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[Year 50, Land of Lightning, The next day]
The next morning, Team 11 continued on their way towards the Hidden Cloud village. They kept their formation, with Rukia in the lead, Rasa covering her rear, and Souei in the air.
As they walked, Souei suddenly dropped from the air and landed near them.
"There's a clearing up ahead. I don't know what it is but it just smells fishy. Like it's a perfect spot for an ambush."
Rukia and Rasa nodded as they kept their guard up. Taking the warning, they proceeded with caution as Souei joined them on the ground this time. After all, the clearing would provide no cover and he'll be open to an attack from any direction.
They approached cautiously as Rukia spread her senses wide. With a wave of her hand, a sudden breeze filled the clearing and she tensed as her senses caught something in the area.
Souei and Rasa noticed her plight and were instantly on guard. However, they kept it hidden as they kept their pace walking regularly through the field.
"20 meters to our left. A Jonin level chakra." She said quietly to her teammates.
"What's our play?"
"We attack first. Catch them off guard." Souei said, as the other two nodded.
Immediately, they all turned towards the direction Rukia mentioned and unleashed their techniques.
'Sand Burial!'
'Bullet String: Rapid Fire'
'Tempest Kick'
All three fired off their attacks. Rasa sent off a huge wave of golden sand towards their opponent. Souei shaped his hand into a gun and sent large amounts of condensed string bullets. Rukia kicked her leg forwards, sending a sharp blade of wind ahead.
The three attacks surged forwards together towards the trees. Just as they neared their opponents location, concentrated beams of electricity burst from the hidden location and hit all three attacks simultaneously. Creating an explosion that cracked the earth underneath them.
As the smoke cleared, a figure jumped out the smoke cloud. He was a tall dark skinned man wearing a skin tight shirt and black pants. He had on black shades and a white hat. All in all, he looked nothing like a shinobi.
"Yo, That was pretty intense!"
The man said with a grin on his face. Not expecting that type of reaction, the trio could only stare at the strange man.
"The name's Dee! And I'll be your opponent this time!"
Before they could say anything in reply, the man went through a quick series of hand signs before his hands glowed in power and he aimed them towards the genin.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
Beams of pure electricity shot out towards the trio, who immediately scattered. To their disbelief, the beams changed direction mid air and split chasing after all three of them.
'A homing attack?!'
Souei immediately did his own hand signs before slamming his hands towards the ground. "Earth style: Mud wall!"
The wall of earth sprouted from the ground and barely stopped the beam in its tracks.
Rasa simply swiped his hand up as a golden shield formed out his Gold Dust that protected him from the attack.
Rukia however, sent a pair of Tempest Kicks that managed to dissipate the lightning based attack into the air, her superior element giving her an advantage.
"Woah~ Not bad kids!" The man commented with a thumbs up as they regrouped. Ignoring his seemingly playful nature and expression, Souei charged ahead with his strings aiding him. He jumped high in the air, leg raised, a string connected from his thigh to his ankle, before it thundered down, slamming into the man's chakra protected arm that he raised in defense.
'Buzzsaw!' Souei named the technique.
'It's not cutting through…' He narrowed his eyes.
However, It was obvious that the power behind it surprised the man from his raised eyebrows. 'What is this? A wire? I've never seen this before.'
"Why are you attacking us?" Souei asked as Rukia came up from the other side and attacked with her wind-enhanced kunai towards the shinobi, who managed to duck out of the way.
"Well I can't let just anyone get to the next round of Chunin Exams now can I. Did you kids really think that it would be as simple as a survival exam?" The man lied. There was no reason to tell them the truth after all. He was among the three Jonin planted to take out as many teams as they could. It was an attempt in robbing the other villages of their future generation .
"So it is part of the test." Rasa said, unknowingly, as golden shuriken formed from his element was sent flying towards their opponent.
The man swerved left and right to dodge the projectiles before he suddenly found himself incapable of moving.
'W-What?'
Had he focused, Dee would have noticed the thin strings connected to his body, hampering his movements. However, he didn't have a chance to think when golden sand burst from the ground beside him. The sand covered him head to toe in a cocoon before it solidified.
