Ask to Join Naruto: One's Nindo

[Hecotoro]

Asahi replied back with a big grin. She got up and dusted herself clean, turning towards Chang-Chang, "If you ever need a super bear hug, let me know, I won't charge you much, but I can guarantee quality." With a smug smile she took a sit next to her sister Sagiso, pulling out an incomplete deck of cards. "Go fish?" She said as she began to shuffle away, trying to look professional but kept dropping cards and putting them back in. "Oh!" Asahi stopped as she dropped the cards and showed her finger to her sister, showing a long paper cut. "This isn't serious is it? I just noticed it? I stained this card." She offered the card to her sister. "Keep it, it's your lucky card now." With that Asahi continued to shuffle her cards before she started passing them out, wondering when Cupcake would return, if she would.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Shiho continued to back away from the black rain, she had hoped that her attacks would have disrupted her opponent's early start. However, looking back to where Raiku once stood, the girl found that the boy had suddenly vanished. "Huh? Where did he go?" No longer having the location of her opponent available, the young Hyuga quickly shifted into a more defensive pose. That was when the Uchiha boy suddenly jumped out of the water and threw a Kunai at her.

Shiho was about to move out of the way when the surprise Genjutsu cast by Raiku reached her before she could react, freezing her in plance just enough for the Kunai to reach her. "Oh crap I can't move, even if I break out now I won't be able to stop that Kunai from hitting me." Panicked, the girl began searching for a way to avoid a grave wound at the very start of the match. Thinking back on all the techniques she was taught, the girl managed to remember one that would be of great use in this situation. "I got it, I don't know if I can pull it off but its worth trying."

As the Kunai reached Shiho, the girl was able to break out of the paralysis. Bringing her arm up, it appeared as if she was going to block the projectile with her arm and sacrifice it to avoid a more deadly injury. However, the girl had other plans. As soon as the blade made contact with the skin, Shiho sent out a wave of chakra at the point of impact and instantly blew the Kunai away, leaving behind only a shallow cut from what could have left a dangerous wound otherwise. "Phew, I'm glad that worked out." The girl internalized. Quick to retaliate, Shiho used her other hand to take out a pair to shuriken which she then launched at the airborne Uchiha.

 

[SageNeb]

Raiku realized Shiho was going to send a pair of shuriken to him as soon as she began moving her hand towards her pocket to take them out. Instead of trying to block or dodge the attack, he let Shiho continue while creating his own hand seals. When she sent the pair of shuriken out, he casted another genjutsu. From Shiho's point of view, the shuriken would reach Raiku and he would start falling while wounded. In reality, Shiho would hesitate and Raiku reaches the ground before the attack hits him. He then Body Flickers to Shiho and uses the acceleration of the jutsu in combination with coating his hand on fire to send an attack at the temple of the Hyuga's head.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Hisato watched the Kunoichi catch his whip and was ready to pull his whip and continue the fight, but he heard her call out.

"S-s-surren... Surrender? Are you sure about that?" Hisato said before watching her buts dissipate.

Hisato stood there confused.

"It was a good fight. *Huff puff* Good job! Your a good fighter" Hisato said. Hisato continued standing there trying to look like he wasn't tired. Hisato was greatly relieved that the fight was finally over. He staggered back before stepping forward. Looking around to spot the judge, but not looking away from Karui in case this was a trick.

 

[Retro Master]

As Smiley perished along with the dying embers of the wildfire, there had been a brief moment of silence among the crowd. Perhaps it was to mourn and show respect for the deceased girl. The boy had clearly not meant to kill her, but a lack of caution by Taiyo combined with the carelessness of his opponent led to a fatal disaster. Frankly, the Leaf genin was lucky he didn’t have the guilt of taking more than one life on his conscious. Leaf jonin, who had already been in the nearby vicinity were able to neutralize its spread before it could seriously harm the spectators.

Once the panic had died down, it soon became very apparent to everyone that had been watching that there was a person missing. Smiley. Not much was not about the young Kunoichi. There were only two other girls who were a part of the same unknown village as her. One of them had left after a rather eventful loss while her other comrade continued to fight. Neither would know what had transpired until it was too late unfortunately. Needless to say, the crowd had been stunned. As the boy broke down after coming to terms with what he had done, the crowd only watched on. Some mourned. Some showed with respect with a bow. Others...

“GET THE FUCK UP P****! YOU WERE GONNA KILL US WITH THAT FIRE TOO!”

“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SOME CONTROL, NOT START A WILDFIRE!”

“YEAH! WILDFIRE TAIYO!”

With that proclamation, more and more shouting directed at Taiyo could be heard as the crowd returned to an uproar.

—————————​

“Thank you for the understanding.”

Minato stated his thanks after short chuckle in response to Ay and Onoki. His attention was primarily on battle Karui was in. Of course, he hadn’t missed the rowdiness of the crowd in reaction to the act of one Taiyo Akugami. It was a displeasure to witness death in a controlled setting, especially at the hands of one of his own. However, this death wasn’t completely a negative thing. Although Asahi had seemingly perished in the flames, there was not a single Hasa ninja who made a scene.

The instantaneous reaction by the Hasa ninja who rained fire over a different battlefield just because Lady Hinagiku had stepped into the arena from their point of view was no where to be seen. They had been so defensive for the safety of their own then, but could care less now. Especially when it came to the one that was suspected to have the byakugan. Something didn’t add up. Unless, they were worried about Lady Hinagiku interrogating the first girl. Surely, they would’ve reacted the same if another Leaf Shinobi stepped in for Smiley.

The thing was, Smiley herself perishing here would’ve been the perfect way to get the Leaf to dismiss pursuing her any further. Then the real Asahi could be free to roam around again with the Leaf under the presumption she was dead. That would be quite the deception. A Shinobi must read the hidden meaning behind hidden meanings. If this was truly an act, it was all the more reason for Minato to be suspicious of Hasa. Who were they? Why were they here? What were their goals?

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Hisato retracted his bones by the end of the fight.

He watched the cloaked man with orange eyes officially end the fight.

"Huh? Oh y-yeah, sure" Hisato said pausing to look at the man.

though before Hisato could leave the floor he heard the man wish to ask Karui questions. Hisato looked over at Karui with confusion and wonder. Why did the man want to ask her questions? Why not him too? What reason did he or anyone have to question this girl? Did she do something? Was it because she surrendered? Hisato didn't know, and he didn't feel good enough to stand around and ask his own questions. Hisato smiled and nodded at Karui and assumed the questions were just minor ones. No big deal. Hisato made his way off the stage to get his wounds treated.

