Rippa sat quietly deep within the construction zone where civilians were meant to stay out of. Shinobi and construction crews could move about in the area's designated for them but Rippa had applied to utilize a space deep within. This far away even the construction crews wouldn't hear an explosion as more then a pop and there was merely the skeleton of the building with a couple dozen bare floors with a clear tarp to keep the concrete and steel dry. Rippa sat in a hard back chair near the front entrance as he sipped quietly on his lemonade in a bottle that seemed ideal for work outs. Kind of thing you would see in a gym or a bike ride. It was a little sweet with the added sugar but he relatively enjoyed the cool drink. The sun was beating up above with only a cloud spotting the blue sky here and there. Luckily the sun was on the other side of the building so he was in no threat of a sun burn. Still he rested with his feet up on a cooler filled with bottled water. He was intending to test out a couple of kids he had been assigned with recently without consulting him so he would certainly work them. If he was to take his training time and use it for some kids they were going to break a sweat.

Rippa himself sat back in his chair with his red coat folded over the back with the captain symbol folded to much to be seen clearly. His belt of bolts set on one corner and his twin repeating crossbow katana sheathed and leaning on the other side. On each shoulder of the coat was a cleanely polished metal piece from a konoha head band marking him as a shinobi. His pants were a simple pair of flexible slacks with plenty of give but cleanly cut and hemmed at his ankles. His feet had on a pair of comfortable looking steel toe boots that had the dust from the construction zone coating a lot of it. Finally his shirt was an odd combination of a tank top with a zipper and a high top neck. Black in color with the zipper undone halfway down his chest to let the air in while the high neck remained slightly stiff. His white hair hung loose around his head about shoulder length but seemed to keep itself out of his eyes which matched the skies brilliant blue and seemed to see everything. Or at least that would be noticable if not for the two accessories he was wearing. First was a silver necklace with angel wings on the end that seemed a little extravegant but it was the only piece of jewelry on him. A family heirloom. After all he was the head of the Angel branch of his clan. Second was the read aviators settled on his nose and keeping the light out of his eyes as he waited for his would be students.

He had invites sent out officially to both the individuals he had assigned to him in squad three with instructions to move to the south west inside the construction zone and about half a mile in they would look for a ten story tall skeletal building. It was a solid structure already but they were to meet him in front of it at noon...when the sun would be at it's highest point. He had never met either of them so he wasn't sure what to expect but he certainly looked forward to meeting new people. Still he would set his bottle bottom down in the dirt next to his chair and lift up a medical monthly magazine and begin to examine the page he was on. An interesting heart murmur that had been gradually healed with a D rank medical technique over time and was now a healthy heart by all tests. It had made it's way into the magazine because typically medically altering a genetic condition like that to become a healthy version was facinating and unheard of. Perhaps there was hope of his clans disease being cured too. Still he would remain alert to any movement around him as he waited. Listening for anyone hopping the chain link fence of feet in the dirt and gravel. He wasn't eager for anyone looking to make a statement by ambushing their instructor.

745

The construction site wasn't especially hard to find since it had been there in all of its noisy glory for quite some time now. Simply following the instructions that he was given to meet his sensei at this location, the shinobi had slowly eased his way here after making the necessary preparations. This was a day that should have happened many years ago, but being the slacker that he is Jinta was just now joining a squad to further his ninja career. Draped over his shoulders was a thin black shirt had short, loose strings hanging from where, presumably, there had once been buttons, and as the shirt blew slightly in the wind revealing a white tank top underneath. He reached back as if going for a back pocket as the wind held his shirt up and blew plumes towards him so he could check the little pouch he kept on his backside to insure that his kunai and shuriken were in place. He exhaled deeply after approaching the building he had seen coming up on the about a half mile away, the metal of the support beams glistening wherever they weren't covered with concrete, the tarp, or dust. His arms flew up over his head and stretched out at awkward angles as a long silent yawn widened his mouth and made his eyes water. The young ninja grabbed a hold of the top of the fence as he hopped over it, causing it to shake ever so slightly, and landed on the other side the lightweight shoes not really doing too much to stop the sound of grinding gravel as he landed.

Now that he was just a few steps from getting back on his path to become a ninja he almost felt anxious. He wondered what if he at nineteen years old and still a genin got paired with some eight year old super-genius, brat. He didn't know who could be on his team. He felt a deep seed of shame begin to form as he wondered if maybe he should turn back. Maybe it wasn't possible for him to be a ninja because of his long hiatus from the ninja world. He hesitated for a moment, but it was just that, a moment. Noticing the person sitting in front of the entrance, he clenched his fist and steeled himself for whatever this sensei might throw at him, and if his squad had members who were young geniuses than he just had to prepare himself to work twice as hard.

As Jinta neared the entrance of the building a a pair of determined eyes investigated the location, he didn't immediately notice anything threatening. He didn't know off hand who his sensei was going to be, and it didn't occur to him to ask his father who he was, not that he would have known for certain anyways. Reaching the meeting point the reasons why knowing who his sensei was became immediately apparent to Jinta: his sensei could be renowned for wanting his pupils to always be early, there could be some kind of test he hadn't studied for, or any plethora of things that Jinta hadn't thought about. Those distractions faded from his mind as he notice that the man sitting at the entrance before him seemed to be a bit older than him, had sky blue eyes, and hair so white it could put snow to shame. Huh, the description almost seemed familiar. With a slight nod of his head Jinta introduced himself, "Hello, I am Jinta Nara, and I have been instructed to report to this location." He looked the man in the eyes as he spoke as he was almost positive that this was the ninja who was to become his sensei and help him move on with his future as a ninja.

[638 words]

Kashizudoto ran down to the construction site, as he was really excited to meet his new squadmates and sensei. He was so hurried, in fact, that he almost crashed into multiple people along the way, much to the displeasure of the citizenry. But they couldn't hate him; after all, he was a leaf shinobi. It was his job to protect the village and to improve the quality of life of its citizens. So bumping into a few of them every now and then wasn't too much of a bother.

He'd never met his sensei, but from the name "Rippa", he was worried that this wouldn't be your typical kind sensei. Regardless, he was willing to work extra hard to make sure that this squad worked out. After all, Kashizudoto wanted to one day become like his grandfather, a renowned commander. He couldn't do that without some practice in teamwork.

Kashizudoto brought a kunai and three shuriken along, in case there was any sort of test, in a pouch firmly attached to his green jacket, under which was a white undershirt. The black-haired boy of only twelve years old - who looked very mature regardless of his age - had sharp brown eyes, which seemed only to complement his look.

Once he reached the construction site, he started maneuvering to the southwest - as the instructions told him - running for about half a mile through the cranes and construction workers. Finally, he arrived at a tall ten-story skeletal building, just like the instructions said he would. Good, he wasn't very skilled at following other people's directions, but he pulled it off successfully this time.

