The Chunnin Exams Team 1

~This is it. Everything i've worked so hard for, everything I've trained so hard for.~

Krysto tightened the straps on his headband. They had been escorted to the entrance of the forest after the exam briefing. They were informed of the dangers that lurked in the Forest. Vicious animals, insane weather patterns, unsafe forestry, and ruthless enemies. They had to find the Heaven scroll before the 3 day mark was up.

The three genin were huddled at the entrance of the forest. The practitioner had already exited the forest. The forest was ginormous. The trees were massive and tall, taller than those surrounding Konoha. There were a few spots were the sunlight was able to break through an illuminate random spots within the forest.

"It's good to see you again Sakyo. Your sensory ability will be priceless here. I don't believe I've had the pleasure Kumo-nin.. but an ally is an ally."

He handed the Earth scroll to Sakyo.

"I don't know what the exams have in stored for us, I'm sure we'll encounter things we've never faced before, enemies that are stronger than us, and even fellow comrades. But in here, we 3 have the same goal. To make it to the center with the Heaven scroll and advance to phase 2. Our best option is to work as a team, which i don't mind at all."


@shimura92 @v

An intense feeling bulged inside Zen when he cross the line that divided the competitive forest microcosm and the outside world of non-participants. Feelings of anxiety and nervousness came to him naturally after he stepped into this alternate universe of its own standing. A single fading memory lingered inside his mind: The warm embraces with his parents and their pride in him. One emotion bottled up inside the most, dominating every other sensation. It was confidence.

"Hm... though I'm the odd one out. It looks like I'm supposed to be the most familiar with this place", Zen said acknowledging that they were on his native soil and he was a Kumo ninja. Yeah right, he thought. Though he had been through many geographical regions in Kumogakure, he had never stumbled upon this place. It was new to him as the other members of his group, which were Konohagakure ninja who seemed to be friends with each other. He didn't know who set this up, but if they wanted to test teamwork with a foreign ally, at least make it so that none of them were acquianted with each other. However, with his familiarity with Kumo's forests, perhaps there is something in there that could prove some use to him that only he'd know...

"Well so long as as you two trust me as much as you trust each other, I think we won't botch this up and take another team's scroll with them. I'm Zen Tankou of the Cloud - mainly a Doton and fist kind of guy", he introduced himself.

Before him there were rows and columns of trees; they comprised those with massive trunks, funky xylem colors, and crooked branches. He could see lush bushes in the dark distance ahead. Zen hoped that there was a cave somewhere that could be used for shelter. Finding a place to camp out early in the game not only allowed them to allocate their time for other things, it also meant that they were able to claim and prepare it before the enemy can. He had to take in many things into account as a ninja.

"We should head out now. We'll talk strategy and ability along the way, so we can spend more time surveilling the land and geography", he suggested and ran off ahead. The ground was bare rock, but up ahead it was bound to be more covered in grassland.

Sakyo arrived at the designated gate his team was assigned to enter the forest from. There were several teams besides his that met outside the forest at their entrance. Before being assigned teammates, the proctor briefed them on their mission.

Sakyo didn't bring his book for this mission, no...it deserved his full attention. He made sure to pay attention to the examiners instructions. Three days of survival, earth scrolls, heaven scrolls, then gather at the center of the forest. He quickly took in this information as he and the participants were escorted into the forest. Thick and grey tree trunks that extended much higher than any trees in Konoha, branches wildly intertwined, the shrubbery piercing the skies. Scraps of clothing, ninja tools lodged into branches, dried blood streaked along the ground...there were signs of death and battle all around them. The wind picked up now and rain began drizzling down on them. As they made their way into the forest, Sakyo observed his surroundings. Once there the proctor assigned the teams and continued, "There is an abundance of plant and animal life to sustain your survival needs over the next three days. Keep in mind that while you are fighting the forces of nature, your team will compete for the scrolls by any means necessary. We have separated you from your normal three-man cells to collaborate with others in order to assess your adaptability. The odds are stacked against you all. Good luck." The proctor then disappears in the puff of smoke.

His team begins to break away from the rest and the they make introductions. Sakyo returns Krysto's greeting as he accepts the Earth Scroll being handed to him and tucks it into his leather jacket. He is fortunate enough to have seen him in action twice now, and is confident in their teamwork.

He now addresses the unfamiliar Kumo-nin and introduces himself, "Sakyo Uzumaki, Konoha....It's a pleasure to meet you. As Krysto said, I'm a sensor and I will guide us from danger." They exchange greetings and Sakyo notes the genin is a Taijutsu fighter like Krysto. He assumes Zen is the most familiar with the geography and lay of the land considering this is where he hails from.

Over a loud speaker, everyone could hear the proctor state, "Begin." Teams began rushing off into the forest. As quickly as Zen introduced himself, he ran off ahead leaving Krysto and Sakyo behind. Sakyo motioned to Krysto to follow and the two ran after him. When they caught up Sakyo looks at Zen and Krysto saying, "Unlike you Taijutsu users, I'm a slow start. Its better if we calculate and plan ahead. We should utilize our first day examining the environment that surrounds us now and familiarize ourselves with not only the territory but ourselves. We don't know what the others back there may or may not have managed to overhear in our greetings. I'll make sure to let you know if I sense nearby enemy movement."

