other three after feeling the impeding danger. He could feel the emotional connection Senna spoke of and his only thought was how much of an advantage it was and would help in making sure the team was in sync. It was his first time speaking to Kyo and Senna in close proximity and they seemed nice enough but it was still to be seen how the three Uchihas and the Akizakura would work together. Date took notice of the empty forest, the completely empty forest void of life, and caught Kyo looking at the foot prints. He choose not to comment on their situation beyond what he had already because he did not want that responsibility.

"Koibito is right, we will make a great team and I am sure you will be useful." Date said after Koibito, with a genuine smile. It was in his nature to be an ass, Koibito knew this and he got along just fine with Date, so hopefully his two new teammates would accept it as well and move on form it.

Date turned his attention to Kyo when he took on the role of leader, and whether he knew it or not Date did not care, the job was his now and by his little speech seemed like smooth sailing (well flying) from here. He did agree with Kyo about finding a "who" and not a "where" and just as Date suggested high ground was a best bet right now. "Well lets get going shall we, no rest for the wicked, plus we gotta hustle if we wanna finish first." Date said with smirk as he turned in the direction of the foot steps and looked at the treeline they would be headed too.

---

It seemed like the time for diplomacy had much since past despite the young girls best efforts. She had the rightest mind of the team and the most amicable personality, but it was merely a blemish compared to the two teammates who foolishly let their emotions seep through the surface, especially the runt of the litter that was that mangy fox abomination. Although she did plea quite a great deal and it would have warmed up to the queen it was quickly torn asunder by that of the large explosions the fox had hidden in its sleeves or wherever the poor confused thing was. While her efforts to attempt a genjutsu in their natural habitat would generally fail, it worked due to the fact that the army and the queen herself were quite smitten at the sight of the rage of this furry lumpkin ripping through her poor pets. Why the queen was so disconcerted with the life of her fish was quite a telling question indeed.

It was a beautiful pink mist that floated gently down like a shroud of dust whisking you to sleep or rather the intestines and flesh of the aquatic animals that had tried to hunt down the humans and fox thing. The Queen seem quite enamored with the fox creature, she needed it as her pet and play thing. Oh how it wouldn’t get along with any of the orca’s or sharks. Reinforcements seem to spawn in droves and endless army of what seemed to be fish and mermen and fish men appeared in waves, quite the crucible for the small squad of ninja. “Oh child you don’t have to shout your name. Even the smallest and meaningless pets get names. You shouldn’t try so hard to be something you’re not.” Her voice carried through the waves as they cradled the ears of all who listened. It seemed more like a trifling game to her, prey inevitably trying to escape the hunter of the waters only to fall short and be consumed.

While she sat on her throne of pearls bemused by the little fox’s attempts and trigger her she hadn’t noticed the other ninja cloaked in genjutsu reaching for the scroll. The ancient and holy pillar erupted in a mass explosion as it was reduced to nothing more but dust with the only legible piece being a fragment that captured the word “Suijin”. The moment the shrine shattered something snapped inside the queen and all of the lost city. It was like a gunshot that was heard around the world, everything fell silent and the movements of the fish people had ceased in one synchronous moment. Something was very very wrong. Suddenly the sands under the water began to shift, small rattle, larger, larger until a single set of eyes began to glow. Quickly followed by a succession of eyes, from under the sand came and undead army unparalleled, human bones from centuries of travel fallen and laid to rest below the shifting sands.

Not only undead soldiers, but aquatic life emerged from the floors. Undead sharks with half their skin peeled off exposing the inter machinations of bone and pulsating organs, hammerheads and great whites all alike. However that wasn’t enough, the naiads from earlier and the merpeople had shed their skins and turned into ugly sirens of monstrous legend. Their jaws unhinging to increase the size of their mouths only to show dozens of rows of razor sharp teeth, eyes hollowed out to leave nothing but large black holes of darkness with no end, and razor sharp claws to slice men to shreds. In unison the sires let a harmonious screech that would cause the ninja to block their eardrums from being blown apart.

Bipolar Nightmare

Who said beauty was only skin deep? The mermaid queen’s face simply twitched as he skin began to turn a dark grey, her once luminescent beauty metamorphosed into her natural appearance. While she was still beautiful she was no mermaid but queen of the damned, the queen of the sirens. Her two dolphins emerged as electric eels that scurried around her. Her sight turned from amusement to vindication. She would have her revenge as she sprang into action.

