It had started as any other day since his arrival in the village hidden in the clouds, after he had finished his morning workout in his room he went on his jog around the village. The sun was not even up yet at this point7, which is why Raphael chose to do his daily jog during this time, with the chuunin exams going on the village was normally packed during the daylight hours due to the heavy amount of tourist and visitors coming in from other countries to watch the exams. It only took him a couple of days after arriving here to figure out that the best time to get things done without dealing with a crowd was either early in the morning or late at night, today he decided for the early morning so that he would have the rest of the day free to do whatever he wished. His jog ended where it always did directly in front of the skyforge, one of the village hidden in the clouds great monuments, according to the tour guide from thw your he took this forge was already here before the village was even built, this of course made many question well who built it? But the only answer Raphael got was that nobody knew, somebody had to know it was a thought that racked his brain since the tour. He left the skyforge in search of a place to relax and have breakfast now that his workout was done, as he walked he let out a sigh as the streets had already begun filling with people. Raphael hated being in crowds especially crowds of tourist because they always move so slowly, he was walking past the Battle Plateau when when he heard some noise coming from up top, his curiosity peaked and he decided to go check it out. Reaching the top he found two genin's in the midst of a brawl with a crowd of others gathered around them cheering, "what's going on?" He asked a boy who was standing nearby. "Its a sparring competition," the boy answered, "A what now?" Raphael asked having never heard of such a thing, "a sparring competition, basically two start sparring nonlethal only of course, until one is defeated or surrenders then the winner must take on the next challenger and fight until he is defeated, he beats five challengers, or no one else challenges him if that happens then he wins." This of course got Raphael's blood pumping he had not had a good spar in a long time since his spar with Kisei, "what do they win?" He asked the boy as he watched one of the two boys that were sparring surrender, "just bragging rights a the Ultimate Genin" well the prize wasn't as good as he thought it would be but still the sparring would be fun. The champion called out for a challenger, before anyone else could say a thing he burst through the crowd, "I challenge you" the young Shinobi called to the other boy. He stepped into what was the makeshift arena eager to start this spar, he knocked the boy out before he knew what hit him. Standing in the ring victorious over his first opponent Raphael called to the crowd for a challenge and met with his first challenger he continued this time he had to use more effort than he had against the first guy he beat him nevertheless the young blue eyes boy stood victorious yet again. He continued to defeat each challenger that came next, yet they all lacked the ability to really challenge him in the sense that it did not take much effort to defeat them. He only had one more fight he had to get through, "Who is next? Is there anyone left to challenge me? Is there no one who can actually give me a worthy fight for my last victory"

---

659

It was still very early in the morning, just past sunrise, and Tenjin found himself instinctively getting ready to head to the Battle Plateau to train only minutes after waking up. While walking Tenjin can only think about the fact that he had an odd experience watching the exams, seeing all of these Genin with an arsenal of jutsus and attacks more potent than Tenjin, it showed that the young shinobi had a long way to go to be a protector of Iwagakure. But instead of using the time to wallow in despair, he wanted to be sure he was fully prepared for the harsh realities of the shinobi world. Surely the most logical step is to take part on what would be a combat related test, and although Tenjin felt he was still too weak and unprepared for it, he still wanted to know what he was up against in his generation. He had made a lot of progress since graduating the Academy, but he was falling behind more battle hardened genins, whom he felt were likely the ideal candidate for Chuunin. Tenjin wants to be regarded as someone who is extremely loyal to the village of Iwagakure, has a solid head upon his shoulders, and is very strong, even amongst the stronger ninjas of all the villages. Tenjin didn't want to be second to anyone, much less someone who was his peer. Despite his goal of wanting to protect those closest to him and the village, he still held out that he would have to become the strongest particle release shinobi of all time in order to achieve those goals. The journey to power, and reasoning for it, was much less selfish than others, but the predicate remained unchanged. While reaching the grounds he noticed a crowd already gather in the location.