From afar, he spotted a middle-aged man - or so he guessed at least (the guy's hair was as white as a dead man) - reclining in a chair. He wore a red coat with a zipper on it. He also saw a piece of jewelry hanging around the man's neck. Also notable were his steel toe boots, which Kashizudoto was sure could fracture bone. The man was also wearing red aviators while he read up on a health magazine; it was really sunny out there, after all. Kashizudoto presumed that the man was his sensei. From there, he didn't look too bad, but Kashizudoto could only wait and see to find out what kind of torture this sensei was truly capable of.

He could also spot a young black-haired man who was definitely over 18. Was this a squadmate? Or was this the sensei? But then why were there two of them? Or... this was a big slacker. If that was the case, would Kashizudoto be the youngest in his squad? He both enjoyed and loathed being young. On one hand, he had plenty of time to hone his skills. On the other hand, he definitely wouldn't be taken as seriously as his older counterparts, and Kashizudoto couldn't stand any disrespect.

Kashizudoto ran up to the two and turned to face the older man, who he was almost positive was the ninja who would become his sensei. "Hello, sir. I was instructed to come here and find my sensei." Kashizudoto declared and then asked, "By any chance, are you my sensei?

WC: 546

Rippa was mid paragraph in the story when his attention was drawn away from the article by the sound of chain link bending and then shaking before shoes hit gravel. Someone had certainly arrived and it appeared they were not interested in sneaking. Not that he could figure how two newbies would be able to strategize around this terrain to eliminate all noise. Gravel was a difficult thing to move about on silently. One could probably have utilized rope or some sort of chakra thread to lift themselves above but in broad daylight it was likely to be too noticable in such an open space. However he wasn't above assuming someone was intelligent enough to design a basic silent moving technique which eliminated noise immediatly around them. They were ninja after all even if most of them were more lightning tossing vikings. Still he bent the magazine to gaze through his aviators at the first to arrive and study him with his analyctical mind. He wasn't sure what to think of the young man. An adult or having finished puberty quickly by the look of him. Rippa wouldn't say too much to that and his rank though as his own studies had taken him away from ranking up until after he was into his twenties. He had risen better than his squad mates had though so perhaps this one had the potential to as well. Still he was wearing the average pants with a white tank top and a black shirt missing all its buttons. Certainly not meticulous. He didn't appear to have any weapons at first glance but that could be just on the surface. A pity really. He had been hoping for at least one swordsman.

Rippa would rise from his chair to his full height as he set the magazine down onto the chair with a light toss. His right hand lifting to push the aviators up into his hair line so he could study the young man undesturbed by the red haze. His attention on the muscle definition and general stats of him. His potential was high but his muscle had yet to form into the higher levels Shinobi depended on. He was satisfied with that though as medically he liked a clean and fresh subject to work with over one with too much scar tissue. Still even as the young man introduced himself and provided his reason for being there Rippa rose an eyebrow at a lack of a head band identifying him. Still before he could fully reply the sounds of boots approaching a little quicker could be heard causing Rippa to look passed the young man to a child approaching. Interesting...He was wearing a green coat with a weapons pouch clearly attached to it over a white undershirt and he too was wearing average shinobi pants with light shoes. Again this one also wasn't wearing his head band anywhere which made Rippa sigh inwardly before crossing his arms and leaning on his left foot a little heavier as his right heel idly lifted and rested on his left ankle. A comfortable standing position for him at least.

The kid didn't so much introduce himself as declare he was searching for something in the area. If not for the head bands stitched into Rippa's coat (Still draped over the chair) there would be little to no reason to suspect this group was a Konoha shinobi squad. He was actually tall standing in front of this lot now that they were close enough to notice with fair skin his muscles were as defined as reasonable while still lean. It almost looked like he was built from stone under his skin. Still his sky blue eyes looked over them before he would smile a little and uncross his arms. One hand dropping to his hip while the other went to rub the back of his head.

"You two are squad three with me huh? Alright well I guess we will handle the basics. Yes you are at the right location assuming that is your squad. I am Dr. Chi Rippa. A jounin of this village. Before you wonder if you got set up with some random Jounin or if that name sounds familiar, try and keep tabs on who your current Sannin and division captains are. That said, I want you two to introduce yourselves to the group. Start with name and rank, Finish with what you specialize in and what your goals are as a Shinobi. After that I will run the test I brought you out here for. Jinta, you were here first and I assume have seniority. You start us off."

786/1531

Rippa commanded quite a bit of attention from the bright red jacket he wore that stood out against the mostly monochrome background to the aviators he had been wearing until Jinta had approached him. He looked down at the magazine that his instructor had tossed down. Perhaps this was the reason that he was chosen for this team, his future instructor could be a prominent medical nin. Jinta happily thought to himself, "How pleasant would that be." His eyes caught sight of the complex blades beside of the chair, and he paused as brain things started to turn and the gears in his head started to move. Could this man have been a sword saint, because not just any blacksmith could make a pair of blades like that, and even fewer would just give them away to a ninja. the swords themselves looked to be of high quality let alone the fact that the bolt of crossbow bolts beside of them seemed to imply that they were also projectile weapons. It seems that he was incredibly lucky. Not only did his instructor have med. ninjutsu capabilities, he also was, seemingly, skilled in non chakra based styles. Jinta was willing to bet that he was pretty good with those too after seeing the statue-like man's form and feeling a little self-conscious about the lackluster training he had done until this point. This man was definitely his instructor, and he felt a little awkward for not noticing these things immediately and grateful to his Hokage.

It was pleasant though to be the first one in the squad to make it to the meeting spot even if his other squad mate seemed to be a kid. Seeing the kid run here made Jinta think that he had a long hard road ahead of him to keep up with this kid. He hadn't expected any less, but it would have been nice to have someone closer in age as a squad mate. He didn't seem too young, which was a bonus to Jinta. He didn't underestimate any ninja, but there are certain barriers that exist if you are too young and too small. Like Jinta had before him, this ninja, either because he recognized the difficulty or because he didn't care to, chose to straight forwardly approach the building.

Jinta relaxed a little as he convinced himself that he had not failed yet since, as his sensei had said the tests hadn't even started yet. He felt a subconscious urge to scratch the back of his head, so he raised his hand to the back of his head and scrunched his eyebrows as he attempted to think of an answer. His eyes looked away from the other members of the group as he avoided eye contact so he could come up with a more clear and concise answer. His eyes wandered through some of the holes in the floors of the building and at some of the pillars. As he spoke his mind wandered a little bit as he thought about what the test might actually be compromised of.

"It seems like we are." He had assumed that his squad was going to be bigger, but there were probably benefits to having a squad this size. "My name is Jinta. Nara Jinta sorry. I specialize in sevante style hand-to-hand fighting, but I am all around decent in taijutsu. I also have a propensity for medicine, but I haven't learned anything yet jutsu wise. And well, I guess I would like to work in the Konoha military force or something similar." A determined look that appeared in jinta's eyes attempted to hide behind his long, black, draping bangs, and he righted his slouched posture and made eye contact with his instructor again before almost laughing off his ambition as the look faded. "That's so far ahead for me, so I guess I hadn't really thought much about it. I also don't have any talent for my clan's jutsu, and I actually have talent for fire release jutsu instead of shadow, so yeah that should be it. It is a pleasure to meet my future squad." Jinta paused and began to wait for his squad mate to answer before he started talking again. "Actually it's bothering me a little. About those swords, were you a sword saint or something, or am I just confused."

