---

These insects were really starting to wear thin on the patience of the water kingdom. The king wanted nothing more than to rip these bags of human meat to nothing more than shreds, to shreds you say? The king was rather remised about his attack not landing. He merely scraped the surface of the petite girl’s body, only tearing a hole in her uniform and leaving her hip and waist a bloody mess. The scent of iron absorbed through his permeable skin and empowered him more. The size of his body and muscles seemed to expand and grow larger all throughout his body. It seemed as though blood made him stronger and allowed him to heal wounds as well. It was no wonder that he was able to move so fast in the waters since he ate that fat sack of worthless trash known as the Akimichi.

Having missed his opportunity to end the life of another, he was susceptible, a position the king rarely found himself in. The young kunoichi lunged several smoke bombs at the king that he could simply only watch with his eyes as they exploded within his vision. His senses were kicked into overdrive he could feel himself in a trapped position and needed to reset before he would take any more damage, the girl charged her arrows while the fox made its move. Distracted by the genjutsu and the flurry of bubbles escaping the air tank that once stored life for the young fox, he was caught off guard by the assault of explosive tags. A small furry, albeit wet and soggy, paw kicked off of his snout, his mind putting the pieces together too slowly for him to react. Even when he did try to react his sense had been thrown out of whack, he was in an inverted world where every moment he made was contrary to what his mind had wanted.

A clever band of pups that seemed only to enrage the king in his own proper home, they would not live to see the rest of their lives he was sure of it. The king let go of the canister and shut his mouth and swallowed the tags as fast as he could, it seemed his stomach was just as tough as his skin was. After all he did just swallow an electrical bomb prior from the young kunoichi. The tags did as they were intended and detonated within the deep sea kings body. Almost comically his stomach expanded outwards as if he swallowed an entire hot air balloon. His skin clawed outwards so desperately wanting to erupt and release the gas and pressure inside assaulting his insides. And in and instant he shrunk back down to size as a bellowing smoke escaped his nostrils and mouth. What kind of monster could survive such an attack unscathed? The smoke was quickly followed en route by an explosion of blood escaping his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears; basically every orifice had been penetrated with the black oozing blood.

Before they could land the final blow the undead army assumed an almost impregnable defense for any oncoming attacks as the king rushed towards the clam the queen was hiding recluse in. The king saw the black boy murdering her two prized eels with nothing more than a translucent box, had he focused on coordinating his attacks with the two others the king would surely be dead. With him preoccupied with the undead clawing at him and his skin being torn open, the scent of blood once again drove the king crazy. In his feeble state the king in a last ditch effort pierced the clam and grabbed the queen out of her protective bubble. It was no love tap for he had firmly wrapped his gargantuan hand around her pretty little neck. With no hesitation he snapped her neck which let out a massive shockwave. The buildings around them started to collapse as if they were made of straw, the army disintegrated into sand, while the naiads seemed to spontaneously erupt. The ninja would be pushed away with untamable force, but not before witnessing the next atrocity.

Your Best Nightmare/Finale

The king unphased by the shockwave bit the head of the queen and pulled, her head and spine being perfectly and cleanly ripped from her lifeless body. Spitting the head out like a cork, he raised the queens open neck and poured her sweet life essence into his monstrous gullet. Her blood was thick and rich, it escaped the sides of his mouth and dribbled down to his chest and onto the floor staying the precious brown sand black. With every swallow and resetting of his Adams apple the kings body healed and expanded to greater widths and size. He drained her like a juice box before thrown her shriveled up body aside. The area was clear there was nothing left besides the two forces and the lifeless water and shifting sands. The deep sea kings killing intent jumped at the group almost devouring them right there, this wasn’t the same monster they had first laid eyes on, he was something else. In an instant he was gone, the team would only hear a static noise or boom, but that was already too slow. First was the fox, a punch so lethal it aimed to vaporize the fox. Another static noise, over head the young kunoichi his fist wrapped together raining down on her from above. Lastly one more sonic blur before he was sending a flurry of fists that seemed to number in the hundreds at the young black ninja. This was true fear.
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Gisho Omawarisan/Shinko

With the tests finishing it was a matter time for all the teams would make their way to the forest of death. Shinko seemingly appeared in front of all the completed teams and idle at the entrance of the teams who had not yet completed their exam just yet. Regardless this was the time for him to introduce the rules of the second exam. For those who haven’t finished yet the message would be played on loop until they were able to grasp their next scenario. Shinko was a man of few words and to hear his voice was a blessing, which would not change today. He unraveled a scroll and weaved a singular hand seal before dropping the scroll. A plume of smoke appeared before it was whisked away and an image of the Hokage was replaced. “Congratulations on the teams for making it past the first exam. There’s no time for celebrations just yet, for the next part of the exam will be starting as soon as you have sought aid and the remaining teams all gather. For the next part of these exams you will be going up against each other. That’s right, the friends you forged and the teammates you bonded with may now be your number one enemy.”

“For this exam you will all become an army of one as you face off against your peers. The objective of the game is quite simple. Each of you was given a scroll when we first met, your goal is to take the scroll of any ninja you encounter and return it to the exit by the times limit. If you are not in possession of two scrolls by the end of the exam or unable to make it to the exit you will be eliminated. Fret not for if you fail here you will still have the results from the first exam to weigh in your favor, likewise for those who pass this exam will have their first exam results evaluated together. Oh and before I leave you to your own devices, there will be a free scroll in the middle of the forest of death with no strings attached. Whoever takes that scroll will not have to worry about finding a suitable opponent, but I expect you won’t be alone in that endeavor. Good Luck, and make your villages proud! Ginsho out! Damn how do I turn this thing off?! Shinko! Damn it now I’m making a fool of mys—“ End of transmission. Shinko bowed before disappearing for the teams who had already completed their exams and heard the message.

Shizuka Ichimi

---

His eyes never left the girl, she was his first and last priority, they had made it this far and his ever growing will to protect this girl was still unwavering, even if Shizuka didn’t know exactly why. She ripped the mask off of her face, but before he could even stumble forward to shield her cloudy eyes she already pried them away with her own. Feeling a little useless, Shizuka rocked backwards once more in unison with her hands falling back down as she got accustomed to the cruel sun that kissed them all after being exposed to utter darkness for the most part. ”How long were they down there for? Was time different on the surface?” Yet he was thrusted out of his mind once more in favor of the girl wanting his company. His arm was tugged along with his body that seemed to fall quite weightlessly, arms wrapped around him and embraced him tightly. Shizuka thrown aback soon wafted in the sweet smell of lavender, his shock quickly disappeared and was replaced with warmth and happiness, the outside world suddenly vanishing only to be replaced with a serene array of falling cherry blossoms.

Without thinking he reciprocated the hug by pulling her in towards him and wrapping his arms around her, his head resting atop of hers as a smile formed around his face. "Thank you...." resonated through his ears, Shizuka couldn’t help but let tears form once more and escape down the sides of his eyes, it seemed as though he was quite useful in some respects, he wasn’t a complete failure. The embrace ending quite abruptly but practically sent Shizuka back to his normal demeanor. Shizuka turned to face Kurin who quickly approached. His arm was extended with open palm in hand, a quick flash back replaced kurin with the image of his father with the same gesture the first time Shizuka had completed his training. With the next instant the image faded and Kurin once again stood in front of him. Lowering his head and laughing with a large exhale, Shizuka stood and met the gesture. His hand gripped the boys forearm attempting to avoid any burns as he gave him a very deep handshake. “I’m still the leader than write stick boy?” Shizuka laughed.

Jakuuna had seemingly bet left out to dry by Kurin as he completely ignored the boy’s plea for companionship with his head instead of their seared arms. Shizuka walked over and head-butted the young thunder god almost knocking him over, he more or less would recoil in pain. Shizuka reverted back to his quirky absent minded persona. Not knowing his own strength or perceptive of social queues would make up for this gigantic head-butt that left the wind seeker unshaken. Before Shizuka could get another word in the appearance of the Hokage’s bodyguard was suddenly felt and with it an important message regarding the next examination. Shizuka listened to his words with great care and grimaced at their current predicament, they were at quite the disadvantage, save for himself. Hopefully the other teams were just as injured or worse, but the chances were far too unlikely. Turning his head back to the rather ever growing beauty in his mind, Shizuka seemed to fret most about her condition. ”If worse comes to worse I’ll just give her my scroll and wait till next year, sorry mom, dad.” and with a breeze of leaves Shinko was gone. “So what’s the plan now? We only have moments before it starts.” Shizuka quick on the offensive.
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The group of uchiha plus senna had made their way down the path less traveled. However it seemed in his over analysis of the situation and his own hubris, Kyo had led them down the wrong path. It seemed as though the obvious path was the path they should have taken for the scroll and the passing of the examination, instead they were met swiftly by an army of jonin proctors. The proctors were quite hostile rather fast, the main proctor dropping his flag for a kunai instead with a small congregation appearing behind him all with mimicked hand seals. Kyo grinded his teeth together an audible clench could be heard along with an enraged tsk from frustration. If it wasn’t heard it most certainly would be felt amongst the squad, with senna being the first to feel it, she looked at kyo worried almost as if she wanted to reach out to him, but she had to be strong aswell.

