Stage 1- Event: C
Description: Participants wander the island until encountering an what resembles a desert oasis in the middle of nowhere, complete with out of place palm trees and pool floatation devices, as well as a bridge that leads to a platform in the center of the water with a giant cushion. Not long after all the participants arrive, a giant hippo will come stomping back towards the water, shaking the ground as it steps. Participants must both survive & escape the onslaught of Boss Hippo while also attempting to acquire the opposite scroll needed to advance to the next round.

Name: Boss Hippo
Age: ???
General Appearance: Stands at only about the height of two and a half human males on all fours, but the majority of its size comes in the form of its sheer bulk. Wears black sunglasses with a white suit, purple shirt, and gold chain.
Personality: Extremely aggressive and angry at almost all times. Territorial. Will not hesitate to pick a fight over the smallest of things.
Motivations: Become alpha of the entire island.
Fears: Water (can’t swim)
Abilities: Monstrous brute strength that rivals that of Kong, tough hide makes weapons below C-Rank unable to even scratch it. C-Rank items struggle to do any meaningful damage, made even more difficult by the size of Hippo Boss and the fact that being in close range of him can mean death or serious injury very quickly.
Other: Extremely insecure about its inability to swim which it keeps as a closely guarded secret, believing the other giant hippos would ridicule him (probably untrue considering they fear his strength). Will try to casually play off any suggestion that he can’t swim unless you start providing evidence or poking holes in his façade. At that point can be blackmailed.




Scroll assignments (This information is exclusively held by each participant. Their opponents must discern who has what scroll other than their own in the thread):

Scroll of Heaven: Fukai
Scroll of Earth: Yasutake

Fukai started forward with his lithe step. The young man was slow to move at first, taking in every part of the scene around him. His purple eyes flickered from side to side, analysing the terrain. Thin sparse trees covered semi-solid earth as far as he could see. The trees were of a strange variety, their bark was rough and peeled and branches only at the very tops, about ten metres high. The trunk of the thickest tree would have been no more than one metre in diameter. This and the infrequent layout meant that he could see for quite a distance through the forest. To call it a forest may not be quite appropriate, it was more like a savannah.

The genin stepped forwards on his toes, core and legs ready to respond to any dangerous stimuli. The grassy earth was soft underfoot although noticeably dry, unlike a wet marsh. The way forward was clear, there was a lack of trees directly ahead. Fukai guessed this was the general direction the examiners wanted him to travel in, he decided to follow the path. He was a cautious man and suspicious of tricks, and would not be surprised to hear that there were traps set for the participants. He guessed that if there were some harmful setups, they would be more prevalent on the path. He quickly changed his mind and switched to moving a few metres perpendicular to the path. Fukai spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. His head flicked to the side and his muscles ceased their movement. Only a partial image had completely stopped him, his refined body ready to tense and react. Upon turning to inspect the movement, he saw a grub the size of a basketball crawl up one of the trees. He watched the thing for a few seconds, the massive creature was a little terrifying. The bug was many times bigger than the usual kind and although did not pose a thread, hinted at what other oversized terrors awaited him.

After releasing his disgusted expression, Fukai continued on, picking up his pace to a less strenuous and sustainable version of the shinobi forced march. He was able to jog with perfect balance and minimal energy usage, the sign of a talented athlete. He went for a few hours as the sun's heat covered his skin. The trees thinned even more until he passed one every minute or so. The soft dirt slowly transitioned into yellow sand. This sort of terrain started to remind him of the lands in the south of Tsuchi no Kuni. But it was.. different somehow. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, thinking the sudden change in landscape was a little too unnatural.

The noon sun baked the ground beneath him with no clouds to stop it's wrath. Fukai changed up the scarf around his neck so that it covered his head like a shawl. He then tucked the mirrored blades up underneath to prevent them from giving away his position. It was most likely a futile action as the bright blood red scarf adorning his crown would be easily spotted out in these sandy plains. He thought that if he were to let the blades hang out they may reflect the light of the sun and create a flickering beacon for his foes. It may have been a small precaution but to the Iwa nin, every fraction of a percent that it added to his survival was worth the trouble.

The savannah had transformed into a desert in the few hours he had been travelling. Small dunes no higher than one metre covered the entire 180 degree panorama in front of him. From his perspective, the rippling foreverness looked much akin to a yellow sea. But what was that? In the two o'clock direction, the genin spotted an abnormality in amongst the gritty waves. He couldn't quite see as it was a fair distance away but for some reason, there were a conglomerate of pine trees. Fukai wasn't any sort of genius, but he had the practical and inventive on the fly knowledge that came with years of working as a ninja. Plants required water. There were plants over there, ergo water was present. Animals were another thing that required water, there was a good chance that some freaky creature had made the oasis his home. But the thought that stuck with the young man was that of his competition with regards to the waterhole. This was a survival challenge and the entrants were required to find their own nutrition including water. This meant that genin would flock to the hole out of necessity and this in turn meant that any clever shinobi would use this to wait for their opponents.

From his deduction, taking advantage of drinking at this source was obviously needed as he could not see any other signs of water anywhere else through the desert. It was a risk that he was prepared to take. The breeze that swept into his purple hued clan clothing brought less sand than expected. Usually a wide open area such as this would have had winds howling through due to not having any wind breaks. He attributed this factor to the concept of possible micro-climates that scattered the large island tortoise. If this line of thinking was indeed correct, he could expect to see another change in landscape after a short travel through the desert.

Approaching the isolated body of water, small points of interest came into focus. The oasis was about fourty metres across and had a dozen skinny palms dotted around the circumference. His mind churned through possibilities of enemy traps. The land was flat and trees thin, therefore there was no option to take a simple hiding spot. Were there any traps? This could be achieved by hiding something like a seal under a thin layer of sand. Disturbing the sand would leave a noticeable pattern on the ground that with this gentle breeze could only be erased after about 5 hours by his estimate. He should be safe from this sort of thing if he kept a close eye out for any disturbed surface. The one thought that did concern him was the idea of an enemy using some sort of stealth or hiding jutsu. He did not have any means to detect chakra so was vulnerable to a scheme that took advantage of such a jutsu.

Fukai stopped. He looked ahead as the objects that floated in the water took shape. From farther away, the specks were confused with something akin to floating debris and a large white and grey rock jutting from the side of the bank. Now that his purple eyes could make out the form of the massive beast before him. What he had confused to be a rock started to move. The genin was a little struck by the unexpected development, a fifteen foot colossal hippopotamus leaned onto it's side and eased it's thousands of kilograms of flesh and hide up onto the four stumpy feet. Luckily, the beast was facing the other direction and did not notice the shinobi fifty metres behind it. The part that he had mistaken for the white was in fact an oddly well fitting white suit. As the great animal lumbered towards the oasis, Fukai crept up behind it, but keeping a minimum distance of thirty metres. He had dealt with dangerous animals before and had more than a few missions dealing with them back in Iwa. He had tussled with a wild boar that was destroying crops. He had tried to control and ended up riding, a bucking bull. He had exterminated a large python that had ended the life of a toddler. But these creatures paled in comparison to the behemoth before him. That was one unexpected development that he would prefer not to get involved in.

He had decided that maybe it was best to move on, he could probably risk making it to the end of the desert before dehydration started rearing. But then the gigantic beast started to do something strange. It walked over to one of the palms and pushed against it. The smallest shift of weight sent violent tremors up the trunk, dislodging a melon with a one metre diameter. The massive fruit fell to the sand bank, bounced and rolled into the water. The beast hurried forward to collect his prize with speed that surprised the genin. It reached for the fruit as it floated away from his king sized jaws. Fukai was puzzled as to why the beast did not just enter the water.

Damn it!
The beast bellowed with force, it was clearly upset that it had lost it's meal. Fukai took a step back. Did that thing just speak? What is wrong with this damned tortoise island? He internalised his shock and managed to keep himself from uttering it aloud. Oversized temperamental animals with great fashion sense. The hippo started to circle around the waters edge while Fukai tried to recover and think about what to do next.

[1531]

Yasutake had stood amongst dozens of other genin. This was the first stage of this year's Chunin Selection Exams and the Kiri Nin knew that it wasn't going to be easy to surpass his peers. There was a relatively small amount of entrants from the Hidden Stone Village, but he didn't make much of it. The chances of him encountering one of them within the exams was no doubt going to be rare, but his knowledge of their techniques were relatively few, although he had the common sense to understand that many of their techniques would be ground based. Not a worry. The same could've been said for those from the Hidden Cloud Village. There were also relatively few entrants, the Hattori's dark gaze only picking out a handful in every clump of shinobi. They had few Genin present in the Exams, but they had plenty of Chunin and Jounin to be escorting the foreign participants and others to their starting locations. After all, they couldn't just let them begin right there, else it'd simply be a gigantic blood bath and shinobi would fall left, right, and centre.