[722/1360 words]

"You two are squad three with me huh? Alright well I guess we will handle the basics," said the sensei, "Yes you are at the right location assuming that is your squad. I am Dr. Chi Rippa. A jounin of this village."

"Before you wonder if you got set up with some random Jounin or if that name sounds familiar," said Dr. Chi Rippa, "Try and keep tabs on who your current Sannin and division captains are." So this guy was one of the three best ninja in the village other than the Kage? His power must have been... immense.

"That said, I want you two to introduce yourselves to the group. Start with name and rank, Finish with what you specialize in and what your goals are as a Shinobi", requested the sannin, "After that I will run the test I brought you out here for. Jinta, you were here first and I assume have seniority. You start us off." Hmmm... A test? Interesting.

"It seems like we are," remarked the man who looked way to old to still be under a sensei, "My name is Jinta. Nara Jinta sorry." So this guy was a Nara. They were known for their intelligence, but some were also remarkably lazy as well; it seemed that this slacker was one of them.

"I specialize in sevante style hand-to-hand fighting, but I am all around decent in taijutsu," said the Nara, "I also have a propensity for medicine, but I haven't learned anything yet jutsu wise." So he had medical ninjutsu skill, but he couldn't really use it. Sounded like Kashizudoto's problem; he was skilled in Kenjutsu, but he didn't buy a katana yet because he was saving money for a B-rank katana to use as a chuunin.

"And well, I guess I would like to work in the Konoha military force or something similar," stumbled the man, "That's so far ahead for me, so I guess I hadn't really thought much about it." So this guy had no plans for the future. Explains why this guy was still a genin at the age of nineteen.

"I also don't have any talent for my clan's jutsu, and I actually have talent for fire release jutsu instead of shadow, so yeah that should be it," said the Nara, "It is a pleasure to meet my future squad." So he had no talent for shadow? What a shame, Kashizudoto - as a Sarutobi - already had Katon covered.

"Actually it's bothering me a little," added Jinta, "About those swords, were you a sword saint or something, or am I just confused." Come to think of it, that Dr. Chi Rippa did have a really cool blade.

Before the sannin could answer, Kashizudoto added, "Well, if we're going to talk about what's bothering us as part of our introduction, I'd say this whole three-man squad thing is a little strange. I mean, don't we of Konoha take pride in the four-man squad model?"

"Anyway," he said, "I'm Kashizudoto Sarutobi, a genin pretty much fresh out of the Academy."

"My specialty is ninjutsu - specifically with the Katon element," said Kashizudoto, "I'm also very skilled in Kenjutsu - the art of swordplay with a katana; however, I haven't bought a katana yet. I guess you could say I'm being a little stingy, but I'm saving up my ryo and waiting until I reach chuunin level both in swordplay, using my wooden training katana to practice, and in general ability as well so that I can buy a stronger and harder to wield katana for the more dangerous missions I'll be taking as a chuunin. I mean, finding a lost cat really doesn't require a katana, right?"

"So anyway," continued the genin, "My dream is to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather, Nokashikaram Sarutobi, as an excellent commander."

"I guess the first step is to actually bring along my hitae-ate," added the genin with an embarrassed smile after realizing how he and Jinta both forgot their forehead protectors.

WC: 1239

Rippa would listen as they spoke in turns. The first being the older as he spoke of his name Rippa would raise an eyebrow. He had encountered Nara before and it hadn't been pleasant. One with Taijutsu and medical was certainly frightening. The concept of dozens of shadow hands with chakra scalpels attacking from ever angle would make for a powerful advesary that could utterly disable an opponent without ever moving. A fight ender instantly. The issue with Nara was how difficult it was to defend against something that could attack from any shadow at any time including ones they create. The only ways to defend against that effectively were maintained defensive or aura jutsu. Sensory could help you too if done right but it wasn't easy to sense a shadow. He supposed it was the purpose of the clan. It was certainly suitable for the individual to seek to be part of the military forces...he already was but rising higher was always a good goal. Perhaps the medical division? One would see in time. However Rippa blinked as the man continued. He wasn't proficient with the Nara clan techniques? That was almost disappointing. Still Katon wasn't a joke of an element to have with taijutsu. He might not be the powerful thing Rippa had just imagined but he was still a potent shinobi. Perhaps one day he would unlock his clan talents. Still Medical was something he could help train at least and Taijutsu wasn't his forte but it was a physical art he wasn't terrible at.

He was about to answer the inquiry about his position and if he was a sword saint. However his mouth had barely opened when the younger one hopped on in immediatly. The kid was impatient and by the sound of how he spoke had his own expectations and complaints. Rippa would frown and listen to the kid starting off with a negative point rather than a positive one. Rippa wondered if there was some reason the youngling was irritable and if it would be difficult to overcome. However as he finally introduced himself it made sense and Rippa would sigh and run a hand through his hair. A Sarutobi. Fantastic. That explained the firey personality entirely. Every Sarutobi he had ever met was a hot head that solved all of lives problems with a flame thrower. However he wouldn't interrupt and he listened to the part about Kenjutsu and not wanting to buy a Katana yet. He didn't agree with that part as he felt building up in weapons and developing skill with an actual sword with its weight and feel was important yet he wouldn't correct the kid for now and let him walk his own path on that point. Each persons sword was forged along their own path. Still both of them were military goal oriented and wanted to rise to new heights. Katon wasn't his bread and butter even a little but he could put out any fires they started at least. For now he had enough compatablity with their specs to be able to instruct them. No wonder they were on his squad.

Still he would see they were both finished talking and take a deep breath before starting on answering everything. Both questions and why they were at this location. He hadn't missed the older one looking over the building in detail which would suit him later. "Alrighty, good to know you are both Pyro's. No suprises coming my way then. Lets start with the sword saint Question. I am the leader of the sword saints currently. The second leader since the founding of the divisions and trained Kenjutsu under the last Hokage, Lord Sousetsu. I specialize in Kenjutsu and Kyujutsu so my twin Katana, Adam and Eve are built with repeating crossbows in them. I also specialize with Medical and Ninjutsu having trained Raiton and Blood as my elements. Before we get started on the second question I have a note on the blood element. My clan has a weakness where if I bleed to much I lost myself to the blood and will try and kill anyone near me. As of yet neither of you have a shot at stopping me if that happens so don't even try. You see my eyes going white you run. Understand?"

He would wait for the confirmation before he would sigh and continue rubbing the back of his head. He didn't like revealing weaknesses but it was important to their survival. Still he continued on. "We have a three man squad because you two were compatable with me and even then I am testing you to see if I will keep you as students. That doesn't mean losing will be an exclusion from the squad or that winning will be a definite in but you two will be competing. The reward being I will buy you a weapon suited to you of my choosing wether you make the cut or not. As for the test, There is a flag at the top of this structure. You two are to race to the top and are free to fight as you see fit. I can heal anything you do to each other so no holding back. However if either of you throws the other or knocks the other off the side of the building its a fail. Make sense?"

