NSWRPF Archive ~*~<=Way of the Ninja=>~*~

Uchiha Tatsuya
Sunagakure

Tatsuya smiled. He had been correct. The first part of the test focused on their ability to gather intelligence without being caught. The second part of the first test focused on their determination. Those who had weak wills would give up and run away at the prospect of being Genin forever. But those with the determination to push forward in the face of death, those were the ones who truly deserved to be chuunin. Tatsuya didn't applaud like the rest, this was only the fist part of the test after all. No, they still had at other challenges ahead. He needed to keep focused. And that determination was what kept him from jumping out of his seat when the puff of smoke invaded the room.

?Alright you maggots, no time to rest, the second part of your exam is about to be on it?s way. I am Shoto, Mitachi and I will be your proctor for the second phase. As you can see the Chuunin are passing out directions for the third exam. You have one hour to get there or be disqualified.?

Another cloud of smoke appeared and Shoto Mitachi disappeared. The teams started to file out of the large classroom.

????????

Tatsuya, along with Manami, and Jiraiya, followed the map to a large canyon with a man made barbed wire fence around it and several gates. Tatsuya noticed his teammates were silent. He didn't like the looks of this place. From the appearance, they were going to be entering this area and trapped inside with the other teams. That meant fighting was about to begin. He knew it would happen sooner or later, especially considering how cathartic it would be after the mentally taxing first part of the test.

After each team arrived, Shoto Mitachi stood alone in front of one of the entrances.

?Welcome to the second phase of the test. This place is called the Canyon of Lost Souls. Why is it called that? Well you will find out soon enough. Before we start you need to sign a consent form. Just in case you die, cause I am not going to be responsible for any of your deaths. ? He chuckled.

Tatsuya's face became serious at the morbid joke. Consent forms, for something like this? And the name of the Canyon wasn't particularly appealing either. Pushing it from his mind, he realized these were ways of getting the students ready for what was about to follow.

He handed out a paper form to all the Genin before he resumed talking. ? Let me explain the second exam first before signing your consent forms. The second exam is an ultimate survival test. There are fifty locked gates around the canyon. In the middle is a man made lake. Near the lake is a tower. That tower is the finishing line for the task all of you must complete in order to move to the third phase of the exam.?

Mitachi held out his hands and revealed two scrolls. One was red and the other was blue. The blue scroll had the word heaven written on it and the red scroll had the word earth written on it.

?Each team will be given one scroll. Either a Heaven or an Earth scroll. The task is to have both scrolls in possession and enter the tower to await instructions for the next phase. How do you get the other scroll?? He gave an evil smirk at the question before answering.

?Why you fight each other for it. That is how. There are no rules on how you get a scroll. But there is a rule once you get your scrolls. Don?t open the scrolls at all. This is to test your integrity as ninja. For sometimes there are missions such as classified packages that a ninja must deliver. You do not open the package for it can cost you the mission and perhaps cause a major conflict. So believe me you do not want to open the scroll. That is all the warning I will give. ?

?Now knowing what team has what scroll will not be revealed to anyone, but their own team. In the booth to the far right is where you will be receiving your scrolls secretly. Then you will be given a gate number in which you will go to it and wait till the gate opens to begin. While you are waiting for your team to be called to receive your scrolls please sign the consent form and turn it in

 

IC: Hlaalu Eno

After everyone who wanted to leave left, the instructor spoke again:

?Well it looks like we have our lot. Since all of you have decided to stay. I shall reveal the info on the tenth question. As most of you may have noticed the nine questions were not the typical questions that could be answered by most Genin. Therefore you probably figured the only to get the answers was to cheat. This was the test. It was about how you gathered intel. We put several Chuunin in specific areas to be sitting targets to be cheated off of. Those who cheated poorly, failed.?

?Though this was a team effort, it put pressure on every member to not mess things up for their team and focus on the task at hand. In missions , a ninja is sent in squads that are considered high risk missions to gather information. How that is obtained depends on the skills of the ninja. In many cases your life is on the line. If the enemy notices you, there is no guarantee that the info is accurate. Information in your hands can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and village. As a ninja you must know the risk. There is no time to decide if you want to quit, because you are worried you will get hurt or die. Even if you feel that you have sealed that fate for your teammates, if you accept to go or not."

"Those who quit are not worthy of being ninja. This is a leap of faith in yourself, your teammates and in your abilities to be able to accomplish your missions, no matter what the risks are. This is what being a Chuunin is all about. They are captains that lead squads in to dangerous missions at times. There is no room for the weak, if you can?t commit to a mission or your squad then, it will lead to failure of the mission or even death."

?As I said the nine questions was to test your gathering skills and the tenth question was if you decided to stay or leave. Since all of you have remained let me offer you my congratulations on passing the first phase of the exams.?

Eno was glad he decided to stay. He would not be tricked out by bullying questions. Just as he was starting to relax with relief, a puff of smoke and a lout crackle started in the room. A sand ninja stood where the smoke was.

?Alright you maggots, no time to rest, the second part of your exam is about to be on it?s way. I am Shoto, Mitachi and I will be your proctor for the second phase. As you can see the Chuunin are passing out directions for the third exam. You have one hour to get there or be disqualified.?

Everyone, including Eno and his squad, left the room.