Hisato saw the white mist and snow. He didn't want to go to the medical bay just yet. What was going on? Wait, woah?! What's happening?!

"Woah?! Who is that? What's she doing with Karui?! Attacking? Defending? I don't understand... Back off...? She's obviously talking to the other guy. Hisato glanced at Karui and the others with confusion, but now great concern for what was to happen next. Hisato clutched onto his wounds and picked up his pace as he attempted to hurry off the stage.

Maybe lie down for a bit. Chat up some of the other ninjas or something.

"I technically advanced to the next round, I guess. Huh... I wonder who all reached the next round, but I'm so confused... What the hell is going on out there?" Hisato wondered. Hisato looked around to see which ninja he would talk to next. After getting healed Hisato wandered off and made his way wandering around from room to room, looking for some ninjas to talk to, to pass the time. Hopefully to stop thinking about how his last match ended. He ended up walking over to the room Keito, Tomiko, and Azumi were in, "What's up? Hey, I remember you! Poetry guy! How's it goin'?" Hisato asked.

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko naturally realized that she likely had been interrupting something, as in spite of these two having been opponents it seemed that Keito tried to extend good will between them she had the sudden realization that she may have arrived at a bit of an awkward period.

"Oh uh good, I am glad to hear that...if you guys want I can come back later..." Tomiko said with a sheepish rub of her head as Azumi seemed to get the impression this one was quite, animated if nothing else but the fact she came to check if he had been okay said more than a lot of Genin teams to be truthful. With a sigh, she decided to quell the concern that this girl killed the mood.

"No it is fine. Believe me it wouldn't be the worst thing to deal with..." Azumi assured, which Tomiko guessed was meant to be an assurance to her but that just made the Iwa-Genin blink before she smiled as given Keito had handled intros she figured she could show a degree of sportsmanship to the Genin who had bested one of her nation's own.

"Oh well uh good to hear. You were pretty good out there, I only wish I was able to make the finals cut and get a crack at it. But there's always next year. Can't keep the future Tsuchikage down!" Tomiko said as she seemed to carry a positive energy to her in spite of falling just short of the finals, a bit of a natural extrovert if Azumi had to judge though her declaration at the end had caught her attention.

"Future Tsuchikage huh?" Azumi asked, as Tomiko nodded though she quickly recalled the post-fight rant that had been directed at the Kage and wondered if that had been the best thing to confess to. Indeed, Azumi had seen nothing glorious with such a title...merely one of the five shadows of death that had hung over the ninja world for too long.

"F-for what it is worth uh I do hope we have a better relationship between our villages when I take over." Tomiko said, sheepishly as she tried to clarify which seemed to cause Azumi to visibly scoff.

"Naturally. I can see you already speak the language of a politician. Saying just what the other person wants to hear, talk is easy...don't be disappointed if I don't have expectations beyond that." Azumi mused which had caused Tomiko to frown. Seemed like the cynicism and optimism visibly clashed even as the tension lowered.

"Excuse me, excuse me. Message for Tomiko! Tomiko Usagi!"​

 

[EnviousWorm]

Ugokasenai Keito, Iwa Genin
​

Aware of the wavering tension splitting the room, Keito reached for the back of his head and scratched at his scalp with an awkward, pained cough. Even as the new people entered into the room - one messenger addressing Tomiko, the other, the hyperactive Mist boy who seemed to have an odd lack of natural timing - Keito paused to add his words to the resolving situation:

"Ambition and hope are fine and good, but she's right, Tsooch. You've heard me and Mori talk, nothing comes easier than words." Keito said with a little laugh. Again, even though he spoke out loud, even addressing a different person, his words were as much meant to steady his own resolve as it was to warn Tomiko. Then, he waved his teammate away, almost apologetic. "Don't let me keep you up, someone's calling you."

With little else to do but sit in his hospital bed and rest for a while, Keito sighed, turning his attention to the incoming Hisato.

"It's going great," He replied through unsteady breaths and shivers running down his spine. "I invented a new way to eat. It's a surgery where you carve a hole in your stomach and shove the food in that way. Saves time."

Noticing the general lack of injury on the Mist genin, Keito assumed Hisato had been victorious in his battle, however that might have played out

"Congrats on moving to the next round," He said, offering the basic pleasantry available. With a slightly trembling thumb, Keito gestured over to Azumi. "Make sure you don't fight her. She's quite the surgeon."

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Raiku's illusory deception worked once again against the young Hyuga girl. Thinking that she hit her mark, Shiho prepared her follow up attack when she soon realized she fell under another Genjutsu trick. Being mispositioned due to previous misdirection, Shiho was unprepared to react to Raiku's instant body flicker closing the distance between them. Shiho barely had enough time to focus her eyes on the approaching Uchiha, a wave of panic swept her mind as she prepared herself for the inevitable impact of Raiku's attack.

The young Hyuga stared intensely at her opponent's incoming fist when suddenly, it appeared as if her eyes became blank. Shiho's body began reacting on it own as her mind became empty of all thoughts. Quickly bending her knees and folding her whole body back, Shiho was able to narrowly avoid Raiku's flaming fist, only feeling a burning scratch scrape her forehead. Following her evasion move, the young girl spun her body around and aimed a leg sweep at the back of Raiku's knee with the aim of knocking him off balance. She would then quickly stand back up and deliver a palm strike directly into Raiku's chest, intending to stun him with one attack.

 

[SageNeb]

Raiku quickly realized that his attack wasn't going to connect when he saw the Hyuga's body beginning to bend. Instead of following through with his arm, he reached back and jumped over Shiho to behind her, avoiding the leg sweep which she performed after spinning. Then the Uchiha performed a spinning side kick once more surrounded in flames to the side of his opponent's body while she was still trying to perform her counterattack, carefully using his Sharingan to observe any movement that could lead to his attack missing again.

 

[kyuukestu]

Outside the Hidden Leaf — Day of the Exams

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

Several minutes passed, tense and uncertain as the group awaited Lixue’s signal. That signal never came. Instead, after a small eternity, Quiyue descended from the skies with Lixue and Kogane in tow. There was a collective sigh of relief.

“You know the drill, move out!”

Orders given; orders received. The base camp was disassembled with great efficiency and the kunoichi split off into four equal troupes. Their retreat into the land of fire would take four separate paths with occasional rendezvous points.