Rasa was about to clench his fists to crush the man, but a sudden bright light could be seen from the inside as the cocoon burst open in an explosion of power.
"Tch, damn." The man muttered before in a blitz of speed, he charged toward Rasa and punched forwards, sending a beam of light toward his direction. Rasa immediately crossed his arms and Gold Dust came pouring out from his gourd that managed to shield him from most of the brunt of the damage, however small arcs of lightning managed to pierce through his defenses that made him grunt in pain.
Just as Dee was distracted with Rasa, Rukia quietly prepared her technique. Generating a wind current behind her, along with decreasing the air resistance, allowed her to move at great speeds. With her technique in play, she rushed towards the Kumo Jonin, her weapons in hand.
'Smooth Strides!'
Dee couldn't react fast enough as he yet again found his movements restricted. Rukia appeared in front of him and gave a swift and devastating wind-enhanced crossed slash against his chest.
"Argh!"
The dark skinned man was forced to cancel his technique on Rasa as Rukia's attack struck through. She reappeared behind the Kumo Jonin, who now has a X marked slash visible across his chest. Blood sprouted from the injury as he was forced to a knee.
'These kids are crazy!' he said in mind as he gritted his teeth from the pain. He was about to retaliate when suddenly, a pair of arms emerged from the ground beneath him and gripped his ankles. He cursed as he was then dragged down into the earth with only his head exposed.
Souei then reappeared as his body climbed out from the ground a short distance away. The three genin then surrounded the trapped Jonin in a triangular formation. With Souei in the middle, Rasa to his right, and Rukia to his left.
"A-Alright kids, well done! You're free to pass the exams!" Dee said in slight panic. "The village is just on the other side of that mountain. Congrats!" He said quickly, trying to get out of the situation.
"...Now why would we do that?" Souei asked with a quiet voice.
"W-What? What are you-"
"It's obvious that you were trying to kill us. Why the hell would we spare an enemy?" He questioned the man, as Souei's hand took on a familiar shape as he prepared his signature technique.
"Are you serious?! I'm a Kumo Jonin goddammit! You won't get away with-"
'Bullet string.'
Dee's words were cut short as his head suddenly jerked backwards, his eyes wide in fear before it turned lifeless. At the center of forehead, was a thin, barely noticeable hole that slowly leaked blood.
"Rasa." Souei called.
The auburn haired genin just nodded as he slowly picked up the corpse of the Kumo Nin with his sand and crushed it to an unrecognizable paste. He made sure no grain of gold dust was left on the scene as he dropped the now liquefied corpse to the ground.
After successfully covering and removing any recognizable tracks that could be traced back to them, they continued on their way towards the village.
As soon as they left the clearing and reentered a mountainous zone, they regrouped together before deciding to take a few minutes to rest.
"That came out of nowhere…" Souei said as he took a breather from the fighting.
"It was definitely unexpected." Rasa sat down as he slightly grimaced from the still fresh burns his arms received from their enemy.
"Here, let me take a look." Rukia offered as she gently took Rasa's hand into hers as they glowed green. She made sure to focus her healing chakra on making sure to fix the nerve damage that might have happened from the lighting. Thankfully, it seems Rasa only suffered some minor burns.
"Things could've gone a lot worse. That clearly underestimated us. He was joking around in the first half of the fight and only took things seriously after we managed to land a hit." Souei said as he leaned on a tree. "Not to mention that damn Storm Release almost caught us off guard. I never knew homing attacks like that existed."
"Indeed, his attacks pierced through my defenses. Had he ambushed us, which we assume was his original plan, it would've been devastating." Rasa added his own thoughts.
"I guess we have Rukia to thank again, huh? I can't count the amount of times your sensory ability has saved our butts, you know?" Souei chuckled as he gave her a soft smile.
Said female teammate just blushed in embarrassment as she quietly accepted the praise.
"There, the damage was relatively mild so you shouldn't be having any more problems." Rukia said, quickly changing the topic and forcing the red in her cheeks to disappear.
Rasa shook his arms a few times before nodding in appreciation.