With all this talk of Queens and servants why had they not heard anything of the King of the Ocean? Was there no ruler or sovereign male figure to lead with an iron fist in conjunction with the queen? Oh he was there alright, only to be disturbed during his hunt would he hear the silent pitch that disrupted the land. With ferocious mach like speed the King manifested himself in the throne room in a matter of seconds. He returned from the hunt with a prize in his jaws, a half torn torso in his hand with an arm that lay limp, the body was quite familiar and could still be made out by the ninja. It was none other than their former teammate, the plump Akimichi, Chojirō. Throwing the body to the side for the army to feat upon he spat the bones that crunched in his mouth with the same disdain he had for the group before him. Wiping his blood stained mouth he tipped his crown revealing the real scroll underneath his gold laden hat. They had to get by him and fend off the armies coming for them before they could consider passing. “I hope you liked living fox runt.” The King grimacing at his next victim.

But wait there’s more! What about the scroll that they had confiscated from before? The young black ninja would take a quick glance only to see the scroll disintegrate into sand that slid through his fingers. Not only was the scroll a fake but the webbing from his arms and appendages would soon vanish as well, not before the gills on their throat disappeared. The same choking sensation would soon be met once again like an old habit. Fortunately for them there was still some semblance of hope on their side. It seemed the Hokage had fashioned together a few oxygen tanks and breathing apparatuses for the pair of ninja to survive upon. Unfortunately they had limited time to breathe and as ancient as they were only two of the three worked properly, the squad would soon have to divvy up their supply all while facing their impending boom.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Shizuka Ichimi

---

Shizuka’s focus was razor sharp like that of condensed air, there was no other way around it, his teammates were in just as much danger as they were. He knew he could count on them to take care of themselves as much as it pained him, he couldn’t turn his attention for even a moment or the life of Kiku, whom inherently inserted herself into his life, and the life of his own would be in mortal danger. Kiku’s sensing was enough to allow him real time updates of the other two’s situation. That was enough for him to satiate his fear. What would his mother or father do in this situation? That’s right they probably wouldn’t be here and if they were they would have demolished this fiend with relative ease. He wouldn’t be able to show his face to his parents or continue his adventure if he failed here or even worse, die. Shizuka lost sight for a moment as his attention transfixed itself onto the thought of his own funeral from his perspective as if he were the wind itself watching. Who would be there? Would Kiku be there? What kind of flowers would they bring? Would anyone bring a radio and play his favorite songs while drunkenly stumbling over his gravestone?

His mind wandered and would continue to until he had fulfilled his prophecy unintentionally, well that was before he was ripped asunder by a familiar touch. Forgetting that he had roped the lavender girl into his body; her arms wrapped around his neck. His mind seared for a moment relinquishing his attention once more, while he was transported back to the past when he was a wee lad, this was the same position his mother held his father in when they were still young nursing parents. What was it that they always spoke of? Why did they look at each other so longingly in this precarious position? ”Love” rippled through his mind hearing both his parents voices speak in unison. Love was a funny topic for Shizuka, he never knew the power or weight behind the words, but it was given to him unconditionally by his parents. He was lucky in that aspect since the world was cruel and unforgiving and most ninja never had parents or killed them, the sad reality of the world they lived in. He did know the words rang true with Kiku, although he might not understand the potential that the word carried his heart felt it when he was with her and he knew if you loved someone you would do anything to protect them.

”Bukijutsu” the soft serenade of her voice slowly easing him back to the real world permanently. His body being thrusted closer to hers yet again making him weak and flustered, a feeling he could still not hope to understand, but there was no time for that. She broke free from him, his attack not completely rupturing the beasts palm due to the incremental loss of chakra and power behind his abilities. Her extra umph was enough to destroy the blue aura palm of the mechanical titan sending it reeling. For a moment there was pure bliss between the two combining their might to destroy one fragment of the whole picture that was painted to be the behemoth. Her hand touched his shoulder but he quickly turned his body so his back faced her as he backed up into her. Her extended arm would meet the top of his shoulder while he crouched into her, his hands hooked around her knees while she fell forward onto his back. She would soon have to wrap her hands around his neck once more before blast off. Why was she in a piggy back position?