For their part, Kogane, Smiley, and Roulan belonged to the squad containing Meihui, Qiuyue, Lixue, Ying, and Chang-Chang. The latter of whom, with the crisis passed, had taken the opportunity to completely heal Roulan’s burns.

Their group’s first stop was the seemingly abandoned city of Sora-ku. It was one of many places they were vaguely aware of from information they had gathered from rogue ninja. Beneath the appearance of this ‘abandoned’ city was one of the largest black markets in the shinobi world and it dealt particularly in weaponry.

Always one for killing two birds with one kunai, Meihui had penciled this city into their retreat so more information could be gathered about the existing rogue factions. While Hasa possessed a lot more knowledge than one might expect, it was a little…dated.

The bulk of their knowledge about the outside world had come from travelers and rogue ninja who had been marooned on their island by their predecessors. The travelers had been marooned specifically for the purpose of educating the young kunoichi, who had swiftly adapted a system of exchange; in exchange for knowledge, tutorship, and various other pedagogic services, the budding kunoichi protected and kept the travelers fed. It allowed many of the stars to develop their auxiliary skills: brewery, smithing, herbology, etc.

The arrangement had fallen through in subsequent years when their predecessors had introduced rogue shinobi; at that point, the girls had barely been able to protect themselves. Their initial encounter with the shinobi rogues ended in overwhelming defeat: a full third of their sisters fell in combat and almost the entirety of those under their protection soon followed. The rogues had been strong, stronger than Hasa even with their full array of 108.

Their saving grace had been the scattered loyalties of the rogue shinobi. After the first major engagement, the rogues had quickly split into their own factions and survival meant learning to play these factions off each other. The current 48 Stars were a testament to the success of such tactics and their fortune…if that could even be considered fortunate.

Land of Fire | Abandoned City of Sora-ku — Day of the Exams

After a few hours of travel, the group arrived at Sora-ku and were allowed to wander as they pleased under the watchful eyes of their elder sisters: Lixue from the ground and Quiyue from the sky.

With a moment’s respite, the core-trio were ostensibly on their own and Roulan’s first order of business was to spread her arms wide…

“Well?” She scoffed, staring accusingly at Kogane and Smiley. “We gonna hug or not?

Spoiler: ”Star Dossier”

Rank # “Star Title” – “Nickname” | Name: “Name taken upon inheriting the star title” (True Name [if revealed])

Rank 3 Knowledge Star – Resourceful Star | Name: Wu ‘Meihui’

Rank 6 Majestic Star – Panther Head | Name: Lin ‘Lixue’

Rank 9 Hero Star – Arrow-Spear Double Absolute| Name: Hua ‘Quiyue’

Rank 22 Killer Star – Black Whirlwind | Name: Li ‘Smiley’ (Asahi)

Rank 36 Skillful Star – Prodigal/Wanderer | Name: Yan Xia ‘Roulan’ (Sagisō)

Rank 48 Golden Wings Star – Golden Wings Brushing Against the Clouds | Name: Ou ‘Kogane’ (Karui)

Rank 56 Efficacious Star – Divine Physician| An ‘Chang-Chang’

Rank 107 Thief Star – Flea on a Drum | Name: Shi Xiu ‘Ying’

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi had her hands behind the back of her head as she looked, letting out a small whistle, impressed by the new location. The Leaf had been a boring and worrisome experience, something she hoped she wouldn't have to go through again. But now it was different, she was with her beloved sisters, the super ultra dynamite trio, name to be confirmed yet. While the state of the city they were in was interesting, Sagiso's words caught Asahi's complete attention.

"Group hug!" The young jinchuriki called out before jumping in for a big hug. "You guys took so long at the exams and I became the top poker player in Hasa but it was all worth it!" She had no idea why but she thought they must've done something right.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Seeing as her counterattack failed to connect, Shiho's body swiftly reacted to the change in a appropriate manner. Weaving some hand signs, Shiho quickly spun around while standing back up her legs to face her Uchiha opponent. Taking short quick steps to close the distance, Shiho minimized her movements in order to get to Raiku faster. The young Hyuga reached her arm out beside her to catch Raiku's flaming leg with her hand. While it appeared like a dumb move, it was all part of her plan. As the fire would have collided with the girl's hand, which would have left a nasty burn, a stream of water shot out from her palm. This was a Water Bowl Jutsu, the technique she had prepared with her prior hand signs.

Aiming to use the water to throw off Raiku's rhythm, Shiho sent a quick uppercut to the Uchiha's chin with her knuckles.

 

[SageNeb]

As Shiho turned around Raiku noticed the water chakra in her palm and realized she had an attack prepared for him. He let her perform the jutsu but was prepared for it which stopped his opponent from throwing him off. Instead, he took out a kunai to prepare for a follow up attack and blocked the uppercut using his left hand while slashing at his opponent's arm using his right hand.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"Tsuchikage... Hmmm... Ambitious goal, but clearly confidence in plentiful" Hisato commented on the future tsuchikage commentary. Kage titles didn't matter that much to Hisato. Being kage seemed like more responsibility than Hisato cared for. Though he had no intentions in sharing his thoughts fully on the subject. Hisato also wondered what her end goal for becoming Tsuchikage. Was it for power? Did she truly wish to make her homeland a better place? it really didn't matter much to Hisato so he didn't press the discussion.

Hisato looked over at Keito. "Huh... Cause the food goes straight to the digestion... Good thinking! Though do you even taste the food though? Be ashamed if you couldn't enjoy the taste of a good meal. Hmmm... I guess theres always pros and cons to everything" Hisato said.

Hisato held up his thumbs as well.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Karui could still hardly believe they had managed to exit the Leaf without being confronted. From the moment she had ended her match with an unfortunately unsatisfying surrender, she had been on edge, expecting to be surprised at any moment by a team of Leaf Anbu or Hyuga. But they had made it out in the end, and that was something worthy of a little celebration. And a cat. Karui gave a small smile and joined the hug, encircling her sisters in a tight embrace. “I’m still in disbelief myself,” Karui admitted truthfully, “but I am glad it worked out how it did. Hopefully this quest does not turn out to be quite so nerve-wracking,” she added with a wry grin.

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Abandoned City of Sora-ku (Sept 25, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

Hasa thrived on their bond of sisterhood, a bond that was exemplified in the warm embrace the trio shared. The creeping chill, a herald of the coming winter, vanished away as Roulan pressed her cheek to her sisters'...bussums as she was sandwiched between her two sisters. Silently, the Skillful Star's hands crept higher and higher, snaking onto the shoulders of her siblings. With a firm push and a kick at their legs, she sought to lower them a few inches.