The tornado died out and it seemed their situation was growing dire by the second. They were at quite the gruesome number disadvantage and despite being a 4 man cell consisting of 3 uchiha they would still be no match for 17 jonin that had been working as one. They not so much as issued a warning but instigated battle without thought. Kyo’s eyes and mind worked into overdrive trying to perceive their current situation and find their best route of action. Without second guessing Kyo sprang into action “Kuro Raiton no Yoroi (Black Lightning Release Armour) black lightning enveloping the young shinobi’s body speeding up his neural synapses reaction time and physical prowess. With the combination of the Sharingan and BLRA Kyo was seemingly untouchable. Time slowed down around the bombardment of air bullets aimed at his team. Weaving the necessary hand seals kyo reacted accordingly, “Jigokuchitai no Jutsu (Hellzone Technique)”

Kyo’s leg smashed itself into the ground creating an upheaval of earth and black lightning that swallowed the skies. Leaving nothing but a massive hole in the ground meters in front of him. The lightning and earth would serve as means to intercept and destroy the air bullets and snap at the jonin, while the hole would by them cover and time to escape. Kyo turned and quickly grabbed senna, thrusting her over his shoulder alleviating both hands to grab the two uchiha. With incredible speed he exited the scene behind them now and aimed to run all the way to the ends of the opposite set of tracks, this was his mistake he had to reap what he had sown.

The clone that Kamui sent was absorbed by the flame, hinting at the nature of the fire's properties. While Tsukiko remained squatting and contemplating the next move it appeared that Sakana decided "fuck it." She made no efforts to stop him or confront him on his plan, instead watching intently as he jumped up on her pillar and grabbed the flaming scroll himself. Tsukiko narrowed her eyes as Sakana jumped back down to the ground, taking a knee in pain as he tried to figure out what to do with the flames attacking him. There wasn't much she could offer him in the way of assistance and moral support would be patronizing to someone like Sakana. The youngest member of the team figured something out though, treating the attack like a genjutsu and using Kai to expel some of his chakra.

And it seemed to have worked. "Huh..." she muttered to herself as she stood back up to full height just in time for the proctor to begin his little meltdown. Once again he insulted everyone, though he took a moment to praise Sakana and then whisper something to him, before taking his leave. Next time I'll kill you, bitch, Tsukiko thought, her lethal glare remaining fixed on Suzaku until he disappeared in flames. The door out opened and she felt a scroll materialize on her belt, prompting her to look down and check. This one had a fire emblem on it, though it wasn't a shitty hand-drawn one like the original scroll Sakana had grabbed. With these new scrolls the team set out through the door, finding themselves in the Forest of Death now. It not only appeared that they were the first team finished but Kamui confirmed it with a scan using some kind of sensory technique.

By now Tsukiko had a pretty decent mental profile of Sakana and Kamui. She hadn't seen much of them but had a good bead on what it would be like to fight them and the kinds of strategies she should use. Usagi, on the other hand, had been real quiet and demonstrated very little. Even less so than Tsukiko had. Her personality was of a different type from the rest of the team entirely, but Tsukiko could still feel a dangerous presence in her company. There was no doubt she was a winner just like the others. These people would be enemies later if there were a direct combat portion of the exam so it was worth keeping track of those she could. Kamui offered to heal or otherwise assist Sakana, which seemed strange to Tsukiko considering that what she knew of shadow clones meant this trial cost him half his chakra. Not to mention that Sakana seemed relatively fine and that the two could potentially be enemies later. She kept a mental note of his healing capability and began to examine the nearby area when Shinko appeared and used a scroll to project a message from the Hokage.

Despite all his words the message was simple: get to the exit with two scrolls to win. Before he even finished his message Tsukiko had already decided on her next course of action. She wouldn't give any time to wait, any time to think. Her actions weren't personal and her former teammates likely knew this. After all they sought victory and ultimately promotion as well. But she had to be tactical and she had to be brutal. The transmission hadn't been cut yet and Tsukiko had already stealthily approached Kamui. With Sakana immediately in front of him he was in a good place to be, holding an advantageous position over him to strongarm the scroll should he choose. This made him the most suitable target for Tsukiko. The very second that Shinko disappeared with a bow she sprung into action. Tsukiko had drawn one of her ninjato and took a shallow slice diagonally at Kamui's waist to free the scroll and inflict some hindering damage to dissuade pursuit. Her free hand swiped the falling scroll as she crouched again before leaping straight up into the air to land on one of the large tree branches overhead. Of course, she would have to escape her former team like this anyways even if Kamui or someone else prevented her from taking his scroll. Being around them for too long put her own scroll at risk and attempting camaraderie wasn't worth that possibility. They would all find a way on their own.

---

---

Usagi examined the surroundings - the forest of death, no doubt. Then, she examined the scrolls she had obtained, her mind wondering why a piece of parchment was important this one was. Tieing it to her waist, Usagi had nothing else to do rather than place her hands together behind her back and wait, cautiously observing the three other participants with trained eyes. In the depth of her mind, she knew that she might have to face one of them in this exam - it wasn't over just yet, after all. Out of all three... Usagi's gaze moved onto Tsukiko. That one was the only she wasn't keen on fighting - she seemed crude, brutal and methodic in her own way. And even now, something about her screamed violence, of unrestrained force and strength.

Kamui was strange - as strange as his given name. He was an Uzumaki, right? Which means he had an innate powerful life force and chakra reserves. An opponent which Usagi had to give credit where it was due, but he seemed dull and weak. For some reason.

Then, Sakana. This one would go as far as fate took him, according to himself - which meant that he'd stop as soon as he encountered something that kept him from going further ahead. He'd give up easily - at least, that was how lowly Usagi thought of him. He might be a powerful shinobi, but shinobi often had to defy fate and do things that no one could think they would.

... The hokage's assistant disguised as the hokage appeared and began speaking, which prompted Usagi to stiffen her posture, eyes sharpening in an instant. The first few words already prompted her to reach a hand on the hilt of the peaceful rabbit, her eyes noticing how Tsukiko was slowly and sneakily approaching Kamui. Should she act? No, Tsukiko understood that this second test was a fight between themselves since the very beginning. Usagi noticed this too, but she was a bit slower. The test was explained and just as the person disappeared, Tsukiko attacked and apparently got hold of a scroll. Usagi was still reluctant but Tsukiko's bold move instantly made Usagi remember that if she wasn't similarly bold, she'd fail easily.

Quickly, she released her sword and instead moved her hands together to form some handseals and then moved a hand next to her mouth. Usagi wasn't keen on killing them, but she wasn't bothered if they had to be hurt if it meant her personal success. From her mouth, several blasts of wind chakra were released with unseen precision and speed - having enough force to puncture through their flesh if they were hit. Three blasts were aimed up at Tsukiko's legs - once done, she unsheathed her sword and became ready to attack Kamui or Sakana, should they also retaliate.

---

After the leader of the hidden rain had taken her leave from the group of kage's - which was limited to two kages for now - and politely bowed out in favour of meditation and consideration, she instead made her way through the meandering hallways of the arena, attempting to find a passage to the arena where one of her students was fighting. Kaito Chosokabe. A shinobi she'd watched for some time now, though never really made an attempt to speak to. He was, to her, not interesting enough to offer him help. It was the circle of life after all - the weak were usually trampled in favour of those who were strong. It was the way that the Sage had intended it.

But... even Yogensha had to admit that being a shinobi on its' own was already proof of strength. The weak did not usually make it through the academy that she had formed, which was demanding. Supportive, but demanding. The fact that Kaito had made it this far was testament to his skill. And, of course, paperwork and folders on missions were usually not enough to determine strength. It was time that Yogensha went to see it for herself.

She would appear on the railing overhead where proctors and other spectators were watching the fight, though she herself stood more at the forefront and both the participants would be capable of seeing her. Never the less, her arrival was not as much of a spectacle as, say, the arrival of the Hokage or Tsuchikage would've been. She seemed to blend right in in her fashionable outfit and her godlike composure.

Just as she arrived, it seemed the two had entered a debate. Fitting. Although this was a test of martial skill and not of philosophy, it seemed that shinobi always found a time mid-battle to yell about their ideas and beliefs. So much for quietly killing your opponent. She smiled at this, finding it much better to discuss and debate than to murder without purpose. In her eyes, these boys were both already miles beyond having won the fight - the two of them were each fighting for their beliefs at this point, and not necessarily because they were told to fight.

---

---

After completing the test and - seemingly - figuring out the trick, Sakana was much less relieved than one would expect. Although he had now dispelled the fire from his body and, through doing so, halted the pain, he could still feel the lick of the flames within his body, if you could even call them flames. He looked up at the proctor who was proclaiming some bullshit, then congratulating Sakana and, ironically and in the same breath, threatening Sakana with death. Sakana just stared the guy down before returning to his team. For now, he seemed fine despite having dealt with the fire. “Fuckin' bastard..” he mumbled, to himself more than anything, before a new scroll of fire suddenly materializing on a belt loop attached to his flak-vest.