They ventured to a place known as the Canyon of Lost Souls, for the ultimate survival test, as Shoto put it. Each team would be given one of two scrolls, would have to get the other kind, and would have to get to the tower in the middle. They would have to take the other scroll from another team.

This would certainly be a challenge. Eno was hoping to meet one of the punks in here who had insulted Oni and teach him a lesson. This is where he and his teammates could show the sand ninja what they were made of.

The teams were given their equipment. Eno was given a map, Akako a Heaven scroll, and Oni a gate number. They went to gate fifteen, and when the bell sounded, all the teams when in.

"We should be careful." Eno said to Oni and Akako. "Stealth is our greatest weapon."

Eno walked into the canyon, looking at the map, hoping Akako and Oni were following. Seeing a pathway to the right that led to an area with more cover, Eno looked to his companions. "I think we should go this way."

TAG: Team One, TEE

 

IC: Ryuu, Yuudai
Canyon of Lost Soulds, Sunagakure

When Yuudai found out that there was no real tenth question and that the first nine questions didn't really decide if they passed the exam or not he was thoroughly pissed. The fact that they were testing them on their abilities to gather information disguise as a test was very clever, ingenious even, but it still pissed him off. Not to mention that the pressure the tenth question put on everyone in the room was very annoying. Many different reactions had occurred and that seem to be what they wanted, to push them to their limits, to question if they really did want to be Chuunin enough to give up everything even the title of ninja.

Yuudai was glad he made decision to stay, he never doubted that he would take the tenth question, he was ready for it regardless of what it was. What he hadn't been sure about was if he would be able to pass it or not.

The proctor for the first part exam had congratulated them with a strange, but almost friendly smile. The new proctor was introduced immediately after they passed, a blond-haired ninja named Shoto Mitachi. They were given directions to where the next part of the exam would take place, the Canyon of Lost Souls.

?Welcome to the second phase of the test. This place is called the Canyon of Lost Souls. Why is it called that? Well you will find out soon enough. Before we start you need to sign a consent form. Just in case you die, cause I am not going to be responsible for any of your deaths. ? He chuckled.

Yuudai was almost sure that was meant to be a joke, but he missed the punch line. So there was a chance they would die, huh? The exam was getting interesting that's for sure.

He handed out a paper form to all the Genin before he resumed talking. ? Let me explain the second exam first before signing your consent forms. The second exam is an ultimate survival test. There are fifty locked gates around the canyon. In the middle is a man made lake. Near the lake is a tower. That tower is the finishing line for the task all of you must complete in order to move to the third phase of the exam.?

The proctor took out two scrolls, one was red and the other was blue, the words Heaven and Earth were written on the scrolls in kanji.

The proctor went on to explaining that each team would be given a heaven or an earth scroll and that they would have to reach the tower with both scrolls in their possession. That meant they needed to battle over teams to obtain their scrolls. Knowing that there was a chance he would have to fight the other leaf ninja from his village, Yuudai felt a strange chill pass through his body. He had to hold back the grin threatening to appear on his face, he was excited.

Team Nine was called to sign the form and receive their scroll as well as the gate number they would be entering from. Yuudai was given the map and Seishou the earth scroll while Karen was told their gate number, Gate One. They went to their gate and waited for the announcement that would start the second part of the exam.

The ringing of a loud bell and the opening of the gates around the Canyon signaled for the start of the exam. Yuudai looked at the map; they had learned some map skills during the Academy and Izumo had gone over the basics with them during their training. He wasn't particularly good at reading the map and Seishou couldn't see so he walked over to Karen.

"Here" Yuudai went to hang the map to his fellow teammate.

TAG: Team Nine

 

Daitô Shirô
Canyon of Lost Souls

Shirô was still reeling from the revelation of the true nature of the tenth question. He had been prepared for an extremely difficult question, one that would take all of his determination... and then nothing.

Nothing.

This was all the damnable proctor's fault. He had pushed Shirô through mental agony, and for what? For the heck of it? Shirô had found himself, only somewhat to his surprise, twiddling with a kunai in one of his pockets. Oh, attacking someone much more experienced than he was was probably foolhardy, but on the off-chance that he managed to connect with the man's forehead...

He didn't have any time to think this through, as another proctor came and carted them off towards the second test. He gave them some instructions, some crap about getting a scroll or some such and...

Attacking the other teams.

Attack? Attack as in...

Attack? Attack as in... As in...

Kill. Kill your enemies.

After all, if he didn't kill them, they'd try to kill Alec and take the scroll. He couldn't let them kill his teammates. They cared about him. They were the only ones who cared about him (Excluding, perhaps, his eldest brother, Ichirô, who had taught him the "technique he should not use again," whatever that meant), and Shirô couldn't let them die.

His fingers twitched around the hilt of his katana as they walked through the gate.

He needed to get the heaven scroll. Alec and Nukaro wanted to become Chunin. Shirô needed to be back at the forge. Failure...

He unsheathed his sword. Failure was not an option!

"So where do we start?" Alec asked. A good question. Shirô wasn't quite sure himself.

Then he remembered the boy who wouldn't shut up. He had had a dangerous look in his eye. He might try to...

What was his name?

"That... stupid person..." Shirô murmured, glancing around at the surroundings. "Back at the... test, he had... He was ready to kill me. I'm... worried. What if he comes after us, Alec? What if he tries to-?" He couldn't quite put it in words. His brow furrowed.