Sakyo activates his Sensory Perception, but there is nobody near them for now.

Spoiler:

Krysto remained silent as him and Sakyo ran to catch up to Zen. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his head. The realization that he knew next to nothing about plant life and such hung over his shoulder. He was balls deep in a forest of things that could kill him at any second, and he ran around without the slightest hint as to what could do so. He kept a straight face, hiding any trace of doubt from his composure.

~damn.. damn.. i don't want to lose to a berry.. i've worked too damn hard, but it seems i focused my attention in combat and ninjutsu.. I should have studied more.. ~

He listened closely as Sakyo informed them of what he thought was the best method for going about. Krysto agreed with just about everything Sakyo said, but felt that wasting a hole day just examining could be a loss of a day.

"I feel that examining and familiarizing ourselves with each other and our surroundings is a good idea.. but deep down i feel that it could also be the waste of a day.. and we only have 3"

Krysto needed to get it off his chest, he wasn't gonna hold anything back. This was the chunnin exams after all, he needed to do and say everything he felt. This was a good learning process for him aswell, even tho all 3 of them were genin, they each had very different ways of thinking.

When working with a team of strangers, it is never good to succumb to group psychology. That conformity implies trust, and that trust can be easily manipulated and lead the gullible to their downfall. Already, Zen can intuit that groupthink did not plague this three-man squad. At the same time, they must come to a consensus on their conflicting ideas, even if their decision polarizes each individual's primary opinions.

"This entire arena is probably a couple dozen kilometers in diameter... we just need to hone in on a single part of the ecosystem that can provide nutrition and shelter and defend it. We have to get started on setting up traps and discussing who'll stand guard each night once we've done so. And we'll have to get all that done in a few hours, because if I know anything about Kumogakure's rain, this could turn into a downpour any minute now. Don't want to be cold and drenched when the enemy attacks".

While saying all of that, he slowly escalated his elevation above ground, jumping on higher branches so he can get to the top of the trees. This would give him the best surveillance over the land, and hopefully he could locate an edible plant species, or even better, animals that could serve as nourishment.

"But let's say the enemy were to attack us here right now. How are we going to approach them? What would be our fighting strategy? I've already told you that because of the terrain, my element would prove to be of some use here. We can come up with something cohesive that combines the abilities of everyone here".

From where his elevation, he spotted a relatively large pond in the distance surrounded by a circular ring of trees. No edible species entered his vision, but his hunger did no strike yet, leaving him plenty of time to forage later. He must learn to allocate his survival resources effectively and most important, manage his time.

Listening to his team, Sakyo knew it wouldn’t be that difficult to persuade them into his strategy. For the most part, they all seemed to agree that the number one priority was surveying the land, finding a habitable environment to make camp and planning ahead to synergize their team combat. As they proceeded up the trees the winds picked up speed.  The clouds were gathering and darkening when Sakyo felt a slight drizzle of rain, it was a clear sign of an imminent rain storm.

He let Zen be their primary guide in regards to leading them through this deathly jungle. After all, he was the most familiar with this territory. Before speaking he sensed enemy movement from approximately 1 kilometer away. He made out 6 distinct chakra signatures and could only assume that shinobi were allying themselves with other teams. As Zen scouted the region, Sakyo kept this information to himself for the time being and continued, “It seems that we can all agree that our first and foremost priority is finding food, shelter, and strategizing our fighting capabilities with one another.”

He looked at Krysto now, “There’s been something lingering on my mind ever since the proctor explained the rules for this competition. He said we must survive a minimum of three days, meaning that even if we obtained a heaven scroll now we would still have to keep ourselves alive in this area until we rendezvous with the other teams in the center.”

He pulls out the earth scroll pointing at it, “Given the different entry locations, I presume they gave half the teams an earth scroll and the other half a heaven scroll. If my assumption is correct, then there must be an even number of teams here. My point being, there isn’t any rush to pick a fight right now because there will be a heaven scroll team out there looking for us until this exam is over. Taking other things into account such as the number of defeated teams after today will greatly improve our chances of avoiding a cluster of teams all fighting each other simultaneously in one area. Furthermore the probability of us finding a team with a heaven scroll, or both scrolls should increase after today.” Sakyo puts the scroll back in his jacket hoping his words have reached his teammates and that they all will reach a consensus.

As Zen continued to find them a suitable living arrangement, Sakyo decided now would also be a good time to mention team fighting. “My sensei Muiko Senju is one of the best combat tacticians in Konoha, and she trained me well. As far as synergizing our teamwork in combat, I myself am a sealing expert and sensor shinobi. Therefore my own personal fighting capabilities don’t rival yours in comparison to ninjutsu and taijutsu, but I’m able to hone in on enemy movement, and see through most genjutsu attacks. It could prove useful if you guard me while I stay inbetween the both of you. I also have a technique that would provide us cover in the form of a thick mist, but considering I’d be the only one here to see through it using my sensing technique it may turn against us.”