Together with the rest he found himself outside in the forest of death - an ominous name, but a name that was likely just the result of folklore and jonin proctors who liked to excite their students. Kamui added something about being the first team to have made it out, so it was quite evident that he had some sensory ability to his name. Without bothering to ask him, he placed his hand on Sakana's back, and suggested to heal or transfer some chakra. Unceremoniously Sakana nodded. “I'll take both. I can still feel the scorch of that guys' fire inside my body. You should be careful though - you expended a lot of chakra with that clone.” During the healing and transfer of chakra, and without Sakana's knowledge, a new seal was added to his body - he already had one, so it seemed there was room for one more... coincidentally both had been placed there by the Uzumaki clan. It's just that one was requested, and the other was not...

Sakana turned around to face his team after the hokage had explained the details of the test, and looked directly in the eyes of Tsukiko who was sneaking up on Kamui. It was funny - he had known it from the start, since she was quite obviously an individualistic person, but somehow he had not expected her to act so soon. It was quite evident that Kamui was not the fighting sort - at least so far - so Sakana reacted instinctively and pulled out his double corded knives. With a flash of steel he was just in time to prevent her from slashing at the boy, and apparently he had been just in time to prevent her from slicing off the scroll as well - her blade touching the strap it was up on, but not hard enough to slice it through. Sakana could see, however, how the threads of the strap had been cut ever so slightly, giving an indicator as to just how proficient this woman was with her weaponry. He could not prevent her from leaping away into the trees, however, but according to Sakana, there was no need to.

It was funny. In a matter of milliseconds after the explanation of the test, the team had already fallen apart except for Sakana. At that point Sakana didn't know yet, but even the boy that was one year his senior and had healed him had tried to double-cross Sakana by placing a seal on him. Tsukiko, as expected, had tried to obtain a scroll for herself right away by double-crossing Kamui. And Usagi - wait, Usagi.

Sakana's eyes were laid upon Usagi directly after he realized he'd forgotten about her and, again instinctively, pulled Kamui by the collar of his flak vest and with a swing of the arm threw him to the side, away from the blasts of wind. His mind raced just like it had when he was being tormented by the chakra-absorbing fire, and he realized quickly that there was not enough time to perform an earth shelter jutsu. So, his academy instincts took over from his shinobi instincts and he performed some handseals.

The wind blasts cut into his body, drawing blood rather easily and severely slicing up his arm and legs, even cutting open the flak vest he wore. He kneeled down and leaned on his hands to keep himself from falling over, before a thud drew the attention of the three shinobi in his former team. The scroll had been cut from his vest and was now rolling on the floor, rolling itself towards Usagi and allowing her to pick it up.

Except, when she would move to pick it up, both Sakana and the scroll would disappear in a poof of smoke, leaving a wooden log in it's place, and a thick branch where the scroll had been. Kawarimi no jutsu. Simple, effective, but it wouldn't work more than once or twice.

In a similar poof of smoke, Sakana appeared in the trees, standing directly in Tsukiko's path of escape, yet still keeping Usagi and Kamui in his sight. The cursed seal was still on his back, but as far as Sakana knew, Kamui had only tried to help him - he didn't know or could not know that Kamui had double crossed him.

“Tsk.” He inhaled air sharply through his teeth, expressing his dislike for the situation. He held up a tiger seal in preparation to unleash a jutsu, but after a second of this Mexican standoff-style situation, lowered his hand. “It was expected I suppose. Tsukiko, wild child, brought into the village at a young age. It's hard to forget that. It seems even you haven't forgotten it. I remember it too, despite how young I was then.” His eyes would bore into hers like a piercing dagger, with a similar level of lethality in them. If looks could kill - indeed, she'd be dead. It seemed however that Sakana was unwilling to act on that just yet.

“You're a hunter aren't you? Let me ask you.. which is more effective - the pack of wolves, or the lonesome bear that eats berries to survive the winter?” It was clear he was not really referring to wolves and bears, but more so a pack of shinobi or the lonesome shinobi that would have to gather scraps just to survive. It was also clear that the pack of wolves were all four of them working together and the lonesome shinobi would be her if she decided to run off on her own. Whether or not he'd convince her or not would be irrelevant soon.

He reached back with his hand and with a single pull ripped the leather cord loose and pulled off his scroll. He held it up for all of them to see. “If you need assurance of success, you can have it. Stay with us and hunt with us. It'll be easier to hunt together, and target the weaker teams with four people. Perhaps you don't need us - and we don't need you. But it'd be far more efficient to work together. We'd expend less energy and less work working together.”

He glanced at Usagi and Kamui then, not entirely sure about their allegiance either. “What do you think the other teams will do? Will they turn on each other? We're the rag-tag team of people that got left out of the other groups. They expect us to turn on each other. All of them are in a team together because they knew each other before this. We can surprise them by working together. We don't have to like each other. We just have to get four more scrolls together. That is one team worth of scrolls we need to take. Consider it carefully. Do you really want to fight four shinobi all at once on your own just to get a chance at success? Or do you want to have the insurance of three other shinobi at your back?”

Without a second thought Sakana threw the scroll over to Tsukiko, with a casual underhanded throw. She could catch it easily and effortlessly if she had listened and stayed. It seemed he was risking his entire exam, but perhaps he would be right.

They had passed the first part. Tashiro was relieved and put his sword away the instant they were done. Letting out a sigh of relief especially after Kyoka had calmed Rumia down to keep the clones from attacking. The proctor was of the Yamanaka clan Tashiro almost laughed, the weird mind jutsu clan just played mind games with them for the first test.

Tashiro's eyes trained towards what would be the next challenge, the forest of death. He listened to Hime but his attentions switched to Rumia again. She still seemed angry after that last challenge she had asked 'Sword fella'. What do we gotta do now? Let's leave m'lovely cousin a break from doin' all da thinkin' fer us.'

Tashiro was about to come up with an answer until the next proctor revealed what they would be doing. Tashiro's thought about what was said, 'Go into the forest of death, find another scroll and get to the exit. Simple enough if this wasnt the forest of death. There were loads of animals, insects and other things that would prove a obsicale in getting the scroll. Don't get eaten is the perfect plan' These thoughts in Tashiro's mind he finally looked back over at Rumia to answer her finally, "Well seem sort of obvious we go get locked inside that forest with a bunch other shinobi along with the hunger animals in the forest. Find another scroll either by going after the scroll that is in the middle, or hit some other team over the head and take their scroll and get out."

Thinking for a second he then says, "Planning out a plan to get a scroll and protecting our own. Once we get inside the forest we can get a definite plan together. This seems like a survival test along with a mission to find and acquire a targeted scroll within a time limit. We seem to have some time to wait before the actual start of this test. We can either try and plan something out now, or we can try and familiar each other with each others jutsus and weapons that we use. At least get to know what jutsus not to get caught in of ours." This idea came to Tashiro as was thinking back during the first challenge. The two stone shinobi were still a mystery of what they could do. Other then the bubble like shield Kyoka made for them when she first approached the scroll in the challenge he doesnt know what she or her cousin can do. After the sight of Rumia's reaction and build up whatever she was going to do against those clones from before. Tashiro found out what kind of jutsu's Hime used after that first challenge, she possessed the ice kekkei genkai. Still he wanted to know if there was anything else they should watch out for from her and the other two so he wouldnt accidentally get caught in their attacks during the next challenge.

---

---

As the statue revealed its true identity, Ayame narrowed her eyes slightly. As she noticed the scroll, Ai began talking, arranging the team and setting in motion a proper plan. It brought a small smile to her lips, even as she focused on keeping her barriers up. While the lightning beast wasn't really making any progress at breaking the barrier—as she focused the chakra where it hit, weakening it in locations further from the beast—it still took a fair amount of chakra to maintain the large network of barriers.

Adapting quickly to the new plan, Ayame cast out her hands to either side, generating chakra threads. The threads touched all her barrier rods that were far off, pulled them from the ground, and then back towards her. In about 3 seconds she had them close enough to maneuver them properly. The further off, less necessary barriers had deactivated when the rods had been extricated, of course, but those immediately around herself, Hikaru, and Renji were still up and quite stable. In fact, the one around them was much stronger than the earlier barrier had been, by virtue of her having to manage less.

Twitching her fingers she caught several Sekisao, and then threw them, hard. The rods hurtled in four groups, one of them traveling to her right, creating two lines leading up to Raijin's naval; the other created two lines leading to the edge of the room.

Channeling chakra through the threads, she erected a barrier towards the navel, leaving the rods leading towards the wall totally stationary. Focusing she took down one wall of their barrier, merging the path to the navel with the enclosed space that protected them from Raiju.

She looked to Renji and Hikaru and spoke, her voice commanding for once.

"Go!"

---

---

---

Yatsu took a pull of his sake, still sitting and apparently relaxed as Namine and the Hokage spoke about the return of a great evil: Seijuro. He smiled faintly as the Hokage insisted they not stop the exams. Yatsu stood and glanced at Namine, smiling.