"We need to stop him before he gets to us."

I need to kill him first.

TAG: Team Eight

 

IC ~ Oni/Karen

Niether Oni nor Karen were all to intimidated by the tenth question, and were relieved to pass on to stage two. Oni silently followed Eno and Akako in the gate, and down into the canyon. Eno's uttering of stealth being their greatest weapon was true, and that was why Oni was slowly draining his own chakra to keep his senses alert, and to set singe traps where he found necessary.

"Yes, therefore silence and awareness will be our greatest aid, and adversary. I will continue to follow the two of you, as I have a way to keep better tabs on our opponents..." Oni replied silently, keeping sesnes open and ready.

Karen, meanwhile, found herself leading her team, and wasn't all too impressed with the fact that neither of her teammates where capable of following a map. Despite she managed to accomadate.

"Seishou, would you mind keeping alert, I'm pretty sure you can see chakra outlines, and keep at least two spirits active at all times. Ryuu...would you cover our trail, the best way to keep ahead of the game, is to make sure no one know's your route. I'll keep our alignment and ensure we know where we are." Karen was prepared for how to keep them aware of others without being found themselves.

Tag ~ Tee, other team members

 

Cho-tana Hakkai
Exam Room, Sungakure

Cho was silent as she sat, quietly waiting for the test to be over. Her head ached, and she simply wanted out of the room. She idilly noted that the room had suddenly gotten very empty. It had been packed eariler.. now, barely a third of that remained. He then held out his hand to motion that it was time.

This was it. Cho listened intently.

"Well it looks like we have our lot. Since all of you have decided to stay. I shall reveal the info on the tenth question. As most of you may have noticed the nine questions were not the typical questions that could be answered by most Genin. Therefore you probably figured the only to get the answers was to cheat. This was the test. It was about how you gathered intel. We put several Chuunin in specific areas to be sitting targets to be cheated off of. Those who cheated poorly, failed."

Cho kept her head down. Had it not been for her teammates, she definately would have failed. Her stomach fell. This test was nothing like she would have thought. She kept listening.

Though this was a team effort, it put pressure on every member to not mess things up for their team and focus on the task at hand. In missions , a ninja is sent in squads that are considered high risk missions to gather information. How that is obtained depends on the skills of the ninja. In many cases your life is on the line. If the enemy notices you, there is no guarantee that the info is accurate. Information in your hands can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and village. As a ninja you must know the risk. There is no time to decide if you want to quit, because you are worried you will get hurt or die. Even if you feel that you have sealed that fate for your teammates, if you accept to go or not."

Cho felt sick...

"Those who quit are not worthy of being ninja. This is a leap of faith in yourself, your teammates and in your abilities to be able to accomplish your missions, no matter what the risks are. This is what being a Chuunin is all about. They are captains that lead squads in to dangerous missions at times. There is no room for the weak, if you can?t commit to a mission or your squad then, it will lead to failure of the mission or even death."

... Cho's felt her mind go blank. It was NOT the test she thought it was. She would have....

"As I said the nine questions was to test your gathering skills and the tenth question was if you decided to stay or leave. Since all of you have remained let me offer you my congratulations on passing the first phase of the exams." Cho barely heard him..her mind felt like a fog. She felt like a total failure.. confused. She heard cheering, but she didnt feel like joining it. Her breathing became heavy as she simply listened.

A loud crackling sound appeared along with a cloud of smoke. Once the smoke cleared a blond haired ninja with grey eyes and a Sand Village uniform appeared. Oh goodie. Another one. Werent they going to get a break? Guess not.

"Alright you maggots, no time to rest, the second part of your exam is about to be on it?s way. I am Shoto, Mitachi and I will be your proctor for the second phase. As you can see the Chuunin are passing out directions for the third exam. You have one hour to get there or be disqualified."

An hour. Wonderful. The teams started to file out of the large classroom. She silently followed her team. At least it gave her time to make the horrible headache go away.


~The Canyon of Lost Souls~


The teams were given maps to a large canyon on the far outskirts of the village. There was a man made barbed wire fence that surrounded certain areas that didn?t extend to rock areas, each having its own gate entrance to the canyon. There were several signs on the fence saying Danger Stay Out!!! To the far right was a booth with three Sand Village Chuunin sitting behind it. Interesting set up.

After each team arrived, Shoto Mitachi stood alone in front of one of the entrances.

"Welcome to the second phase of the test. This place is c

 

IC: Ryuu, Yuudai
Canyon of Lost Souls, Sunagakure

Ryuu...would you cover our trail, the best way to keep ahead of the game, is to make sure no one know's your route. I'll keep our alignment and ensure we know where we are."

Yuudai nodded, it was a good idea he didn't want to have any unnecessary fighting. He was hoping they would be able to choose their target instead of the other way around. Doing as he was told he made sure to cover the obvious clues they left. Seishou would be keeping an eye on the enemy so in case they were near they wouldn't be able to track them. Once he was done he caught up with his teammates taking a look around.

The canyon was vast and the terrain itself made finding someone hard enough. There were lots of cliffs as well as rocky pillars, some look stable others look like they could collapse if added too much weight. He wondered what kind of desert animals lived on the canyon and if they would run into any. Also if any were dangerous.