Tenjin had never been so fiercely disappointed with himself, and his prowess as compared to others after watching some of the matches in the exams. Sure, he had just become a genin, but that is no excuse. Tenjin made his way to the Battle Grounds after getting dressed in his black gi and black kung fu boots with a black belt tied around his waist. He wore his headband proudly on his head, and carried his still relatively unused kunais, and senbons in a pouch inside his gi, just above his waist. Tenjin watched as a blond haired blue eyed kid defeated opponents easily left and right in what appeared to be a pick - up tournament. Tenjin deduced this because the kid was requesting another opponent, and this must have meant that there is no sign - up sheet. ‘Perfect’ Tenjin thought. ‘Now I can test myself in battle to see what it is I really have to work on.’ Tenjin didnt yet know what tactics help best in battle, since he has done a lot of research for subject answers but has never experienced one to gather anecdotal evidence for objective reasoning. Tenjin moved the crowd in front of him and responded to the call, “I can be your next challenger.” Tenjin walked up the arena and stood opposite of his challenger at about a 15 meter distance. “Before we begin, I’m just a traveller and have never visited other lands. I would like to know first, what does being a shinobi mean to you.”

Tenjin stopped talking with that answer as he began to drop his senbons on the ground around him to not have them readily available and took out his kunai while getting into a combat pose ready for anything that this shinobi brought to him.

Combat Pose:

WC: 603

Raphael turned to see where the voice came from and laid eyes on his opponent, he did not know who the boy was having not seen him in the village before Raphael assumed he was a traveller of some kind. The boy was around Raphael's age maybe even younger, and about a foot shorter than himself but he knew better than to judge someone based off their size. His suspisions were confirmed when the boy spoke his next sentence, the question the boy ask threw the young shinobi off no one had asked him that before, though he had voiced it many times to himself he never told anyone and no one ever asked. Raphael crack a small smile, "I got a better idea, I will tell you what being a shinobi means to me, but only if you put up a decent fight before I defeat you." His answer seemed to satisfy the boy as he then dropped the senbons he was holding around him before gripping his kunai and getting into stance. Raphael could tell just from the boy's stance that he would be more of a challenge then the couple he just defeated, 'finally a real challenge' he thought to himself as a wicked grin formed on his face.

Raphael undid the buttons of his overcoat, as he took the coat off he channelled a small amount of chakra into the coat before tossing it off to his left side, the coat landing five meters from where he currently stood. He now stood in front of the boy in an all black sleeveless formal shirt with a gold trim and its collar covering all of his neck, and his white pants with a black trim that matched his coats design. With that now taken care of the young shinobi turned his attention back to the boy who was about fifteen meters away from him with his kunai at the ready. Raphael tried to size the boy up based on his stance as well as his clothes it was obvious that he had some taijutsu training so he would have to be catious of what his first move. Raphael did not forget about the senbons that the boy dropped he could only assume that the boy had some kind of plan for them. Raphael dropped into his own stance turning his body so that his left side was facing the boy, his left foot pointed towards the boy with his right foot supporting most of his weight. His arms at the ready he glared at the boy, "lets hope you can keep up," he said with another smile he only hoped that he was right about the boy and he would put up more of a fight then the ones before.

Once Raphael was sure the boy was ready to begin he would launch his attack pushing off with his right foot lunging forward at the boy closing the distance in a matter of a couple of seconds aiming his attack towards the arm of the boy that held the Kunai. If his attack was successful he would strike the arm and hand of the boy multiple times before ending with a powerful upward kick to knock the Kunai out of the boy's hand.

---

549/1208

Chakra 155/170:

Tenjin was slightly annoyed by the challengers arrogance, but maybe he earned it. But considering the way he is dressed, it is also probably a clan ego thing. Tenjin wondered if this shinobi was from a renown clan that gifted him prowess like the Uchiha or Senju, or is his clan filled with hard working shinobi that deserve power. These are questions Tenjin asks of all people, and he wanted to figure this kid out first. Tenjin saw how the challenger made the first move to charge at the young ninja. ‘He’s fast’ Tenjins thoughts were only able to make that comment before his time to react approached as he threw his kunai almost instinctively straight to the chest of the young shinobi, strategically making effect of his Ace Eye to strike at a moving target. ‘The speed in which the kid charged surely would make it difficult for him to dodge such a sudden throw.’ Tenjin thought as he jumped back. To gather himself, now standing 4 meters away toward the rear of his initial location, and created just one hand sign since he wanted to catch his opponent off guard with a quick technique. Forming the ox hand seal, he was able to turn the ground beneath where the target ran, into a massive river of mud (four meters wide) that would throw them off balance and drag them ten meters in a straight path away from the location they were previously positioned. Tenjin was obviously trying to get some distance considering that the opponent, made exceedingly clear that he was much faster than Tenjin. Tenjin already realized that if he wanted to be a top prospect for ANBU, he needed to become much faster.