915/2446

Jinta wondered for a moment why they would put two fire release ninja on the same squad. Presumably then his would have fire style techniques also, among many other elements, with both of his students specializing in fire release jutsu it wouldn't surprise him if he was renown for his fire release jutsu. He thought a little deeper about his future squadmate, a Sarutobi, and thought it wasn't unusual to have a Sarutobi work with a Nara as the clans have a long history of friendship, and it would be unusual to have members of these two clans be incompatible. Jinta himself was pretty sure that he could work with this kid, though he probably shouldn't call him kid as he seemed a little brash and it probably would be a little unpleasant for the Nara. He recapped in his head: a few Generations ago Kashizudoto had an ancestor who was a general, like basically every Sarutobi ever was a Fire Style specialist, knew kenjutsu, didn't have a sword and used a wooden practice sword that along with his attachment to his money most likely meant that he didn't use fire release kenjutsu techniques, His fire style is probably purely from a ninjutsu standpoint, he doesn't seem to take the genin rank seriously. Jinta thought to himself, "Most likely we were put together because our instructor, again most likely, specializes in Medical ninjutsu and kenjutsu. It wouldn't be unreasonable for him to know ninjutsu and or taijutsu though. He didn't seem like the hyper-specialized type. I imagine that he is the kind who thinks overspecializing is a weakness, but I digress." As his instructor began speaking Jinta's focus returned to him, and he began listening to Rippa talk.

The genin subconsciously nodded his head as his instructor told the duo that he was "the leader of the sword saints currently." Jinta had thought that he would have had to resign from that in order to be an instructor, "wait he trained under a Hokage." It wasn't often that an opportunity would present itself like that, and he used the skills he learned from the Hokage to reach the top of the Sword Saints. That was quite the resume. Like many serious swordsmen, Rippa named his swords he wondered what prompted the Sannin to name his swords Adam and Eve, but that was a story he could ask about later. "Blood Element." Jinta's eyes widened ever so slightly as the thought of Blood Style: Blood Dragon jutsu washed over him. He felt that that was such a uniquely unfortunate kekkai genkai. To be forced to use, presumably your own blood, for jutsu. then Jinta's brain played a scenario in is head while he was making eye contact with his instructor.

A chibi Rippa, his hair died by a thick dun, reddish sludge, laughing in a battle field with his two large sword/bows resting on each of his shoulders.his head was tilted upwards and a slow drizzle of a thick red substance came pouring down to the ground from the sky above dying a once white jacket red. A group of wandering shinobi stumble along the maniacally laughing sword saint when he aims a sword at them and a group of tigers rise from the inch of red liquid currently covering the ground and chase the wuarry of their laughing master around the battle field.

Jinta shudders.

The test seemed simple enough, get to the top of the building get the flag. Well technically he never said that they have to get the flag, just that they had to race to there. Jinta's eye looked over at the genin beside of him to see what he was doing. Not really wanting to make the first move, and especially not wanting to make the first move if there was going to be a "go" involved Jinta waited for his squad mate to move first. He kept his posture relaxed though and disguised his squad mate's anticipated brashness with a question. "And if we damage the building, will we have to repair it?" Despite him using it as a cover, he truly did want to know the answer to the question. He didn't have money to waste on accidentally damaging one of Konoha's buildings not to mention that it was probably illegal to do so. He thought of all of the unpleasant cat chasing missions that he would have to do that he managed to avoid for six years that would come out of his debt to the contractors that made this building.

[761/2121 words]

Kashizudoto couldn't help but notice Sensei Rippa's look of disapproval during his introduction. Nevertheless, he knew that he would prove himself to Dr. Chi Rippa as an excellent shinobi, as he did with many other people who didn't believe in him at first.

"Lets start with the sword saint Question," said the sensei, "I am the leader of the sword saints currently." He was the... leader of the sword saints? Woah, that's awesome.

"The second leader since the founding of the divisions," continued Rippa, "And trained Kenjutsu under the last Hokage, Lord Sousetsu." Sousetsu... Senju? Wasn't that guy supposedly really powerful? Of course, he was a Kage, but, still, Wood Release was no joke.

"I specialize in Kenjutsu and Kyujutsu," explained the sensei, "So my twin Katana, Adam and Eve are built with repeating crossbows in them." Hmmm... Interesting design of weapon. Kashizudoto preferred to go with the standard katana, but who knows, maybe he might forge an interesting weapon someday.

"I also specialize with Medical and Ninjutsu," said Dr. Chi Rippa, "Having trained Raiton and Blood as my elements." Medical Ninjutsu sounded good, wait... Blood? Blood? What kind of element was that? The thought made Kashizudoto a little queasy.

"Before we get started on the second question I have a note on the blood element," elaborated Rippa, "My clan has a weakness where if I bleed to much I lost myself to the blood and will try and kill anyone near me. As of yet neither of you have a shot at stopping me if that happens so don't even try. You see my eyes going white you run. Understand?" An image of a white-eyed berserk Rippa, going mad with those twin katana of his... At least Kashizudoto had trained up an important technique for escaping sticky situations.

"We have a three man squad because you two were compatable with me," answered the sensei to Kashizudoto's earlier remarks, "And even then I am testing you to see if I will keep you as students." A test? Kashizudoto was good at tests, but any high stakes competitions always worried him.

"That doesn't mean losing will be an exclusion from the squad," explained Rippa as he added, "Or that winning will be a definite in but you two will be competing." So the outcome of the competition didn't exactly matter... That was a bit of a relief to Kashizudoto, who didn't really like the idea of teachers pitting their students against each other.

"The reward being I will buy you a weapon suited to you of my choosing," said the sensei, "Whether you make the cut or not." Wait... a weapon. A weapon! That's just what Kashizudoto needed! After all, he was a Kenjutsu specialist without a blade. The best part: he didn't have to waste any ryo! Blade, blade, blade! He didn't care if he made the team anymore, he just wanted the FREE weapon! C'mon, explain this test already!

"As for the test, There is a flag at the top of this structure," said the sensei, "You two are to race to the top and are free to fight as you see fit." A race, huh? Kashizudoto was ready.

"I can heal anything you do to each other so no holding back," he elaborated, "However if either of you throws the other or knocks the other off the side of the building its a fail." Kashizudoto really didn't pay attention to any of that. He was ready to give it his all already.

"Make sense?" said the sensei.

Just as Kashizudoto was about to start running, Jinta seemed to be stalling, "And if we damage the building, will we have to repair it?" What a dumb question! Kashizudoto needed to get to this race right away while the adrenaline was still rushing. He had his hands on his kunai knife, and his legs poised for action whenever the sensei gave the signal.

Meanwhile, Kashizudoto was already storing up Katon chakra in his throat, ready to perform a Great Fireball Jutsu when necessary...

