A golden hue would rise from the horizon as thick summer heat from the Iwagakure sun would bellow and smother the local temples across Iwagakure. Shadows would widen from the crumbling structures as the sun began it's journey across the sky allowing it's light to elegantly bless the townsfolk's skin. It was the beginning of a new day and just as each individual would begin their morning rituals to begin their day, the leader of the village would too rise from his slumber and make his way to the fire temple. It was a tradition every Tsuchikage completed before him, the task of teaching a team and forming a squad. Wearing his traditional Tsuchikage garments and his long gold-green cloak resting atop his shoulders only to grace fulling hang to his ankles, it was made visually aware to all that he was the protector of the village; the Tsuchikage. But he wouldn't be the Tsuchikage forever, death would catch up eventually, and he needed to know his legacy and the legacy of the Tsuchikages before him would not falter, he needed the next generation of shinobi to be exceptional. Walking through the village alleyways, smiling at the odd few who would greet him as his body would walk ever so slowly to his destination. His right hand would raise to the back of his golden hair allowing his fingers to weave gently through each individual strand. Crimson hued lenses would pan above him only to notice the gentle light that would shine radiantly from the heavens. Kazu truly loved his village.


It would only take a few moments till his destination would come to view, the fire temple was a sight to see, being a historical landmark that the Tsuchikage quite purely adored. The temple would be raised by 365 steps, each step symbolizing that it takes one full year to accomplish complete synergy with the temple. But that teaching was for another day, as his full focus was on meeting his future pupils. The golden haired Kanetsu had sent messenger birds informing his students about the place to meet, he had only hoped that the birds had reached them safely and that they got his message in time. But for now after scaling the temple stairs in a matter of minutes, he would sit against the cold ground as a passing cloud would smother the suns gaze. Folding his legs and remaining in a meditation stance, the Tsuchikage would close his eyes and begin to focus on his chakra and the chakra around him. His mellow facial expression would slowly morph before whispering out to himself.


(OOC: Posting order will loop from the first rotation.)

Nakashima would rise from his slumber to find the day being a rather warm and blissfully summers morning. This morning was a beautiful summers day with the birds chirping and the warm wind rolling in through this young Kaneko's window. Nakashima had been woken by a small bead of sweat rolling down his face, when the breeze came into contact with the bead, the chill gracefully awoke the young lad into a perfect morning. He decided that he must not waste this wonderful day by sleeping as he normally would, Nakashima had decided that today he would take a break from missions but not take such a break as though he would do nothing at all. Sitting at his breakfast table he made himself a bowl of delicious ramen and settle in to devour this amazing delectable. Whilst slurping down his most favourite meal Nakashima pondered on the though of what he would do on this most appealing day. Although he though long and hard, sometimes stopping from eating his meal to think, but alas nothing other than finding a big tree to take a nap under cam to mind. Nakashima was a little disappointed in himself to be honest. It wasn't log before he found himself staring blankly out the window into space, only to have his stare broken by a bird landing on his window. This was normal to Nakashima as he often laid out birdseed in the garden pot outside his window most nights. The only difference was this morning he had yet to do so. It wasn't long before  he realised that this bird was none other than one of the Tsuchikge's Messenger birds. He stood up from his seat and slowly walked over to the bird and removed the message, this was then followed by a loud and long yawn given off by Nakashima. He opened the message and read in his head;

Nakashima,

I have sent this message to inform you that you, long with my other pupils, will be required to attend a MANDATORY training session today. Yes that does mean you can not make an excuse to not come, I expect to see you at this session, no questions asked. Please be at the Fire Temple no later than 9am. Yes it is rather late but I know how much you like to sleep in. Please be on time, as I said there will be no excuses for a late arrival.

Your Tsuchikage
Kazu Kanetsu.

Nakashima let off a few small grins while reading this note as he knew that the Tsuchkage thought of himself as a bit of a comedian. These grins were quickly dismissed when Nakashima gazed over at the time to see that it was already 8:57am. He knew that the Fire temple wasn't to far away but there was no doubt that he would be late, again. He quickly swallowed his, now cold, ramen and threw on his usual attire of black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. He almost left the house but then had to turn around and grab his trusty straw hat. He then picked up a shirt gave off a pathetic laugh and thought to himself not today top. Then ran out the front door forgetting to lock it, again. Nakashima powered up threw the alleyways, with brief good mornings to passersby. Some making fun by saying, 'oh late again Nakashima.' When he arrived at the Fire Temple he noted that it was already 9:15, it was his fastest time so far, but he only saw one figure seated, in a meditating pose. He quickly deducted by the attire that it was the Kage. But he had not seen the other members of the squad as of yet. He quickly raced up the stair, only to reach the top exhausted but with enough breathe to get out a sentence to the Kage.
'Maybe you should get better messenger birds or at the very least send them out earlier, this time it actually isn't my fault I'm late and it seems I'm the first here anyway.'
The Kage slowly raised his head to look into the eyes of Nakashima, he paused and waited for the kage to explain the situation.

Katon C=>B 2000/2000
Katon B=>A 476/3000

The morning sun shown through the single sliding pane of glass window, that lead to a small terrace, within her home.  Suteki was sitting before the window, her eyes closed, absorbing the warmth from the sun, steadily taking it in.  In the background, a pot was brewing with some form of rice porridge bubbling from the seams, dripping onto the stone it sat upon.  The room was mostly silent except for the sound of water moving from within the walls nearby.

Suteki had just recently moved into the place less than a month ago, shortly after graduating from the academy.  She was now on her own, of her own volition. Her god father whom she had lived with was a nice man, but he was young, and she was kind of tired of helping around the house as much as she had.  