He looked at Zen and Krysto now, to gauge their thoughts.

Having heard the reason for the plan, Krysto agrees fully.

"I'm more of a tainjutsu/ninjutsu based combatant. I have complete trust in my combat ability. If Sakyo needs protecting, trust that i will have his back for days if need be. Same with you Zen. Should you ever be in a bind, I will do my best to aid you in any way i can."

Krysto followed the his team, he had resolved himself to be the force behind them.

"I, lack in the intelligence department. That's not to say I'm dumb, i just focused more primarily on my combat ability. Do i know which plants can kill us? absolutely not. But you can bet that if it doesn't kill me, i'l be sure i kill it."

Zen mentally processed Sakyo's input while dividing his attention between listening and sightseeing. It seemed like Krysto and himself would be the main fighters of the team, but that doesn't prevent Sakyo from contributing. Furthermore, there is always the danger of being placed in a genjutsu during this exam. If the illusion is convincing enough, it's likely that he won't be able to realize it until the last second.

"It seems like the best thing to do is to lure enemies to us...or at least stake out until they get close enough to us. We may have to try a few places and pick the best, which is a good thing to do in case we're being overpowered and we need an escape route to meet back up at. Unfortunately, when it comes to examining food, I can't tell if it's poisonous or not unless I put it in my mouth".

Zen saw potential shelter a few hundred meters away from where he was, and decided to head towards it.

"I spot a cave. This way!" he said changing directions.
"As for me, I am able to go underground and fight the enemy from below. I use everything I can get my hands on, and I'm sure I can challenge anyone here in hand-to-hand combat. Also, although our opponents are Genin without any real experience in pursuit and tracking, I'm sure our opponents have read up some stuff about hunting before coming here. If we're going to do something ingenuine, it'll have to involve something that they don't know about. When worst comes to worst, it's best that we take advantage of all opportunities that maximizes our success. Do any of you have any qualms about killing another human being?"

Sakyo is pleased his diplomacy methods have worked and his team would cooperate fully. A small level of trust had started building within the trio. He trusted they would both sufficiently protect him if required. Sakyo nodded in agreement with Zen’s logic before answering his question, “These exams are held to unify our villages and promote peaceful relations amongst ourselves. It’s another reason why the teams have been comprised this way. With that being said, the answer to your question is no, I don’t have a problem taking a life if their intent is to kill either you or myself. During these exams, I’d prefer if you both keep that in mind before deciding to take a life.”

As they neared the cave the drizzle suddenly turned into a downpour of rain. As it came down upon them Sakyo was immediately startled upon realizing this rain wasn’t a natural occurrence. He could sense the chakra emitting from the droplets of water. After analyzing his own chakra flow he realized this couldn’t be a genjutsu.

~So why the rain then? Whoever is doing this must be using it for a purpose~

“Don’t stop moving, somebody is controlling this rain with a jutsu. I suspect our position is potentially compromised.”

Analyzing their situation he quickly concluded that if they reach the cave its shelter would remove them from the controller’s jutsu. On the other hand, if they sought refuge within the cave there was a chance they would be trapped within leaving them without an exit strategy. Sakyo wasn’t within range to sense whoever was controlling this jutsu and it effectively masked the entire area around him by creating false chakra signatures. The rain surrounded them now making it extremely difficult to locate the actual user.

My current vision:

He relayed this information back to his teammates adding, “We’re at a disadvantage if we fight out here. The cave is our best chance at fighting on equal terms if enemies are actually heading for us.”

~Somebody is already on the offensive, and to top it off they know our location. It seems they wasted no time. Sakyo is right, we should fight on equal footing if we want victory.~

Krysto continued following Zen. His eyes darted from side to side scouting the trees and bushes. He could feel it within him, sooner than later there would be a battle.

"yeah, unless the cave in itself is a trap and the caster of the downpour is wanting us to head into the cave."

The young kaguya stayed on track, he ran at a normal pace just fast enough to keep up with his team. He'd trained hard and conditioned his body, so his breathing remained normal. The rain drizzled/poured down damping his white hair which was now a mess. He remained vigilant, if there were any sudden attacks he would surely be ready for them.

Zen stopped in his tracks immediately upon hearing Sakyo. He trusted him and the other Genin, believing that neither was tricking him. For at any point that a bigger plot is involved where he's excluded, he has already lost the battle. Although they don't know how it works, a tracking ninjutsu has been employed using the rain. His eyes narrowed towards the geography before him, mapping out its contents. He couldn't see the enemy. All he could see were forests of trees. One of them was spent at the bottom of its trunk like a sickle and had dark black leaves growing from it. Zen paused and looked around him, taking into consideration the best thing to do.

"Follow me. Quickly", he said as he dove towards the ground.

"Earth Release: Hiding Like A Mole technique!"

He dove into the ground, allowing the others to fit in with him. The hole was sealed back up, cutting them off from being sensed by the rain. "Our presence should disappear from their senses now. So long as we can travel underground, the enemies won't know our movements. I've memorized the location of the cave, so we'll be going up right into it. In case it collapses, we can escape".