WC: 1928

Rippa would finish his explenation as he studied both of them. Jinta appeared to be reserved and calculating when it came to every aspect of the conversation. His tactical and analyctical mind would serve him well enough. However he appeared hesitant in some aspects such as Damage to the building being a concern. While it was considerate of the construction crews, Rippa wouldn't have chosen a location that was easily destroyed by the two of them. Hence them not practicing in a forest or next to a heavily populated area. Here the two genin could run full throttle freely. He had even selected a building that was currently not made of anything flammable. Still if there was any lasting damage to the structure he supposed the village would simply ask him to pay for it. He didn't mind since he was already in a position to move some funds with his position as head of the wealthy branch of his family. The clan wouldn't accept to much of that type of financial behavior but a few payments would hardly go noticed in a clan branch full of medical practitioners. It was a highly profitable field. Had Rippa not originally focused on his medical studies and became a doctor he would not be the head of the clan now.

The other of the two had a name that was going to be harder to pronounce. Kashizudoto was certainly a mouthful and to top it off he was a Sarutobi. Such a clan had always been known for their firey tempers and go to Katon usage. Often they were scolded for starting fires beyond what was entirely needed. Nor did they utilize self control often. However they were potent individuals with incredible loyalty to those who earned it. His own Johnny Blaze. He just hoped the kid didn't try to burn to brightly too fast. He wanted to see the two of them succeed not hate the world. It was too easy to fall to hate when you risked your life for a village that never knew it. They saw genin as small and helpless. Just children. Always surprised when a warrior ran wild in their greatest hour. Never appreciated until the door on their fight closed and it ended for them. How cruel it was for Kashizudoto to enter into the battle so early in life like his peers. Perhaps Jinta would be his guiding light in all this with a higher maturity. He could already tell Kashizudoto was ready to go and bursting for that simple prize. Still he spoke up to address the original question on the table.

"The building is all concrete and steel. The worst your Katon will do is melt some tarp at your level. Short of either of you utilizing Doton in a building you shouldn't be capable of doing noticable damage here. If by some strange magic you do manage to so much as dent the steel beams the village will cover it. Also as an added note. Avoid eye injuries as eyes are far more difficult to heal. Especially if you manage to remove one."

A simple enough point to add in. Still he hoped neither of them were foolish enough to use doton in a building. He had never seen an earth creation technique that didn't utilize the minerals around it. If they pulled from the limited cement in a building the structural integrity would decrease dramatically each time. Still he had his own plans beyond simply watching them duke it out. However they wouldn't know that as of yet. For now he had his own test in mind beyond what he informed them of. He wasn't just stumbling around about his would be students. He had a plan. Still he would smile and his curiosity would peak over who would rise to the occassion. So he would utter a single word.

"Begin."

3105

Subtly looking the building up and down as his instructor answered his question, this challenge shouldn't have been too difficult. The premise seemed simple since they simply had to get up the building and run to the top, but without knowing the full scale of the challenge he wanted to stall some more. Jinta racked his brain looking for a better idea of what his instructor had in mind. He thought about what his instructor had said about himself. He trained under the Hokage, was a member of the Sword Saints, and he had blood release jutsu. The thought alone of the possibilities of blood release jutsu sent shivers down the shinobi's spine. Hitting a dead end he inspected the building the areas of the bare building exposed to the elements indeed looked difficult to damage, but not impossible. Reaching towards his back and scratching as he thought further about the challenge. He thought about the layout of a building being only the skeleton of the building it was missing its skin, the windows that protected the stuff inside, and, the flesh that would give the building its character things like doors, furniture, lights, and any form of mechanization were all missing. When his full attention returned back to his instructor he sighed silently to himself and thought, "How utterly unpleasant. Rippa could have brought those sword-bow thingies purely for show, but man if he didn-"

"Begin." The white haired Sannin's relaxed statement came off as sudden to the contemplating genin, and knocked his train of thought away. Assuming that his team mate wouldn't hesitate he trashed his old plan, and changed his mind about the tactics he would use.  He dashed into the entrance past Rippa diverting his attention to him through his peripherals as he ran past him into the building. He inspected the building looking at the exposed columns that had yet to be connected to walls with dry wall or anything so the gave the room a strange feeling. It almost felt creepy, but regardless the genin tightened his fist and jumped up to the ceiling, reorienting his body just enough to allow him to place his feet solidly on the ceiling. His shoulder length, black hair dangled from his scalp towards the floor. Continuing his running on the ceiling, his once buttonable shirt began to fall off and he simply allowed it to happen raising his arms towards the floor.  When the shirt was almost off he grabbed it so that the shirt was more like a piece of cloth connecting his hands together now hiding his hands. As he was running away from the entrance the pouch that he had just under the small of his back that he used to carry weapons, but, based on the current shape of it, it seemed to be empty. His undershirt stayed tucked in nicely to his light brown slacks

He landed on the floor beside of a column facing the entrance, and spun his shirt together so it almost looked like a thick cloth garrote. He looked at his squad mate as if he was an opponent he had to strike down and kill, but that look was quickly obscured by his nose length bangs quickly falling back in front of his face obscuring the look he aimed to the door. "Kashizudoto. There is only one fair way to settle this." He clenched his hands inside of the shirt to pop his knuckles. "Let's have a pleasant fight like men and let the winner grab the flag." He hoped to bring his fellow genin into his pace. He liked the idea of a win on these terms better anyways. Slowly widening his stance so he could keep his balance easily causing his shoes to squeak on the tarp that was sprawled out on the floor.

[639/2760 words]

Jutsu Used:

[120/130 chakra][/b]

It was clear that the sensei, Dr. Chi Rippa, was already playing favorites with Jinta, tuning along with his stalling game. Perhaps Kashizudoto didn't give the best first impression to the sensei, but the perennial genin Jinta didn't seem too impressive either, especially because he didn't even seem to know how to use his own clan's element.

"Short of either of you utilizing Doton," said the sensei, "In a building you shouldn't be capable of doing noticable damage here." That... Now that gave him an idea! He was gonna use the that jutsu on the Nara. Yes, that's what he would do, as he knew well that he probably would either tie or be beaten by the Nara in a foot race. The Doton technique was perfect for this situation, really. Now he was even more impatient to win this race...

"Avoid eye injuries as eyes are far more difficult to heal," added the sensei, "Especially if you manage to remove one." That made him a little disgusted, especially coming from someone using "Blood Release". He couldn't really imagine someone like Jinta trying to stab Kashizudoto's eye or tear it out. Luckily, Kashizudoto wasn't from a dojutsu clan such as the Uchiha, so he didn't need to worry about someone stealing his eyes.

"Begin," said the sensei. Kashizudoto's heart was pounding. The adrenaline was rushing through him. The blood was racing, just for the FREE prize of a weapon. It was all leading up to this. As soon as the sensei finished the first syllable of the word, Kashizudoto began to dash - getting a slight headstart over the Nara, who seemed to be momentarily contemplating over something before beginning to dash too. Instantly, almost naturally, Kashizudoto began executing his plan while running, immediately forming the tiger seal. As an obsessive Katon user (he was a Sarutobi, after all, no matter how much he denied the power of bloodline), he was extremely used to forming the tiger seal - although this time it wasn't even for a Katon jutsu.