"All right then. We should get moving. If we keep up this pace, we should get to the village by tomorrow. I'd rather we finish this as soon as we can." Souei said as clicked the joint in his neck.
The other two nodded as they all continued their trek towards the village.
— Marionette of Suna —
Two Chunin gate guards stood quietly at the entrance and gate of Kumogakure. They watched over the horizon as three figures made their way towards them. Knowing what to expect from the Chunin Exams, they waited for the three to approach before quickly recognizing them from the other day.
"So it's you three, eh?" One of the guards said, impressed. "You're the second team to make it back."
"Second, eh?" Souei asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Not too bad all things considered."
"I'm just glad we're finally back. I can't wait to sleep in an actual bed again." Rukia said somewhat bitterly. Her back hasn't been the same since they woke up in the cave and since then, they've been sleeping on nothing else but solid flat ground. Sure they had sleeping bags, but still.
"So what now?" Rasa asked the guards. He too would rather finish things as quickly as possible.
"Now, nothing. We'll register your team as among the ones who passed the exam. Since we still have another two days, you're free to do whatever you want until the exam officially finishes. Once the time is up, the proctor will gather all surviving teams to announce the next part of the exams."
The trio quickly nodded before they made their way towards their designated quarters. After all, they were deadly tired and would like nothing else than to sleep on a proper bed.
"So you're finally back. I take it that everything went well?"
Ishito Sensei questioned the moment they entered their shared room. He was sitting by the table, reading a book that was found exclusively on the Land of Lightning.
"Sensei!"
They greeted him as all three shuffled into the room. They then told him all about the exams, the way the were seemingly kidnapped and awoke in an unknown location, the strategy they decided on, them running across a Kumo Team and finding the map, meeting Dee the Jonin that they managed to kill, and the final trek towards the gates on the last day.
"Oh yes, I knew about the kidnapping. I was the one who put you all to sleep and placed you in the cave after all." Ishito casually announced as he sipped on some tea.
"...WHAT?!"
"Well of course, it was part of the exams. Would you rather have someone else handle you in a situation as delicate as that?" He questioned them with a raised eyebrow.
"Well no… But a warning would have been nice!" Rukia pouted as she crossed her arms.
"Nevertheless, the news regarding this Dee character is a cause for concern. There was never supposed to be Jonin during the exams. The exams were all about testing the Genin's capabilities when in an unfavorable situation and their survival skills. Fighting Jonin is not part of it."
"Wait, so you're saying-" Souei started to say with wide eyes. He couldn't complete his sentence when his sensei answered immediately.
"Yes, it appears Kumo has attempted to reduce our manpower by covering it through the exams. I expected them to make a move but not like this." He said in slight concern as he closed his book.
"I'm going to have to send a message to the Kazekage about this. Luckily, you covered your tracks well. Right now, you three just focus and continue with the exams until they finish. Leave this to me."
It was a testament towards the trust they had on their teacher that they just nodded and sagged with relief. They were initially worried and concerned with the supposed sabotage, thinking that the Chunin Exams might be canceled or ruined. But with their sensei's assurance, they put it at the back of their mind.
Ishito just gave them a slight smile before returning to his stoic expression. "Now go get some rest. You earned it."
"Thanks sensei."
All three immediately slumped towards their beds and fell to blissful sleep. They got nothing to be worried about with Ishito in the room. They let all their tension bleed out as they welcomed sleep's embrace.
'Rest well.'
Ishito smiled before continuing to read the book he had in his hands. After all, a story about the Sage of Six Paths and his legendary treasures make for an interesting story.
— Marionette of Suna —
"Congratulations on passing the second exam." Jay, the original proctor, heard the Raikage announce towards the four remaining teams. There was 1 from Kumo, 1 from Konoha, 1 from Kiri, and the last from Suna.
He mentally frowned as he looked into the survivors. This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all. All three remaining Kumo teams should have passed with only one or two other teams belonging from other villages. That was the plan cooked up by himself and the Raikage after all.
But now, their advantage in numbers is supposedly non-existent. Which is embarrassing considering the exams were held in their own village. It was like a well known yet unspoken fact that usually, the villages that hosted the exams would have the most number of teams participating until the finals.