The team would dig underground for a minute or two before they go back to the surface, entering the dim shelter inside the cave from below.

"They should be confused about where we are now. It's very likely that they'll pass by this area as they search for us. For now, we'll have to playing the waiting game. We don't want to lose our element of surprise again. Now's the time to put all of our abilities to the test", he said while placing his hand on the handle of his katana.

Spoiler:

They had managed to avoid engagement for roughly half a day already. The three were huddled together inside the cave, they were cold and it was dark. Night was settling in and with it the advantage of careless shinobi who leave their guard down. Zen volunteered to go out underground and quickly grab some firewood. Krysto started it using his katon ninjutsu. The three were trapped for the meantime inside this cave until the rain stopped, but at least they had a fire to keep themselves warm. Sakyo volunteered to stay up and keep watch for them. He could sense the continuous rainfall outside, wondering how long they would keep looking for them, or others. Whoever this team is he suspected they wouldn't rest tonight until they found a fight. The trio rotated in shifts for keeping watch, so that none would be fatigued for the challenges the second day would present. Sakyo awoke to find Krysto standing guard and the rain had stopped, they made it through the night.

They were all hungry, none of them had seen a crumb of food since the first day. They began to look for food first thing that morning. Sakyo could sense less movement around them, the morning was quiet and peaceful for now. Sakyo sensed a flock of birds in the trees and threw his shuriken at them to score his team a breakfast. Krysto cooked the meal using his katon jutsu and as the three sat down for the meal they talked strategy for the day.

Sakyo began with, "We haven't had much time to scout our surroundings given the rain, but this area should serve our purpose for now. I say we stage this area as our base and wait for the next team to pass through before making our move."

"I have 6 kunais, 10 shuriken and 4 explosive tags. You can use what you need to make traps. Perhaps i should have said it sooner, but i also possess a jutsu that allows me to hide within the mist. Since we 3 have the ability to hide in plain sight.. perhaps we can triangulate something."

Krysto sat inside the cave as he ate the bird. He never dreamed he'd be eating wild bird, it tasted different than what he was accustomed to. The fire light up the cave, giving off a nice warm vibe. It had been over half a day since the exams started, this was it. His future would be decided in less than 2.5 days.

After finishing his bird, he sat in silence watching the flames burn. He was deep in thought thinking about what the future held for the 3 young genin.

Gnawing on the cooked - slightly burnt meat, Zen felt color returning to his pale cheeks. This would provide the glucose and nourishment to power him for the next few hours. He was glad that he wasn't eating something raw. All they need were beds and blankets to help them sleep in and they would almost feel cozy in this wild killer forest. Though, that was not why they were here.

"Mhm, I also think that we should hold our ground here. We don't have to move around too much, because all of us either have some kind of sensory technique or a way to conceal our presence. Like Krysto said, we have a good advantage when it comes to ambush. We should conserve as much stamina and chakra as possible to make our initial attack successful".

He thought about how they'd go about laying out the trap. While hiding underground, he can easily catch someone off guard when he moves to attack. He won't be sensed by the rain, either. Furthermore, he can plant ninja tools under their enemies right when they enter their range and send them all up to obliterate them using another jutsu. At the same time though, if any of them could utilize Doton, then that tactic may not be effective. Even worse if there is a chakra sensor among them who isn't just a contact-type. Although if there were, chances are that they would be found out by now. His Tankou KKG is something that should be used if it's clear that he can dominate his opponent in physical combat.

"Hm... I have a nasty jutsu that can wreck the ground. If we lure them into the forest while Krysto puts up his mist, then I can probably make all the trees collapse on them. If you two keep your distance and stay in one place, I can tell who's an enemy and who's not. Plus, Sakyo can sense where the enemies are and their distance. The only problem I see is that nearby enemies will know our location.

Our other choice is to set up log and/or kunai & shuriken traps with all of our exploding tags."

OOC - Just want to clarify we are currently on day two/three at this point in time, I apologize for any confusion.

The three talked out their strategy at length. The plan was nearly foolproof and they began making the necessary preparations. They set back out again that afternoon and found a good staging location for their ambush. There was a waterfall nearby and a natural spring. The surrounding trees provided an ample amount of cover, and clouds started circling in around the forest again. Zen hid underground while both Krysto and Sakyo hid separately high up in the trees. Sakyo had used his Mist Shroud to conceal their position. A couple hours passed by as they waited patiently for their prey.

Mist:

Nightfall was upon them, and it seemed like nobody was coming. Just as he was relenting in their plan, he sensed an enemy chakra headed in his direction from max distance. Suddenly the rain set in again upon them, Sakyo could sense it was the same as the day before, “Not this again…” The chakra being given off from the jutsu was blinding his sensory perception. He could faintly make out his teammates chakra flow through all the smoke and mirrors tactics being employed. Even though they couldn’t see him, he had faith Krysto and Zen must have a feeling something fishy is going on here.  Just as he was about to run for his team and call off their plans, he felt something stinging his leg. He looked down and saw bugs crawling around his left foot.