"I agree. Stopping the exams now will send our budding shinobi into dissaray, which would only play into Seijuro's hands, letting him snatch anyone or anything he might want while our forces are in chaos." Bending down he picked up what appeared to be a cane, which had been sitting next to him, before rising back up. He tapped the cane against the ground, channeling a brief pulse of chakra through it.

Instantly the cane extended upwards and he twirled it once so that the point that had been aimed at the ground, now faced the ceiling. It had become a spear.

"I would be glad to put down such an evil," he said, glancing at Gisho, "...especially alongside either of you. It would be an honor." Having encountered him before, Namine would notice an odd lack of frustration in the Tsuchikage. Normally, the man preferred to avoid combat entirely. It seemed that his dislike of combat disappeared when faced with an objective evil, something which threatened the well-being of many an innocent soul.

In fact...there even seemed to be a fire in his eyes and an eagerness in his heart.

"Let's not tarry now," he said, glancing between the two.

While he wore a perfect disguise of patience, Namine would feel something other than eagerness in him. She would feel something dark, something buried, but its exact nature was so entrenched and hidden beneath Kazayatsu's other thoughts and emotions that she would be unable to identify it exactly.

All she'd be left with was an ominous premonition, a feeling of deep hurt, and something like hunger—though not of the physical sort.

It was disturbing, but it was also clear that Yatsu had it entirely under control. It was clear that it would not harm his allies, and furthermore it was certainly apparent that Gisho and her were his allies.

He was no traitor.

Still, what was it that lurked deep in the eccentric kage?

What indeed.

It seemed Kaba was a step too slow. The King moved swiftly to intercept Kaba's path to the Queen's domain. Assuming that the Sea King planned on protecting her from Kaba's advances, Kaba readied a defense. This trial was becoming dire, as Kaba felt himself almost near his limits. He knew the others were probably hanging by a thread as well so there was no time to waste. But to Kaba's surprise the King did the last thing the group would've ever expected. Within a flash, the Queen's body suddenly went limp. As life left her body, it seemed that a certain feeling escaped the area as well.

The undead army that had become quite a nuisance began to fall one by one, and the feeling that escaped the kingdom earlier was replaced by a heavy sense of fear and desperation in the next moment. Kaba was stunned as the King murdered his own Queen and consumed her blood, effectively increasing his own power. The shock was apparent on Kaba's face. This King was insanely terrifying. If he was capable of savagely killing his assumed lover for power, imagine what he would do to them given the chance!

At that moment, Kaba could've accepted defeat, but he calmed himself. All they needed was to retrieve the scroll. He had fought all his life, and things weren't going to end at the hands of some lame fish. If the King needed to murder his own Queen to become strong enough to defeat the trio, they were clearly doing something right. Kaba wanted to play things conservatively to save his energy and chakra for the next stage of the exam but it became apparent that they would need one final push to get out of this situation. There would be no point in conserving his power if they didn't even make it to the next stage.

Without a second of delay Kaba decided it was time to finish the horrid Fish King. Chains, originally intended to seal the Queen, shot forth from his body aiming towards the King just after he drained his former lover's body dry. The chains would wrap around both of the King's arms and legs. Kaba aimed to restrain him just long enough for his comrades to finish the job. His technique was powerful enough to contain the most violently powerful beasts - and it was one he hoped to not have to use in this capacity. However, Kaba needed to ensure victory and progress to the next module of the exam to give himself a fighting chance. As he poured his power into controlling the beast before them, he would signal to Bumu and Koma to use the opening to get the job done. He knew they were struggling, but he also knew the two wouldn't fail.

After traveling down the covered up path, and reaching its end the test proctor showed himself. Date had thought the point was to find these tracks and then they would be given something to help find what they needed. With his sharingan he was able to see the 20 different streams of chakra flowing towards the tornado. The when one went out their test proctor showed up and the situation turned hostile fast. Date thought finding and following the hidden path was apart of the test, but instead they were greeted with a proctor who had got caught up with his pants around his ankles, and now they were gonna get punished because of using their birth given talents and doing what they thought was correct. Date was getting upset and ready for a fight, but before he could even do the hand sign for any of his techniques Kyo jumped into action first with a fierce determination. Date had heard of is black lighting techniques before, and to see one up close, well lets just say he was amazed. So in the blink of an eye he, Kobito, Senna, and Kyo were gone from the scene. Putting as much distance between them and the Jonin as possible.

Date noticed that they were going back down the opposite trail, the right trail and huffed as he wiggled out of Kyo's grasp. He tripped up and fell but quickly recovered and followed behind Kyo's insane speed the best he could. "Can you believe that guy, but what now do we just keep running until the end of this trail and try to fix our mistake? What are we gonna do if the jonin keep chasing us, do we fight them or come up with some sort of plan to keep them occupied." Date inquired, with jonin who might be on their trail and a scroll still left to find, they needed some kind of strategy.

---

---

There was no time to think. Before Hikaru could even admire the result of his explosive action - the buddha statue revealed it's true form as soon as the sound of the drums reached it, letting free the weird lightning beast that attacked Ai before and revealing something extremely important as it did so: The position of the lightning scroll - the sole objective of this challenge and spmething they had to acquire if they still wanted to become jonin.

Hikaru's reaction was, as expected of a somehow experienced shinobi, immediate: He was already dashing towards the statue even before Ai's yell managed to reach his ears, trusting in his teammates abilities for once as he desperately assumed the optimal position for what could only be described suicidal rush, moving his body to adopt an optimal position for the triggering of a single technique that would give him the chance of reaching the scroll in time - his self-made technique: Thunderous Dash - and finally making use of the Kekkei-reliant skill in an instant, releasing an surprisingly large explosion from the bottom of his feet - unsurprisingly damaging his legs in the process, for even Hikaru's inhuman durability couldn't hope to completely negate the damage caused by his explosions - using it to propel himself towards the scroll in a speed that could only be described as absurd, making it seem as if he just instantly reached the scroll, with his hand already grasping it - almost like he made use of space-time ninjutsu to instsntly change his position to directly grasp the scroll, if not by the fact that the impact of his hand with the scroll was clearly violent.

---

---

Kamui couldn't help but release an annoyed grunt from his mouth when faced by Sakana's remarkably thoughtful remark, strangely dissatisfied by how his teammate demonstrated concern over him as he continued the process of transferring part of his chakra and healing him - After all, Sakana's somehow friendly act didn't exactly make him feel better when considering how he used the opportunity to sort of betray him, even if he knew that the other shinobi's words were most certainly motivated by the fact that he still needed his support.

His dissatisfaction didn't take long to be dispelled though, as the Hokage's speech immediately assured him that his decision was indeed the most reasonable ine - fact that was further proved by the fact that Sakana instantly pulled out a strange blade and slashed it towards the area where his scroll was being held - an act that Kamui would undoubtedly consider as offensive at first glance, possibly enough to make hin trigger the seal he placed in the younger shinobi... If not by the fact that his sluggish self didn't even register the movement until it was already made, luckly preventing him from directly activating the seal due to an incorrect reading of the situation, as he noticed that his younger teammate actually defended him from having his scroll stolen... By another teammate, of course, that proceeded to leap away from them.

Before he could even take measures to prevent being targeted amidst tne chaotic situation, while he was still in the process of opening his mind's eye to have a better grasp of what was happening around him, Sakana actually moved to throw him away, shielding him from an attack that came from the supposedly most pacific shinobi of the group, resulting in Kamui struggling to recover his equilibrium for a second. When he finally managed to fix his posture, this time already absolutely conscient about what was happening around him, Sakana was already trying to mediate the situation in his own way, trying to convince the other members of the team - specially the wild girl - that working together would be more efficient for them and apparently making the infighting stop for a moment - what didn't stop Kamui from taking a hold of his fan and directly stare Usagi (a fairly useless act considering the fact that his sensory technique was active). He already committed the mistake of considering her as harmless once, after all, so he wouldn't just do the same and overlook her again.

The team did a great job. Honestly, the proctor was just glad they where even moving on, silently cursing under his breath the whole time. Guess next year they'd have to start installing signs telling people what to do. Well, at least he had to admit they did plan it through. Which was better than nothing. That at least was worthy of some kind of acknowledgement. And once they had a target, they did a fairly good job.

The beast snarled, splitting into two. A weasel, formed from that same energy smashed into the protected pathway, sending a surge right through it as Hikaru made his run. He'd make it, mostly out of luck as the barrier broke behind him, finally shattering with one powerful strike from the beast. Even barrier had their limits. They should have considered their stars lucky the beast was only being cranky.

The lightning wolf proper snarled, leaning it's head back as energy began to build inside its chest. A bright glow, a rush of energy, and then... They where gone. The test ending as soon as Hikaru grabbed the scroll. Guess they could move on. A rather decorative scroll rested in Hikaru's grip, shimmering with an emblazoned bolt of lightning in clear sight for them all to oogle.