Tenjin realizing that he cannot win this fight utilizing conventional means, decided to utilize his senbons as well. Wherever his target would land after the barrage of attack, whether it was a hit or miss, Tenjin was again going to surprise the shinobi, but this time with the Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken. By making a string of hand seals (Dragon → Rat → Horse → Tiger), the he extended his chakra into the nearby senbons; as longer items they became as deadly as a kunai. These are then compressed, sharpened, and levitated all at the same time; then, they are launched at the target. While the Tenjin cannot control them beyond this point, he knew that this combination of techniques was almost all he had. The objects used can pierce up to 3/4 inch into the target and upto 6 senbons were launched at him near instantly. Tenjin wanted to see how this shinobi would do under this pressure. With the terrain now changed, and weapons all over the battlefield, it was clear to all who are watching the spectacle that these were shinobi fighting. If the shinobi was still standing, which Tenjin suspect he would be, even if with a few scratches, he would wait for the shinobi to charge again as he might do, and get 15 meters away, before Tenjin will make his next move.

WC: 516 / 1,119

The boy was good Raphael had not planned on having to use the substitution so early, but he had little choice as the the boy threw his kunai as he jumped away from the charging genin and his aim was nearly spot on. In a poof Raphael was replaced by his coat as the Kunai reached where he had stood, and Raphael appearing where his coat had landed moments before. Raphael scanned the area he now stood nineteen meters from the boy, just five meters left of where he had started. He saw his kunai pierced coat flowing in a river of mud away from where he had been just seconds before, so the boy was an earth wielder Raphael thought to himself as he made a mental note to keep an eye on the ground in the fight ahead. The boy obviously wanted to keep him at a distance and gave Raphael little time to think as he launched his senbons at him spinning as though they were Shuriken, Raphael knew this technique it was the tile Shuriken technique though he had never seen someone use senbons with it this boy was clever. A smile formed one the young shinobi's face he had been right the boy was going to put up a fight, perhaps the fight he had been looking for someone that is his equal and could put up a decent fight. The nineteen meters of distance gave Raphael the time he needed to be able to dodge the makeshift senbon Shuriken, Raphael reacted as quick as he could forming the bird hand seal as he released chakra into the air around him causing it to distort until he was shrouded in a cloud of dust covering a four meter radius around him. This would keep the boy from being able to see Raphael's movements but also hinder his own sight of the senbon soaring through the air towards him so he add a little more chakra immediately after casting his windstorm cover the young Shinobi also sent out a pulse of chakra into the air unnoticeable except to chakra sensing techniques. The pulse would allow him to sense what he could not see, anything within a thirty meter radius of Raphael was now within his Wind sense and any movement would be detected by the young boy. He could sense the senbons and their trajectory making it easier for him to dodge them as the soar towards him.

Thanks to his wind sense Raphael knew where the boy was, giving a quick chakra breath into his palm molding it with the wind to create the small spinning sphere in his hand launching it at his target. It was more than likely the that boy would dodge his first strike so he gave breath to two additional spheres, one in each hand at the ready as soon as the boy moved to dodge the first sphere he would strike with the second and third at where the boy was moving to one just slightly in front of the other. It was clear to Raphael that the boy wanted to keep him at a distance so Raphael would stay in the cover of his windstorm waiting using his wind sense to sense what else the boy had up his sleeve.

---

554/1762

Chakra 110/170:

This kid was nice, as expected for someone who appeared to be a battle hardened genin. This being Tenjins first fight. He didn’t know what to expect and when he saw the opponent shroud himself in what appeared to be dust gathered by an abnormal wind current around the target he realized that he must have been some type of wind release shinobi or a dust release of some kind. It didn’t take long before Tenjin saw a ball of air being hurled his way. The pocket of air was not easily dodged as Tenjin ducked the quickly coming shot, but was met with two more projectiles which were barely dodged as Tenjin had to dive to the the right, to dodge the second and third incoming shots. Tenjin didn’t have much more moves in his arsenal, which gave Tenjin the thought of being more prepared before a coming battle. Tenjin waited in a crouched down position to see if any other attacks were coming, and seeing that nothing arrived, Tenjin darted to the middle of the battlefield as fast as he can in order to again grab his kunai. This 6 meter run took about a sec. To complete, and in the meantime, Tenjin was ready and prepared to dodge as he was looking at the cloud for any anomaly. If an attack was thrown Tenjin would utilize his time to react accordingly but still charge at his path. Once grabbing the Kunai, Tenjin will again get into his fighting pose, this time trying to get the match started again by saying. “I didn’t see you battle in the Chunin Exams. Are you in the tournament or just recently became a genin?” Tenjin wanted to sincerely ask as he was interested in the shinobis potential and considering that the shinobi world is small, Tenjin wanted to estimate when they will be meeting again. Whether as allies, or foes.  

Tenjin now stood approximately a little less than 15 meters away from the dust cloud, and the whole time Tenjin spoke he stayed on his guard ready to react considering that Tenjin realized quickly that his speed was no match for the opponent. Nevertheless, his reaction time was able to keep up so Tenjin was ready to make use of jutsus with minimal hand seals in order to try and keep up. Tenjin was actually having fun, but thinking about if this was a battle situation worried him since the opponent clearly had a larger array of jutsus as compared to Tenjin.

WC: 421 / 1,540

This boy definitely had skills that much was obvious to Raphael as he watched the boy dodge his attacks before making a b-line towards where he had sent Raphael's coat with his Kunai in it. Once he got there Raphael's sense went dark which meant that the boy stopped moving, the good news was he still knew where the boy stood as if he were to move he would be able to sense him again. The bad news was the boy seemed to be keeping his distance away from him, that did not bode well for Raphael as most of his skills were for close combat he had no real strategies for ranged fighting. It was obvious that a straight on attack to the boy would not work, his first attempt at doing so had already ended in a failure. He was too far away to get the boy by surprise, but he had to think of something as his dust cloud would not last much longer and he couldn't afford to keep wasting chakra on failed attempts he had to act smart. He heard the boy call out to him asking him questions about the chuunin exams, however Raphael knew better than to answer as it would give away his position inside the cloud, he needed a plan to take the boy down. That's when the idea hit him, quickly performing a string of handseals the young shinobi created five clones all around him, they would not be able to help him in the fight but they will hopefully be able to distract the boy long enough for him to get close. If this plan did not work then he would be out of options and possibly be facing defeat at the hands of the boy. He pulled out his Kunai and his three Shuriken and launching the shuriken in the direction of the boy, at the same time he sent out two of his clones in the same direction to where the would come out of the cloud seconds after the shuriken hopefully giving the illusion that one of them had thrown the shuriken. Next he sent two others out to the left to circle around on the boys right flank, once he was sure that the boy was distracted by the Shuriken and the four clones him and the last clone would exit the cloud on the right side circling to the boys left hopefully catching him off guard.

If his plan was successful and the boy became distracted by the clones him and his last clone would come out of the cloud cover and be coming up on the boy's blindside. If that were to happen and Raphael made it to the boy unhindered then he would put his Kunai to the boys neck and ask him to surrender.

---

479/2241

Chakra 75/170:

Tenjin noticed as the cloud did not dissipate and the opposing shinobi did not answer his question, he was either arrogant and rude, or he was on to Tenjins scheme of trying to have the young shinobi give up his spot by speaking. Tenjin could only speculate, but the speculation did not last long as he bore witness to projectiles coming out of the clouded area which forced Tenjin to block them utilizing his kunai, Tenjin then saw as it appears as if the shinobi ran out of the clouded smoke and noticing four, Tenjin thought about the possibility of him knowing the shadow clone technique. He didnt have time to think though as Tenjin charged as the targets and with a swift kick was able to go through one opponent, figuring the other to be the real shinobi, Tenjin launched at his opponent with the kunai leading the attack, but yet again Tenjin went through this target as well. Slightly confused, Tenjin looked up to see the other two clones jumping toward him, Tenjin waited for them to land close before he attempted to kick one, and after his kick went right through the target he deduced that this one may have been the last in the air. Tenjin attacked the other with a quick punch before noticing his fist phasing through this attack as well, Tenjin was not able to react fast enough to attack before he noticed two more targets coming at him.