~Bugs?! What the?!~

He jumped higher up into the tree now swatting away at his leg, he didn’t know what was going on and had very little time to react. As he landed on a branch above, for a split second he made eye contact with someone. She was wearing sunglasses, konohagakure headband, and heavy jacket. He could see hundreds of small critters crawling on her that comprised her chakra flow and a small closely knit group of bugs encircling the branch they stood on in between them. The branch snapped in half and he was sent plummeting down to the ground.

~Damn! The rain must be how they’re able to find us within the blanket of mist!~

As he motioned in midair, he kicked off the branch and landed on another one close nearby. He could sense Krysto moving toward him, they were in close proximity of each other now. He looked back up toward the girl and from behind her appeared another shinobi. She wore a purple hoodie and amegakure headband. Unexpectedly Sakyo felt a blur in his vision and slight drain of chakra. He could feel a minor burning sensation on his leg now and figured it must be from the bugs. He put his arm around Krysto leaning on him to help regain his balance when out of nowhere a third shinobi dashed out from underneath them. From what Sakyo could make out, he saw a blonde haired boy with a two tomoe sharingan wearing a kumogakure headband. Next they heard him shout, “KATON!” swiftly followed by “FUTON!”

What seemed like a wave of fire was raining down upon them followed by a rippling gust of sharp winds that blew away the mist and refined the fire jutsus’ ferocity. The two of them jumped down to the ground together and found cover behind a large tree trunk. The rain had been replaced with a raging inferno supplemented with fire and wind. The branches above were set ablaze and began falling down onto the ground. Thick billowy smoke was building up all around them now, everything on fire. Sakyo felt like he was in an oven being cooked alive, he knew they only had a matter of minutes to escape this fire jutsu. They could see the enemy, high up in the trees plotting their next move.

Sakyo drew his tantō, he wasn’t equipped to handle putting out the fires and knew he would have to heavily rely on his team if they wanted to make it out of this situation “Stay with me, we’ll get through this…trust in our partner Zen, he'll be our trump card since they probably don't know he is underground…we need to focus on teamwork like them if we want to stand a chance.”

OCC: Can we see all 3 enemies in the trees?. did we use my explosive tags?. did we set up any traps or is it just zen hiding under ground?


Ic: "Water Release: Water Gunshot!"

Krysto weaved the hand seals as they took cover behind the thick tree. He aimed the gunshot upwards into the air then fired off a kunai laced with an explosive tag. The explosion caused the water bullet disperse as Krysto had made it fairly weak. The water rained down onto the forest fire and effectively put it out.

With the fire out of the way, he focused his attention on the ninjas up in the trees. A sharingan user. just like the one he faced in the kusa tournament. The power of the sharingan was fearsome.. the ability to predict enemy movements, enhanced speed and reaction times, the ability to copy jutsu were just a few of its incredible abilities.

"We'll have to try our best to separate them. The uchiha on their team is their strongest asset.. he'll probably be in charge of keeping the other two safe, unless the one who's abilities we haven't seen has something crazy up his sleeve."

Krysto withdrew another kunai and firmly grasped it in his hand. He remained behind cover next to Sakyo on the forest floor.

~I won't lose.. I can't lose.. We've worked hard for this.. we can't let it end at the hands of some Uchiha bastard.~

"Did something happen? all the sudden i felt you leaning on me. Did they hit you with a kunai or something?"

OOC: The trap is assumed to have been prepared as will be described in this post.

They're coming... Zen thought as he could tell the locations of the unfamiliar sensations using his technique's sensory feature. They were closing in quickly. Before doing anything, he must wait for them to stop. He didn't worry about that, but then he felt the three presences heading towards the direction of where his teammates should be. Zen waited it out and slowly followed after them from underground, until he felt two sharp figures huddled close together. What is going on above? he thought, as things were too confusing for him to figure out how to execute his plan.

Plans were burning down to the ground. From where he was, he could see that huge whiffs of smoke exuded from the forests. The trees were on flames, burnt into ashes by the fire. He could feel the heat even from this distance. The mist was no longer active. Indeed, his teammates were discovered. We're in big shit

Returning back underground, he acted quickly to try to give his teammates an edge. He could not locate the three enemies well, which must mean that they were high up on the trees. Without full obstruction, it would be a simple matter for them to escape. Plus, Sakyo and Krysto would be in immediate danger. Understanding that things may not go as planned and that the enemy may be airborne, Zen had devised a trap earlier in preparation.

He emerged from the earth, approximately 15 meters from where his teammates were. Well if there was anything that had gone right... it's that they managed to get them all in one place at the right time.. He could see where his enemies were, unobstructed by the smoke. He spotted the rope that was tied to the trunk of the tree and severed it with a single slash of his kunai. This released the log that was carried by rope, converting all that potential energy into smashing kinetic power. The log smashed into a tree, in which there was a huge net of leaves that blended in with the bushy top of the tree. This net, which was weighed down by all of Zen's six shurikens, slipped and was released onto two of the enemies, ready to ensnare them. The Ame ninja was able to evade the net just barely, but the Konoha Aburame could not, for she was farther from the edges. The Uchiha, perched on the highest tree, could only watch from above as his teammate was falling right below the net.