Yasutake's dark gaze swept across the rest of the crowd. He spotted quite a few Leaf Village ninja. It was home to many legendary shinobi, he knew that much. Deep within him he urged to do battle with one of the inhabitants of the Land of Fire. He believed without a doubt that one of their many shinobi that were participating would give him a fight that was worthy of both of their clans and Villages. He recalled that while he had been searching the crowd, he had spotted out quite a few shinobi who had originated from Kirigakure as well. The Hidden Mist Village had brought a large amount of Genin to the Chunin Selection Exams, maybe the numbers wee so similar they'd be able to match that of the ones from the Leaf Village, and he believed it was quite possible that his home Village had more too. More lethal ones anyway. He corrected himself when he looked over the competition.

Could I be considered a lethal shinobi? He thought as the instructions were ended and higher ranking shinobi had come to break up the groups and to send them towards the tents to get a scroll. The variety was limited as the proctor had made clear whilst in explanations, there were only the Heaven and Earth scrolls. And once every one of the participants had gotten one, the proctors and supervisors had again broken up the groups, this time escorting them to locations strewn about the entire island. Sparing a glance over his shoulder as he was beckoned forwards to be taken, he saw a medical station and he wondered if anyone he knew would find themselves behind the flaps of the medical tents. He hadn't even come to the possibility that he could be one of the people there, and the last thing he did was shrug as he tightened the purple robe obi on his waist, thus pushing his Odachi further up onto his back and tightening it.

Within a few minutes, he had gotten to his starting location and he had been urged to start his trek by the hands of his escort. And then he disappeared, nothing more than imprints of his feet in the grass to show that he had existed. For the faintest moment a smirk had appeared on his face. Although it wasn't an especially hard technique to pull off, the technique left an impression on the young ninja. That will be me one day. He assured himself as he pulled his hood up and over his head, and then began to run through the forest.

While he ran through the forest, he heard the sounds of combat, of cries of pain and victory. He heard plenty of the violence and yet he hadn't been interested in finding any for himself. It wasn't characteristic of him, but Nozomi's words stayed fresh in his mind, she had said that she believed he'd be able to surpass her soon enough. She had said I have more potential. At the time he had felt a little bit of uncertainty to her words, but now that he was here with the promise of combat and victory, advantages and disadvantages being created within a heartbeat, there wasn't a shred of uncertainty when it came to his own abilities. His purpose was to bring truth to Nozomi's words and to defeat any that stood in his way.

Soon enough the forest around him had begun to fade away into a more desert landscape, trees became sparse, those that were present contained leaves only at the very top, and any visual or auditory cues of water being present had disappeared in the forest behind him. Ahead of him and upon the edge of his vision was pure sand, something he had never seen before in his life, not in such quantities anyway, and he frowned as he started towards his destination. He didn't have an actual location in thought, since after all it was his first time on the island itself, but his intention and motivation was to find a source of water and to situate himself close to it and lie in wait in order to ambush his potential targets. Besides, who was going to be so far out from the forest anyway?

For a moment he hesitated with that thought in mind, but he had continued forwards anyways. If he didn't find a Heaven scroll by the end of the day, he had decided that he was simply going to go on the hunt through the night for the unsuspecting Genin who had decided to make fires. When one was trying to be stealthy, it was better to simply go cold rather than giving away your position. But you could never be too sure anyway, they were all ninja, and some had better tracking skills than others, no matter what you did, there would always be one who would find you out.

Yasutake was certain of it.

The sun had begun to lower, and although it would be a long time before it'd truly be considered 'night time,' it was quite past noon, and Yasutake was suddenly moving a lot faster, with a speed that one who had a specific purpose in mind could do. Concealed in a wooden sheath, there was no need for him to have to actually conceal his blade within his clothes, and with his already dark clothing tied around him, there was no reason to re-arrange his attire, and he continued over the sand moving fast enough to throw a bit of dust behind him.

Within the hour directly ahead of him was a gathering of trees. In earnest, he doubled his speed. Most people knew that greenery required water to grow, and Yasutake wasn't one who wished to die of dehydration. In the back of his mind he scanned the horizon, in the hopes of not seeing another participant nearby, else he wouldn't be able to plan out an ambush.

When he had closed to fifty meters, he heard a deep voice, the type that could only travel over vast distances of nothing without a problem, and in the direction it came from was ahead of him. He reached backwards and kept his hand on the hilt of his blade, rushing forwards as he left his arm reaching behind his back as he closed the distance quite quickly, finally shoving his shoulder into a large palm tree as he came to a sudden stop. Constantly sending his dark gaze around him, he made sure to stay out of the sight of the hippo, finally setting his gaze upon a shinobi with a red scarf. He was close, but not close enough to get to without being noticed after moving a few steps.

Twenty feet.

He crouched against the tree, placing a pale hand upon the tree, his left arm still reaching backwards and holding onto the hilt of his rusty Odachi.

The Art of Silent Killing? He thought of it, but he had no techniques that were able to conceal his body, and he sighed so quietly, even he had trouble hearing it. Whatever.

His right hand flew up to his mouth, and he whistled as he began to rush towards Fukai, closing the meters down to fifteen feet with two bounds.

WC: 1452

Earlier this morning...

Fukai stood along with twenty or so other competitors, facing the exam proctor. This was it, the time had come. All of that preparation, anxiety, hardship and experience had somehow led him here to this moment. He would be the sole representative from Iwa, the village hidden in the rock. He had been singled out and picked as the only worthy candidate to take on the challenge. A hand went to the back of his head to rub at his neck that was concealed underneath his long white hair. He wondered for the nth time if he was the right person for the job. Surely they could have found some conditioned and high born kid to take his place. He had made the commitment and taken the responsibility upon himself, therefore his personality required him to stick at it and give it his all.

There was sure to be many surprises throughout the exam, meant to separate those worthy of chuunin and those destined to stay behind. His purple eyed gaze passed over the other entrants. Some shuffled, giving nervous little twitches, some were quietly confident, remaining still and ready. Most, if not all of the competitors were younger than him and looked like teenagers. Fukai himself had been a genin for many years now and probably had the advantage of experience. Size too, as he could see clean over most of the heads.

The announcer called out, welcoming them to the first round of the Chuunin Exams. The location would be the island tortoise by the name of Genbu. They were to each receive either the heaven or earth scroll. Using any means necessary, they were to obtain the other matching scroll although killing was seriously discouraged. Once the entrant had both types of scroll, they were to open them together and that would in turn lead them to the end goal. A warning was made that they were not to open the scrolls without the other component. This was all fine, Fukai had no intention of ending someones life over a matter as unimportant as this.

It was true that he did not consider these exams to be too big of a deal personally, he did not compete in them for his own gain or advancement but because that was expected of him. Iwagakure had given him a place to live in return for work but not much else. But after all these years, he was starting to love his home, or rather, the people that it contained. His eye was caught by a young man a few years younger than him to his side. He was looking over his competitors as well, grey eyes underneath a Kirigakure headband.
____

That very kid had just whistled and started to charge at him. Fukai heard a sharp high note of the whistle. His fine tuned reflexes warped his body in an instant. In a split of a second, he spun around and unstrapped the wooden staff on his back. Rolling onto the balls of his feet and bending his knees, he was ready to react to whatever he would see behind him. The Kirigakure ninja was charging at him, with his sword raised. He was a little alarmed that how close the approach had come. This was not the sort of assault that he had expected, whistling to get his attention and remove his advantage before attacking was a strange tactic to say the least. Why? Was it to distract him from a possible allied ninja attack? Another entrant was the least of his worries as something else had heard the whistle.

Oi! What the hell are you doing on my turf?!
The monstrous animal had turned and was starting to charge at Fukai as he was the closest one to the oasis. Oh shiiiiit! The silver haired young man forgot about his assaulter for the time being and turned tail to get away from the behemoth. He was not any sort of hero and had too much common sense to take the beast head on if he could help it. It was not only immensely strong, but apparently intelligent to some degree. It was fast too, those hungry hungry jaws were closing in on his marbles. As he ran, Fukai would push down his scarf back to his shoulder. This would reveal his Iwa forehead protector to any onlookers. He skirted around one of the palms and sprinted towards the wooden bridge. The grey mass plowed after him, smashing the tree to splinters. His heavy gated gallop thundered even on the soft sand. An aura of yellow rose around him and in his wake, luckily he had sunglasses and a suit on to stop him from getting sandy..