The beginnings of a scowl adorned her lips and she scoffed, "Stop being taller than me."

"This quest?"

The unspoken reference to Smiley's cat was lost on Roulan, but a quick glance at the person in question soon jogged her memory.

"Ohh...right, right...cat. I almost forgot about that.

"I'm sure we can find a stray cat somewhere around here, once we find one that...Smiley...likes, we'll just pick it up."

The odd pause in her words came at the completely unnatural way in which Asahi's chosen name rolled off the tongue. It sounded less like a reference to a person and more like a reference to a poorly named dog; and while the mental imagery was fitting, it was hardly appropriate.

"You need a new name—a real name this time."

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi squeezed her sisters tighter, showing off her famous bear hug technique. The mention of the cat made her stop trying to squeeze the eyes out of her sisters and loosen up. She had almost forgotten about such thing.

"Yes!" She jumped back and began looking around with her hands over her eyes like fake binoculars. "We get a cat and I need a new name." She lowered her hands and shot her sisters a confused look. "New name? What's wrong with Smiley, I think it brings out my best feature. What else could it be? Pretty eyes? Too long, Expert fighter, true but doesn't have a nice ring to it, master of the art of ninjutsu? Hmmm fitting but I don't like to brag. What about you call me Sensei?"

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Abandoned City of Sora-ku (Sept 25, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

“Wha–“ Sometimes it really was baffling…just how air-headed this sister of hers could be. No wonder she was born with wind release. “None of those are names you dingus!”

It was evident that left to her own devices, Asahi—she was no longer Smiley, for Roulan had rejected Smiley—would only create more odd titles instead of names.

“Expert fighter my ass—How about Kogane and I, come up with names for you and you choose whichever one you like best?”

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi looked offended by the rejection of her expert fighter name. She raised her fists up and her left knee. "How about we fight for the right to name everyone?" She looked confident and ready to start when she then began to look sad. "Wait what about Riceball and Cupcake? Those names were perfect!"

 

[=Nightshade=]

“Ureshi could be a play off of Smiley, meaning ‘glad,’” Karui mused. “And it does seem more name-like—“ She chewed her lip, pondering, then almost bit through it at the mention of the very food-centered, not-very-namelike names. She didn’t want to completely shoot down her sister’s genuine belief in her naming abilities, but secretly felt bad for whatever child Asahi may end up having. “I… well… while Cupcake and Riceball may be… acceptable names…” in some place unlike this one, she added mentally. “…they do not quite… capture the essence of Sagiso and myself in the same way that… our current names…do.” She placed a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “But perhaps you could name your cat after food,” Karui said with a slight smile.

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Abandoned City of Sora-ku (Sept 25, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

“You’ve had one good idea all day and Cupcake and Riceball weren’t it.”

Roulan had no idea why Asahi thought a fight was a good idea; after all, Kogane and her had recuperated from their injuries and their chakra had been partially restored during their journey. It was quite an even fight. Maybe the girl was just itching for some action?

Joints cracked, creating a pleasant medley as Roulan rolled her neck and wrists.

“Stop shilling Kogane, give it to her straight—" Roulan turned to Asahi "You suck at naming."

"So three-way fight—winner gets to choose the other team’s names? What are the rules? First hit wins? Who ever gives up? Knock-Out?”

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi's eyes filled with rage and betrayal as she heard Sagiso's words. The name choosing had become personal, one was that Karui was being nice, but Riceball seemed to be looking for a fight. It was time to make sure, they knew their names were Riceball and Cupcake.

"First hit! One, two, Go!"

She went straight for a round kick towards Sagiso, completely on purpose, to just to make sure either her or Karui got the naming rights.

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Abandoned City of Sora-ku (Sept 25, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

The sudden round kick had caught Roulan off-guard, striking her chest with breath-taking power.

“You—” To strike her while she was still talking; urkk—of all the backstabbing, two-timing, double-crossing—"Butt-sniffer!”

Back against the wall, her hand came to her chest, rubbing the spot where Asahi had struck. Her eyes narrowed.

“You asked for it.”

Roulan leaped into the air, then kicked off the wall behind her to throw herself to the other side of the street. While in mid-air she wove two hand seals and sent a volley of a dozen sticky shuriken towards Asahi and Karui.

After landing on the opposite wall, she intended to take more distance, racing to the building’s roof before Karui could.

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko wanted to interject even as it seemed Keito backed up the Rain girl, but she had no time as indeed her attention had been called away as she walked to the doorway and had seen what she guessed was an Iwa-delegate as she blinked a bit confused by why she of all people had been called.

"Uh, this is she?" Tomiko replied, as she naturally had been curious what this was about.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, we've had to drop a pair of competitors and thus needed to reshuffle the bracket. Given you had been one of the first to finish the second exam outside of those who advanced to the finals, you have been asked to fill in and compete." The Iwa-representative explained, as he passed a slip for Tomiko and further added on.

"This is the arena you shall compete in. You have five-minutes." The ninja specified, before he vanished in a puff of some which left Tomiko dumbfounded as she struggled to process what she was just told. Not five-minutes ago she had come to peace with being out of the exams, only for a technicality to grant her a second chance.

It was not the ideal way she wished to get to the finals, but she had not been about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Quickly the shock faded as she glanced back at Keito and tried to relay her message in a hurry.

"HeyKeitoguesswhatIaminthefinalsokaygottagogetwellI'llkickassdon'tyouworry!" Tomiko called out, but with such a frantic delivery it had been uncelar if anyone had capacity to understand it. But she had no time to make sure she heard him as quickly the Iwa-Genin dashed off with a grin on her face as circumstances aside she seemed eager to test herself against this group of Genin.

With Ketio out, she had all the more motivation to go out and raise hell. Time to show these guys who she was!

----------
Azumi blinked at Tomiko's rather...hard to follow closing comment, before she dashed off as the Ame-Genin sighed. These people seemed too strong personalities for her liking, and just when things seemed to quell down a new face appeared. One who also seemed to spark a chat with her former opponent, so either he had just an unmatched charisma or way more friends than she could've guessed.

Still, she had taken note of his comment which talked her up to Hisato which caused her to raise an eyebrow. Seemed after that physical and mental war he had been all too eager to praise her; an honest admission, or just him attempting to "make up" what he had put her through in the Genjutsu? She had no way to discern intent so she simply decided to take the comment though not without a reply.