Now, they just had to catch up to the other teams.





FIGHT OVER!

Nousagi had begun to take a step towards Kaito when a voice rang out. Without turning to face the speaker, he knew who it was. The proctor had raised up a flag, taking a step into the arena to put an end to this battle before it went to far. He'd been watching well enough, more than trained to catch the killing intent in the air. He knew that while Kaito wouldn't win, he knew at this point the two would just end up escalating the violence. If the Hyuuga didn't kill Kaito, then Kaito may just try to kill one of the Hyuuga clan. Either way, no option was preferred at the moment. "You two are both injured. Go see medical, and move on to the next portion of the exams." The proctor declared, making a silent gesture to the two teams of medical ninja who had been watching from the side.

Nousagi used his robes as an improved sling, resting his broken hand inside and turning to walk away from this battle. He had nothing left to say, instead silently cursing the whole matter. Until as he reached the edge of the arena, he did have something to say. "Hey thief. Next time I see you. You better have some greatness of your own. Or I may just kill you." That shinobi filled him with disgust. But, by the time his wounds healed, he doubted he'd even remember him. Nousagi instead looked ahead, to the medical team, and another who stood by them. He passed the medical team, shoo'ing them away.

"You have what I asked for?" Nousagi said, speaking to a member of the branch clan. The Otsutsuki. The lesser branch that never produced the right fruit. But, for what they had to offer, they where quite something.
"Look, I doubted you would need it, but I did bring the medicine." The one who spoke was female, a few years older than Nousagi himself. She seemed rather timid, holding a jar up to him. "That injury to your arm... I mean, it'll help but you need to be tender. The rapid mending of bone can be-"
"I didn't move it much. I doubt the bone will have moved much." Nousagi frowned, pulling the sleeve up. He could see inside his body, making note to know where the bone had gone. The female nodded, using her own chakra to move the bone back into the right place. The Otsutsuki always did have an interesting talent with mending bones. And Nousagi himself was a fast healer. The medical team went to work on healing the broken bone, as his 'servent' was already applying medicine to his bleeding arm. The wounds rapidly closed up, and soon that same medicine was applied to his broken elbow. Letting it soak into the skin, his elbow was healed, micro fractions running through it, but that would heal up perfectly in time. It was a fast fix for now.
"Lord Nousagi... Be careful. You are the pride of our clan."
"Exactly, I will inherit the Hyuuga clan someday. and I shall remember your good work."
"In ways... I think even you don't realize." She whispered softly, watching him walk away. And yet... As Nousagi walked away, his mind was dominated by one repeating phrase..."

'I already stole your future.' No, Kaito hadn't. But for a moment, Nousagi's faith in his own future wavered. A sense of fear as he looked down to his hand. And then he buried it. He buried that little white rabbit of emotion deep into a blizzard, leaving only the black rabbit left.





Well, Bumu was feeling pretty proud of himself. The clones high-fiving each other proudly, mostly for their own great work. And yet, Bumu was struggling now to hold his breath. He didn't have the greatest lung capacity to start with, but when she saw the king rip the queen apart, the fox's heart skipped a beat. A flurry of bubbles escaped Bumu's lips, only to clamp down hard to save what little air was left. They where down to one tank, which Kaba had completely taken. Worst of all, he figured for all her work, Koma must be running out of air soon. The clones didn't have air to offer, as they didn't need to breath. Koma did. The fox made a quick sign to Koma, asking if she needed any air.

That moment could have killed the fox. A force smashed right into Bumu, but it wasn't that vaporizing fist. It was a clone, pushing itself between the King and Bumu. The force hitting the paper bomb copy, causing it to burst apart, showering the king with those bright red tags. Bumu on the other hand was sent flying back. A broken rib forcing a scream for her lips, eyes wide as the last of his air rushed out. Now, Bumu was drowning. It was a struggle not to breath in, despite how much the fox may want to. A deep breath of water, the fox struggling to remain focused. Hands clasped together, the other clones rushed the king, who was probably bound in chains by now. Each clone mixing together, rushing right towards the king's maw. All merging into one form. The biggest most destructive rush of explosive tags Bumu could muster. If there was nothing else Bumu could do, this was the last of it.

"Die." Bumu managed to choke out, making a cruel request.

As they ran down the path, his eyes also detected the chakra of the proctors. Although, he didn't expect a fight so soon. Seeing they were now in an ambush, Koibito clasped his his hands together, but it was too late. Before he could start his attack Koibito saw Kyo spark his unique Black lightning. As fast as the blink of an eye, Koibito was dangling like a ragdoll in the air. Held by his shirts collar, Kyo had grabbed him and the rest of the team mates in a retreat. Luckily Koi's hand were free. This time he preformed the hands seals together and released his Wind release Jutsu(Great Breakthrough). The large gust would just be enough to throw dust in the air and hopefully provide the team some concealment. Although if the Jonin were to actually give chase, their wouldn't be too many places to go looking.

Similar to Date, Koi wiggled out of Kyo's grasp. Landing a little straight on his feet and only taking a second to catch his bearings before taking off. He began to follow Kyo as close as possible, which wasn't saying too much. Koibito could feel the other's emotions again. Angry, disappointment, and annoyed, but Koibito was actually amused. Of course the way that wasn't the path of least resistance was actually the worst choice. It didn't make him laugh out loud, but he found it quite ironic. Still he could tell the others weren't ok with the events that just unfolded. Kyo with his decision, even if it was a group decision and Date obviously with Kyo 'leadership'.

"Look at the bright side gents. We only have one way to go!" Koibito shouted with a sarcastic tone. He seemed to be taking this a lot better...

Hime Yuki

@Pirouette @Savato @BladeSS4

Before Hime realised what was going on the group was more or less being congratulated on passing their test by Shinko, or at least a clone of Shinko, whom relayed a message to them on the behalf of the Hokage. The result of what was to come next brought a small frown to Hime's face, that shifted somewhat back to a smile as she heard Tashiro's comment after the fact. "Well going in as a group would be fun, that way we can all make sure that each of us pass... Though if you guys all feel differently it might be fun to have it as a little contest between ourselves to see who can and can't pass, then the losers owe the winner something... Like, uhh... A meal or a favour! Of course it wouldn't be too fair to just try and steal one another's scrolls right now, so we'd have to wait until we got into the forest first before trying that."

It was unnecessary to say the least, but a little bet like that would probably encourage the two cousins to give it a try.

---

@Reflection @Syn @BladeX

It was inconceivable to think that the situation could get any worse than it was now, but the king clearly had other plans for the already exhausted and likely traumatized team as he cleared the battlefield of any threat other than himself by killing his queen and feasting upon her blood to fix himself once again.

Any concept of lesson that could've been gained by the team from this endeavour was void at this point, Koma's muscles ached from exertion, her joints were becoming stiff due to a lack of oxygen and she was quickly running out of breath and Chakra.

But she still had adrenaline coursing through her system, so she was going to push on to the last second if it would finally kill this monstrous thing. She'd had a wind arrow charged and ready to fire for a while now as she waited for the right moment to shoot the re-invigorated king once again, but he was moving at such a pace that now she had trouble actually getting a decent moment to take the shot until he was above her. With but a second to react to the fist aiming to pummel her into a fine paste, she managed to turn herself and fire the arrow into his hand, the burst of wind that would come from it creating enough of a bubble between the unstoppable force and the all-too-movable an object to more or less harmlessly hurl her down into the sandy ground.

Mere seconds later, having barely survived the continued onslaught that was the king's attempt to kill all of them, Koma saw that Kaba had him restrained for the time being and that Bumu was currently losing consciousness and drowning... There wasn't enough time nor chakra left in the girl to make a full-strength annihilation arrow, but she could at least half charge it, which would no doubt set off the explosive tags that littered the King's body and hopefully kill him properly this time.

A moment of channelling and focussing what little chakra she could spare produced a bolt unlike the previous one. This bolt wasn't as bright nor as destructive, it's explosive radius would just about engulf the entirety of the King's body instead of his body and everything nearby, there wasn't time to doubt whether it would hit or kill him or be eaten once again, all she could do was fire and hope to hold onto consciousness of her own long enough to see the result of her shot.

Then she would have to leave the rest to Kaba and once more hope that they were finally finished, drowning twice in one day was more than enough for the kunoichi.

Success had been achieved and the second trial in this test had been completed. A debriefing was followed addressing the next part of the test. The Forest of Death and the challenge of obtaining a scroll from someone else. This would likely be a true test of one's individual and Kyoka deemed it would likely be a proper test of her merit.

Kyoka lingered and clutched onto Rumia for awhile longer, giving her cousin's hand a squeeze at the mention of being offered a break. "Aw~heh~ Cuz ya too sweet on me but I like ta think for ya!" Kyoka giggled, her cheeks flushing red as she nuzzled her head up against Rumia's arm. Relenting only after Toshiro offered his pence on the up and coming challenge. Kyoka uttered a giggle as she stepped away from the two. What Toshiro said sounded incorrect and perhaps he wasn't aware but Kyoka had interpreted that as a weak attempt at scouting his competition later. "Don't go n' answer dat, cuz." Kyoka proclaimed as she wandered around for a moment before the squeaky cheer of Yuki chimed in.