Screw You... Jutsu. Those were Kashizudoto's thoughts, a clever rhyme, as the earth below Jinta (as he was still on the ground level as was Kashizudoto) would immediately turn into a three meter-wide river of mud that would carry him away five meters from the building. The mud flow itself would last for a while, making it almost impossible to reach the flag in time.

As the Nara sputtered out some lame comments about being manly and stuff while seemingly not even realizing what was going on underneath his feet, Kashizudoto redirected his chakra to his soles, jumped to the exterior of the building skeleton, planted his feet with the Supernatural Walking Practice, and began running vertically in order to reach the flag on top. Kashizudoto seemed to have this race in the bag unless Jinta could pull off something extraordinary. Still, he made sure to be on guard and aware of his surroundings while running upwards in case the Nara tried to throw a weapon or something.

"Free katana," thought Kashizudoto as he raced up the skeletal building's exterior, "Here I come!"

WC: 2463

Chakra: 135/150

Earth Style: Earth Flow River:

Supernatural Walking Practice:

Rippa watched with interest as he spoke the word that began the competition. Surely the taijutsu specialist may be less interested in a weapon but could still understand the usefullness of one. Especially if his squad mate was to be a kenjutsu user. Sparring with the kid would be easier with an item to match the weapon he would likely have. Blocking with ones bare hands was simply more difficult. Still his eyes shifted as the kid was the first to take off ahead of the other. The kenjutsu specialist was going to be an interesting one to compete with. He himself was overly eager for what lay ahead as Rippa had thought he would be. A bukijutsu specialist even with other gifts was limited with no sword. The sword saints under him had to undergo special training to fight without a sword just to keep up in case they were disarmed and not many were good at it. Still even if the kid had a head start taijutsu specialists were more known for their physical capabilities. The older one was quick to respond as he was passed and left behind and ran after him. Trying to get ahead but heading inside of the building appeared to be his goal. Interesting.

Rippa shifted his gaze to the younger one as he pulled out a notebook and pen. Kashizudoto was a difficult name to pronounce or write. He was going to simply call him Kashi for the time being. He was forming a hand seal while running it appeared and as he ran the ground under his foot shifted in his wake and bubbled up before sliding. Rippa himself was familiar with the move though unhappy with its use. While it had been used outside the structure which left it safe and sound Rippa felt he had just mentioned the dangers of using doton within the test. He could only hope the doton user Kashi would not be using another doton move once they were in or rather on the building. Still Rippa bounced up and to the side almost gliding over the mud wave as it passed under him and landing safely to the side even as his chair and equipment were washed away. His eye twitched a little at having to clean his coat and swords later from all that mud but again he simply jotted it into his notepad. Kashi wasn't really aware of his surroundings it appeared.

whether or not Jagi was caught in it or managed to negate it he had failed to notice until now (We shall have Jagi post, Kashi post and then Jagi post before I post again to let it flow better) But he caught his words. The young man seemed to want a straight up fight. Sadly that was not how the world worked passed catching cats and scattering critters. They were shinobi so dirty tricks and sly moves were more commonly going to land some damage than anything straight forward. The original objective of a shinobi was to acheive the objective without ever being detected. Once again Rippa would jot down a note in his notebook and return to watching to see how Jinta would catch up to the kid running straight up the side of the building. He had time to catch up at least but it was yet to be seen who the victor would be. However it was getting close to the hidden part of the test. He just needed them both to be making their way up first. Soon it would come to pass he hoped. Neither of them seemed lazy.

3711

Starting out of the blocks with a Earth Release jutsu surprised the Nara, but to out right refuse his offer ticked him off. He had no real need for this weapon, and he had just heard his young team mate's plight about being unable to afford one making him very empathetic towards his cause. He was going to fight for a bit and let the younger genin win if the tide turned into Jinta's favor. On second though the genin didn't even refuse. As he got more and more angry, the Nara's irises filled with a light blue pigment somewhat obscured by his bangs as the Earth release jutsu began to form underneath his feet. Exhaling deeply he closed his left eye so that he could focus his vision on his target He formed the horse hand seal, aiming his eye through the triangle he formed with his index fingers, and looked at his opponent ending both his Jutsu that would've allowed him to stay above the liquefying earth and the jutsu his opponent was attempting to activate. Attempting to catch the kid before he could make it up the side of the building or during his first steps was not a hard feet for the older genin since his jutsu prevented D-rank or lower techniques from being activated or maintained within his sight.

Keeping one eye maintain to maintain his narrower field of vision, both arms went to his backside to grab weapons as he began running towards his quarry. Sprinting towards the Sarutobi as rapidly as he could to make sure that he didn't run off again, the young Nara threw one of the shuriken that he had  grabbed from his pouch at Kashizudoto's chest aiming for his center of gravity. Jinta's eyes were welled with annoyance, his wrinkled nose caused one side of his mouth to furl, and his eyebrows scrunched together. He kept a tight grip on the kunai that he held in his left hand. It was bared at the genin he was approaching with malice, and the fist it was in was tucked just under Jinta's chin. A second thought hadn't been given to using the Baragan, even though the Nara didn't like to use it in front of others as he felt that it was a display of how little he belonged in the village, but he was upset from the refusal to do things in a way that he saw as both fair and efficient, not that he was a good measure of those things. "You shouldn't turn your back so easily," the older genin snarled, "You might miss the tricks your opponent has up there sleeves." He secretly berated himself for the unoriginal line, but he without his normal cool demeanor it was a bit harder to come up with witty statements

If Kashizudoto took the time to block the shuriken, then Jinta would press onto the youngster closing as much of  the distance between them as he could (currently that is E-1 speed). Jinta aimed to get in close with his fellow genin and deliver a side kick to the right side of his chest followed up by another in an attempt to sweep his legs, meanwhile Jinta made sure to keep the kunai close to his own chin so he would be able to protect his important parts relatively easy. Now that the Baragan was up he didn't have to worry about genin level jutsu since he could negate most lower tier jutsu and keep them from activating. If he couldn't catch up with the other genin though he would systematically throw the last two shuriken one at a time each just after the last one was blocked to keep Kashizudoto on his toes. If Kashizudoto still ran, Jinta wouldn't be far behind him waiting for his opportunity to land a kick.

[640/3400 words]

Jutsu used:

[Chakra 115/130]

Huh. Hmmmm.... Woah... WHAAAA!!!

Almost as soon as Kashizudoto had moved the chakra to his soles and landed on the building to start running, his chakra started flickering for a split second. How could this be? He was extremely proficient at chakra control. What was going on? As soon as he processed those thoughts, the Supernatural Walking Practice was completely disabled and the chakra in his feet went totally asleep. Perhaps dormant was a better word. What kind of jutsu did this Nara have? This was plain obnoxious!