"All this flattery makes me wonder if you are trying to sell to the judges the "quality loss" argument." Azumi mused.

----------

"What...a bracket change!?"

"Why were we not told this sooner!?"

"Damn it I already put down this month's salary in this match! This Kumo kid is gonna screw me!"
​

Needless to say that murmurs of some scheduling conflicts due to dropped participants had began to make minor waves among the crowd. Among them had been the arena that Kenji had been assigned to last minute, and it went without saying that some vocal members of the crowd in large part betters had not been pleased. After all, nobody in the crowd had anyway or anytime to know of him and thus he had been largely seen as a disappointing replacement.

Something that Sky had taken offense to, as she growled a bit while she and Thundra walked alongside Kenji into the arena. Though Kenji seemed to take this all in strike as he quickly scratched the back of her ear to calm her concerns.

"Hey, when people don't have any expectations that just means it is easier to blow them away." Kenji said as he moved with what seemed to be a cool confidence. Really no matter what he did this was all for him to gain really: He had not been supposed to be here, so he had no real stock to lose going into this. He either was gonna advance, or he'd have to wait for the next exams which he had already been prepared to do not ten minutes ago.

So, why not go crazy and really show people what he could do?

Sky and Thundra seemed to sense this "nothing to lose, everything to gain" mindset and both seemed as dare one say it excited as Kenji as they moved in position and waited for their opponent to arrive.

Kenji smirked to himself, result be damned he was gonna leave an impression.​

 

[EnviousWorm]

Ugokasenai Keito, Iwa Genin​

Part of him zoned out a little bit as Tomiko received her news; he hadn't even quite processed the whole situation until his squad mate was half-way out the door, shrieking some sort of hard-to-make-out promise to Keito as she fled to wherever she was needed. Keito wanted to shout back some sort of congratulations; the fresh stab wound in his gut made the energy fizzle before he could expend it, instead leading to him giving a deeply frustrated sigh as the sound Tomiko's footsteps finally disappeared.

"Huh... Cause the food goes straight to the digestion... Good thinking! Though do you even taste the food though? Be ashamed if you couldn't enjoy the taste of a good meal. Hmmm... I guess theres always pros and cons to everything" Hisato said, rambling on at an almost faster pace than the excitable Tomiko had upon her sudden exit.

"Y-yeah..." Keito replied, gripping at his forehead then as if he were in sudden pain. That was twice now that he'd felt such a sharp, jolting shock pass through his brain after talking with the friend Mist genin. "I doubt I'll be tasting much for a while, anyway."

"All this flattery makes me wonder if you are trying to sell to the judges the "quality loss" argument." Azumi mused from her position off to his side.

"I am not a merchant," Keito replied simply. "I'm not selling wares. Judges be damned. The exams be damned. I could be a bitter, resentful loser, grumbling, whining — and for what? I take no pride in the battle I fought. At least I can take pride that my foe was a formidable one."

The Ugokasenai boy had come to terms with several things during his fight and conversation with Azumi: the most important being that he'd fought his best — and his best was far from sufficient.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"Nothing wrong with a good old fashioned ass kicking. Folded like an omelet! Beaten like your father shoulda done! Clapped! Defeated. And that's okay! Cause you went out there and gave a hell of a show. Great fighting is better than Meh, you won" Hisato commented on the quality loss comment.

"Ah... Sad... No taste buds... Sad... Get well soon then" Hisato said.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Unlike most of his peers, Taiyo had sustained minimal injuries from his bout with a recently deceased Smiley. He ended up spraining his forearm after blocking Smiley's strongest attack, but that was healed almost immediately after entering the medical chamber. With nothing better to do with his time, Taiyo had found himself staring at the bottles of ash that he had collected.

I...

"Ya alright, kid?" Before the genin could complete his thought, his sensei entered the medical room. Satō was the first person to arrive to either check or comment on him. While there were jeers from a select few in the crowd, many just preferred to stay away from the kid that subjected their peer to a horrible death. Taiyo gave a weak, confused look at his teacher, unable to ask if he was supposed to give a serious answer, but managed to communicate his thoughts regardless.

"I guess I deserve that. Dumb questions get dumb answers, if any at all," The older shinobi chuckled to himself before sitting down next to his student, "Your folks will be watching the exams from here until they end; your mother figured it would be safer here and I was in no position to disagree." Taiyo nodded slowly, averting his gaze from his teacher. Concern for his student allowed Satō to address what he believed was more important.

"Don't let this match get in your head." Although the words were meant to be comforting, the tone suggested that the Jonin was giving a command, "The unfortunate truth about this line of work is that people die. And not all of them die on purpose. Some of them die based on poor planning, some of them die based on arrogance, and some die due to no fault of their own. Whether you meant to kill her or not is irrelevant. She's dead, you're alive, and if you don't snap back to reality, you may end up dead as well." The words got through to Taiyo, causing him to look at his sensei while standing up.

"Alright, I'll try to stay focused." Taiyo gave a small, firm nod towards his sensei, allowing the older Jonin to crack a smile.

"That's all I can really ask for. Another thing, I've observed the recordings of the match between your two potential opponents in the coming round. Between the two of them, the white haired boy proved to be the victor. He's capable of utilizing wind release, though it seemed to be supplementary and defensive jutsu only. I shouldn't have to tell you that wind is a terrible defense against fire. More interestingly though, he was creating a variety of weapons out an unusual white material. So far I've seen gauntlets, a whip, bullets and a shield. I've taught you how to deal with armed opponents, but in terms of armored opponents, I recommend that you use swift, powerful strikes at the source of armor while also looking for an opening that is uncovered." Taiyo nodded along as his teacher exposited valuable wisdom for his upcoming fight. However, a question came to his mind.