"Aw~hheh~heh~heh!" Kyoka cheerily giggled, skipping over to Hime and embracing the girl from the side. Kyoka's cheeks were burning red as she moved to wipe her mouth across her shoulder before leaning in and giving Yuki a dry peck on the cheek, pulling away an exaggerated kissing sound. "Yer just too innocent, Yu-Yu!" Kyoka loved just how innocently noble Yuki was. There was no masked deception, there probably wasn't a vile thought in that dim-witted brain, just the way Kyoka liked. It was going to be hard to convince herself to go through with the plan she had already been forming. In truth, the moment Kyoka had heard that they were on their own for getting a scroll from others, she knew she would team with her cousin and then maybe orchestrate her and her cousin to win the scrolls of Hime and Toshiro. After all, Kyoka and Rumia had spent years at this point, working together was natural and they were skilled in tandum. Hime and Toshiro would have been at a massive disadvantage, making them the perfect target. But sweet Hime here might just spare the both of them...

"Maybe. We ought ta' see inside, but, Yu-Yu~ Imma buy ya a meal or give ya favor no matter what! Bless dat sweet heart of yers!" Kyoka offered, giving Yuki a squeeze.

---

"Gotta keep ya fueled up in case we gotta think again, fer real."

Steam was released, with the beige flesh now gone and Rumia remaining stationary as she awaited the Swordsman's input. Though as if it were almost on command, there would be an announcement by the Hokage no less. It'd even startle the vehement entity among the group, but would then put her at ease as she processed the information. Well, Tashiro would attempt to chew it for her first, but even the ginger noticed the discrepancy in his analysis. Kyoka would add a layer to confirm the suspicion.

The boy would only earn a squint from the dangerous lass, one few would live through without a beating. Luckily for him, Kyoka was calling the shots, mostly. This hierarchy of initiative would lose its relevance after Hime's share of words. They could work together, or take it from each other. One was a more romanticized version of how things would go down, and the option she seemed to dislike, would be the easiest and the Iwa cousins' favored approach. Extending her hand at the direction of Hime, palm open as if asking for something, she'd address the hyperactive fairy.

"Or maybe y'all should help yer friends. Ah reckon y'all were ready to throw in da towel 'till mah lovely cousin 'ere racked her brain for all of y'all. Ah say, Kyoka deserves an offering. 'Specially with how ya fellas got those tuff guys all riled up. Ah had to TANK dat last sucka' punch. Took one fer the team. Fer our leader!"

Her extended hand would have its previous shape distort in order to have her index point toward Kyoka as leadership was mentioned. It was a tense thing between Tashiro and Kyoka, as they both showed qualities of a leader. But it was clear what side she spread her butter. With the illustration of her point via gestures made, she'd once against adopt the demanding hand posture. There was definitely an unnaturally intimidating aura surrounding this lass. The way she remained solemn, and stiff, while displaying traits of a short fuse, made the Shinrikyo come off as a bomb ready to blow at any second for any reason.

"Or maybe if y'all do us this favor ... We could stomp anyone in our way as a team. S'pose as a gank, 'tis should be easy as pie. Beats havin' me prying yer scrolls outta yer hands now, amirite, cuz?"

A malicious smirk reigned on her expression as this risky, deal-with-the-devil proposition had been brought up. To compliment this semi-threat, the three gathered in the zone they had been conferred for this portion of the exam would witness a shape emerge behind Rumia. A limber, slightly twitchy appendage of sorts, with a jagged end. It bloomed out of her lower back, its origin concealed behind the ginger's shirt. It'd stop 'growing' as it would reach double the height of its progenitor. Swaying left to right, over and over, it would almost seem as if it were calculating the 'pray' presented to it. Showing off her creepy tail tended to work well on racketeering jobs.

"You know Rumia you are right. I was going to throw in the towel if it wasn't for Kyoka's quick thinking at the start of the first challenge. We get inside that forest, find me and I'll give her my scroll. It's the least I can do I mean after not doing much in the first challenge.", Tashiro said after Rumia spoke about giving the scrolls over. No deception in his voice he fully meant what he said and clearly intends on giving the scroll over. "I still think the best way to finish this challenge is to work with others as a team to complete mission we are set to complete. A free for all to get the scrolls we are instructed to get. Forming alliances and teams isn't so odd, especially since our last task was to keep strife of sacrifice from separating us when we were a team." saying his bit of trying to form an aliance with the team he was with in the first challenge.

Tashiro understood Rumia's remarks and agrees with what she said. Kyoka did come up with the answers for first challenge, and pulled him from trying to sacrifice himself for the group before Kyoka figured out the right answer for that part of the challenge. Then a second time with the clones she had originally came up with the right answer and the only thing Tashiro did was stand there and did nothing.

"Don't let my offer of giving you my scroll give you the wrong message. I will still try and find a way to get a two or more scrolls to pass the test, but if you truly want me to give my scroll over then I will. If you girls want to help me afterwards find more scrolls then fine if not then that's alright too, at least one of us will pass though with two scrolls." Tashiro adds to his first statement just like the first although trying to defuse the tense situation. Tashiro wasnt trying any ruse to get an advantage to get scrolls from the girls he was planning on getting them from the other people in this challenge if he could. He hopes he could get some sort of alliance together for this task as it would be easier to have someone watching his back during this kind of mission rather then going in at it alone.

---

---

One moment they were in the stadium as the others disappeared for their respective challenges, and in the next Koutaku and another were gone, transported to the edges of a clearing in what appeared to be the Forest of Death. It was all rather sudden, but he was used to having to swiftly adapt to new circumstances for even though the war had long since been over...his clan had never strayed from their customs.

He was a shinobi, through and through. He had killed, and people had attempted to kill him. He had struggled and he had overcome with his own blood sweat and tears. Expression blank for a moment while he scanned his surroundings. Trees and foliage everywhere, the sound of animals and insects--large and small--in the distance and around him. Furthermore, there was another who had been transported along with him, someone across the clearing from him, about 15 meters away. The clearing wasn’t terribly huge, and it was apparent to him that there were no real boundaries.

Smirking a moment, before letting his expression shift to a less cocky smile, Koutaku called out across the space to his fellow chuunin. “That’s you, isn’t it Kai,” he said, even while he considered how he could deal with someone who could not be tricked. After all, Kaijin had the Byakugan, which would certainly make this a challenge. That was for sure.

Drawing a kunai, Koutaku channeled chakra into it and began spinning it around his finger. It was a good thing that they hadn’t had any dangerous missions together. In fact, there really hadn’t been any really dangerous missions to begin with...not from the village at least. This was good for Koutaku. Why? Well, it meant that practically no one would really know his techniques.

He hadn’t made it a habit of bragging to people...or sparring too often. It made him something of an enigma to his peers, and while it also isolated him somewhat...the pros definitely outweighed the cons.

“Guess we’re gonna have to do this huh? Go easy on me, will ya. I don’t want to die today.” He grinned, his free right hand touching the tree trunk to which the branch he stood upon connected.Chakra threads extended from his fingers, down the palms of his hands, into his sleeves, down his shirt, and into his pouches where they affixed themselves to kunai and wire alike. The wire was pulled along their length, manipulated by chakra alone until they wrapped around the fingertips of his right hand.

He was as ready as he could get, he supposed.

The Hokage was quite the mysterious fellow and yet Kai never had the opportunity to speak with him and dissect his brain for knowledge regarding his fallen clan. He would eventually get his answers but hopefully getting the rank of Jonin would help his endeavors. Before he could find his way through the crowds he was teleported to what seemed like an empty forest. Kai took one whiff of his surroundings and automatically knew where he was. ”The Forest of Death.” this was quite the familiar terrain for him since he liked to travel around the village alone at times.

He stopped reminiscing however as he was reminded he subjected himself to declining the team events and participating in the combat portion instead. Kai wasn’t one for team affairs or working with others, he was direct and hungry. Anything that got in his way of showing him his purpose in life and why he was born into this desolate clan would be met with crushing opposition. Kaijin turned to face what seemed to be his opponent for this portion of the test. While hoping for easier prey he was still pretty content with facing Koutaku as he was still a question mark in his mind.

“Indeed it is.” Kaijin waved to his opponent removing his large white over coat and throwing it in the wind which would eventually land on a distant tree branch. Kai rolled his neck cracking several times before he cracked his hands next. It had been far too long since he had gone out and sparred with someone of his caliber. He tightened his wrist straps and the red and yellow sash he has to make sure he was completely limber and mobile. “Good thing we keeps the morals and rules on I wouldn’t want either one of us dying today. I hope the best man wins and if one of us doesn’t hopefully next round is kinder to us.” Kaijin bowed before he readied his stance. While he did want to take it easy as Koutaku suggested, he wanted to move onto the next stage more, win or lose.