They had five days to get a scroll and reach the tower, it seem like plenty of time, but who knew how long it could take to get to the tower and how long it might take for them to find a team with the heaven scroll. They could fight other teams, but if none possessed the scroll they needed then it would all be a waste of time. They were on a time limit so they needed to plan their moves carefully.

Karen seem to be able to read the map very well, so they were under her guidance for the time. It was probably past midday meaning they had at least a few more hours before they had to set up camp.

"Karen, can you tell from the map how long its going to take to reach the tower?" Yuudai asked not feeling the need to lower his voice to a whisper. Seishou would have warned them if anyone was within the distance to listen to them.

"I have a plan" he added knowing his teammates would most likely question him. Yuudai talked when it was necessary so his words were never wasted on just simple talk.

TAG: Team Nine

 

IC: Kyousei, Alec
Canyon of Lost Souls

"That... stupid person..."

Oh no, Alec thought with some alarm, already feeling his good mood start to slip as he turned towards Shiro, being replaced with concern for his fellow Genin. He had thought, with passing the written exam, that Shiro would be relieved, that any lingering effects of his seemingly breakdown would be washed away and he'd be back to normal.

That...was not the case it seemed.

No doubt by 'stupid person', Shiro meant Yuudai, the other Leaf Genin that looked as if he was going to get throttled by his teammate back in the exam room.

"We need to stop him before he gets to us."

"Calm down," Alec spoke, taking on that - what he had hoped - calming voice that he had used back at the exam room. "We don't know where he is and he and his team don't know where we are." From the initial inspection, the canyon looked to be quite a spacious one and they did say that they had five days to get the scroll that they needed and get to the tower. So if what Alec was now thinking was right, all the teams were expected to take a while to both retrieve a scroll and get to the tower.

Besides, Alec was more worried about the other teams. The ones that weren't from the Leaf Village and thus had less concern for their welfare if they were to fight.

"It's a big place," Alec continued. "And they may not even have the scroll that we need. There are a lot more teams then just his in here afterall."

TAG: Team Eight, Tee

 

Nominki Nukaro
-Sunagakure

Nukaro laughed triumphantly and cheered in the exam room. Later, when they met at a large canyon, Nukaro still had his optimistic attitude, and after discovering that they would be fighting each other for scrolls, he only grinned devilishly and Mung only nodded, but even the bird was ready to test their new ability. He grabbed his stomach and laughed at the other teams. "Prepare to feel the cold embrace of DEFEAT!!"

Mung pecked him on the head, but Nukaro only shouted ouch before he walked into their gate. Shiro had suggested that they go after Yuudai and Nukaro was about to voice is approval when Alec tried to explain that he MIGHT not even have the scroll. Nukaro frowned. "Alec, it is not whether or not he might have the scroll, it is the fact that he is from our village, learned the same stuff we did, and has a scroll. Until we find out which, I say we go hunting, taking out everyone in our path." He activated his Vapor Charge and didn't detect anything around them. He leaped up on a rock ledge and shouted at his team.

"C'mon! We got five days in a canyon full of ninja! No time to waste. Time to go kill."

Tag: Team Eight

 

IC: Hyuga Nikorasu
Canyon of Lost Souls

Nikorasu was... surprised by the tenth question to say the least. However, he was relieved that the persuasion had paid off, and he silently felt bad for Cho, to have come that close to quitting only to find out doing so would have been wrong indeed... But, such things were in the past. It was not long before the teams were ushered out by a new proctor, and they had soon followed the map and stood gathered by the entrance to the Canyon of Lost Souls.

Nikorasu silently signed the consent form, while the other teams were called in to collect their maps and scrolls. Soon, it was Team Three's turn, and Nikorasu moved in with them, where his team was given a Heaven scroll, map, and gate number. And so Nikorasu found himself with his team at one of the many entrances to the Canyon of Lost Souls.

You know... I never really realized until now, just how balanced our team was. I mean I can read maps pretty well and between Tenro and I we can track just about anything that leaves a trace in the earth or the air. Nikorasu has a 360 degree field of vision that can tell us if we are about to get ambushed and is absolutely pivotal to the group for security, and with Cho's facility with plants and animals.... I'd say we have a pretty good chance here. Survival wont be an issue I think. And on top of all that, we are all pretty decent fighters. Without getting too cocky... I think this is gonna be pretty fun." Nikorasu simply laughed at this in agreement. It was a true enough statement.

Tsume mentioned next holding back some, and Nikorasu agreed silently. No real need to say anything. They moved into the Canyon and now it was time for strategy.

"In any event.... what do you guys think our first move should be? Find food and water, or try and find an earth scroll? If I read the map right, the tower is about a days walk in a straight line from here. It wouldn't be very Chuunin like to simply walk in an obvious path so I would wager about a day and a half for diverting and back routes. Best bet is to stick together completely so we don't get separated permanently. Save for bathroom breaks, I think we should all stay in each others line of sight. It will make it harder for people to use Genjutsu on us because they have to cover the whole group. But. That's just my take on it.?

Tsume looked back at his other teammates.i]
"What do you guys think??

Cho was silent, but then she spoke softly. ["What if we make a decoy of our scroll?"[/i] she stated quietly. "That way, if another team does happen to get close ... they would most likely get the wrong item?" she suggested. She took a deep breath. "Some folks might figure to wait it out. Let the other teams beat each other up...and then they take it from them. That..or simply go straight to the tower, and ambush folks who get close..."