Get back here, you trespasser. This here waterhole is for me and my gang ONLY. If the others hear that humans have been on my turf, I will never live it down!
Amidst his frantic scramble, his mind puzzled over this strange creature. Not only wearing higher priced clothes then Fukai had ever in his life, he seemed to have a few odd quirks. He ran, staff in hand, scarf trailing behind him. He turned onto the odd bridge that led out into the middle of the oasis. It was odd due to the fact that it was the only man made structure that he had seen so far.. or now that he thought about it, it was probably animal made although he didn't see how a hippo could manipulate lumber in such a way. He thought that maybe he could run up the bridge and the wooden planks would not be able to take it's weight. Striding down the length of the bridge, he would only turn around when he got to the little island in the middle with a large pink cushion on it.

Don't touch my bed, bastard! That is my property and I am Boss! Damn it, what will the gang think of me if they knew I had a human infestation problem?
It almost sounded like a tantrum coming from behind, the creatures large mouth flapping as it ran. It continued on, the sunglasses hippo took one step on the bridge and it wobbled. He then attempted to launch himself forward off his back legs at Fukai. The genin tensed and was ready to evade. Both parties were surprised to find out that the bridge could not give the necessary reactionary force for the jump and it simply crumbled underfoot. The beast crashed into the water. Ah! Oh god- save me! The hippo flailed around in about a metre of water. Barely enough to reach the middle of his rump. The wriggling grey mass was almost a comical sight, Fukai's eyes almost popped out of his head. A gigantic, speaking, finely dressed, socially sensitive, temperamental water animal was yelling out in distress over being slightly wet. After a long ten seconds, Boss Hippo pulled himself from the shallows with the same frightened hurry shown by children running to their parent's room after a nightmare. The black glasses fell off amist the commotion and floated away.

By this time, the Iwa rep had recovered himself and realised the truth. Could it be? You.. Can't swim. As soon as the words left his mouth, the beast immediately turned and shot him a bloodshot look overflowing with scorn. Something finally clicked in his brain. Fukai had been around the block a few times, he had spent his teenage years in the backstreets of Iwagakure and had lived through the time that it was dominated by the criminal gangs. He had learnt how to survive in the urban wilderness and one of the skills that he had developed was the ability to pick up on cues on the situation. Basically, he was a great judge of character. He had come to know that everyone had their vices and qualms, aspirations and motivators, traits and quirks. He could pick up on these not by some Sherlock Holmes style deduction, but the basic eyeballing intuition that some people possessed. He is afraid of the water and overly concerned with what his friends thinks of him.

His real goal was to find the earth scroll to match the heaven one and there was a possibility that the kid over there had it. The beast was eyeing him, probably thinking evil thoughts. A low rumble came from it's throat. Fukai had a plan, he did not know if it would work but he would give it a shot. He would yell across the broken bridge at the hippo and speak up for the other entrant if he happened to be listening. Oh that is unfortunate that you can't swim, it would be even worse if someone were to tell your friends that you couldn't.
You wouldn't DARE. I will crush you!
Looks like you can't seem to reach me.
I have all the time in the world, I can wait for you, worm.
Oh? But if you do that, my friend over there is going to go and spill the beans. All we want is passage through this land, buzz off and we will keep quiet. The hippopotamus roared in response.
You'd better or else I am coming for you, human! With that last threat, the beast stomped away. It looked like they now had some time and space to continue with the exam.

Fukai steadied himself, regaining his composure. He lept over the crushed part of the bridge and back onto the sand. Straightening his scarf and sending a small amount of chakra into it, he would walk up to within ten metres of the stranger if the Kiri nin would indeed let him. He would relax his body and regain breathing composure while looking into his foe's eyes. The young man across from him would be able to see his purple iris with the black vertical line. My name is Fukai Fantomusodo. I happen to have the heaven scroll on me and am looking for the earth. If you are indeed looking for the heaven one, I will fight you for it. He was ready, unblinking gaze watching for the smallest indicator of attack. He had no intention of anything other than fighting fair to complete this stage. But was this the fight that he was looking for?

[1742] /3273
OOC: Went about scenario as we discussed, if you have any problems feel free to pm me.

145/150 Chakra:

Two steps.

Two large steps had brought him down to fifteen feet within a moment. He moved quickly, his physical state was that of someone who was worthy of all the physical training he had done in his life. After he had graduated from the Academy after a few years, he accepted the headband, but he didn't stay in the Hidden Mist Village. He was twelve at the time, and although the life of a shinobi thrilled him as much as any other twelve year who graduated from the Academy, there were other things that had interested him at the time as well. Were they greater than his want for becoming a ninja? Certainly not, but with a calm and collected decision, he had forced himself away from the life of a ninja and had focused on more practical things. Things that the every day type of person did, the average human being.

So he had found a job through his father and begun to work.

He learned about how to treat wood so that it may be used in buildings for flooring, walls, and more. He had done that for a while, even going as far as working outside of the Hidden Mist Village and in the hamlets situated in the Land of Water. Once he had become fourteen years old, he started to perform jobs that people his age would normally do when they weren't pursuing the path of a ninja. He worked at a tea shop, as a vendor in the market place. In almost every establishment that he was capable of working in, he did. His knowledge of the world and the type of people within it expanded. His knowledge of the real grew vast, to the point that the decision to return to the world of being a shinobi had been put off again, which afforded him more time to do as he would at home and at work.

One mission he had had just before the Selection Games had been one that took him to a new fort that was being constructed in the Land of Water's borders, and it took him to builders that Yasutake had once worked with and learned under. Although it was strange and oddly comforting after protecting those who at one point in life he called 'sir,' only to have the tables reversed and have them doing the same for him. He had remained there for an extra day however due to the wounds that he had suffered after protecting them from the bandits but it had been worth it. They had even showed him a new machine that they had and tools that hadn't been available for use when he was younger.

Although it was awfully boring in hindsight to hear adults talking to him about something that no longer interested him, he appreciated the company. He was sure that he wouldn't call them friends, but they certainly weren't acquaintances either... It left him in an odd place. By the end of his extra day he had left, heading straight for the Hidden Mist instead of taking the detour that had protected him from running into the bandits on the way to the fort. I'll be incapable of defeating them head on. A thought that had gone to the forefront of his mind on plenty of the C Rank missions that he had been distributed. He had thought it when he had stopped a shinobi gang that had made a nearby lake their meeting place. He had thought the same again when he had gone to the fort, among countless other missions.

For a moment Yasutake had believed that Fukai would in fact turn and face him, and he did for but a moment before his attention had been stripped away from him and then placed upon the oddly looking Mafia Boss Hippo. He maintained his focus upon Fukai as he continued after him and the Hippo that had soon begun to chase after the Iwagakure ninja. From the corner of his eyes he had seen the Hippo chasing him and he had slowed down in order to not become noticed by him, and by the time he had got to the place that his target had previously been resting, the Hippo was already chasing him.

Why are the creatures on this island so big? He thought to himself as he ran past the tree and took notice of a beetle the size of his hand and doubled his speed to get away from it!

He slowed himself again, and the booming voice of the Pimp Hippo bounced around in his brain, echoing his words.

Get back here, you trespasser. This here waterhole is for me and my gang ONLY. If the others hear that humans have been on my turf, I will never live it down!

Not anymore meaty. He thought to himself as he maintained a mere fifteen metre between him and the back of the beast. He couldn't see what the other ninja was doing at that point. All he heard was a crash, and then the huge hippo crashed down onto the bridge, falling into water that didn't even reach it's mid rift. His dark eyebrows drooped into a frown as the hippo flailed around in the water, an aquatic animal that loathes water? The grip upon the Odachi on his back tightened. An old weapon, but he hoped that it would be able to serve his uses for the duration of his fight. If not, then he was certain he'd be in trouble, it was quite the key element to his fighting style.

In a few moments the pale headed shinobi had entered an exchange with the Hippo. He hardly cared to pay attention, but he had been paying attention. When he had been referenced, he had found a tree to lean on, and to watch the exchange with a raised eyebrow in curiosity. Soon enough the hippo was going off angrily away from it's... Home? Was it going to get it's friends? If so, they'd have limited time before they were no doubt swarmed, but Yasutake didn't think so, this one beast had seemed quite embarrassed when it's friends had been brought up. Placing a palm on the tree, he infused his chakra with the tree that he had been leaning on. He shook his head as he pushed away from the tree and stalked after the hippo for a few meters, putting five meters between him and the tree before lengthening his distance from the centre of the oasis, and allowing his target about an equal amount of maneuvering room as he himself had.

Barely sparing a glance to the distance between them, he had already guessed that it was about a ten meter distance. Rolling his shoulders backwards while his opponent talked, his left hand reached behind him again and this time actually drew out the Odachi.