The golem retaliated in what seemed to only be considered as anger, if only a golem could have such sentient emotions. The platform they stood on would soon become a home for a momentous explosion. “Fūton: Haiso (Wind Release: Flight)” Shizuka said forming the hand seals behind his back. A second later the two were in flight as they rose higher and higher across the room and out of the danger that was the looming arm of the giant. This would be quite ideal to show a woman on a first date, it wasn’t a magic carpet and there was no spontaneous song about showing a new world, but it did the trick. A third of the room was transformed into a vat of magma, Shizuka’s wind senses feeling the depletion of the potency of his attacks, he was becoming too weak to continue on. They needed to end this quickly. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Shizuka mounted the back of the giant having sensed encompass with Jaakuna and Kiku the major source of power for the golem. It’s stumbling from having lost a limb had bought them enough time to land unnoticed. Setting the blind girl down he focused on his next move.

Whispering in the wind to his teammates he carried the message that he had loss potency, but hopefully their fire or lighting would increase. And with it the dire need and time constraints to destroy their side of the palm while the two focused on the back. He turned back to the blind girl, “Okay cloudy eyes I’m gonna give this all I got. I’m going to use the rest of my chakra to enhance my blade with kenjutsu to pierce the shell on his back. After I do that I’m going to load the exposed area with paper bombs and watch it explode, with whatever I have leftover I’ll create a tiny room to condense the explosion and make sure it’s magnified. I need you to attack however you can too, I trust you Kiku.” The first time he said her name, “On the count of three….one….two…three…” Shizuka shouted before he unsheathed his blade running the tips of his two dominant fingers along the edge enchanting it with a condensed version of his samurai sabre technique. He left whatever residual chakra he needed to create a ‘room’ on the monsters back ready in waiting. With a ferocious howl he stabbed his sword into the carapace of the beast. With his arms free he quickly reached into his track suit and withdrew ten exploding tags attached to kunai.

As he threw them they all aimed at the small crevice created by his sword. During this time Kiku would have to make her attack however small it would be. “Sansoton: Seishitsu (Oxygen Release: Room)” His hands sped through seals like a violent wind as his vision began to blur and his legs buckled. In conjunction with Kiku’s attack the oxygen room he created would serve as a catalyst for a much greater explosion since it was so finely condensed. While the room formed and held around the tags and the sword, Shizuka had reached his limit. He turned his head to Kiku, forming a genuine smile on his lips before his eyes became too heavy and began to shut, he took his two fingers and bounced them off his head before falling backwards and collapsing, whispering “It’s all on you guys now, cloudy eyes.” Whether she would catch him or not, they both needed to leave the immediate area as the room would not hold once the explosion took place, he was no longer able to control it thus the room would violently erupt upon impact.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clones originally did not move when the two Iwagakure shinobi approached, even as the Iwagakure nin got very close to them. It seemed they were on the right track to solving the puzzle on the first try. But when Hime threw tags at them, this seemed to be perceived as an aggressive movement and the clones of the Hokage sprung into action. Unluckily for Hime, the clones were made of pure chakra and thus, even if she'd activated her ice pillars, they would've been inconvenienced at best by moving around it with insane, non-human reaction. In an instant, as fast as the body-flicker technique would've been, the two clones were standing in front of the two shinobi closest to the scrolls, namely the two Iwagakure students. They raised both hands and without offering much time to brace, they unleashed a blast that was reminiscent of wind. But the two shinobi would not feel the cuts of wind, but instead the raw kinetic blast of a chakra blast being pushed up against their guts.

They'd be sent flying towards the wall where they'd just come from, hard enough to cause some pain if they didn't recover, but not hard enough to do lasting damage. Before the other two would've even had time to see that the two shinobi had been sent flying, the clones would be in front of them. As for Hime, the clone made of chakra simply extended it's fist towards her as she was gaining momentum, punching her in the gut and using her own speed against her. The hit itself, however, would similarly send her flying back towards the wall.

As for Tashiro, the other clone simply stopped in front of him and looked down at him menacingly, raising it's fist into the sky, but then stopped abruptly. Coincidentally, this was around the time that Hime was hit in the gut - when the violent member was dealt with, and no further violence was detected, it almost seemed as if the clones went into hibernation mode.

They both stepped back, and stood in their original positions, waiting for the shinobi's next move. It seemed like it'd almost worked - they should've figured out the integers of the mission now, too.

Hime Yuki

@Pirouette @Savato @BladeSS4 @Odin

The idea had been flawless, had it not been for Hime taking a violent initiative to draw the attention of the clones, and soon the Yuki found herself tumbling and slamming ungracefully into the wall as a result of her actions. Hime coughed and spluttered briefly at this point as she steadily regained her breath. "Full speed fairy failed... Oww....." She grumbled once she finally got back up to her feet.