Cho shrugged her shoulders. "Any other ideas?" she asked, while vaguely looking around her.

Nikorasu nodded slowly at all that passed. He remained silent for a moment before chiming in. "Decoying the scroll could be a good idea. Even if it is a poor decoy, it gives us some time to either strike back or run. However..." Nikorasu paused in thought for a moment. "As Tsume mentioned, we have something that most other teams won't have. Between Tsume and Tenro's noses, and my Byakugan, it will be nigh impossible to take us by surprise, I think. Perhaps instead of hunting, we let hunters come to us. Perhaps do stupid things; leave trails, move in straight lines, draw attention to ourselves, and so on all the while watching carefully. We let our prey come to us, think we are inept. If we get a decoy and, say, tuck it in my belt where it is easily visible, that will add greatly to our ruse. I am sure Tsume will smell or hear anything long before it gets to us, and if our opponents come within range, I will see them.... they'll be quite surprised when they finally try to attack us." Nikorasu fell silent as he awaited his teammates responses.

TAG: Team Three, Others?, Tee

 

IC ~ Karen

"I'm not entirely sure, my guess is that from all gates it'd be a two day trip to get to the tower to allow about three days to aquire another scroll. Therefore, uh...well we've got quite a ways to go, though I'd assume we weren't meant to travel by walking at as steady pace..." Karen replied quickly, keeping her eyes on the map, and the trail.

Tag ~ Tee/team

 

IC: Sato Manami
Sunagakure -The Canyon of Lost Souls


Tatsuya pointed to some foliage not far from the path.

"I say we go over there and formulate our plan. We have five days to make it to the center. We need to stay out of the open and find some other teams. Intelligence is our most important tool in this mission. We need to discover a team that has the other scroll so that we can avoid unnecessary fights."

Manami nodded, and once the team was hidden within the foliage she spoke, quiet enough so that only Tatsuya and Jiraiya could hear her

?I agree that we should avoid unnecessary fighting, but no matter how carefully we go about travelling through this canyon, there?s always a risk of running into trouble. I suggest we move in a formation that will both keep us all together and allow us to react effectively to threats in case we are ambushed or drawn into a fight which is unavoidable?

She paused for a moment to let her team-mates contemplate her words before continuing

?As for gathering intelligence, my Headhunter jutsu might be handy for eavesdropping on teams from below ground, but there are other ways??

She trailed off, a thoughtful look on her face


TAG: Team Five, Tee

 

IC: Ryuu, Yuudai
Canyon of Lost Souls, Sunagakure

"I'm not entirely sure, my guess is that from all gates it'd be a two day trip to get to the tower to allow about three days to aquire another scroll. Therefore, uh...well we've got quite a ways to go, though I'd assume we weren't meant to travel by walking at as steady pace..." Karen replied quickly, keeping her eyes on the map, and the trail.

Yuudai nodded, so the trip would take about two days if they kept a steady pace leaving about three days to get a scroll. If they hurried they could probably make it to the tower in one day, they needed as many days to get a scroll as possible. Yuudai was actually hoping to be able to finish the exam sooner than five days because he didn't want to get too close to the due day, it would only make them rush and reckless they needed time.

"Listen up," Yuudai waited until he had his teammate's attention, "We should set up camp by nightfall until then we should quicken our pace to reach the tower, we're still easy bait out here in the open even with Seishou's ability."

Yuudai waited for his words to sink in before adding one more thing, "We should avoid confronting anyone for today, I don't like the idea, but if we see anyone we have to run away."

TAG: Team Nine

 

IC: Inuzuka Tsume

Tsume listened to both of his comrades and then smiled darkly as his companions gave their input.

?Both of you bring up a good point.?

Tsume kept his eyes moving slowly left and right, up and down, in front of him as they walked along.

?And it gives me an idea. How much do you want to bet everyone else is going to run around frantically trying to find other teams to jump? They are going to act like ?. Well? Genin? But the purpose of this whole exam is to see who is ready to go forward, not remained at a plateau. Cho.. Your idea is brilliant. I vote for making copies of the scroll. And while we are at it, how about we make a bunch of them? We all have training scrolls on us so we have plenty of replacements. Just take a kunai and make a tiny mark in it like it got chipped from being dropped. Do that on the ones that aren?t real. Then, on the chance we get attacked and defeated, then they have a very slim chance of getting the right one. Just make sure someone carries a fake in plain sight.?

Tsume looked left into the woods and sniffed for a moment. He held up a fist over his shoulder to signal a stop. He sniffed a few more times and strained his ears, then began walking again, returning his hands behind his head.

?False alarm, wild boar. To continue though. We can take the idea a step further than simple deception. Nik has a good idea with letting them come to us. But we don?t necessarily have to be openly obvious. Whatever we do, it has to make us look like our perceived level of skill. So here is what I propose?.?

Tenro was keeping his nose close to the ground to pick up any unnatural scents as they trudged on.

?Make our preparations during the day, wait up at night. Sleep in shifts whilst in hiding. Make clones around a fire that appear to be sleeping. They pounce on us, we pounce on them. If all goes to plan, we won?t have to do anything more than watch and pick up our captured scroll, spirit willing that it?s the one we need. Whatever we do though, we still have to be careful. We may be very strong with our skills, but we still don?t know good the other teams are. That goes double for the Genin teams that are from other villages. We can?t underestimate anyone. So we just have to be better than them. Cho, how many copies of the scroll can you make with the supplies you have??