“Byakugan!” Kaijin shouted, veins bulging around his eyes, the pupils becoming more distinct. The world turned into a blue and black as he saw the chakra threads connected Koutaku’s belt and the kunai winding up in his fingers. Kaijin sprang into action running at top speed closing the gap between the two. As he approached Koutaku, 15 meters, 10 meters, he drew his arms across his chest and swiped them downwards diagonally across his body slowly moving into a spinning movement.

Koutaku’s small smile widened into a grin as Kaijin sprung into action, clearly having noticed his preparations. With a flux of chakra Koutaku began a series of long handseals, as if he were performing a particularly powerful technique.



He knew Kai could see the chakra moving throughout his body. He knew that Kai would try to stop him from preparing techniques, using handseals, and building up a chain of actions. He knew about Gentle Fist and its ability to block one’s tenketsu. Koutaku knew a lot of things. He studied tirelessly, always, and prepared for anything and everything he possibly could. Sure, Kai had the Byakugan; sure, he was a master of the Gentle Fist and had predictive and analytical abilities by the sheer virtue of his genetics, but there was one thing he didn’t have, one thing he might never understand.

Endless Paranoia.

Koutaku sprung into action, leaping off of his branch with surprising force, propelled forwards by what appeared a burst of chakra.



Still spinning a kunai on his left pointer finger, Koutaku hurtled forwards, twitching his right middle finger as he did so. The motion drew a kunai up through his clothes and into his hand in .1 seconds, and in the next moment it was thrust backwards from him where it pierced deep into the tree, almost the entire kunai buried, only the ring remaining visible. He let the wire remain slack as he hurtled diagonally downwards at his adversary, but not headfirst, not for long.

Shifting position with tiny adjustments of his body, Koutaku angled his body so that his feet would meet the earth first.

He knew Kai could sense him, he knew he could detect every use of chakra, no matter how minuscule.

He was counting on it.

There was something disconcerting with the way Koutaku had been setting up for this fight. How long could it have been that he arrived before Kai and had already began working on a series of plans to oppose Kai. The one fault of being an ancestor to the Hyuuga was the fact that everyone had already know their fighting style and the way their abilities worked so there was nothing he had to surprise ninja who were from the leaf with. Koutaku was a mysterious case, even though it seemed like he set up a trap for Kai he decided to launch himself at Kaijin while forming multiple hand seals. Powerful indeed if it was taking this many seals to conduct.

His body was a wave of chakra firing on all cylinders, he wasn’t close enough to hit his tenketsu points so he had to close the distance or launch a long ranged attack. Kai in his battle trained mind knew that it was rather difficult to dodge while in the air especially when falling in one direction. It was almost too good to be true. His arm swinging motion stopped as he receded them tucked into his sides forming a perfect 90 angel with his arm. “Yasogami Kūgeki” stopping in his tracks and tapping into his Otsustuki potential, Kaijin faced upwards. With his mastery of chakra at this stage of his life he would be able to execute this jutsu quite well. Chakra loaded into his palms, he shot his arms outwards and up towards Koutaku. Instead of manifesting around his arms he created a barrage of fists to create a wall effect.

If the attack didn’t manage to hit Koutaku as such range as he fell it would surely pulverize the tree and branches within a 10 meter distance, while not as powerful to destroy a complete body Susanoo it was at the level where it could destroy a semi completed skeleton.

Koutaku didn’t even hesitate as he watched the lines in Kai’s body tense, he framed the space between Kai and him in his mind and executed his first real jutsu.

While most would not see it coming, Kaijin had a unique advantage unlike anyone else without doujutsu or sensory abilities, he could see the very instant that chakra shot forwards--invisible to the naked eye and the normal senses--forming a 10 meter long cylinder, its radius 1.5 meters; with Koutaku at one end, and Kai at the other. However, even though the edges of this hollow cylinder went around him and Koutaku, he would feel nothing. The chakra was intangible, but only for a moment.

His chakra fluctuated, despite the fact that he hadn’t used the kai handsign to cause it. It appeared that Kaijin wasn’t the only one with excellent chakra control.

Taking in a deep breath, the Iouchiryo layered chakra over his skin and clothes, and then utilized a second technique before the first had even finished.



The Transformation turned the entire surface layer of his skin, and all of his clothes, into a material like metal, but that wasn’t the spectacle.

A kunai already in his right hand, drawn by a chakra thread, with wire attached, and explosive tag ready, he threw it. In the moment that it left his hand, he shifted his body so his back was faced slightly upwards. Adjustments made, he spoke.

“Shinkū-shitsu(真空室 'Vacuum Chamber').”

A tremendous shockwave, formed behind Koutaku, shunted itno position by the cylinder of chakra. For about a second, Kai would feel his breath taken away utterly, with nothing left to be drawn on. He was in a vacuum.

Then, the technique concluded, sending all that gathered wind down the cylinder of chakra at tremendous speeds, rocketing Koutaku forwards, and firing the much lighter kunai directly at Kaijin like a tiny rocket. However, it never reached him, instead, the explosive tag went off, and the pressurized air of Shinkū-shitsu turned from a wind cannon, into one of flames.

The technique on its own was powerful, far stronger than one would expect for a C ranked technique, requiring Koutaku to use about 1/3rd of his chakra for its max output. However, with fire added to the mix it was easily a B or A ranked attack. Thus, as Kaijin executed his ranged assault with chakra, a 3 meter wide hole was torn straight through the middle by the chamber of ignited wind chakra. The light was blinding, the sound was deafening, and the force was overwhelming and it was headed directly at him.

Kai had painted himself into a rather precarious position. It seemed that Koutaku had taken extra precautions and had set up a web of culminated attacks that together would create a symphony of beautiful destruction. The attacks seemed to occur in the blink of an eye. Luckily for Kaijin he had been blessed with the Byakugan and was able to see the constructs made in front of him. First was the cylinder that spanned from Koutaku all the way down to Kaijin as some form of vehicle for whatever he was concocting.

Suddenly Koutaku’s body turned a sleek metallic color, he took the form of what appeared to be metal. However that was a mere feint or a cover for what he was prepared to do next. The kunai aimed at the boy exploded violently. The cylinder was the vessel to transport the explosion all the way down to Kaijin. There was no backing out of this mess or rather there was less likely the opportunity to. However the Eight Gods Vacuum attack was nothing to laugh at. The ability itself was the caliber of high ranking ninjas and at full power could decimate a six path chakra complete bodied Susanoo.

Kaijin buckled down into the earth and condensed the range of the fists and number to increase the power of these fists. The arms would rip through the fire and pulverize the kunai, most likely reaching Koutaku. As insurance, Kaijin condensed two gauntlets around his hands and thrusted down towards the ground, sending his body upwards and spinning. He was gaining enough velocity where he could spin at ridiculous speeds, whatever was left of the fire signed his clothes back. “Hakkeshō Kaiten” (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation) Chakra exploded out of his body creating a small condensed ball of rotating chakra. If it were as if someone had shot a highly pressurized marble into the cylindrical pathway heading straight for Koutaku.



A burst of wind from his feet pushed him upwards suddenly, even as the wire connected to his kunai in the tree behind him went taut, swinging him upwards and out of the way of the powerful fists of chakra and. He moved 2 meters upwards, moving him from the trajectory of Kaijin’s oncoming attack as well. Of course, once he’d gained the necessary momentum, he gave the wire plenty of slack and blasted it back downwards

He had to say, the Hakkeshou Kaiten was a sight to see, but he had studied it as he had studied many other things. It was a spinning vortex of chakra, shaped into a dome or a sphere...and things that spun had a simple weakness.

Koutaku’s fingers twitched and kunai were in his hands, already charged each with two jutsu, the handseals long since prepared. He threw them and they erupted forwards at frightening speeds.



He had thrown 4 kunai at Kai, wire attached as usual and they flew at tremendous speed. So fast in fact that, with him being roughly 5 meters away, there would be no time to change his direction to dodge. Granted, the Rotation would make it so he wouldn’t have to.

Koutaku took a deep breath and focused. His chakra calmed, his aura wavered and then settled, and he felt every sinew of muscle, and every nerve in his body for a moment. His awareness expanded so that he could feel all aspects of his body. He kept his breathing even, but he did not do what he usually did once he’d achieved this state.

Instead...he waited.

He waited for his adversary’s second mistake.

It seemed as though Koutaku had been well versed in trapping and luring his opponents into what seemed like a seven layer trap. Kaijin didn’t really have anything to lose or gain from this test imposed by the Villages. In his own right he already achieved certain prowess in combat, and to fight a potential ally was a waste of time, especially if they had to wear weighted gloves somewhat. Instead of pivoting back or regaining his ground, Kaijin pressed his assault. He was bound to connect once or finally succumb to the boy’s trap.

While he was rotation his eyes pulsated as if they could nearly be seen through the rotating ball of chakra. Even though he was spinning at high speeds he was still able to decisively read Koutaku’s movements even if it didn’t necessarily meant he knew what he was scheming. After all Koutaku had a thing for scheming. The four kunai came at him at volatile speeds, had he not been spinning he might have been skewered like a kebab. However the amount of spinning he was allotted due to his initial push off was enough to deflect the onslaught of kunai, even if it bit into his chakra reserves.