Tenjin was able to put his arms up to block the attack of one as he simply ran through Tenjin without even attempting a strike, and phasing through and like a clone that it was, it vanished. Tenjin, realizing that the last opponent is the realist opponent tried one very last move, and he did this while surprised to see the shinobi place the kunai in his throat. Tenjins reaction time was fast, but not fast enough to counter the shinobis speed + reaction time. After speaking tenjin replied by saying, “If you were more energized you would’ve moved much faster with this attack.” This was in reference to the shinobi relying too much on his ninjutsu arsenal, even though Tenjin acknowledges to himself that he himself needs more. Tenjin then poked the shinobi in the stomach with his kunai and said, “If you’re getting close enough to kill against someone with more or less equal reflexes, you should probably make sure they also do not have a sharp object.” If this would’ve been a real battle, Tenjin would’ve been dead due to the other shinobis sheer physical abilities, but Tenjin would’ve ended by giving the shinobi a fatal wound that would have only been healed by a skilled medical shinobi. With no medical shinobi in sight, this may have been considered a draw in battle, but due to the instant kill, Tenjin considers this a loss.

WC: 482 / 2,022

Ninjutsu:

A smile crossed the young Shinobi's face as he looked down to see the boy pointing his Kunai at his gut, before letting out a laugh. "Your a lot better than I gave you credit for my friend," Raphael stated as he removed his Kunai from its position at the boys neck, it was clear to him that the fight was over, despite the fact that his Kunai being at the boys neck could of ended the boy in a real fight he also knew that the boy's Kunai could of inflicted some major damage to himself. "you are certainly more skilled than any of the others here that I have faced" Raphael added putting his Kunai back into its pouch looking at the crowd that surrounded the two boys, Raphael extended his hand out to his opponent. He was not sure if the boy would shake it or not but regardless he offered it, "The name is Raphael, it has been an honor sparring with you."

Raphael walked over to a bench on the side of the battle plateau where he had left his bag, grabbing the bottle of water from the pack and taking a swig before offering it to the boy as well. "Now as promised for such a fun spar I will answer your question from before," Raphael paused for a minute before he continued still replaying the spar in his head as he knew there could of been another way that he couls of ended the fight, yet he was still happy with the outcome. "As far as what being a Shinobi means to me, it means Power," as Raphael spoke he made sure to emphasize on the word power giving it a second to let it sink in to the boy, "I don't mean power as in being the strongest or ruling the world or anything, I believe that the role of a Shinobi is to be a symbol of power and protection to those unable to defend themselves. Because if those with the power to do something do nothing and just stand idly by then the world will fall into chaos and despair, I believe those that have the power to do something should use that power to protect those that do not." Raphael's mind thought back to the destruction of the hidden sand village all the innocent lives lost because of the shinobi who were too weak to protect them, and the promise he had made to never be that weak again. Raphael blocked the thoughts as the screams of the night of horror filled his head before looking into the boy's eyes, "A true Shinobi is a swift as a coursing river, they posses the force of a great typhoon, and the strength of a raging fire burning within them, and though the life of a Shinobi can be mysterious I still believe that they all have something worth fighting for. This is my ninpo this is my shinobi way, those who prey on the weak or the innocent will meet their end by my hands if need be, for I will be the shield of this world." Raphael ended his speech without so much as cracking a smile, the seriousness of his words weighing heavy in his words. It did not matter to Raphael if the boy agreed with him or not, or even if the boy understood what he meant, the boy could just think it was just an ego filled speech and that still would not matter to the young shinobi and it would not change his answer.

Raphael felt his stomach growl realizing that he had gotten distracted by the crowd at the battle plateau and never went to get food like he had originally planned after his work out earlier in the morning. Raphael looked to the boy, "I have worked up quiet an appetite from our spar, would you care to join me for a small meal? It would be my treat, you can consider it a thank you for the honorable spar."

If the boy accepted Raphael's offer then the two would walk together to the nearest shop where Raphael would order them some food, along the way they would talk about whatever the boy wished. With the exception of Raphael would make no comment that would lead the boy to know he was from the land of wind or who his clan was, as far as the boy would know he was simply a genin of the hidden cloud village and nothing more.

Should the boy decline Raphael's offer to join him then Raphael would thank the boy again for the spar before they parted ways.

{Exit Thread}

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790/3031
Ninjutsu from B-Rank to A-Rank: -3000
31words discarded