"We have both chosen the correct path upon this day, Fukai." His words were spoken softly. There was no need to speak louder than normal, the chances of large animals in their proximity was still likely. It wasn't like they were given a list of creatures they could run into.

Although he had deigned to be polite in this situation, he wasn't simply going to introduce himself because it was the polite thing to do. They owed each other nothing, and Yasutake took the blade in a two-handed grip, showing that he was ready for combat. A few moments after Fukai had done something similar, anything to show his readiness, Yasutake launched himself forwards to the opposite side of the Bo Staff of Fukai's if he did decide to take it out, crossing that short distance of ten meters in 0.76 seconds. His blade was pointed outwards held at a low point as he moved, so that the moment he would pass Fukai he would deliver the quick slash into his flank. Whether he passed the Iwagakure Ninja or not, he would find out soon enough, but if he happened to he would continue to thirteen meters behind him and then twist around to face him.

WC: 1400

Chakra: 145/150

-5 substitution being set.

Fukai was back in his comfort zone. This is where his proficiency lay, the practiced skill and trained strength went down to the bone when it came to the young man. He was ready for this face off, having had hundreds before. He had been the wunderkind of the Fantomusodo bukijutsu dojo for a reason. His prowess in a duel of weaponry had been unmatched for all his years growing up in the mountain home of his clan. Fukai's first opponent, the nameless Kirigakure ninja stood opposite him. He would be the first one he would match up against and the first time he would feel the strength of the other villages in person. Purple eyes watched for his opponent's response after his own introduction. The young man would draw his odachi and speak.

We have both chosen the correct path upon this day, Fukai.
It seemed that he would not introduce himself in turn. The Iwa rep did not have a problem with this in the slightest, believing that this chance encounter and showdown was born out of nothing more then chance and necessity. This fight did not mean anything to him and was not personal and therefore he did not need any specifics. He was curious about his opponent, although. Wondering what exactly he could do and what techniques he possessed. Hopefully the stress of battle will bring them out in sweat and blood.

Sizing up the young man, he could tell he was keen. His movements looked clean and precise much like his own, sporting the same lithe step. Measured and efficient, he held his weapon with a flexible grip. However, his body seemed soft and untrained. Fukai wondered how much experience he had received and whether or not his foe had taken many hits during his lifetime. He guessed that a few well placed hits may be able to shake up the Kiri ninja and trading blow for blow should advantage him. What those blows turned out to be would be something he was sure to find out. He was one that could learn quite a lot about his opponent from fighting. The weapon he held was a rusty, low quality blade. A weapon that he saw many genin using. It was of the lowest grade and doubted that it could add to the many notches and wear on his own hard oak weapon. Yasutake's two handed stance showed that he was ready.

A quantum of adrenaline leaked into his muscles out of anticipation of what was about to unfold. Holding the staff out in front of him, Fukai's lips broke into a small smile. He rolled onto the balls of his feet and relaxed his whole body. At any moment, he should be able to act or react to anything that his opponent was to throw his way. The Hidden Mist rep charged once more, free from any interrupting hippos. His speed was immense, faster than any genin he had ever encountered. It took a mere 3/4 of a second for him to cross that 10 metre gap, speeding across the sand and heading for his left side. Fukai saw the dash and the sword tipping back, readying for a strike to the opposite side to the one he held his staff in. The speed was surprising but he was able to react to it. It was his experience and not his skill that came through for him in this instance, the many years of watching what truly powerful ninjas could do and training amongst them. Fukai remembered watching Harichimo and Karumo spar, the speed of their strikes was comparable to his young opponent. He had managed to escape the onslaught of the strange man by the name of Zennyo Ryuo and his massive water dragon. At the time, he had managed to take quick and concise action to not only get away, but to counter attack. A man who had seen and been a part of intense fighting for most of his life, this attack was small time.

As soon as Fukai saw the hold on the odachi tip to make the side slash, He orientated his wooden staff to defend. He could see in Yasutake's movement that he did not intend to slow down and meet him for a clash, but to pass right by after the slash. Fukai held his left fist up to his shoulder and flicked the staff across his body onto the raised forearm. He then raised his right arm up and forwards so that the staff could block the sideways strike at about 20 degrees from perpendicular. This would cause the blade to slide past his body and let his opponent's momentum continue forwards. As the blade slid past, Fukai's right elbow was near the boy's face. A jab with the elbow would mean that all the forward momentum from the sprint ended up in his elbow crashing into the boy's nose and probably result in it being broken.

With the unexpected lack of collision from the blade and his extremely fast forward sprint, the kiri nin would be unlikely to see and react to the small movement in the elbow. If the elbow jab did connect, Fukai intended to make use of the recoil flinch by flicking out the odachi by pushing out on the staff with the forearm that it was in contact with. With the opponents weapon away from his body, the Fantomusodian would continue the action and put all his strength into a back handed swing using his right arm and aimed the staff strike at the right ear of Yasutake. If this strike landed, it would probably damage his ear, inhibiting his balance. The whole defense and counterattack was made up of two smooth movements that would take less than a second.

[978] /4251
145/150 Chakra

D-3 Strength
D-3 Speed
D-3 Endurance
D-3 Perception
D-3 (+1) Reac Time

He moved quickly and with a purpose. As a Genin, his speed was great, he crossed distances swiftly and he made swift work of his enemies as well. His dash was simply a basic initiating attack he applied at the beginning of almost all of his fights. It'd be a judge of his opponent's skill and would allow him to measure up to his opponent if they reacted properly. It wasn't like the dash had a lot going for it, it was simply that, a dash. Point to point movement, his second point was three meters behind his opponent.

He moved quickly, crossing the distance towards his foe within the less than a second, hardly more than three quarters of that same second, his blade tipped, and in a flash of movement the Bo Staff moved into a position to guide the Odachi off of it's path and to the side, moving past Fukai without harming him. Past experiences in close quarters combat would prove that disarming your foe resulted in them being at a disadvantage. Whether that was what the Iwagakure ninja was doing, the Hattori knew not, but in that instant, he knew he had to get away from the Staff. His head leaned away to the right, moving too fast to make a meaningful turn with his entire body, too slow as he felt something hard, probably a bone, cuff him over his ear instead of being met with the full force of his forward momentum crashing into the elbow. It left him with a ringing sound in his left ear, and he twitched nonetheless, which caused his Odachi to be torn from his grasp.

In the moment that he had been struck in the air, it temporarily reminded him of times when he was younger and he practiced taijutsu with his father. Yasutake hadn't been one to be an excellent taijutsu specialist, but he was decent enough to gain acceptance from the Academy, and after that, even though he hadn't stayed in the line of duty as a shinobi immediately after graduating, he still practiced certain techniques with his father. Although this situation wasn't one that employed taijutsu, it was similar feelings when he had been cracked over the head by the Bo Staff, similar to how his father's muscular arm would strike him in the side of the head with full force. And just as his body has responded then, it responded the same now.

Yasutake stumbled, hand yearning for the hold of his Odachi, and in the direction that it had been launched, he followed after it for a split second before his body involuntarily tilted forwards, low enough so that the Bo Staff that would've otherwised cracked him across the right side of his skull passed overhead harmlessly, and he had instead gone knifing through the grass and sand behind Fukai.

If his opponent hadn't moved, Yasutake would simply be at the position he had determined he would arrive at after striking Fukai. In the moment that he had landed upon his front, he had awkwardly rolled back to his feet and spun on his heels, the world twirling around him as he saw Fukai ahead, and he lunged backwards, knowing the dizziness would persist for an extra moment, furthering the distance between the two greatly, allowing his leap to carry himself onto the destroyed bridge and basically forgetting about his Odachi altogether.

Soon, Fukai began to come into focus and he was ready.

Even though he wasn't completely in focus, his hand extended upwards, and beckoned Fukai forwards to come at him, the distance between them being fifteen meters in the event that he would've allowed him to regain his composure.

WC: 631

The exchange went by in a flash. The rusty odachi swept for his side but slid off his block. As the sword scraped past, Fukai pushed his elbow at the young man's face. He reacted to it with speed comparable to his own. Even with the small distance between his elbow and Yasutake's face, he managed to lean over to the side to scrape by with a minor hit to the ear. His opponent let the grip slip on his blade and Fukai managed to flick it away. The counter attack strike to the right of the kiri nin's skull swung over his head as he ducked under it.

Fukai noticed that he prioritized dodging the hit instead of holding onto his weapon. He didn't know if this was a snap decision or an impulsive reflex to dodge the damage but either way, it signaled to the Iwa genin that there was a lack of commitment to keeping hold and suggested that he may not rely completely on his buki techniques. Yasutake was carried past Fukai by his forward momentum. As he passed by, sliding off his staff, the Kiri rep stumbled forward and crashed onto his front. As soon as he went past, Fukai pivoted and followed.