It was only now that she took note of the fact that the two clones didn't act until she started attacking. "Maybe we're meant to just play nice and walk past them... Mum always said violence makes more violence, so that could be the lesson here, right?" It seemed fairly simple to Hime now and she got herself ready to step out onto the field again. This time when she'd step out, once the other three were ready to either go or wait to see what happened to the ice kunoichi this time, she'd just plan to walk right past the two clones. Maybe even humming a cheerful little tune as she did so.

---

@Reflection @Syn @BladeX

For our lost ally, Smite the King of the Deep!

The plan of action went all too well for it to be the truth of the situation, that they could so simply obtain their desired scroll like this? It was too good to be true, right?

Koma didn't want to be proven right, not by the carnage left behind from Bumu's area-wide destruction, nor by the shattered pillar that once held the scroll they were after. And especially not by the disgusting visage of the real denizens of the deep, half-rotten corpses of those who drowned and died long ago, the beauty of the deep warping into it's true form to show them that everything they had seen had been a lie.

The kindly Naiads that had guided them down here, the mermen, the queen. All of it disgusting abominations that no doubt fed on the weak of the ocean and those whom drowned down here, had these things showed their true colours at first then no doubt herself and the others would've been part of their meal too. The most terrifying fact of all was that they were once more short on breath and now had goodness knows how many things to fight, including their king, whom had already slain the fourth member of their team that they hadn't actually seen earlier.

We didn't even try looking for him... That HAS to be a trick to make us think it's him, I didn't even see him in the room when we started the trial! Koma tried to rationalise to herself, how ineffective that reassurance was soon showed through with her next actions.

Koma had little care for the breathing apparatus that offered her a chance to breathe, she cast her own aside and drew from her bow, the frame of it flaring into life and arching out in a net-like formation, prepared for when she fired. Had she been able to breathe she would've screamed bloody murder at the king as she let her arrow loose, it would fly with little resistance due to the sheer force behind it, almost blowing Koma back were it not for the net formation of the frame to keep herself in place by catching on the water around her.

Should it hit, which by all things benevolent and holy she hoped it did, the 20 metre sphere of lightning chakra that exploded outward of the point of impact would blow anything and everything nearby into the highest of heavens or the deepest of hells. Even if he'd gotten out of the way of the initial impact the explosion would undoubtedly hit him, especially when you accounted for the conductive properties of the water around him, right?

All Koma could hope was that it would hit, even as she readied herself to begin firing more arrows, fighting through the colossal drain on her chakra reserves that the annihilation bolt took. It was costly, but in most cases, such a technique was a sure-kill shot, moreso when water was involved.

But she didn't wait for the destruction to settle, no, she began to charge and let loose all the lightning arrows she could in the direction of where the king had been. She couldn't just stop to see if it hit, she had to make sure that he wasn't getting back up, even if her first shot killed him.

---

They did not budge. Not even with Rumia's stiff, almost taunting march toward the prize. The tension brought by this showdown she had imposed on the manifestations was only broken by Kyoka's sudden tactile initiative. Unflinching, but brought to a halt, the Shinrikyo was certainly surprised by acid girl's approach. Peering upwards diagonally, the ginger seemed slightly irritated with the excess baggage imposed on her back, though it would not be all that impactful on performances, given Rumia's talent. The groping was something to be expected with this lass at this point. No staggering there.

"Almost forget ya' have that fancy lil' power there. I'm sure y'forget about it on purpose sometime, amirite?""

A menacing chuckle.

But as Rumia noted both the inactivity of the clones, and Kyoka's suggestion that they could maybe just go with the same, pacifist method as before, the ice fairy revealed her ace. Charging in with explosives a galore, the Hokage clones would immediately take action, with speeds the brawler could barely even keep up with. They were both before her, with Kyoka still piggy-backed. Orange eyes widened as the inevitable assault would come to be.

"Fu- ..."

As a reflex Rumia's abdominal muscles tensed with a clear, core assault taking place. Hollow Shell would form as the muscles contracted, and her posture slightly modified before the inevitable occurred. But that wasn't all she was paying attention too. Only one arm rose defensively, the other reached to clench Kyoka's wrist, as the impact was imminent. Propelled backwards, the rednecks would barely be able to resist the blast of air pressure. Rumia took the bulk of it in her enhanced defenses, and thus sponge the attack, and leaving Kyoka intact for the most part.

Her hand that rose defensively, would instinctively drop down, and reach for the floor. A slightly futile effort given the amount of momentum her core was submitted to, but it allowed her upper body to bend over somewhat. Bursting out of her legs and elbow would be chakra cannons, all of which firing a burst of pure chakra. Smashing against the wall would be avoided, for Rumia had indeed mastering her unique fighting style involving short, precise bursts of said cannons on her limbs.