Kikaichu swarmed around her. "It's okay! I can escape from th-"
Right then she noticed the two exploding tags that were attached to the net. "Crap!"
"Kai!"
The exploding tags let out their energy, and caught the Aburame almost at point-blank within their blast radius. She fell hard on the forest floor, with severe burns all over her. She was able to survive as she planted a few Kikaichu bugs that sucked out some chakra, weakening the overall explosive power.

"Did I get her?" Zen asked himself, before noticing that the Ame ninja was heading right for him. She sliced the branches in the way in half with her bare hands, getting closer and closer to Zen. "Oh dear...." he said as he ran in a direction away from his teammates. Unfortunately, they were not the type to get demoralized and were eager to seek revenge for their fallen comrades.

Spoiler:

OOC – Any traps you may or may not have set up before us getting attacked is completely normal. We were hiding and waiting to ambush others, but we were separated before getting attacked so my character wouldn’t know what you were doing while hiding and waiting before this whole fight started. Just try not to go overboard with this now that we all know who were fighting.

Krystos’ jutsu managed to put out the flames, and it appeared Zen managed to get the better of the kunoichi bug user. Zen was out in the open now and their cover blown. Sakyo had one arm slung across Krystos’ back and shoulders slightly leaning on him, “I was hit by a bug attack and I think some of my chakra may have been drained, you’ll have to help me for the time being until I regain my strength.” Sakyo used this moment to scan the area and reevaluate their positions. His eyes started darting everywhere.

~ Up, down, left, right, up, down, left, right, up, down, left, right! ~

He was next to Krysto huddled behind the cover of the tree trunk, and Zen was being attacked by the Amegakure nin. Sakyo examined her hands and relayed information back to Zen, “KEEP YOUR DISTANCE ZEN, SHE IS UTILIZING SOME KIND OF WIND NINJUTSU ON HER HANDS IN COMBINATION WITH TAIJUTSU!”

He looked over at the kunioichi that appeared to have been caught in the net explosion, but her chakra was gone. All that was left was some charred bugs. Sakyo realized she must have used a Kikaichu Kawarimi to fool us. Just before he can tell Zen, a swarm of bugs collects behind him and she reappears ready to ambush. He is caught inbetween her bugs and the taijutsu specialist.

Body Replacement Technique:

~ We need to recover, if only Zen could get back underground and I put up another Mist Ju- ~

He was cut off from his thinking when the Uchiha reappeared above them. “KATON! BURNING ASH!” Smoke and ash drape around Krysto and Sakyo. It completely covers them and begins spreading outward into the forest toward Zen and the two kunoichi. Sakyo can see through the smoke and make out a small image of the Uchihas' chakra signature jumping up higher and higher in the branches.

Fire Release: Burning Ash!:

~ He knows how to get out of this better than anyone else ~

“Krysto-cough*cough*-mo-cough*cough*-move up-cough*cough*up!” Sakyo can barely speak in this thick black smoke. He tries to direct Krysto toward their escape path, but this would put them in close combat with the Uchiha user. Meanwhile the black smoke was beginning to envelop around Zen and his two opponents.

Krysto's Point of View:

"Damn it! They're gaining the upper hand and we haven't been able to even attack yet. This isn't looking favorable."

Krysto remained by Sakyo's side, helping him stand up. He could see that Sakyo was determined to find the location of the enemy. He saw as he fought through the pain and did his best to help out the team. Krysto noticed that Zen was backing away trying to create some space between him, and the girl with saws for arms who was chopping tree branches left and right as she charge towards him.

in the blink of an eye, The girl who was thought to have been burned alive re-appeared behind Krysto and Sakyo. Her swarm of bugs began clouding around her.

~what?! she must have used a substitution technique at the last second. We're not dealing with low level genins.. these guys are something fierce~

Krysto grabbed onto Sakyo's waist and jumped back a few feet to back away from the Bug girl. Just when they thought they had a few seconds to breathe, The Uchiha lad appeared above them his Red Sharignan clearly standing out in the dark forest.

“KATON! BURNING ASH!”

He shouted as he breathed in and then expelled a thick ash cloud onto the forest floor, quickly engulfing Krysto and Sakyo.

His ears honed in on the sound of his teammate's voice. "Up" is what he heard, although with the coughs he wasn't quite sure. He could steel feel Sakyo holding on to his shoulders, knowing he was still injured Krysto crouched down and carried him on his back piggy back style.

"Stay *Cough* with me Sakyo! Be my *COUGH* eyes!"

Krysto ran forward and blindly bumped into a tree which was actually part of his plan. He focused his chakra towards the soles of his feet and quickly began running up the tree trunk. The plan was to get up high and out of the range of the ash which was covering the ground floor.

High up in the tree, they were able to breath fresh air and their vision returned to normal. Krysto rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat. He could feel his lungs thanking him after putting them through hell. He tightened his headband and clenched his fists.

"You will not prevail. Prepare for the Wrath of the Kaguya!"