"Where'd you find the recordings anyway?" Harkening back to an earlier remark, Sato exited the room without elaboration.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Karui’s eyes widened in momentary surprise before she giggled in amusement. While the fight held no real point in Karui’s mind, it was certainly entertaining. She didn’t want to be outright targeted, but she thought it’d be fun to watch. So as Sagiso’s round of sticky shurikens came flying towards them, Karui ducked back and forth to avoid most of them, but reached out a hand, allowing it to be nicked by the blade. She looked at it, feigning overdramatic surprise. “Ay me, I’ve been strucken! Striked? Struck? Stricken? Oh dear, I suppose I have been eliminated~“

The girl held up her hand, which had what looked like a paper cut on the side of her pinkie finger, coated in sticky water, trying and failing to hold in her laughter. “Alas, I have failed in my endeavor to win the naming rights! The endeavor that I strove, uh… so desperately for!” Karui relaxed back against the nearest wall to watch, still struggling against snickers. It had been a while since she’d been able to laugh like this, and it felt like the stress from the chunin exams was bleeding out through the nick in her finger.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Noticing that her attack had not gone through as she had planned, Shiho's body began trying to come up with a solution in the very limited window of time before Raiku's Kunai stabs into her arm. Without many options left, Shiho unfolded her fist back into a palm which was now facing Raiku. Chakra began qucikly building up inside her palm before suddenly, a massive wave of chakra erupted towards Raiku. However, the technique appeared to have been imperfect as half the force of the attack instead imploded into the arm, sending the young Hyuga sliding back quite a distance and into the wall of the arena.

The sudden jolt of pain caused by her own attack seemed to have brough life back into Shiho's eyes as the young girl growned in pain while holding her arm. "Argh, what just happened?" Looking at her surrounding, a very confused Shiho attempted to piece together what had happened since she blacked out earlier.

 

[Schrift]

Before the fight:

Mori had approached the stadium, ready for this final test and to be honest why wouldn't he be? He felt like this entire tournament was going to be a breeze. Though as he approached the stadium he felt nervous, just a growing stone of dread weighing down in his gut. Well if he wasn't worried about the exam, what was he worried about then? Simple, Mori wasn't alone. He was being watched, or per say, examined. Mori knew who was here, a member of the tetsushi clan. And not just any member, the rank 3 magnet user. You see, the ranks amongst the magnet users were all determined by how strong you were in the tetsushi clan. Mori was being monitored, his performance was going to be watched. He could feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead, he didn't want to disappoint. He knew where that lead to. He had to win, he had to attain victory and prove his own worth. He knew what would happen if he didn't. Though Mori had a plan ready to liken his chances of not disappointing. As he walked to the stadium, Mori had met up with Yua. He walked with her, his smile seeming slightly weaker than usual but he kept it strong as he tried to hide that nervousness. That dread. He wanted to hide it all. "Heya Yua!", he smiled, as he joined her walking to the stadium. "You, uh, wouldn't mind if I asked for a favour right?", he asked as he looked at her. "You wouldn't exactly mind if I were to ask for a vial or two of your poison right? I know I owe you a gazillion favours, but I'll owe you a gazillion more if you could do that one for me. Name anything and I'll give it to you or do for you in return", he smiled. It was odd how casual Mori was when he spoke to her about it. He was literally asking for some poison to help him beat up other kids his age.

@jade421

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


During the fight:

In the stands a figure with a straw hat stared sat amongst the crowd, accompanied by two Suna nin. Hisskin was fair while his hair was similar to that of Mori's. It was black but just had strips of silver poking through, mainly at the tip of his hair. His eyes were cold and almost empty, he just kept a cold stare pressed onto Mori. He wore light clothing, seeming distant from everything really. This was the rank 3, one of the stronger magnet release users. "Do you think the tiger will show it's stripes?", he asked. Well that was very cryptic and riddled. The men next to him looked down then back to him and within a heartbeat didn't fail to agree to the question. "Well surely he will, he's been training hard. If he were to fail here could you really call him a true magnet release wielder in the Tetsushi clan?". This seemed to annoy the man, his glare icy cold as it was enough to shut them up.

Mori walked into the arena, his face plastered with his usual smile. Jesus this was scaring him inside. Would he show it? Never. But seriously, this was really starting to gnaw on inside him. That anxiety of the rank 3 looking down at him. Even then, Mori walked in confidently. He was going to win this. He had to win this. He wasn't going to lose. He'd die before he'd lose. As Mori walked out, he was wearing his usual long sleeves with his bostaff tight in his grip. On the outside Mori seemed playful, he didn't really look all that threatening. He really look he was ready to spill blood, but boy oh boy was he ready for whatever measures he had to take. "Hey! Hello! I'm Mori Tetsushi! Try to put up a good fight, yeah?", he smiled, seeming almost cocky. Mori bounced up and down a bit as he twirled his staff, he was just waiting for any go to so he can begin fighting. Mori wasn't hatching any plans in his head, he was pretty confident in himself in all honesty.


@Godjacob

 

[jade421]

~~~~~Finals Lead-up~~~~~​

Yua had milled in her own thoughts on what was to come for these finals. After growing up as sort of the black sheep of the Land of Wind, she had a chance to show not merely her peers but everyone what the Tameru Clan really was. Though this added a bit of pressure to herself to perform, and Yua tried to combat that by getting a view of the stadium before the events happened. Yua took in a deep breath as she reminded herself that doing the best she could was the most important thing and whatever happens afterwards well she'd have no regrets over it. Can't let yourself boil over from the stress, got to show everyone what you are about after all...

Yua was broken from her thoughts as she saw Mori approach her an an offer was laid at her feet which caused the Tameru to sigh. "At this point your "I owe you one" count might rise above what you could actually do for me..." Yua said as she seemed to be a touched annoyed he asked her for another favor while he still failed to cover for the whole mess in the Forrest of Death. Still, it was not as if she lost anything due to the fact she made her own poison and another favor well that could be quite useful down the line. "Alright, but you are not allowed to ask for anything more after this. You'll have to make payment first." Yua clarified, before she told Mori to wait as she moved to an area she could not be seen just for that little added level of personal security. After a couple minutes, Yua emerged with a pair of vials that had a light purple liquid inside them as she presented them to her teammate. "Just be careful, this stuff will be as nasty to you as it would you foe if you let it seep in." Yua advised.

@Schrift

~~~~~Finals~~~~~​

Yua arrived to the stadium, staff behind her back and with some butterflies in her stomach that she refused to show. After what seemed like an eternity the day had finally come and Yua in spite of the nerves was prepared to make the most of it. Once the bracket had been made and she was given info on what arena she was to go towards, she had moved to make her arrival though quickly found it not as easy to navigate as she had wished it to be. Still she eventually had arrived to her arena as she saw her opponent already waiting for her as she took a deep breath before she approached.

"Sorry for making you wait, this multi-arena thing still takes some time to get used to. You Tsuki?" Yua asked, as she at the same time worked to get set for whenever the proctor would decide to begin their battle. Yua noted members of her family her clan in the crowd and seemed to have an extra drive upon seeing them; she'd be determined not to let them or herself down.