__________
No! What are you stopping for? A wrinkled, fuzzy moustached old man bent down to talk to a white haired, purple eyed eight year old. Fukai had been part of the Fantomusodo bukijutsu dojo for half a year now and his strength grew along side his height. He was learning the basics of weapon to weapon combat and his friends and sensei had already noticed his natural ability. Even at eight years old, he stood at least three inches over every other kid in his year and his strength correlated. Today, the students were being pitted against each other to get a feeling for what combat was like. The little children were hacking away at each other with soft wood poles, displaying little coordination or resilience. The dojo was a cacophony of screams and yelling. This environment was enough to stress out even the patient sensei.

Amidst the noise, little Fukai had taken up his weapon and overpowered the kid he was matched up with. A few clashes of wood on wood dropped the little body onto his bottom. After winning the junior duel, Fukai stepped back and the boy got up and escaped. The sensei bent down and scolded him lightly. The boy looked into the purple eyes of the veteran shinobi, studying the black cross in the middle of them that signaled the second release of the clan doujutsu. He didn't understand what the problem was, he had already won the fight, after all. Yes, you had beaten him Fukai, but you haven't won until you hold the enemy's life in your hands. We live in a dangerous world my boy, not some fair and honest duel. The irritation dissolved away from his expression as he coached his star pupil. Their bond would grow over the next few years as they saw each other for many hours every day.

Fukai would come to love him as a father figure until they were separated.. After that day, he had traveled down the mountain and begun serving Iwagakure no Sato.
__________


No time wasted. No mercy until the job is done. As Yasutake stumbled past, he would follow. Fukai would be able to keep up with the Kiri nin easily and be on top of him just after he crashed to the ground. He would then jump on his back and kneel on it, locking him down. If his opponent was to try to get up or roll away, he would sweep out his legs with the staff or tackle him to the ground, pinning him. Fukai saw that the young man's movements were not too flash after the hit to the ear and would probably not be able to escape him throwing his whole weight on top without the use of a jutsu like the substitution technique.

If Fukai was to pin him successfully, he would reach for the boy's scroll and then hesitate. He would then decide to give him another chance by saying: Get up. Let's go again. And then standing and walking to the odachi that was currently stabbed into the sand. He would wait for Yasutake ten metres away to take up his weapon and attack once more.

[746] /4997

Although some of Fukai's thoughts were correct in thinking that Yasutake didn't have a die hard connection to his blade and that he did have other techniques to use, it was less of that and more of not wanting to fall atop of his own blade and make a fool of himself. He didn't know if the proctors were watching them some how in this stage of the Survival Examinations, and if they were, he was certain that would mean there were other spectators and in that case, he didn't want to look like a fool to them.

Evidently, it was too late for that when he had been approached from behind in that time that he had been on the floor, and instead of leaping up to his feet and fleeing onto the wooden bridge that had collapsed, he was instead set upon from behind which caused a frown to spread across his face when he realized he was being set on from behind.

Even though he couldn't see him, he knew the man moved with the intent of winning. He moved quickly, kind of like he followed in the paths of the Art of the Silent Killing something that Yasutake always aspired of becoming, a famed assassin in the ranks of the Kirigakure shinobi. To become one, he knew that he had to win here.

While the came dropped down onto his back, he remembered times past to when his father would do the same, twisting his arm behind it to a near breaking point, daring him to move as he called the match in his favour. Yasutake would fume at those times, rage induced words would flood from his mouth and the angry boy would let all sorts of things spew in his defeat. In this situation, Yasutake didn't say a word, he was impassive, almost uncaring that he had been defeated within a single move. No escape, no mercy, as it should've been in his opinion.

The moment Fukai got up from his back, the Kirigakure shinobi leapt up to his feet, brushing the dirt and sand that had accumulated on his clothes off. He knew that this man wasn't like any other opponent he had encountered before. Usually when he had performed the dash, opponents would attempt to go into a lock of blades with him, and he'd simply sweep past their guard and cut into their flank. This one had seemingly expected it, calculated what he had wanted to do and had acted accordingly. He wouldn't go as far to say that he was impressed, after all it wasn't something that involved a lot of thought in employing, but he knew he was going to have to be a lot more... Cautious in his moves.

He strode up to grasp his Odachi, and then he lunged backwards to the edge of the water, increasing the distance to almost twenty meters, and allowed his opponent a chance to make the first move.

WC: 510

He followed the kid and stuck to him like a shadow. Hos uncoordinated steps betrayed his balance. Fukai saw what was going to happen, the clumsy feet not positioning so that they could support his weight. After a few metres, Yasutake would end up on he ground, face first into the sand. The Iwa shinobi charged him down and denied him from being able to get up. He slammed his knee into the young man's back and push his weight upon him. This action caused little more than a bruise but it pinned his target to the ground. That was it. In one engagement, one small moment had determined their fates. Staff still in hand, he started to move his left towards the pouch that likely would contain the earth scroll.

If you do not possess earth, run through the fields and seek strength.

The scroll challenge was always seen as an integral part to the right of passage of the Chuunin Exams. Collecting and holding both was a symbolic action, showing that the individual had strength of mind and body and was therefore worthy to become a chuunin. He had been a genin for so long.. So many years that it seemed ridiculous to end it like this. Maybe there was a sizable difference in skill or maybe his opponent had just been unlucky. Either way, Fukai felt like he did not deserve it just yet. his hand stopped reaching for the scroll and he started to shift his weight from the Kiri nin's back. Standing, he spoke. Get up. Let's go again. He would then start walking in the direction of the rusty odachi.

The thought crossed his mind that maybe he was doing this out of mercy or some sort of kindness. He quickly pushed that notion away, not wishing to start questioning himself in the middle of a fight. The general feeling was that these were not traits that shinobi should exhibit and Fukai had his thinking shaped by these ideas. Fukai readjusted his scarf so that it was not wrapped around his neck but hung over it like a towel drying on the line. He had to make sure that his thoughts were in order so that when the young man charged at him with that incredible speed he would not hesitate. He made up his mind to get serious, not to give any more chances.

He turned to face Yasutake after walking ten metres to the other side of the odachi. He saw the young man follow and reach for his blade. This was it, as soon as he touched it, Fukai would start. He watched as the Kiri shinobi pulled his weapon from the sandy sheath and jumped backwards. As he saw this action begin, Fukai would start forward towards him. He noticed the change in tact after the previous exchange, his opponent was now creating distance instead of decreasing it. Either way, Fukai knew better than to let his opponent set the battlefield. It was a basic principal of combat- you could gather a large advantage by choosing the location. He ran forwards at 7m/s and kept up with the backwards lunge so that when Yasutake reached the edge of the oasis, Fukai would still be 10 metres from him. He would then continue with this speed for a direct assault, aiming to jab with his staff into the center of his foe unless his attack was reacted to with a defense from the odachi or otherwise. He did not expect the strike to do much damage on it's own but he wished to engage in close quarters at the very least. He was always cautious and his speed reflected that, he would probably have enough time and space to react to anything that his opponent threw his way.

He ran at the Kirigakure representative, unblinking gaze watching and waiting.

[653] /5650

Once the Odachi had safely been placed into his hand, he moved backwards. His speed was diminished because he wasn't able to gather up enough physical strength to propel him forwards like he had before, but he had only been pushing with his heels, fast enough so that his opponent was barely overtaking him when he had begun moving.

While he had lunged backwards he slipped the Odachi with a clearly practiced move into it's wooden sheathe. There would come a time when it'd be useful to him again he knew.

The words of his opponent still echoing in his ears.

Let's go again.

It was a second chance, something that any shinobi from his village would never have offered their opponent. It was only the mission, but Yasutake wondered why he was allowed one. This man would be shunned, disregarded as someone who valued 'honour,' in a world of cut throws and liars. Was being kind truly something that was valued in the world of shinobi? Was it a way for people to confide in their peers and comrades? Even their teachers?

"Why?"

The Bo Staff was aimed at the centre of his body as a powerful, yet swift jab. He was maintaining his distance from Yasutake, no doubt in the event to suddenly gain a burst of speed and crash through his defenses.

He gathered chakra in his body the moment the word had left his mouth. He focused it in his lungs and throat, his hands came together, closing their already minimal distance and his feet touched the ground, and he took a half step to the side as he spewed the fire from his mouth, the katon technique flying with a speed of 20m/s straight at Fukai as a projectile. If this was indeed his second chance, he was going to make the most of it, and so there was no more time for play.

He hoped with his sudden stop that it'd surprise his opponent and prevent him from creating a decent defense.