"These fuckers ..."

With a rude spit of blood directed at the floor beneath her, Rumia would release Kyoka from her safety grip, and fix her posture. Orange pupils now oriented toward the pacified Hokage Clones, the scowl on her visage made her bloodlust quite clear. The flesh on her left cheek slowly discolored itself into an ugly beige with the sclerae of the nearest eye adopting a pitch black coloring.

"Cheap pieces of shit. I'm goin' to tear 'em apart cuz. No one fuckin' sucker punches me, or m'fam."

The cannons on her back and limbs flared, as she prepared to assault. One could still stop her, for she would only let her frustrations accumulate until her form would be revolting enough to be appropriate for a carnage.

The instant the clones acted after Hime attacked them. Tashiro didn't even have time to react he just watched everything happen so fast he barely could register it all was happening. The clones were insanely fast his eyes couldnt follow most of their movements. The girls going for the scrolls were stopped and the one who originally attacked them.

The instant the two stone girls were knocked back Tashiro saw the clone upon him. He could have sworn he just stared into the face of death that very moment When the clone stopped once Hime was stopped Tashiro's mind barely could register what had happened. 'What just happened? Am I alright? The clone didn't attack me why...' Tashiro froze up until the clone backed off and went back to its original spot with the other.

It took a moment for Tashiro to move his mind screaming 'Move, don't just stand there move!' Slowly snapping out of his grip of fear he looked around and instantly started to look towards each girl asking the obvious question. "Hey you girl's alright?" Not sure which to check on first but he was trying to figure out what just happened. Trying to rationalize the situation to the best of his ability. While trying to figure out if his teammates were hurt or not

The clones only acted when Hime attacked them, Kyoka and Rumia looked like they would have gotten to the scroll if the clones didn't become active. When they attacked they were quick, moving with a body flickering technique, not very much phased by Hime's attack looked keen in stopping her and those going towards the scroll once they were active. The only one that didn't get attacked by the clones was Tashiro. He didnt make any kind of move whether it be towards the scrolls or an aggressive act towards the clones.

Tashiro nearly came up with a plan to just try and walk right up and get the scroll right now himself and not worry about the clones but he didn't instead he decide to check on the girls. Hoping none of the girls would retaliate against the clones and 'activating' them again.

Seeing Hime getting back up gave Tashiro some relief she seemed to be alright but when she started to go towards the scroll a bit faster than the Kyoka and Rumia was going originally. Tashiro commented quickly, "Careful going towards those scrolls, we don't want to make the clones angry again...."

Trailing off seeing Rumia getting up from the attack she and her cousin sustained and he almost instantly tried to get in between her and the hokage clones, "Hold up! Stop! Don't attack the clones! They just showed they are faster than us and they don't take hostile acts of attacks towards them very lightly as we just learned when they were just attacked. They only stopped once the hostile threat they had been stopped. Let's just stop, regroup, make sure everyone is fine and then move to take the scrolls without getting pummeled by those super fast clones. Your cousin had the right idea before to go for the scrolls, just lets not attack the clones." Tashiro still in a combat ready stance keeping his guard up if it meant anything at that point when the clones showed it didnt matter how much on guard they were. Staying in a stance with his sword out in front even while trying to coax Rumia from attacking the clones and starting over what just happened to the group. Tashiro was hoping Rumia would stop before she makes the clones attack again and keep them from doing anymore damage then they already have done.

@Syn @Queentze @Thecrash20
As the group made there way to the top of the tree line, more detail became available to them. The footprints broke in half, though even to a jonin, it would take one skilled in tracking to notice it. One set was fairly obvious, in the field it was the kind that could only be left behind in a rush. It wasn't to say whatever ninja had left it had been careless, they still were well hidden, taking time to become apparent. They were, however, abundantly easier to follow than the other set, which had been expertly hidden to the extent that following them might lead to a dead end. One left by one in a hurry, one left by those with nothing but time. Behind them, the tornado continued to circle its path, passing over the large hill, unable to pick up anything on the hill itself. Much of its carry weight was left behind on the front of the hill, weakening as it passed, being at its weakest on the opposite side, before beginning to renew vigor.

While the test was built to make one of the set of tracks followable and the other not, to those with the sharingan, a massive source of chakra could be seen in the distance of the 'hidden path', even from the great distance of about a mile. It poured towards the sky, and fell into the tornado. However, it was split between at least a dozen chakras. On the other path, the obvious path, nothing could be seen but the trail path. No visible chakras. If there was any, it had sunken back beneath the tree line.