But now, they and the other villages have equalized.
What's worse is that they lost all contact with one of the Jonin he sent to clear out the teams from the other villages. Dee was supposed to return on the last day through one of their secret entrances, but he never showed up despite Jay waiting all night.
The other two Jonin returned with reports of an accomplished mission. They each single handedly took out 2 teams by themselves before returning towards the designated rendezvous point.
Whatever the case was, teams of Chunin and Kumo Anbu have already been sent for investigations. Dee was a loyal shinobi and a friend, so Jay was confident he didn't turn into a missing nin. But he is worried for him, definitely. Because there's only one other reason he wouldn't show up, and he desperately wishes it wasn't the case.
"Each of you has shown you are the best shinobi of your generation, and with this, marks the beginning of the finals of the Chunin Exams." The Raikage continued, cutting into his thought process as all the Shinobi Present gave the imposing man their undivided attention.
"The finals will begin in 6 weeks. This is to give time for each of you to recuperate, but also the Daimyo and Feudal Lords to arrive in Kumo as witnesses and observers. So make sure to give it your all." He said, putting emphasis on the
Importance of the finals in particular.
The Raikage Continued to explain the rules and details of the finals. Explaining how it will consist of individual battles and how lots will be used to determine the fights between them.
That was when his leader motioned Jay to step forward. Understanding his order, the exam proctor brought out a black box containing slips with numbers on them.
"Each of you will come forward and pull out a slip. Your opponent will be determined by the number in the reverse order. Number 1 will fight number 12, 2 will fight 11. You get the gist of it." The Raikage muttered.
One by one the Genin pulled out their numbers from the box. When each and everyone of them finished, a proper draft had been written down.
-
Match 1
Minato Namikaze vs Kumo fodder #1
Match 2
Rukia Hoku vs Asahi Yuki
Match 3
Mikoto Uchiha vs Ay
Match 4
Kiri fodder #1 vs Rasa
Match 5
Souei Matsuri vs Teuchi
Match 6
Kiri fodder #2 vs Tosen Kaname
-
'Hoo interesting.' Souei thought as he looked at the matches on display. 'With this number, we'll have three people by the time we reach the last round.' He also noticed that he, Rasa, and Rukia were all separated from each other in the brackets. So the only chance they could meet is by facing each other in the finals.
[AN: This was completely random by the way. I put them through a randomizer and this is the result. All through the work of fate.]
The Suna trio glanced at each other. Rasa and Rukia already noticed the same thing and a silent challenge appeared from the three of them.
'We'll see each other at the top!'
Can't help the smirk that formed on his face, Souei looked with determination as he couldn't wait for the next to come.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
I AM HERE! WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER!
This concludes the second exams and the matches for the one on one combat have been decided.
And before you guys ask, it is indeed that guy from that other show with all the zanpakuto's and bankai's. I needed some Kumo OC's and thought to myself, who are other badass dark skinned characters from anime? That's when I thought of Tosen and had the idea of making him Ay's teammate for the chunin exams. He's still a swordsman here but will have completely different abilities from his Bleach counterpart.
Depending on the reception, I might decide if he should be a recurring character or not. Putting too many OC's in a fanfiction is a recipe doomed to fail but who knows. If y'all like him, then I can always bring him back.
Same goes for Asahi. I originally named all three Genin from Kiri 'Kiri fodder 1 2 3' but decided to at least give one of them a name. I'll feel bad towards all the Kiri lovers otherwise. It's just that there are no prominent characters from Kiri that are alive at this time in canon. Most big players come in Kakashi's generation like Kisame, Mei, Zabuza, and Yagura.
Hell, even the current reigning Third Mizukage is a complete unknown. Yikes bro, this really is a pretty depressing time for Kiri if there are no capable shinobi in this generation.
For advanced chapters, Head on to my pat_reon page! Depending on the tier, you could get between 4 or 10 chapters ahead along with a few other benefits.
P_atr_eon.com/TeemVizzle
(Remove the spaces)
Anyways, that's all for today.
Cheers!
Trivia: No question trivia, but can we get an F for Kiri just to support them in these trying times.