Tsume could feel that Cho was still feeling a bit guilty and was a little down from earlier. He wanted to be engaging with her so that she could build her confidence back up and rejoin the team on a full scale. Tsume knew that both he and Nikorasu valued Cho?s opinion as much as they did each others. Having her only giving a percentage of her thoughts could hurt them in the long run.

Tag team three

 

IC ~ Karen

"Listen up," Yuudai said, then waiting for Karen and Seishou to pay attention. "We should set up camp by nightfall until then we should quicken our pace to reach the tower, we're still easy bait out here in the open even with Seishou's ability." Karen nodded in agreement but knew that she would need to keep a better eye on their bearing and where they'd be on the map.Yuudai waited for his words to sink in before adding one more thing, "We should avoid confronting anyone for today, I don't like the idea, but if we see anyone we have to run away."

Hearing this made Karen's brow furrow, she didn't like that she would have to avoid fighting, and therefore she had pivotted on her foot faser than she figured she could. Her sandy grey robe swishing up a few leaves in the process.

"Ryuu, may I remind you that despite this test clearing proving our skills of confronting a foe's squad and aquiring what we need, therefore stealth is necessary, if we come across someone with the correct scroll,I would not turn heel, but yet ensure I have the scroll, that way we have all reason to make our way straight to the tower as quiockly as possible." Karen wasn't pleased with Ryuu's plan on running, and she had stated it well. Her piercing eyes were on Ryuu, waiting for his response.

Tag ~ Ryuu, Seishou/Tee

 

IC: Ryuu, Yuudai
Canyon of Lost Souls, Sunagakure

"Ryuu, may I remind you that despite this test clearing proving our skills of confronting a foe's squad and acquiring what we need, therefore stealth is necessary, if we come across someone with the correct scroll,I would not turn heel, but yet ensure I have the scroll, that way we have all reason to make our way straight to the tower as quickly as possible."

Yuudai nodded, he understood his teammate's reaction, he expected it cause he felt the same way. "I don't like it any more than you or Seishou do, but we can't be reckless..." he meet Karen's piercing eyes with his bored calm eyes halting his steps, "Let's try and get as close to the tower as we can for today than we can spend the remaining days acquiring the heaven scroll."

He continued walking passing her, but stopped at a few feet. "There's no doubt that we'll be attacked even when we have both scrolls in fact we'll probably be hunted down by two teams at a time, if we're close to the tower we can increase our chances of winning with the least amount of casualties."

Yuudai looked over his shoulder, his eyes had changed to a dark onyx color, "I rather be the hunter than the hunted, wouldn't you?"

TAG: Team Nine

 

Cho Tanna Hkkai
Sunagakure -The Canyon of Lost Souls

Tsume listened to both of his comrades and then smiled darkly as his companions gave their input. "Both of you bring up a good point." he replied. Cho merely nodded.

Tsume continued, ... "And it gives me an idea. How much do you want to bet everyone else is going to run around frantically trying to find other teams to jump? They are going to act We can take the idea a step further than simple deception. Nik has a good idea with letting them come to us. But we don't necessarily have to be openly obvious. Whatever we do, it has to make us look like our perceived level of skill. So here is what I propose... Make our preparations during the day, wait up at night. Sleep in shifts whilst in hiding. Make clones around a fire that appear to be sleeping. They pounce on us, we pounce on them. If all goes to plan, we won't have to do anything more than watch and pick up our captured scroll, spirit willing that it's the one we need. Whatever we do though, we still have to be careful. We may be very strong with our skills, but we still don't know good the other teams are. That goes double for the Genin teams that are from other villages. We can't underestimate anyone. So we just have to be better than them. Cho, how many copies of the scroll can you make with the supplies you have?"

Cho made a face, as she gave his question some thought. "I might be able to make three good scrolls, with what I have. I can probably make a few others, not as good. I have plenty of ink and such. At least, it would look good if you dont look to close." Cho shrugged her shoulders. "A transformation on top might help.." Cho shrugged her shoulders. She really didnt have too much to add after this. They had good ideas at the moment. "I can get to work on them, once we stop." Cho went back to being silent, following her teammates as she kept her eyes open. She guessed the night would get VERY interesting. Cho began to scan for some edible food while they walked. Tsume had already mentioned a wild boar, so food should not be a problem.


Tag: Team Three, Tee

 

IC ~ Karen

Karen sighed in dispair, he had a point, so she continued to lead them on to the tower. Ryuu's last comment seemed to be different, somehow, as if there was more to him then it would seem. Despite that she continued on replying,

"If we can take the scroll easily enough then we may as well, but in the case of being close to the tower I agree."

Tag ~ Others

 

OOC: - Sorry for not getting the update in as usual. Been having some RL issues. I will try and get in on Sunday or Monday if possible. Thanks for being patient.

 

GM Note: Again just to give a reminder that GM controls all NPC?s.


Spatz - Can you please separate Oni and Karen?s characters in different Team tags. This way the other players wont miss it.


Also all teams using clones remember that regular clones can?t interact with the environment.

************Squads Updates************





Story Arc: The Chuunin Exams - The Canyon of Lost Souls





~Gate Number One~

Karen had found herself being the leader due to her teammates unable to read the map accordingly, or in Seishou?s case, not all. She began barking out commands, trying to think of the best possible way for Team Nine to endure their situation.