----------------------


Kaito swore as his opponent moved. How all seeing was the Byakugan? What sort of idiot WOULDN'T assume a voice from behind wasn't the product of an illusion? This man's confidence in his sight was maddening. He only had a second to react, and he was grateful for the distance. For that second, he closed his eyes, concentrating. They were closed for the first two steps. His chakra never fell from its spike. On the third, his eyes snapped open, and Kaito released a massive wave of killing intent. It was his specialty. Kaito had hated alot of things as a ninja, other people called him 'emo' and crap for it, but it did have its uses. His sheer force of will was, in of itself, a jutsu he could use. Anyone staring directly at Kaito would feel overcome, and if that eye was really all seeing, that Hyuga was in for a treat, though for someone going for jonin, Kaito had the feeling it wouldn't do much more slow them down for a fraction second. It was all Kaito needed.

Kaito dropped his kunai, and wrapped his hands together in a closed handsign around the incoming strike. Specifically he moved to wrap them around his opponents wrist as he struck, using both hands to grab it and stop it before it got to his chest. There was no way Kaito could win in a close range fight, hell, it'd take both hands just to stop one of his opponents blows. Buuuut... the problem was his opponent was dumb enough to believe he was safe, that his eyes would save him, that Kaito had been anything but truthful. Kaito's chakra wasn't spiked for no reason, and the vocal component was the trigger. Kaito's handsign activated it, and the boy poured out a huge amount of chakra to keep it activated. The Hyuga might notice himself in a genjutsu now. It was Kaito's strongest jutsu, though, it probably wasn't going to do much combat wise. Thankfully they weren't in a fight to the death, they were in a supervised spar. One in which you could forfeit.

Honeyed Words

"Hyuga, tell the referee you forfeit. For someone as strong as you, beating on someone as cowardly as me would make your clan look bad."

Honeyed Words, it wouldn't stop his opponent in the least, Kaito was probably about to be in for the beating of his life, but it would compel them to go along with what Kaito said at the very least. It made his suggestion extremely agreeable, even if the opponents mind and soul was screaming against it. And the best part was as long as conditions held, kai wasn't enough to break it. Kaito was still debating if the jutsu was worth it or not. It took a fair bit of setup, a huge amount of chakra, and couldn't ever stop an opponent. Buuut... It certainly had its uses.

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Ai rose to a more comfortable laying position where she could watch Buddha, her back turned and her arm resting on her knee. While Ayame had complimented her speed, she was more than glad to let her teammates hit the drums. It'd let her observe. Sure, Ai didn't think she was the brightest, but surely she could think of SOMETHING.

As she watched the flash of lightning, it looked like a familiar scene. As she recognized the flash, Ai squeaked and covered her belly button (even if it wasn't revealed due to her amount of clothing.)

"Everyone cover their navel!"

She'd read enough about Raijū to know that!

Still, Ai did note the weird shadows. There interacted weirdly with Buddha. It seemed like tarping him still might be the best option. Ai looked around at the messed up tile around them and sighed. She pulled out a dozen tags. They were her favorite tags, 清める,she had plenty, but making more would take days....

"It's not reverent to tear up Buddha's house. Raijū, its time for you to go back to Raijin. Buddha is defiled. I'm a miko, its my job to purify him. To enlighten him to the universe, I must remove all passions, all light. I'm sorry I have to drag you all in this part, but it might just help us pass. Even if it doesn't, it'd make me feel like a heretic not to try. Those tarps, Ayame, Renji, can you cover him with them? I don't think they are here for no reason. Hikaru, we still don't know what the drums on the lower levels do, can you hit them when Ayame and Renji finish? Can you hit all the drums at once in the building like you did before? Tell me beforehand, I need a second notice. I'm going to purify Buddha of that beast."

Ai started lifting tags from her pile, two by two, and covering Buddha at various angles. Hitting an incorporeal beast? Ai liked to think she was skilled at that. As soon as everyone finished their jobs and Raijū was summoned again, Ai was going to activate her purify tags. They pushed the chakra of what they touched back with a pulse, damaging a person with their own system. Against something made of lightning chakra, or at least probably had a high amount? It was definitely going to sting a bit, and hopefully force him out permanently.

Still, there were plenty of questions Ai wanted to ask the proctor. How had the proctor found such a beast? Why was it here? How was it here? Ai was rather excited. This was an interesting test. She was glad she came.