WC: 344

Chakra:

Fukai chased down his foe as a fast jogging pace. He did so as he wanted time to be able to react to whatever the Kiri nin decided to throw at him. He was expecting some sort of long ranged attack as the young man had tried to create distance between them. Maybe his opponent has surmised from their previous bout that he had the disadvantage at close range and wanted to try a different angle. If this was indeed what he was thinking then it would be advantageous for him to close that distance and put the pressure on. Fukai did not know what was coming but he trusted his judgement and his instincts when it came to how to approach a fight. He was sure that his sheer wealth of experience compared to other genin would benefit him greatly in situations like this.

He looked into his opponent's grey eyes. Even though the body was ready, his look was a little unfocussed. This hinted at some sort of distraction, maybe doubt or confusion. Fukai did not know what was wrong but if he did not share the same sharp and decisive resolve when they inevitably clashed weapons again, he would be able to break through and reach him once more. Discipline, a practised quality that had been one of habit for the Iwa nin. Hours of training every day, sweat flooded his body but his mind remained focussed. Discipline had shaped his mental state when it came to battle, the hammer that pounded out all weaknesses in his psyche. It had become such a resolute strength of his character, once he entered the 'zone', he would not be distracted by his own self. Doubt causes hesitation- when an opponent was coming straight for you, there is not room for wasted seconds.

It was this state that he descended into as soon as Yasutake grabbed the hit of his blade. His brow dropped and unblinking gaze settled upon his target. He ran forwards, watching and waiting as his careful nature required. The wooden staff by his was raised and held in his two hands, pointing diagonally across his body. Why? Fukai continued the unblinking charge, unphased by his foe's utterance. The time for talking had ended, he would not waver against anything. Fukai was ten metres from Yasutake when he was shown what he was looking for.

The stimulus of the sight of the hand sign reached his optic nerve. While the Kirigakure rep was about to reach the ground after his backward leap, his hands came together. Lion, could it be? He started sprinting forwards at 9m/s as his certainty grew. He was sure as soon as he saw the expansion across the chest. It was an unusually deep breath in and Fukai knew what was coming next. He raised his staff in front of himself like a bar. When Yasutake's feet hit the ground, he would stop his backward retreat for now and let rip a massive ball of fire.

Katon ninjutsu with it's signature destructive capabilities. Having been around, fought with and against Karumo Sekuro, he had become familiar with this sort of jutsu. His clan head was a proficient Katon user and his fighting style of fire with the bladed weapon looked similar to his current opponent's. Fukai had a fair bit of exposure to the tendencies and patterns that ran along side and had time to analyse it. Of cource, last time he had a bout with the spiky haired male, he had become a chuunin and his strength reflected his rank. Fukai knew how strong this style could be but he also knew it's weaknesses.

As the fireball erupted from it's mouth of origin, he had already started the channel of chakra into his staff. He would sprint into the fireball and spin the staff from the centre and emit chakra from it. This would turn the staff into a two metre chakra shield that would be able to crash straight through and dissipate the fireball. By the time that Fukai had made it through the fireball, he would be 5 metres from his foe. He would then stop the windmill-esque rotation to once more attempt a jab with the end of his staff into the centre of Yasutake's chest. Since the fireball's 5m diameter would obscure his opponent's vision of Fukai, Yasutake would see Fukai run straight into the flames and only spotting him after he had burst through it at a 5m distance.  

[768] /6418

Chakra 135/150:

On the road with his parents and the strangers that accompanied them, what appeared to the young dark haired child as a gigantic column of people when he rotated his torso to look behind him. He saw countless people, and as the large column began to get off of the road so as not to impede other travelers who were also traveling in the same or other directions, within a few minutes they had begun to set up their tents or whatever other type of housing they make, whether from chakra sources, or simply not requiring one at all. He watched them all from the shoulders of his father, staring over his head, as night time grew closer and dusk drew near, he saw the lights of fire and electricity. Every night it was almost as if it was a festival. Ronin that had joined their motley group of nomadic journeyers had begun their show of techniques. It started with the ones that were hardly able to be seen, it was wind chakra he remembered being told by his father as his long hair lifted off of his back and almost floated on it's own from the 'aftershock' of the wind techniques. At first he didn't realize what the fuss was about, but he saw shimmering in the air as the chakra moved and it almost felt as if his eyes had a natural skill at spotting out the chakra.

"Many of the techniques are hard to see," he remembered his father explaining to him while the sky darkened, and the corner of his father's eyes turning upwards to catch sight of the child that was leaning on his head. Fire techniques were next, balls of fire flew up into the air and exploded, releasing a particularly beautiful and non-dangerous stream of colours that slowly cascaded down to the ground surrounding it's point of origin and into the crowds. His head floated around when he heard the sound of other children laughing and playing in the dusk, and although he was interested in making friends and playing like any other child that was his age, he was more interested in what he was seeing before him. The heat from the techniques felt so hot, it was almost as if he were right beside a gigantic bonfire that made him uncomfortable due to it's sheer heat and size. Instead of that, these displays pleased him, they made him... Excitable, and he knew he was interested in these techniques.

Soon, groups of these Ronin were gathering together to make displays with fireworks. Wind chakra would be combined with fire to create an even hotter and larger fire, spreading it's oily substances in the air above the audience, and then the world above them would explode in a fiery display. When he thought of it as more of an adult instead of a child, he reflected that it was more of a circus than his family traveling across the world.

Paradise. He realized as the fireball was launched towards the Iwagakure ninja who he had lost sight of. But in those moments, Yasutake didn't remain still after releasing the gigantic ball of fire from his mouth, instead he had continued in the direction of his half step, to the point that he had the perfect angle for seeing whether the fire had struck his opponent or not.

Katon techniques were fired into a single tree, and even though it had rained throughout the entire day before and the current day, his father again explained to him it was due to the oily substance that the fire chakra users spewed before they released the rest of the technique, and eh was even more fascinated by that.

It's as if they're magicians, he had thought at the time...

His legs brought him away from his point of origin, five meters to the side and diagonally away from Fukai, more akin to his flank as he spun out two shuriken from his ninja pouch on his thigh, and even though he didn't have a direct shot upon the Iwagakure ninja, just as the fire had died down in that instant, the two shuriken had already been released towards the left flank of the enemy ninja. The spot that he remembered was the opposite side from whence he held his Bo Staff, and when he'd eventually come out of the fire, he figured he would have it on that same side from the beginning of their first 'bout.' One shuriken was released to just underneath his armpit so that if it did indeed strike him and injure him, it would prove as a nuisance to hold and control the Bo Staff. The other, second shuriken had aimed at the side, underneath his ribs in the hopes of catching him off guard, and although he didn't want to kill him, it was so that he could simply get in two quick strikes that could possibly slow down the movement of Fukai. It was a plan that he had brought together in the instant he had grabbed his Odachi, the rest of it simply happened as he moved. To think that he would've stayed in place was a mistake, one that Yasutake wouldn't fault him for if he truly fell for it. Usually when one did that it was to escape from danger, to gain more of a distance on their opponent, instead, Yasutake had done his best to use it to his advantage.

Next.

Kaboom.

It was an explosion of light, one that the child would never have expected. It was the last day with their traveling group of friendly circus members, and although he didn't know that for sure, the child that was Yasutake could understand well enough in the demeanour of those who had grown close to them and in the eyes of his parents. Always, he had been a perceptive child...

WC: 1014

Dashing forward at maximum speed, Fukai closed the distance in a split second. Just as he had expected, a large katon jutsu flew from his foe's throat. It sped towards him, the massive ball of searing flame spun and mowed through the sand. He strode confidently into it's path, believing that his skills were more than necessary to cope with a jutsu of this caliber. Staff at the ready and hands towards the center of it, he begun the rotation. Chakra flew from the weapon as it was spun. The light blue chakra melded together and created a translucent two metre wide shield.

The large 5 metre fireball dwarfed him and his shield, but the defense only needed to cover him. As he rushed into the flaming fray, his chakra shield would hit the fireball with his forward momentum punching straight through the center. As his vision was obscured by the fiery mass, he could not see what the opponent ninja was doing. When he reached the other side, he would have to be prepared for anything. Golden locks curled above Fukai's head as the collision of chakra dispersed both techniques. It seemed that he had used the correct amount of power to cancel out the offence. As soon as the fire dispersed, the Iwa nin would look for his opponent to see him moving diagonally away to his left.

Unsurprisingly, he was making more distance between them just as he had previous to his attack. He started towards the Kiri nin. He decreased his speed back to 7m/s when he saw his opponent's arm movement. He had shuriken in his hand and was releasing them towards him. Continuing his movement forward, he would bring his staff up to the general place that the shuriken looked aimed at. He managed to orient his staff so he could flick away the projectile aimed at his armpit and then twist slightly to the side so that the metal plate at the end of his scarf would deflect the one aimed at his side. The shuriken came through fast but Fukai used only the slightest of movements to avoid damage.