?"Seishou, would you mind keeping alert, I'm pretty sure you can see chakra outlines, and keep at least two spirits active at all times.?

Seishou nodded toward Karen as he allowed his spirits to guide him in the surroundings. He could keep his spirits active as long as he wanted for It was how he was able to see. It was not however a way for him to see like Byakugan. His spirits only allow him to see as far as a normal eye can see. Still he was able to see thin chakra lines and it was just as good as if Yuudai or Karen was looking out.

Yuudai was busy with covering their trail, another suggestion that Karen made knowing they had to make sure they were not detected. The day was harsh for the sun was beaming at it?s peak time. There had been no teams in sight so far and this was fine with Seishou, for he wanted to get closer to the tower before actually getting involved with fights. They followed a narrow path that seemed to go on forever. Seishou ,who had put the earth scroll inside his brown cloak saw what seemed to be a chakra line that shimmered.

?Hey guys I think I see something up ahead. I can?t make out what it is, but it might be another team. We need to hide or set up a trap or something. What do you think??


TAG: Team Nine



????????????..............................



~Gate Number Fifteen~

Eno had the map and led Team One toward a northern section of the canyon. They were feeling confident about their situation, because they felt that stealth was on their side. Oni who had his wolf sense turned on was able to use his sense of smell to detect anyone nearby. So far they did not encounter any other teams from the Leaf or other villages.

Akako, who was especially good with plants picked out a few that were non poisonous for them to eat. The taste left a bit to be desired, but his was a survival test and they couldn?t afford the luxury of ramen. The sun was beaming down on them and it made the day more exhausting than it had to be. Oni sensed a peculiar smell, which was still a distance away, but coming closer by the second. He told his teammates what he discovered.

?It could be another team, I can use some of my wire to set a trap. Oni, let us know when they get closer. Then you two will ambush them, while I stay behind. Therefore they can?t catch us all off guard.? Akako said as she took out her special chakra wire that was invisible to the normal eye.

They all got in to specific areas surrounded by rock and waited for the ambush. Oni could sense that three people were almost upon the trap. It would be any moment now before they sprung it.


TAG: Team One


????????????................................


~Gate Number Twenty Five~

Though Team Eight had passed the first phase of the exam, there was still some left over tension regarding Shiro. The young Genin was still a bit unnerved about his reaction and wondered if it would come back to haunt him in the form of the other Leaf Ninja, who he targeted. Alec as usual became the calming force to help his teammate see reason.

"It's a big place," Alec continued. "And they may not even have the scroll that we need. There are a lot more teams then just his in here afterall."

 

TEE - Does Oni have the summon now?
IC ~ Oni
Team One

Oni watched as the three people came to the trap. He wasn't sure as to how this would follow out, but he assumed that there'd be the task of subduing them, and retrieving their scroll, as long as they had the one they wanted. Oni had his hand hovering over the hilt of his sword, knowing that it'd be a good way to knock them unconcious, no unnecessary fighting.

Tag ~ Team 1

IC ~ Karen
Team Nine

Karen stopped her grop and began using her ice crystalsto layer the ground with a smooth and slippery surface.

"You two, hide behind the rock that they'll slip towards, once they get there, be sure to subdue them, in whatever way you can, I'll stay behind this bush to ensure that the trap remains, and that it is hidden under a thin layer of sand." Karen had moved her position to behind the bush she had indicated and the crystals were creating the trap, hidden under a thin layer of sand.

Tag ~ Team Nine

 

IC: Ryuu, Yuudai
Canyon of Lost Souls, Sunagakure

"You two, hide behind the rock that they'll slip towards, once they get there, be sure to subdue them, in whatever way you can, I'll stay behind this bush to ensure that the trap remains, and that it is hidden under a thin layer of sand."

Yuudai shook his head, they were being too rushed, "We don't know how close they are, we could be running into a trap" Seishou's spirits could only see as far as they could see and if he was able to sense someone's chakra it meant they had to be close to them even if they made a trap it would be rushed and not well done.

"I want us to have control not to feel like we have to do this because we have no choice, but because we want to" Yuudai looked around fearing they could be ambushed at any minute, who was to say the team approaching them already knew they were there? "We need to run away."

The young genin turned to Seishou, Karen was stubborn when she set her mind on something at times it was admiring other times a hassle, his blind teammate would have to be tie breaker.

"I'm sorry to put you in this situation, but it looks like your the deciding party, I rather not face this ninjas now, but if you think we should then I'll go along with Karen's plan" he glanced at Karen before speaking to Seishou again, "That's fair enough, right? you're the one that can 'see' them it's up to you."

Yuudai hated putting this kind of pressure on his teammate, but it wasn't just Karen or his opinion that matter it was also Seishou's. Whatever plan or decision they make they have to do it as a team, together, one could not decide for everyone or at least that's what Yuudai believed.

TAG: Team Nine

 

IC: Sato Manami
Sunagakure - The Canyon of Lost Souls


?I like the formation and eavesdropping idea, and don?t forget I can use my shadow clones as a diversion and decoy if needed.

Manami listened to Jiraiya's words and nodded in agreement. Sometimes she forgot about her team-mates shadow clone ability, and how much more versatile it was compared to her and Tatsuya?s ordinary clones.