Krysto's hands moved with great speed, he knocked out the seals and prepared his jutsu. The jutsu would be a great risk, He planned to set the ash cloud on fire with his Great Fireball technique, he only hoped Zen had managed to steer away from the blast radius.

Fire Release: Great Fireball!:

He took a deep breath and then fired off the Giant fireball. It was aimed to the Center of the Ash cloud and as it connected with it, it caused a giant explosion bigger than what it normally does. The forest floor was set ablaze and flames roared up and down as they incinerated everything on its path.

Krysto spotted the Uchiha genin a few yards away perched up on a tree branch. He set Sakyo down on the branch then jump off towards the Uchiha, ready to engage against him in Mortal Kombat.

OCC: Sorry if anyone wanted to take the uchiha, things just worked out this way. I figured we should start our battles and we'll each play our enemies.

Bugger me he thought, as he realized he was being closed in by two kunoichi, one of whom he thought he defeated. Receiving word from Sakyo, one was deadly in close combat because of her wind jutsu, and the other is skilled with Kikaichu. I've got to get out of here if I have any chance of taking them out. He released two kunai to the nearest black-leafed tree, portruding it from two different angles. Hands clapped together, he took a dive with earth chakra coursing through his body and returned to the world below. "Hiding Like A Mole". Unable to take on the two Genin head-on, his only choice was to escape or safely cower where they cannot reach him. The Kikaichu are unable to dig through the solid surface rock, and it should take a while for the the wind chopper to get through the earth. Neither can locate him, even if they use the rain sensory technique. Sensing the two presences strongly above him, he planned to set up one of his previous tactics against them when the surface above started to feel a little hotter. One of the presences was erased completely, while the other still remained above, motionless.

Getting closer back to ground level, he poked his head above ground a distance from where he dove onto. The scene was putrid and colored in black soot. The air heated up to irritating temperatures. Zen saw flames coat the forest ground in fire, burning down dozens of trees. Many stood standing, their leaves lit by a mesmerizing yellow-orange. He resurfaced completely now, looking at ashes and smoke that came from the earth. He stumbled upon the female Kikaichu user, burnt to a crisp. He could tell that she was alive, because she was writhing and coughing. Zen placed a hand on the hilt of his katana when someone landed just a few meters away from him. It was the Amegakure ninja. Using her wind jutsu, she must have been able to instantly carry herself upwards against the firestorm. Zen could hear the battle between the Uchiha and his teammates in the distance. Everything would end in the next moment.

Spoiler:

OOC - We each have ONE post left.

Sakyo and Krysto managed to escape from the ash cloud. He could feel his strength and chakra slowly returning to him. He was able to stand on his own now, and they were in the treetops of the forest. He watched in horror as Krysto unleashed a fireball jutsu at the ash cloud down below. It exploded and the entire forest once again was covered in fire. The trees were set aflame, smoke was rising everywhere, and their teammate Zen was down below. It was a miracle Krysto didn't explode in a ball of fire given that he was covered in gunpowder from head to toe and he was visibly seen hacking up gunpowder from this lungs and mouth...simply amazing. Sakyo just had to believe that Zen made it out of the fire, because he couldn't pay attention to his well being given they were face to face with an Uchiha. Sakyo quickly put up another Mist Shroud.

Mist Shroud:

~ It's obvious neither of us can take him on alone, lets do a combination attack within the mist. His Sharingan won't be able to see through our attack. Let's just knock him out and look for the scroll afterwards. We can't stay here long. ~

As the mist settled in around them he quickly relayed a non-lethal strategy to Krysto. Sakyo could sense the Uchiha within the mist, and quickly made his way toward him from behind planning to flank and distract him with Krysto in conjunction. The Uchiha was quick to think as he used a wind styled jutsu to blow away the wind, but right as he regained his vision the two of us attacked.

~the risk was worth the reward.. I'm surprised i didn't end up in a ball of flame, now to finish this.~

Krysto nodded in agreement with Sakyo, they had planned to simply knockout the Uchiha. He watched as Sakyo created a mist around the 3 of them. To navigate through the mist, Krysto became Sakyo's shadow, standing really close behind him. The mist began to clear away forcefully by the wind jutsu that the Uchiha activated. When their eyes met, Sakyo went forth to engage the Uchiha whose red eyes tracked him down like a hawk. The two engaged in a taijutsu battle as the forest around them continued to burn.

If this continued any longer, the smoke would surely attract many other teams to their location meaning that if they were to defeat this team they would instantly be facing off against other teams who perhaps haven't experienced battle and are full of energy. Time was against them as Sakyo dropped to the ground to perform a sweep causing the uchiha to jump to avoid it.

"Water Release: Water Gunshot!"

Water Rlease: Water Gunshot:

Krysto gathered the water particles in what was left of the Mist shroud created by Sakyo. He weaved the chakra within his mouth and then fired off two massive water bullets. One aimed directly at the Uchiha who was in mid air, and the other slightly towards his right. The reasoning was that if he dodged the first one, he'd jump right and into the 2nd water bullet.