Kashizudoto got his answer soon enough. After he landed on his feet in front of Jinta, Kashizudoto poised for attack with his kunai knife already in his hand, he saw the Nara's eyes. He didn't have time to do a double take, so Kashizudoto just believed in his own perceptive ability and analyzed the eyes based on that. They definitely weren't a normal color. The iris was a sort of bright blue, and a pink ring was around the pupil. That was it. It had to be a dojutsu. It must have been somehow messing with Kashizudoto's flow of chakra. And he really didn't like it; as a Sarutobi, he loved his Katon ninjutsu and his kenjutsu. Now he had neither of them. Alright, so maybe this match wasn't gonna be as easy as he thought...

"You shouldn't turn your back so easily," said the older man, "You might miss the tricks your opponent has up their sleeves." While it was rather cliche for sure, the Nara (well, actually he probably wasn't a Nara based on this dojutsu and the fact that he had no talent for shadow) had a good point about that. Regardless, Kashizudoto had no hate for this guy. In fact, he was really thrilled that his squadmate could pull off stuff like this. Perhaps those extra seven years of his as a genin weren't wasted. Now he was starting to like this Jinta. Squad 3 was gonna be fun, assuming both of them got through this test - of course.

The man threw a shuriken at Kashizudoto, to which he responded by leaping backwards, dodging the shuriken while mid-air. Jinta started charging at Kashizudoto, but this time, he seemed genuinely angry at him for something - the charge wasn't in any sort of competitive spirit like the one Kashizudoto was fighting under. It seemed like the Nara, or whatever this guy was, was ticked off. Perhaps it was how easily Kashizudoto had dismissed his earlier offer for a normal fight. Well, this wasn't the first time that Kashizudoto's dismissal of someone ticked them off. For some reason, people always seemed to want his attention and got mad when they weren't his priority. Frankly, Kashizudoto and Jinta were at fairly equal speeds, the Nara - or, again, whatever he really was - having an extremely minor, currently undistinguishable advantage - being a Taijutsu user and all. He couldn't keep playing this game of chase forever.

As the building was just a skeleton, Kashizudoto was able to land on the second floor from his leap, poised to dodge any more shuriken coming his way. The only way to get back his jutsu was to disable the source of the jamming: the eyes. No, no. He was not going to rip out the eyes or injure them in any other way. In general, dojutsu require a constant flow of chakra. So Kashizudoto was either gonna see if he could exhaust the Nara to the point where his eyes would go out, or, alternatively, he would play this game of leaping up and dodging until he made it to the top of the ten story unfinished building. This would be interesting.

WC: 3092

(OOC: I want to apologize because up above I miscounted the amount of chakra I used I should have been at 110 instead of 115. The First Stage Baragan uses an additional five chakra per post when you use it out of one eye, which Jinta did in order to try and focus it more. I am a bit new to this site so the mechanics are still not intuitive to me yet.)

    Though his team mate went where he wanted him to go, the support pillars in the area would prove bothersome for the angered Jinta. Though he could see his partner's chakra through the pillars, he would be unable to prevent his partner from utilizing jutsu if he was hidden behind any sort of barrier since he could only disable chakra in jutsu and people that were in his line of sight. Therefor as his partner jumped into the second floor Jinta would make sure that he followed right behind him. As he prepared to jump he placed his hand on the ground briefly before he pushed off. His shirt billowed in the wind behind him and his feet were raised behind his back as he he made it just over the lip of the floor. With a quick kick he launched a rock at the young genin that he grabbed right before he jumped. He didn't think that the rock would hit his partner, but that was never his intention. He would wait for Kashizudoto to dodge out of the way of the rock like he had been previously, and whether that was up, down, left, forward didn't matter to him so long as he dodged. If he did dodge, as he returned his center of gravity to normal after the dodge, Jinta would try to rip the the warp that covered the floor from underneath his sparring partner's feet.

    In the case that Kashizudoto blocked or didn't dodge Jinta would continue pressing his team mate, knowing and hoping that he had the Taijutsu advantage. He would close more of the distance using the rock he slung to attempt to hinder Kashizudoto. He swung kunai at the other genin three times. The look in the Nara's lone open eye showed that he had decided not to hold back and that he would give his full effort on this task, but underneath that there was anger as the Nara scowled at his opponent. He had no other thoughts clouding his mind as he looked at the other genin's body almost as if he was undressing him in his head, so that he could pinpoint each of his organs. Jinta would make his first swing to Kashizudoto's left kidney to guide him away from the nearest pillar. Then he would shift his body as needed and lunge his arm forward as if he was going for his center of gravity before stopping and changing the strike to a downward swing aimed towards Kashi's feet. As his hand approached the ground he would reach for the tarp dropping the kunai and attempting to yank it from underneath his partner's feet.

    With the some of the transluscent tarp in his hand, Jinta would take up his kunai in the other hand to defend himself. He shifted his right foot beneath him to make sure that he wasn't on any of the tarp himself - he didn't especially want his own tactic used against him. The fierceness in his eyes was maintained as he waited for his partner to make his next move. He was prepared to follow him if he decided to change floors, and he had no problem with Kashizudoto being a few floors ahead of him, but he was going to do his best to keep him from doing much more than that.

[560/3960 words]

Maintained Baragan
[100/130 chakra]

Rippa landed with his notepad and continued to scribbling. His eyes had taken in an interesting sight where two jutsu had been negated by all looks of it. He could of assumed that perhaps the young one hadn't mastered chakra control as of yet. However supernatural walking practice was needed to pass the academy and even he seemed shocked about it. Truthfully Rippa had never seen anyone cancel out jutsu without so much as physical contact. He supposed it was a possibility. How rare of a thing this might be if they young man could indeed negate jutsu. However Rippa noted he was either out of range or it wasn't an aura effect. Still the kids attempt at the start of the fight had been well done. Even if Rippa was annoyed about his things getting dirty he couldn't deny the tactics had benifited the young man into revealing a trump card. However now he was on the defensive. Both of them were on par with just about every movement and yet to Rippa it all seemed a little slow. However the purpose of the test wasn't to reveal their capabilities. While it was worth noting it was a simple fight with Kashi moving slightly ahead and upwards. Still focused on the goal while defending. On the other hand Jinta was not simply using straight forward attacks. Not only had he resorted to his close range quarters combat, he was apparently preventing attacks coming his way entirely. However Jinta wasn't using jutsu either. He wasn't sure if that ability of his was preventing him or if she simply hadn't seen an oppertunity. He could feel both of them dropping in chakra and yet...Jinta felt like he had....less already. Perhaps that ability was too taxing on the system...Something to consider observing for later. If it was highly taxing Kashi, should they end up as a team and make combos, would need to be capable of utilizing the opening quickly.