Once they were all in agreement, the got into formation and set out. After a while however, their pursuits remained fruitless, not a rival team in sight. And on top of that, the desert heat was unrelenting. They decided to stop and take a small rest and also use that opportunity to find some food. Manami was tasked with collecting edible plants, whereas the boys went in search of something more substantial, namely wild rabbits.

Returning to the camp spot, she set to work preparing the plants, and also making doubly sure they were safe to eat. Soon Tatsuya and Jiraiya returned, but the blonde haired Uzumaki boy returned empty handed. Manami continued working on the plants while Tatsuya built a small fire. She heard retreating footsteps and looked up, watching as Jiraiya walked away for a second attempt at catching something.

She was about to tell him to be careful and not go alone, but he was already out of sight and earshot. She frowned slightly as she went back to work, stubbornness was one thing she couldn?t forget about her team-mate. But her thoughts were abruptly cut short as if out of nowhere, and without warning, senbon came flying towards the leaf genin

"What the?!"

Manami exclaimed as she jumped out of their line of fire, a couple of the senbon lodging into the ground where she had been kneeling just a second or two earlier. Landing near Tatsuya, she grabbed a kunai from her leg holster and deflected a few more of them away with the knife

"Looks like we've been spotted"

She said to Tatsuya, Her kunai held ready and her eyes watching carefully for more attacks


TAG: Team Five/Tee

 

Daitô Shirô
Gate Number Twenty Five

Shirô was, to put it perhaps at its most mild, nervous. A more fitting description would probably include the phrases wild-eyed and white knuckled with paranoia, but this was, to some extent, an extension of nervousness. He felt as if each rock was somehow hiding a potential threat, vast enemies were encircling him from every direction, and he hated them all.

He hated them because they wouldn't show themselves. He hated them because they were threats. But mostly, he just hated them because he needed to hate something, anything. Mad hate both fueled and consumed him.

Take this rock in front of him. That rock had had the audacity to get in his way. The rock wanted him to fail.

The rock would die.

Across the way he spied a rat. It was a smug rat, sitting quite contentedly, not moving, absorbed in its own little world. The rat detested him. Shirô could feel it. The rat thought Shirô was despicable, unfit to walk on the same Earth on which it crawled.

Kill the rat.

Kill the rock.

Kill.

For a brief instant the rat was his father. And in that brief instant the rock had been kicked, sent hurtling into the rat. The rat in turn went careening into net, and sent upward.

A net? The stupid person had arrived! Shirô's hand flew to his katana, ready to fulfill the task he had only contemplated in the auditorium.

It was not the stupid person. Instead, it was too others, one with a sword, one with daggers, and they were going to...

They were going to kill him!

Kill them! Kill them or you die!

"Stay away from my friends!" Shirô barked, whipping out his katana. "Stay away or..."

Kill them! KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM!

"Stay away or you die!"

TAG: Team 8, Tee

 

IC: Kyousei, Alec
Gate Number 25

Alec had been keeping an eye on Shiro as they continued on, worried about his friend. The display of paranoia and desire to see another ninja - from their own village no less - dead worried the medical ninja. He wish he had something to say, had an idea of what he could do to fix this, but like he noted before he had no idea how to handle one that might be having psychological problems. He could try to give Shiro a few comforting words, try to calm him, but frankly...this was hardly a prime situation to induce calm.

As if to prove his point, whether accidentally or purposely, Shiro set off a trap that happened to be right in their path.

With trained reflexes and instincts, Alec had already taken a step back from the trap and crouched, picking up a position where his right hand was poised over his shuriken leg holster while his left drifted over the pouches that surrounded his waist, his mind mentally going over the herbs that he had in his arsenal. Most were used for healing sure, but Alec had one or two that could be used against an opponent.

Or opponents in this case. Two ninja suddenly appeared before them, their headbands marking them as Grass Ninja.

?Well well, look what we got here. I say we hit the jack pot, unfortunately you missed our trap. No matter we will just have more fun this way.?

Alec kept his gaze on those two, and as they slowly started to encircle the three of them, the Genin's eyes focused on one, drifted towards the other, and then went back to the first as he remained in a fighting stance. The medical ninja immediately saw a problem here: there were only two ninjas. Considering that every ninja team that Alec had seen that had entered for the Chuunin Exams had three members, it was safe to say that these two ninjas had a third teammate hiding somewhere. Where...?

"Stay away or you die!"

Alec looked over at Shiro, once again his concern for his teammate's mental health coming to mind, but he pushed it away from his mind for now. Distressing as his fellow Genin's attitude may be, Alec had to admit that with combat approaching, it was probably better for Shiro to be in such fighting mood...as long as he didn't get too lost in it.

Trying to put his concerns for his teammate aside, Alec focused on the other concern that involved finding where the third Grass Ninja was. The canyon was a bit mountainous sure, but it wasn't a forest or anything of the like; it was a bit more open then that. There would be fewer places for he or she to hide and being able to strike at them when it was needed. He just need a little time to try and locate them.

"You don't even know if we have the scroll you need," Alec spoke to the two, trying to distract them for a moment so that he could have more time with his search. They were going to be at a disadvantage if the fighting started and he hadn't found that third ninja. Sure, they may have the numbers of 3 vs 2 right now, but a hidden ninja could strike at them at a moment's notice and quickly flip the odds around.

TAG: Team Eight, Tee