He made the first move. Zen drew his blade out and touched it in time in order to bare-hand against the Ame kunoichi's wind chop. With a steel arm, he was able to defend himself against her close-range attacks even if he can't touch them. He backed away several meters, shifting his arm to take the kunoichi's slicing and stabbing wind attacks. Using wind manipulation, she can increase the cutting power and speed of her physical attacks.

"Hm, pointless... I'll eventually hit your flesh" she said.

As Zen was helpless against her assault, she decide to switch her attack patterns. The Ame ninja brought her fists up and then brought them down, enhanced by both wind thrust and gravity. Zen was forced to kneel down on one knee as he blocked the kunoichi's attack with his steel arm supported from behind by his other, flesh arm.

"Grrrr....." he grunted.

"Wind is my power. With this, I can push down enough pressure that you will -"

Final words of a proud foe before their defeat. Her entire body went slack and she found that she could not exert power anymore. "Wha?!" she began as she noticed a bundle of wooden sticks that penetrated into her upper chest from behind. Zen took this lapse by elbowing the girl in the neck and throwing her down to the ground. Now he was on top, with the girl bleeding from her mouth below.

"Iridis nigra", Zen explained. "Otherwise known as the Black Iris, it's a peculiar species of tree in our nation, the Land of Lightning. It didn't dawn on me its uses at first, but I noticed the tree when my team first started to scout for a place to stay in. Only I, being a Kumo ninja, could have recognized the characteristic black leaves and the weirdly-shaped trunk since only our geography books would have info on that. The tree is special because of its rapid tropism. It grows towards all touch stimuli, which is why the trunk is bent like that. Also, if I cut into the sap like what I did with my kunai, the wooden shoots that are secreted inside would be released explosively, aiming towards the direction and angle of where the kunai touched the tree. I was luring you into the right spot, all along. Looks like you lost to this book nerd right here". He left the girl be, for he knew that the shock would be too powerful for her to overcome and continue fighting him. He walked towards the tree and found that his other kunai was still there. Placing his hand on the handle, Zen looked at the fight between the final enemy and his teammates. As they got closer and closer towards Zen from the forest, he wanted to know the right time to strike. When the Uchiha leapt into the air, Zen saw this as a chance to try to offer an additional attack. He moved his kunai accordingly, stabbed the kunai deeper into the tree, and then pulled it out.

Several wooden shoots shot out of the tree at rapid velocity, heading towards the direction and angle the bottom of the kunai was pointing at. They would hit the Uchiha's legs from behind,trying to ensnare him with a blind-spot attack while the two water balls were headed his way.

OOC: Last post. Once finished, either one of you two can include that Zen went to the tower as well.

OOC - Last post

Sakyo engaged in a brief taijutsu scuffle and performed a sweeping leg kick, but the Uchiha jumped out of the way. He was hit in his legs from behind, as two pieces of sharp wood shot into him. He kicked off Sakyo to move in desperation but was caught by Krysto's water bullet midair. He fell to the ground defeated and Sakyo reunited on the ground with his team. Around them lied their defeated enemy, and the sun was beginning to rise slowly. They had made it through the second night, and this would be their final day. They searched the Uchiha for the scroll, but to their amazement...they only found an earth scroll. With two earth scrolls now, the three of them felt defeated. They would have to fight another group with a limited amount of time if they wanted another chance at getting the heaven scroll. Suddenly Sakyo could feel the presence of several enemies approaching their location. He told his team to hide and wait for them to leave as it would be unfavorable to fight again right now in their current state.

~ All this smoke and fire must have attracted more people ~

As they hid together in the tree, they saw the enemy begin searching through the shinobi that were lying on the ground defeated. The largest of the three punched the ground in what appeared to be anger. "Dammit!" he shouted...."Another cold trail." He whipped out two heaven scrolls and gripped them tightly in his fist and tearfully stated, "At this rate we won't pass the exam."

Upon hearing this Sakyo calmly walked out of the brush, both arms held up in surrender with two earth scrolls in hand. The trio surrounded him instantly, but waited before attacking. Now that they were up close, Sakyo could see they were just as tired and fatigued as his own team. Sakyo said, "It appears that both of us are in a similar situation. My team with two earth scrolls and yours with two heaven scrolls." He continued, "Congratulations on making it this far, but it's not enough. A simple trade and we could both pass this exam and continue into the second round."

After a moment of hesitation, the enemy traded a heaven scroll for an earth scroll. Sakyo, Krysto, and Zen rejoiced in their victory together briefly. They returned to camp for supper and a nap. They would need to energize themselves and gain their strength back before continuing to the central tower, almost half a days journey away. In the afternoon, they broke camp and made their way to the central tower. On their way they heard the loudspeakers go off again, "Three hour warning, the exam will be over and all fighting will cease." Sakyo steered the team away from enemies with his sensing ability and they arrived at the tower late that night unharmed. As they made it through the large double doors and entered the building it was very dark. "Exam finished." They proceeded toward a feint white light and as he entered the room Sakyo held both the heaven and earth scrolls up in victory.

Heaven and Earth:

[FINISHED]
@Logic @alexana

ooc - thanks