@sSoul

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi rolled out of the way of the incoming water shirukens and was about to chase after the soon to be called Cotton Candy, but noticed Karui taking it easy. She quickly ran over to her and softly punched her arm. "I win!" Asahi waved towards Sagiso. "I hit both of you! I won!" She called out while waving her arm as if she was too far away to be seen by her sister.

"I, the new found leader of the most amazing trio in the history of histories and the most beautiful one and the smartest, toughest, and not a butt sniffer, here by declare the new names..." She couldn't help but smile proudly, with a mischievous look on her face as names came to her mind. She waited for Sagiso to join the group again before she made her amazing announcement. "You!" She pointed at Karui, "You are now to be named... Sutā!" She then skipped over to Sagiso, "You are now... Buttface!" She burst into laughter and then shook her head, "Kidding, kidding! It's Tsuki and I, drum roll..." She tried her best to mimic a drum roll by slapping her hands against her thighs. " I am now the all mighty Megami, but you should call me, Super Kami Megami!"

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Abandoned City of Sora-ku (Sept 25 5:15 pm, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

“Tsuki…?” Had she heard that name before? It seemed oddly familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember.

“Well—” truth be told, the names Asahi had come up with weren’t as bad as Sagisō was expecting. The name not being terrilbe mitigated the Skillful Star’s desire to actually challenge Asahi’s cheap win. In fact, the only disappointment to come from this little spat was Karui—who received Sagisō’s withering gaze as a reward for her blatant throwing. “That isn’t too bad.”

The alley way they’d occupied darkened as the sun sunk just below on of the high-rise buildings.

“If we wanna explore this place then we should get going, they say night is when Sora-Ku really comes alive.”

 

[SageNeb]

Raiku noticed the large build up of chakra in Shiho's palm but it was already too late. The chakra energy attack hit the Uchiha from a very close distance causing him to be sent a few yards away and it was quite visible he had taken considerable damage. However half of the damage he would've taken was absorbed by Shiho's arm, causing her to also be injured. Raiku shakenly stood up and looked over at his opponent.

Damn it... of course getting close would be dangerous. Who knows what else the Hyuga can do with their amazing chakra control? That said... this fight isn't over. I need to attack while she's still recovering from her attack backfiring against her a bit.

Raiku began doing hand seals and summoned a Crow Clone of him. Then the two continued the hand seals and performed two jutsu, both elemental bullets except one was made out of fire and the other oil. The two techniques would combine and make for a dangerous attack heading towards Shiho's way.

 

[Hecotoro]

"Right, we need to get going then, Suta and Tsuki, we need to focus on our mission..." She paused for a bit, her eyes focused on the roof of a nearby building. "A cat!" She called out, running towards the building jumping off the head of a passerby to give herself more momentum and landing on the roof.

A black figured quickly emerged from the shadows of the chimney and Asahi quickly chased after it. From rooftop to rooftop, she followed in a similar way the figured seemed to be moving, way faster then a normal cat, which made Asahi slowly start to be left behind. Fearing the worst, she joined her hands together and activated her Byakugan in mid jump, allowing to her to better follow her target. After chasing for a few blocks and being left behind, Asahi decided to try and use a shortcut, guessing which way the cat would head to, she began cutting through buildings, jumping in through the windows, bursting out of doors, making many people upset as some where startled by the running ninja suddenly in their home. The plan worked however, as she burst through an open window and landed on the roof of another house and right in front of the cat.

To Asahi's surprise, it wasn't a normal cat. It was black, wearing a ninja like kimono, with her back legs bandaged in black bandages and her front legs in dark purple. The outfit was dark purple in the bottom and a blue on the top. It had a large pink bow on the back and a small sword in it. Her big shiny yellow eyes were set on Asahi as it opened its mouth, revealing sharp little fangs and letting out a loud hiss.

"Why are you chasing me!?" The voice of the cat gave the hint it was a girl.

Asahi couldn't help but wiggly with excitement and joy, it was the perfect cat! "Here kitty kitty kitty!" Asahi bent down and took out a cookie from her pouch slowly offering it to the feline in front of her.

"Seriously?!" The cat, who stood on her back legs, place her front right paw on the handle of her sword. "Step away or I will slice you up!"

"Pspspspsps..." Asahi's big eyes focused on the kitten as she crept closer with the cookie still being held out.

"Are you def or something?! I said I'm going to..." The cat began sniffing the air, as she crept closer to the cookie, snatching it away and starting to munch on it.

Asahi quickly grabbed her by the skin on the back of her neck and picked her up into her arms. "Oh so adorable!"

The cat, realizing she had been captured, began to wiggle, scratch and bite, but it didn't seem to affect her opponent. "Let me go!"

"I'm going to feed you a lot and buy you clothes and teach you how to kill Hyugas!" Asahi held the cat out, making it face her. "What's your name?"

The cat once again reached for her sword, but upon seeing Asahi's innocent face, she couldn't bring herself to hurt the child. "Kas...".

"Kas? That's a great name, I'm Asahi... er, no, I mean Super Kami Megami. I wonder if that will fit in your collar, gotta make sure my cat has my name so they don't kidnap it."

Kas, upon hearing the girl was attempting to keep her as a pet, wiggled herself loose from Asahi's grip and kicked the ninja in the face, jumping off it and running down into the alleys of the streets. Asahi, startled, took a few steps back, tripped and landed on her bottom. "We can't let it get away!"

 

[=Nightshade=]

Karui gave a small shrug under Sagiso’s look, still holding in laughter. She was pleasantly surprised by the new names, and quite glad that she wouldn’t have to be called Cupcake the rest of her days… or until they had another fight to determine names, which would have undoubtedly occurred immediately following the food names coming out. “Star, Moon, and… Goddess,” Karui said, translating the names, and exercising immense self-control to keep the eye-roll out of her voice when she reached Asahi’s name. “Fairly fitting, I’d say.” She cleared her throat and rearranged her features into their usual neutral state. “Oh— it is dark already, isn’t it,” Karui noted after Sagiso’s comment, then felt her face dissolve into a grin as Asahi gave chase to a cat she spotted. “Perhaps this shall be fun.”