Once again he continued forward, aiming to engage the foe. After deflecting the shuriken while moving, he would again be about 5 metres from his enemy. He once again aimed the end of the staff for a mid chest body blow. If Yasutake should try to create more distance, Fukai would surprise him with a massive burst of speed from one of his jutsu.

[426] /6844

Chakra 125/150:

A number of things had happened in those few moments after two shuriken had been released from his grasp. The fire dissipated from around the Hidden Stone participant, disappearing around him and delivering little to no damage to the man unfortunately, none that were visible to the Kirigakure ninja anyway. Second, he had taken note of the shuriken that had been thrown the instant before the fire had thinned to the point of being incapable of harming him, and the Bo Staff that had previously been rotating at a rapid pace had been moved just enough to block the first shuriken, and with a twist of his head knocked back the second shuriken as well through the use of his scarf. To some, it would only seem as happenstance that the red scarf had protected him, but they were ninja, and ninja had all sorts of hidden tricks to use in combat situations.

The Bo Staff isn't his only weapon then. It also is capable of protecting him from metal tools? His thoughts traveled to various possibilities as he kept the distance between them short, seeing no point in creating an even larger distance.

The moment Fukai had taken note of where he was and had made the decision to go directly for him, he had already been sending his hands behind him for his wire.

Yasutake's hands moved behind his person within less time than a heart beat and tugged the wire from it's dispenser, and came to a stop that allowed him to bend down (to the ground and a bit to the side) enough so that the amplified speed of Fukai would hopefully leave Fukai unsuspecting of his sudden stop and would find his Bo Staff being pulled downwards by the Hattori's wire, just over the knee of his kneeling position with enough strength to hopefully lift him off of the ground as his netted hands connected to the sandy ground after guiding the weapon to the floor at his side.

His thoughts had been to surprise the Iwagakure shinobi with his sudden stop, but in their current circumstance Yasutake had already stopped and had begun bending his body downwards just as the burst of speed came, and due to it being too late for the Kiri ninja to change his arm's actions, he hoped it'd be more of a detriment for Fukai rather than himself for running his Staff with a sudden burst of speed into his netted grasp and quite possibly thrown behind him with his own built up momentum and the sudden change of angle thanks to Yasutake's movements. His stance was close to the floor, and it brought him even closer as his hands connected with the ground, if enough force had been applied by his opponent, instead of actually being dragged backwards with him (if he did get thrown into the air) he'd slide backwards at best.

WC: 495

Chakra: 130/150

OOC: Tailwind not used as Yasutake did not move away

Metal flashed as the shurikens ricochet off his weapons. He was continuing his forward charge, unrelenting in his pursuit. He had readied chakra around his pores for a quick release and speed boost to catch his opponent if he wished to create more distance. As he ran, he watched Yasutake reach behind him for something. He slowed down his pace slightly to 7m/s, watching his opponent's movements carefully. It looked like he was taking something from that pouch that Fukai had spotted on his back that time he was on top of him. He could be hiding any sort of small tool in there. It seemed that the opponent's strategy had changed once again but the Iwa hope was flexible and ready for anything.

He was only a few metres away when Yasutake brought out the wire and held it between his hands. Fukai continued his attack, his mind working on the possible uses that the foe had in mind. The individual strands of wire were hard to see and only became visible as he neared but he saw that it was indeed wire from the way his hands were shaped. He knew the tricks and trouble that a devious soul could conjure up with wire, he would have to be on his guard. The shining afternoon sun lit up Fukai's silver hair, contrasting it against the golden sand. He continued with his attack even though his opponent had stopped and knelt down. The jab that had been aimed at the man's center came through a little higher at Yasutake due to his position. As he started the forward motion of the strike, Fukai realised what the Kiri nin was attempting to do. He was holding the wire out in front of him and as going to try to deflect his strike with it. Fukai knew he wanted to get rid of the wire as well as continue his aggressive play. This meant there was only one option left, he would have to get serious.

Striking at incredible speed with his forward momentum behind him, Fukai would light his weapon up with raiton chakra as the staff came into contact with the wire. The crackle of electricity sizzled and a sharp chakra tip would touch and cut through the wire. The contact with the conductive metal wire would send raiton chakra into Yasutake's arms, spasming them for .2 of a second. This would give him more than enough time to guide the already fast strike into the left side of the neck. If this attack would hit, it would slice into the jugular and rip open a wound that meant the target would lose a lethal amount of blood without immediate treatment. Fukai did not hesitate to strike, realising that his opponent would not have much opportunity to avoid his attack and be unable to use his arms to react or use jutsu and not having much natural mobility due to his stationary, kneeling position. He knew that contestants had the option to open their scroll to be transported back and acquire medical attention.

[515] /7359

Chakra 125/150:

Back in Kirigakure upon his return to the Village's Genin Ranks, he had been training on the Shore Side, close to the Port. The first genin that he had ever met in his life while he himself had been a ninja was Maigo. A boy who wasn't clear on when to go away, but was keen for a fight. Of course at the time, Yasutake had used multiple tools to face off against him. That day had seemed so long ago, the techniques that were used left in the past for a better and more improved, almost older seeming ninja. Those blood red eyes that were characteristic of the Uchiha's Sharingan had imprinted themselves into Yasutake's brain. How could he ever forget the potential of a demonic look? It was how the brain worked, it was hard to force things from your mind, instead it'd bring things out into the light at the worst times possible.

When Fukai had gotten close to him and the electric charge was flowing through the wires and were heading straight for Yasutake, the moment they entered through his arms he was incapable of moving them and his mind had some odd clarity as his limbs were disrupted in their activities of pumping blood into his body, seemingly putting all activities on hold that involved his arms. In such close quarters, he couldn't help but remember as to how he had been so low to the ground and how Maigo had descended upon him with his blade, and as he began to will his body to swap places with his infused chakra, the after image that was in the place of Yasutake's throat was torn through. Of course it was him, but it also wasn't him at the same time, and his jugular was cut. Those who mastered the substitution technique, one that was an Academy technique, was capable of putting out the image of blood from their after image, and like so many ninja before him, Yasutake did the same.

When the Bo Staff struck Yasutake's throat and into his jugular, the blood that was already flowing through his body at the time of him activating his substitution, the blood spewed from his throat in every which direction. For a moment it most definitely looked as if Yasutake had been slain, but before he could even drop to the ground in that moment, there was a puff of smoke and Yasutake had been placed beside the tree that he had infused his chakra with.

Yasutake hadn't been watching the antiques as if it were a good show to spend an evening watching. Whilst he had changed his position to one that was further away, approximately nine meters to the back of Fukai, he still was planning to use the wire, and the moment that his intense untraceable burst of speed had ended and he was placed beside the tree, a large portion of the wire had been released to cover the distance between the Kirigakure no Sato, and the Iwagakure no Sato participants, and was spiraling in a way that it would constrict around the unsuspecting Rock shinobi, already knotted in numerous places to constrict his entire body's movement, and he completed the tightening with his teeth, but was always aware for any similar tricks as to what he himself had been putting in place.

Just as he had then with Maigo, Yasutake had used his substitution jutsu as an almost offensive ability, using it to put him in a better, more advantageous position and to exploit the apparent defenselessness of the opponent. His techniques were limited when it came to his wind techniques, and his more violent and visually more dangerous seeming fire techniques were in abundance, and in the next few moments he was already planning his next few steps.

WC: 649

Fukai's aim was true. The lightning edge of his blade cut clean through the taught metal strands, spasming the two arms. He carried on, the point of his spear cut into the side of his neck, ripping open a wound where blood already started gushing out. And then he poofed. The no named Kiri nin was suddenly gone. The figure turned to white smoke before his eyes, replaced with a piece of the trunk off one of the palm trees. Damn. A substitution.

He could feel a pressure against him all over his body. Fukai looked down to see himself tied up in wire. His arms were pulled tight against his body. He stretched his head to see Yasutake standing behind him. The young man had somehow managed to tie him up during the substitution jutsu despite his useless arms. It was exactly a trick like this that he had been afraid of. Not having any time to prepare for the ensnaring, he had been rendered immobile and defenseless. That left him with only one option. As soon as Fukai looked back at his foe, he decided and acted. Muscles and chakra responding instantly to the decisive action.

He hated to leave his mother's blood red scarf behind on the battlefield, especially to escape a trap. It was like she was once again saving him from an early grave and giving her life so he may leave unharmed.. Fukai was a rational man and had no notions of spirituality or debt to the dead, he just felt naked without the fabric around his neck, some psycological tendency required that he wear it at all times. But this was battle, all was pushed aside in his mind for the single objective of survival.