Dispersing his chakra ball while meeting the remaining kunai that sliced his shoulder open was only a mere hindrance. As a participant in the main branch Kaijin was taught special techniques that were limited to just the main branch. “Jūho Sōshiken! (Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists)” he shouted as he released chakra into both his hands forming large guardian lion shaped gauntlets. His range and destructive power was augmented tenfold. Dashing towards Koutaku might have been a mistake but he was risking it all. His first fist what meant to be a ranged attack and if that had missed he would aim his second fist to any part of the boy’s body and drain his chakra.

Just as he’d expected, the Hyuuga, in his arrogance, had allowed the kunai to strike his defensive sphere of rotating chakra. Koutaku’s grin spread wide as the kunai were somewhat deflected, only for the wire to be caught onto the surface of the rotation and pulled around it rapidly entangling it in a web of vicious cutting wire. For while he could not--without considerable preparation--break through the defensive technique, he could certainly tangle it up so that his opponent had one of two terrible choices.

The first was to let the rotation go and attempt to extricate himself, somehow, from the web of durable, sharp wire; while the second was to continue his rotation indefinitely until he tired out, which would allow him to move, but not to launch another attack. In fact, he would run out of chakra, and rotational momentum before that maneuver ever did him any good.

If Kai released his rotation, Koutaku would pull, and the wires would close in, binding the Hyuga completely in place. At this point Koutaku might push himself backwards and towards the ground with a Kazaho, where he would channel chakra through his body, using his leverage, chakra threads, and natural gravity to swing Kai down at the ground. He would amplify this with a supercharged Kazaho, releasing a powerful blast of wind from the top of the tangle of wires, shooting Kai down to earth at considerable speed. He was careful not to make Kai go down headfirst.

Conversely, if Kai did find some way to get out of the wires, the kunai that had struck his shoulder, would suddenly swivel in the air behind kai, the round bit of metal orienting towards his head where it would slam into it, likely knocking him out.

Kai had made his second mistake, the question was...would he get a chance to make a third?

Kai’s headfirst approach was quite admirable, but he knew it was going to fail eventually. With an unknown opponent and having been studied like a book due to his clan history, he was at quite the disadvantage. The sands of time in his hourglass all but ran out, the boy had quite a clever attack regarding the kunai that wrapped around his rotation, the ability to do such a thing was interesting to Kai. He would later have to find out the physics behind it, regardless his rotation was for naught. Like a fly trapped in a spider web the wires wrapped around his body quite comfortably and pulled him towards the ground. Kai acknowledged he was at a disadvantage and in order to save his chakra for the next fight he decided to submit.

Before he could even utter his surrender Shinko appeared and uncoiled the wire binding and returned it to the young tactician while catching the hyuuga and setting him down. Kai bowed to the opposing ninja and accepted his defeat gracefully. Shinko delivered the Hokage’s message to the two that the others were receiving currently. Shinko touched the forehead of both ninja before teleporting them to a random location as he headed towards the other hyuuga battling in the view of Yogensha.

Over, and over, and over - the Med Nin's continued to wrap her legs. She stared at them in with a strong dissatisfaction in her stomach rising. Though they healed them, her muscles still ached in the spots that were hit by the magma. 'Now, you're probably going to have pain...maybe you should sit out and wait till next year?' One of them encouraged, she shot them a look and said nothing. Clearly, the message was received when the man nodded and continued wrapping her legs all the way to her thighs. 'Well, good luck you guys....' Kiku gave him a small smile, "Thank you," and then turned her attention back to her legs. Her boots had been left behind in the challenge, and now she was barefoot and legs were fully wrapped. Kiku inhaled deeply, and ran her fingers over her calves - wincing as the pain was very light, but the sensation of pressure was now a new sensation to her damaged legs. Shinko appeared and gave his speech, her stomach dropped as he said they would all now be against each other. Her eyes quickly moved to Shizuka and then to the other two.

Standing up, she almost sank back to her knees - but instead bent over placing her hands on her knees. Her head now bending down to the ground as her ridiculous amount of lavender hair tumbled down and piled onto the floor. "Shit..." It was like Charlie horses, but worse, the pain aching throughout. Well, it was a new wound. Kiku stood up, and then stretched her arms out to maybe hide that she was in any pain, "I mean...just move forward. It's all we can do now...." She stated, her hands on her hips as she looked over shoulder back to her teammates. Kiku then looked forward into the Forest, it wasn't just Ninja they had to be scared of. Many beasts roamed these woods, and it was unusually silent around them. She couldn't even hear any animals moving around on the ground, or in the trees. Clenching her fists, the girl quickly again looked at all her teammates and raised a hand to her face "Blind World..." She whispered, and suddenly Shizuka, Kurin, and Jaakuna's eyesight would be gone as she placed them under a Genjutsu. It could be broken very easily, and wouldn't last long because of her next move. Kiku then spoke one more time, "Body Flicker" and away she ran into the Forest of Death past Shizuka. Alone. As she moved away, the Genjutsu would fade and their eyesight would return unless they already broke it themselves.

_{@Syn@Reflection@Altered Tundra}

As the proctor declared the match over, he looked a Kaito, his knife still out, still pointing at Nousagi. As Nousagi left with a little speech, he approached the boy.

"Match over, put down the kunai."

Still, the knife was pointed forward, at nothing in particular.

"Drop the knife kid."

And it held forward. Walking to the boy, the proctor waved his hand in front of his face. No reaction. He pressed down against the raised arm, but Kaito resisted.

"How!? He's out cold? I guess there's a definite winner then. I guess its up to me to tell the Hyuga kid."

After calling for a medic-nin, he ran into the backroom, finding the heir and the branch member.

"Well, it seems we have a winner. Chosokabe is out cold.
(OOC note: While might be pissed at fight, I respect a draw. Respect it enough to give you a win for it.)

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



Ai fumed as the beast disappeared.

"Raiju needed more a lesson. Whatever my rank, being a Miko as well as a ninja, it was my prerogative to teach him it!"

Ai squeaked a rock fell by her, reminding her of the situation. It was time to get out of there. Ai first gathered her tags on the Raijin that were left. Another rock fell by her, making her groan.

"Come on. Not like a little rocks going to stop me. I've got too many things to see! Like, I want to explore the forest! These tags are way too annoying to remake."

Finally grabbing the last one, she exploded into a blaze of papers, exiting the building and heading out with her team towards the forest of death. As they made it there, the storm of papers spoke, forming a mouth against the paper.

"Good job everyone. Couldn't have done it without you. I'm glad I had you all for this."

They finally made it to the instruction site. Listening to the broadcast, Ai nodded furiously. It seemed the next part was really just fighting. That was rather boring. Ai just wanted to explore the forest. Ai looked at the scroll and shrugged. She walked behind Ayame, putting her hand around her shoulder from behind. She lightly tapped her on the hip with the other.

"Well, I suppose those I should thank those Kouken barriers of yours. Hey, Ayame, I know you're older than me, but would you mind if I just shared a thought? If you make it to the exit quickly, you can catch a slow poke. Just get their fast as you can. I'm heading off. Man, I've been bossy today. And I'm the young one! Oh well, I'll buy ya dinner or something here. Really, I couldn't have done it without you. Now, time to enjoy myself."

With a smile, Ai gave the strangest movement of passing her fingers in a V over her eyes. In an explosion, she exploded into paper again. Ai was almost out of chakra, but she didn't want to give that impression to those around her. 'sides, she only had one more place she was going to.

Flying around, she headed towards a high point in the forest.

They must be watching over the exams. Short range communication, transmitted to a hill, best place to watch is at the source, near the center for best coverage of whole forest. First exam was fun, I'm glad I was able to meet Raiju and Raijin. Still want to slap Raiju. Oh well, I'm done.

She reappeared in the distance as a person, officially out of chakra. Making her way to a tower disguised as a tree, Ai opened the door. Yep, it was an observatory room. Looking around, Ai noticed the Hokage, Tsuchikage, and one other. She raised her hands, both completely empty.

"Hey, just here for the show. So this is where you were watching. Oh, don't worry, I'm not participating now. Donated my scroll to charity."

She flashed the Tsuchikage a friendly grin. He'd know who she was talking about.

"Won't even know I'm here. 'sides, I can help you with the radio next time. Also, are there snacks here?"

Without waiting for an answer, Ai walked to the back of the room, and plopped down against the wall, watching the monitors.

-----------

Wind Trial

As the wind group made it through the tracks, the jonin stopped attacking. True to their word, once they were out of the wind barrier, they didn't pursue, though they did continue shooting arcing vacuum spheres for a good mile out. Past that, they grew more and more sparse til they disappeared completely.

Making it to the obvious tracks, there were no sign of human involvement. It would take them a good hour of tracking to get to the end. IT would almost seem like the tracks went on forever until, finally, they made it to a clearing. Symbols covered the ground. As soon as the group moved to grab the scroll, they would activate, taking them straight to the announcement area.