However movement off to the side caught in the corner of his eye as he glanced at the building next door. Four individuals cloaked from head to foot in some sort of dark, spiritual robes were watching them now. He turned a little and looked to them before back at his students. The real test was about to begin. He would wait until neither of them were looking in his direction before giving a nod. Suddenly the entire scene would spring into action. Rapidly four individuals would cut across the gravel kicking up dust. Rippa would widen his eyes as if in shock and make a dive for his swords only to come up short and be driven to the ground and held down by two of the mystery individuals. He would roar out as the other two took off for Kashi and Jinta "Don't you dare touch them!" Setting the scene of him helpless to stop what was happening. Two individuals of indistinguishable gender popped up over the edge of the floor with Katana drawn and noted who was in the lead. Kashi still appeared to be ahead of Jinta so they both charged at Jinta. Rippa watching while keeping his face contorted with fear and rage over the scenario. He wanted to see what the two of them would do. Would Jinta be able to defend himself or would he flee? As for Kashi, would he choose the prize at the top above the life of a team mate he just met? Someone he was just fighting with blades? If Kashi went back to help...would Jinta choose to leave him behind? It was important for a team never to abandon one another. If they chose to run they needed to do so together...Likewise if they chose to fight. He watched and waited. He wouldn't forgive leaving a man behind if there were options.

4368

Leaping to the second floor, Kashizudoto was intent on achieving the immediate goal of reaching the tower at all costs (within reason), whether this angry guy was chasing after him kicking and thrashing around or not. Really, why was this guy so mad, anyway? Kashizudoto had only wanted to achieve the objective, not to offend the man in any way. This didn't bother Kashizudoto all that much, as he prepared his legs for another leap while the man with the bright blue dojutsu proceeded to throw a rock right at him. The mad Nara then proceeded to immediately kick through the tarp in the second floor while Kashizudoto landed on the third, a little off balance - but still safe as he grabbed on to one of the metal support pillars to get back on his feet.

From afar, Kashizudoto spotted Sensei Rippa, with a notebook in his hand. He wondered what the man was scribbling in that thing. It must have been something degrading about Kashizudoto, no doubt. Bad form. Slow fighting. Poor strength. Always running. That must've been it for sure. He thought he saw the esteemed doctor make a slight nod, except there was no one to make this gesture to. Jinta was in rage mode. Kashizudoto was supposed to be focusing on the mission objective. So who was this meant for? Kashizudoto immediately dismissed and forgot about this as he returned to look at his opponent and prepare his legs for another leap.

"Don't you dare touch them!" the normally calm sensei suddenly screamed as two people held him down. These weren't ordinary people... far from it. First of all, they were cloaked - from head to toe - in some mysterious, spiritual robes. Kashizudoto couldn't make out there faces at all; heck, he couldn't even tell whether they were male or female. Were these ANBU Black Ops agents? No, they would never attack Sensei Rippa. Unless... Rippa was an undercover agent intent on betraying the village. Or maybe it was the ANBU who were launching some coup against Konoha. But how could two cloaked agents hold down one of the legendary Sannin of the village, the very captain of the Sword Saints? Something wasn't adding up. These guys stood no chance against the guy. But he couldn't contemplate it now, there was more trouble.

Another two of the mysterious cloaked individuals, armed with katanas (Kashizudoto was really envious that the bad guys had blades, but he didn't), headed straight for Jinta. The thought of taking the flag while the Nara was busy fighting off the agents didn't even cross his mind, and he instantly leaped off the third floor to confront the two men. He wasn't in the range of eyesight of the Nara for now, so his jutsu wouldn't be negated. In mid-air, he formed the tiger seal, gathered katon chakra in his mouth, and blew out a great fireball at the two mysterious cloaked ninja. If the fireball was to enter the eyesight of Jinta, it would start losing the bonds holding it together and become volatile as a result; however, it would not be negated since it was a chuunin level technique.

Unaware that his jutsu wouldn't be negated anyway, he screamed, "Jinta, close your eyes! Don't look at my jutsu with that dojutsu!" What would the mysterious agents do next? Who could guess.

WC: 3666

Chakra: 120/150

Great Fireball Jutsu:

Again, his attempt to strike his partner missed, the older genin was incapable of getting close enough to make his hits count. Jinta had even gone so far as to aim for his partner's vital spots. He was ashamed of himself for what he had attempted to do including activate his kekkai genkai that just a second ago he was attempting to hide. The anger was replaced with remorse as Jinta tried to calm himself down, and regain his composure. Bright blue eyes faded to black as he turned to race his team mate to the top of the construction site.

"What was I thinki- "Don't you touch them"

The yell wanked the Nara out of his distracted mind as he his instructor's voice pierced through his consciousness. Having a better vantage point Kashizudoto noticed the two ninja charging at Jinta sooner than the older ninja did, and Jinta's mind instinctively began racing. When he saw his partner begin to form hand signs, he was willing to bet on it being a long range jutsu since his partner was a fire ninjutsu specialist. He braced himself as his feet took purchase on the ground and he ran towards in on the ground. Whether or not the Kashi's fireball, hit he would rely on him to get an advantage on the attackers as he hid his location with the fireball.

"The stalling Jutsu would be nice here."

Jinta yelled at his team mate an an attempt to keep their coordination going, and he activated the supernatural walking practice to allow him to stand on the jutsu. As the fire ball struck Jinta would jump out from behind it, he would engage his nearest enemy. He wasn't sure if the two mysterious ninja would be able to take it, but he sure didn't want to find out. The more ferocious look he had earlier was replaced with something calmer as he created an opening in his defense on his side, in a way where a side swing would be optimal, before a sudden look of surprise would wash over his face. Once he lead his opponent to strike, he in turn would slash from the opposite direction at the stranger's wrist or wrists that was swinging the sword, his kunai pointing at the muscle tendons in the wrist that control grip strength and finger dexterity. With the supernatural walking practice technique on he was able to get a much better grip on the tarp than when he grabbed it before, and once again he would try to yank it out from under his enemy/ He wanted them to land on concrete so that Kashi could try and get them to sink in the ground or pour some of the concrete located above their heads onto them, and in either case trap them enough that the two genin could more easily dispatch them. Jinta stayed attentive as he waited for Kashi's voice so he could follow the younger ninja's lead in case things didn't go as he planned.

[505/4565 words]

[90/130]

Jutsu Used:

OOC: I want to apologize that you all have to wait so long for these posts. I haven't quite gotten used to combat rping or this site yet, and the combo makes it a little difficult for me. Sorry for slowing the thread down.

Exit thread
Continuing this in another thread where we left off  so we can continue with social thread requirements. I will PM you both the link.
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4368
Strength A-2 ~> A-3, 1300/1300
Endurance A-2 ~> A-3, 1300/1300
perception A ~> A-1, 1000/1000
768 words thrown out.

WC: 3666

[Exit]

Chakra Barrier Jutsu: 3300/3300
Hanuman, Lord of Monkeys: 366/6300

WC: 4565

[Exit Thread]

Reaction Time D -> D3 -1,175 words
Endurance E -> D1 -1,075 words
Strength E-1 -> D-1 -1,000 words
Speed E-3 -> D-2  -1,025 words
290 left over