By the time Fukai's scarf poofed, he would have already started his attack. He would appear behind him with his staff by Yasutake's leg and instantly start the jutsu. He blasted chakra out of the end of the weapon to propel it multiple times and change the direction. The first strike would be through the ligaments at the back of each knee. The second came as a large diagonal slash up the back. The third was across the top of the shoulders from one shoulder to the other. The bursts propelled the weapon at 20m/s and made the total time from appearing to the end of the final strike about .1 of a second. Three slashes in a Z an inch deep into Yasutakes flesh would render his whole body spasming from raiton overload. The opponent would have nowhere to run or time to react as the slashes and spasming would have most likely started before the target realised that he was gone from the wire trap.

If the jutsu landed, Yasutake would crash to the ground after losing control of his body. Straight after finishing the jutsu, Fukai would spear him in between his shoulder blades and push him down. Pinning him once more, he would then grab and open Yasutake's scroll so that he could receive medical attention.

[517] /7876

Chakra 95/150:

He had never thought of why he was so in love with his fire techniques. If this apparent event hadn't been so apparent perhaps if he had been in private, he would've revealed a more passionate side of himself, simply consisting of a face that was so excited it bordered on crazed, but that was a part of himself that was so far pushed down it simply didn't exist in situations like this, that were clearly quite important... Matters of the Village and ninja business were more important to the young Hattori than pleasing himself with mere... Tricks. It was a sentiment that he believed he developed himself, but it was one that was instilled in his brain through the extreme efforts of his father. Days in their nomadic journey weren't always as fun as they had seemed in the past to him, most of the days consisted of him learning at the hands of his father. Basic punches and kicks were what it consisted of, and Yasutake had been trained well in the style, but his interest wasn't in that.

As any young boy was, he was a lot more interested in the functions and finery that came with learning kenjutsu, and from there he had learned what his father could teach him. For what seemed like a short amount of time to the kid he had learned from other travellers like him, but as soon as he had arrived in Kirigakure no Sato he had enrolled in the resident Shinobi Academy and had continued his training within the art of Kenjutsu. After numerous years, he eventually got to the spot that he was in now... The Chunin Selection Exams, yearning for a higher calling in the world in order to help protect and do his part for the Hidden Mist Village.

At that point in time, it didn't look like it was happening.

The red scarf disappeared into a puff of smoke, consumed and concealed by the puff of smoke that was the result of the substitution jutsu. There was the tell tale audible sound of the substitution technique occurring behind him, but before he could even turn around to face his likely opponent, the first strike that had been formed by Fukai drew a line through his flesh, specifically in the ligaments at the back of his knee caps. An immediate move to stop his capability of reacting, and or responding in kind to the Iwagakure no Sato ninja. Irritation flickered through his eyes, but before he could even finish a thought, there was the feeling of pain spreading over the length of his back in a diagonal angle. It was a wound that was stinging, and yet it felt as if it was burning as well. Both of them, intense and he knew that his way out wouldn't be as simple as he would normally imagine.

So this is it?

The final strike was across his shoulders, but by then he had already fallen forwards and had fallen on to his front. His face was full of watery sand, the form of the Hattori that was Yasutake collapsed on the floor moving involuntarily as the spasms were the only thing that was truly controlling the rest of his actions.

For a moment there was nothing, and his face down position suddenly changed a few moments after he had felt the scroll being removed from it's pouch in the small of his back. Immediately after he had appeared, the Medical Ninja went to work, of course throughout the entire ordeal Yasutake didn't move, only wondering as to why he wasn't dead already, killed by his much more prepared opponent. His moves were smoother than mine own, he realized at that point, remaining in that position even for a time after his wounds had been healed significantly.

He was in his thoughts at that time now.

WC: 662
TWC: 7157

--EXIT THREAD--

training = 300 ryo total:

Fukai hated to admit it, but at that time when he realised he had been ensnared in the Kirigakure shinobi's wire, he had been caught out. Trapped and his hand forced. It was a clever little trick and the sort of thing he was always on the lookout for. Despite his continually careful approach, he had been bested in that time. He had been convinced that his strike had landed against the neck that he had already started to let up. Up until that point, he had been holding back but as he soon realised inside that net of wire, he would have to put his cards on the table.

He stretched his neck over to see Yasutake standing behind him, the threads of steel laced through his fingers and pulled tight with his teeth. The genin's speed sure was scary, Fukai needed use of his jutsu to keep up with his opponent's raw talent. Fukai's purple gaze hovered on his target for one last second. I'm sorry mother, looks like I'm to leave you again. And then he was gone. He slipped out of the clutches of the trap and moved with the unobservable speed of the substitution jutsu. The blood red scarf left his neck, filled up the gap that he had left and transformed to take his shape. When the jutsu ended, he would be standing behind his prey like a malicious shadow. His staff was cocked and held low. He began his attack straight away.

No doubt, no hesitation. Fukai saw an opening, a weakness. The foe was fast both in step and mind, having the tenacity to keep up with his aggressive patterns. But he also saw Yasutake's soft, inexperienced flesh. The kind that would not hold up to a solid blow. He also lacked the sharpness in his focus, those grey eyes would probably not notice his escape and counter attack until it was over. Fukai realised that he was simply more experienced than his younger foe, and those years of time and countless missions added up in the Iwa nin's favour. He had found an exposed Achilles heel or should he say, hamstring tendon.

This would be the first time that he used this jutsu in a real fight. It was his own creation, and he suspected one of his strongest techniques. This was part of the 'Phantom Style' that he had begun to envision. The teachings of his clan mixed with his own innovative flavours and practiced to perfection, it had nothing to do with ghosts or the like, the name was a sort of offering of homage to his origins. Aggressive bursts of chakra and coordinated control were mixed in Fukai's style; it was chaos and order, combined and synchronised to form a balanced and versatile bukijutsu patterns. Karumo had been the first to feel the strength of his assault flurry, and even he did not manage to avoid it all together. After that last meeting, the clan head had mentioned that maybe they could share their ideas and collaborate to create something truly special. He would have to do well here and prove that he was worth something after all.

Demobilise, disable, defeat. He recognised the most effective line of action instantly and executed the attack. His two hands planted with a firm grip on the solid oak, he exploded chakra out the end of his sizzling weapon. The staff gained speed and tore straight through the back of Yasutake's knees in a blink. The jutsu was relatively simple, creating velocity of strike that would be otherwise unattainable. All he had to do was control the direction of the swing and get his body through the motion. It was the same as how a lumberjack uses the force acting on his axe by gravity to split wood and only guides the tool on it's descent onto the right spot.

Without the use of his legs, Yasutake was not going to go anywhere fast. The second burst of chakra propelled the raiton enhanced staff up the young man's back diagonally. As he reached the shoulder, his target's body was already starting to contract in the spasming effect that his elemental nature often had on the human body. One more burst to seal his fate, the chakra tip sliced from shoulder to shoulder and induced the same spasming up his neck and down the arms. Within .1 of a second, he unleashed a Z to his foes and completely taken away all movement. Arms raised and feet splayed a metre apart, he lowered his head in respect for a split second as his opponent's body fell to the ground. He then helped it on it's way by spearing him through the shoulder blades.

He kept his staff in place only long enough to flick open the pouch on Yasutake's backside and open the scroll with one hand and his teeth. Breaking the seal and unraveling the roll of paper made the downed male glow slightly and then disappear. Fukai was quick to end the encounter as he could tell that this was the way he would have wanted to leave, judging from the young man's few words and lack of introduction. Any sort of talk would not only be pointless but may rub dirt in the wound. Fukai held no ill feelings against the kid as he happened to be his opponent only by chance in this test. They would probably never see each other again although, strong people had a magnetic effect on others with strength. Maybe there was a day that they would by chance, meet again. The kid had talent, maybe when he grew a little more and had a few more fights under his belt he would be more than enough to take him on.

The scroll of heaven and now, the scroll of earth. He latched his staff to his back and taken them both out for examination. This was supposed to mean that he had the required strength of mind and body that was required of chuunin. He couldn't help but get the idea that this was a turning point. The genin wasn't one to muse about himself but he felt himself shifting. He realised that this exam was more than just a possible promotion, after this was finished, he would truly become an adult. The implications of that.. His silver hair blew in the soft desert wind as the sun started to sink. Turning his eyes to the horizon, he allowed himself a few moments to reflect on his bearing. Unsure of the path ahead, Fukai was adrift. But luckily, he had just acquired a map.

Fukai unraveled Heaven and Earth, placing them on the sand in an X.


[1143] /9019
~Exit~
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