The girl’s wings emerged, and she trailed Asahi, slightly behind. She ducked and wove between buildings, avoiding becoming a tarantula hawk pancake, keeping both Asahi and the cat in clear view. Karui relaxed and slowed once Asahi had it in her grip, then shook her head in amusement and gave chase when the cat wriggled away. She picked up speed and turned sharply, trying to cut off the cat’s most likely course at its current trajectory and speed. “Catch it!” she called as the cat changed direction, path forward blocked.

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Abandoned City of Sora-ku (Sept 25 5:17 pm, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

“Hey, don’t jus–ugh, she’s already gone…“ Sagisō sighed and turned, just in time to see the golden flutter of Karui’s wings as she took to the skies. “Aaand, she’s gone too.”

Hesitation slowed her movements, so far, they’re stayed out of the main streets of Sora-Ku, sticking to back alleys and roof tops. Even their fight had caused no greater disturbance than the rowdy bar a block over; all that was for a reason, Sagisō—obviously the mature one—had been warned of the ‘protectors’ of Sora-Ku. Problems tended to…disappear in Sora-Ku, swallowed up by the underworld’s darkness.

“Mmmm.”

Eventually, Sagisō took the roofs. She lagged behind, but it was easy enough to follow the path of chaos left behind in Asahi’s wake. Sagisō followed via rooftop, her eyes peeled for the local authorities.

She raised a curious eye as the odd cat Asahi had captured and snickered when it managed to best her. With Karui’s assistance it would only be a matter of time before the cat was caught, so Sagisō felt no need to intervene herself. Her eyes wandered around the new alley they’d found themselves, the lights of the city left barely reaching its depths. Depths that sparkled with luminescent—Oh no!

The shadows leaped forward and so did Sagisō, nails extended into claws, she clashed with the shadow, catching a turf of fur as it rebounded and vanished into the shadows. It wasn’t terribly strong, but what it lacked in strength, it made of for in speed and flexibility.

“Hmpf– did you think that just one of you would be enough to stop us?”

As her voice fell, a second pair of eyes opened danced amidst the shadows—then a third, fourth, fifth—

A clowder of hisses shook the city; the paved streets cracked, windows shattered, raining shrapnel down on the trio, the shadows grew hungrily, the light of the city vanishing into the dead of night.

“Look alive ladies, we've got trouble!”

 

[Godjacob]

Azumi listened to Keito as he seemed to defend his stance, and much as Azumi tended to assume the worst especially from those with the headband Keito had worn, she sensed he seemed to be telling the truth. And Azumi...had not been sure how to feel about that, such praise from a foreigner being the last thing she expected.

"All we can do is our best, the best thing one can do is reflect on their performance and where they need to improve." Azumi said, after a period of silence from the Ame-Genin. Course, for her it had been more than just "do well feel well", she HAD to win these exams. Yet in spite of this almost obsession and refusal for failure, she seemed to try and pass this bit of advice back to not lament on his loss. Why?

Even she had no way to tell you.

"So...another friend of yours?" Azumi also asked after the comment of the Mist-ninja sounded as she seemed to sense the two were friendly enough with each other.

----------
Quickly his two companions picked up the scent as it seemed a new figure had arrived. His opponent, who if nothing else seemed sure of himself as the Suna-Genin had introduced himself only to be followed by what seemed to be a tease which Sky had not taken kindly too as her growl had suggested. Kenji however? He grinned as he seemed to enjoy his spirit as least this one promised not to be a dull individual which he appreciated.

"Kenji. Kenji Satoru. And I'll let you be the judge of that...just remember, you asked for it~" Kenji mused back with a toothy smirk as the proctor for this match as he exchanged a glance between both ninja and seemed to least sense both seemed ready for what was to come.

"Begin!"
​

Kenji wasted little time as hand signs had began to fly, and while all eyes in the arena had been focused on this match what he had done got special attention among members of the Inuzuka Clan in attendance. Now fighting with ninken had not been too unusual for a ninja of any nation, even if they had been most common among the Leaf...

"Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!"
​

...that however, to say it had been a stunner would've undersold it. Right before their eyes some kid from Kumo had used the signature technique of their clan. Chakra seemed to pore from Kenji as he shifted his stance; his palms rested on the ground, and his nails seemed to be shaped by his chakra as they elongated and became sharpened claws. His teeth grit as the chakra also worked to shape them into sharp canines. One woman in the crowd, who seemed to be an older woman with a silver streak in her hair looked on with her eyes widened and what seemed to be an old greyhound by her side. She had been a bit paled in spite of a darker complexion the moment the name "Kenji" had been announced as a replacement, but what she had passed off as mere coincidence seemed to be a growing realization as she watched practically speechless.

This...this couldn't....is he...

"Sky, Thundra with me!" Kenji called out as both his huskie companions barked in affirmation as they moved beside their partner and soon more hand signs had been made; Kenji's eyes stared intently at his foe, a feral look to them but that proved to be the least relevant visual as another technique followed in rapid succession.

"Ninja Art: Man Beast Clone!"
​

A cloud of smoke formed where Kenji and his two dogs had stood, and once it cleared what seemed to be a trio of identical Kenjis who each bore those beast-like features rested on all fours as they growled at Mori. But in spite of that, a smirk emerged from the middle one as they seemed in their own way excited. "Come on, show us what you got!"

Yeah, they seemed ready. Whether his opponent had been, remained to be seen.​

 

[EnviousWorm]

Ugokasenai Keito, Iwa Genin
​

"Nothing wrong with a good old fashioned ass kicking. Folded like an omelet! Beaten like your father shoulda done! Clapped! Defeated. And that's okay! Cause you went out there and gave a hell of a show. Great fighting is better than Meh, you won" The Mist genin rambled aimlessly. As Hisato prattled on, Keito's often-casual smirk started to curl into a teeth-grit frown. To punctuate the scene, his left eye and eyebrow begin to twitch, just slightly, but the Iwa genin felt a momentary surge of insanity.

"All we can do is our best, the best thing one can do is reflect on their performance and where they need to improve." Azumi said, after a short period of silence. Maybe it was the fact that Keito wasn't used to general, positive reinforcement, but her words seemed to wash over him like relaxing, hot springs water. "So...another friend of yours?"

"Not exactly," Keito replied in full earnest. "We ran into each other a few days ago, chatted a little bit. Hisato or, something, from Kirigakure."

Somehow, he had become the man of many introductions. But it was better than sitting in embittered silence surrounded by foreign agents. In fact, he still didn't feel all that different, lying in a Konoha infirmary — it wasn't all that different from Iwa's in the end, once one remembered there were more colors to life than the grey and brown of endless, stubborn stone.