Suteki had a steady income from completing missions and saved up enough money to move into this small apartment and survive, barely.  She had high hopes to have had joined a squad by than, perhaps bringing in something a little more substantial.  It had been 2 days since her last mission where she brought in an academy student who was defacing public property.

I sat, the warmth of the sun steadily entering, invigorating me.  I thought over the plans for the day as I sat their. 'Perhaps I should pass by that bakery again and pick up some more of that bread I had, that would make for a good breakfast.  Than I will walk around the village for a little, slowly making my way to the Kage's tower to see if there was something I could do for some money.'  

A tapping sound came from my window, but I ignored it.

'After a little workout and what not, perhaps I would go see if Kala wants to head over to the bath house than maybe head to the movies or something ton..'

The tapping continued again after a short rest.

I finally realized that I heard a tapping noise and opened my eyes.  I looked outside and searched for where the sound was coming from.  A small bird was continuously pecking at my window, jumping around slightly than repeating 5 taps.  I watched the bird for a moment, as it did it's little dance 3 more times and got up.  I headed to my stove and turned it off, lifting the lid to inspect the slightly tasty mess I was making.  The bird continued it's dance as I did so, grabbing a cub and pouring some milk within.  I looked over, seeing the bird was still at it and tried to ignore it entirely.  I grabbed some food and walked over to the table that was near my window.  It was a small apartment, so everything was pretty much at the same location.  I spooned some of the rice into my mouth, and looked over, seeing the bird continue it's prancing.  I got up and opened the window, and the bird jumped to the opening and flew in, zipping passed me and settling on the table, jumping around slightly.

I swung my arms up at it, trying to scare it away, saying, "Bad bird, outside.   Outside."  The bird just stared at me.  I got closer and saw it had something on it's leg.  I pulled the note and walked back to my seat, slowly opening it and placing it onto the table.  I grabbed another spoon full and hunched over the note trying to read.

I started from the bottom, and saw the note was from Kazu Kanetsu, than the stamp of the Kage was below that.  I dropped the spoon down into my porridge, some gushing out onto the table.  The bird jumped over to it, pecking at it as I picked up the note, inspecting it.  A letter directly from the Kage was a rarity indeed.  I started to read the letter.
“You have been chosen to join my elite squad along with two others….”A grin rolled onto my face.  Finally, I get to join a squad, and nothing less than to join up with the Kage himself.  THE KAGE! I jumped up, leaving the note on the table.  I jumped up with my hands to the sky, ‘Finally, entering the big leagues.’  I did this for about two more minutes as the bird was about to finish what was on the table.  After I regained control, I went back to the table, my knees on the chair as I hovered over the note, stirring my rice.

“Suteki Yaku, you have shown considerable talent and promise during your training at the Iwagakure Shinobi Academy and since then with the missions you have completed.  As your Kage, and squad leader, I request for you to meet with myself and your squad members at the Fire Temple at 9:45am.  Please bring any gear you would normally use.  Also, if you could, please stop by Earth Bakery and pick up an order I left their before heading to the Fire Temple.

Kazu Kanetsu”

I took a spoonful of the porridge and also dropped some more for the bird as it had finished.  The bird starting gorging itself on it as I noticed more below the note.

“Special Note: Please be wary of the bird, and don’t feed it.  The bird has been known to attack when well fed.”

I looked at the tiny bird and questioned the notice.  I kept eating my breakfast and watching the bird carefully.  I half expected an attack at any moment.  After finishing breakfast I changed my clothing and grabbed my supplies.  The bird just stayed on my table watching me.  I kept a good eye on it just in case.  I tried to scare the bird away again and nothing, so I closed the window and spoke to it, “Fine, stay here until I get back.  Try not to poop everywhere…”  I finished by grabbing my gourd and opened the door.  That was when the bird swooped in the air and I held my hands up, my eyes slightly closed as it landed onto the gourd.  The bird sang and I opened my eyes.  “Will attack huh…”

I arrived at the steps to the Fire Temple at 9:39, a box under my arm from the Earth Bakery, and the bird still sitting on my gourd.  That bird caused quite a number of stairs my way, and some unneeded laughter my way.  I looked up the long case of stairs, kind of upset at the idea of having to lug this giant gourd, and my arms full with this package up them.  “Why did he have to pick this location…”

I started the arduous task of heading up the temple stairs.  By the time I reached the top, it had taken me 7 minuets to reach the top.  I was at a heavy pant, turning around and looking down, thinking, '….I am going to have to head back down later..' I turned back around, trying to control my breathing as I headed over to where others were standing.

Learning Great Breakthrough (C rank) 1194/1200

The sunshine was pouring into Riful's relatively dark room, where Riful was found sleeping on her bed, with an extremely large penguin plush toy that she was laying her head on, as well as hugging. The sunshine irritated Riful, but she managed to sleep. Riful was awakened by the merciless chirping of a bird presumably outside her window. Riful got up angrily, and shielded her hand with concentrated chakra paper, and grabbed the messenger bird, breaking the window and injuring the bird in the process. Riful noticed a letter on the back, and pierced the bird with a paper kunai, effectively killing it. Riful unfolded the paper, only to notice that there was a bloodied hole on the letter from the previous stabbing of the bird. Riful cursed and mumbled to herself, before trying to decipher the red and slightly torn mess.

Norakami

I have sent this message to inform you that you, long with my other pupils, will be required to attend a MANDATORY training session today. Yes that does mean you can not make an excuse to not come, I expect to see you at this session, no questions asked. Please be at the Fire Temple no later ther late but I know how much you like to sleep in. Please be on time, as I said there will be no excuses for a late arrival.

Your Tsuchikage
Kazu Kanetsu.

Riful could not read a small part of the letter, but the directions were obvious. Riful ran through the village through her destination, and used her paper wings to climb the stairs without much effort, while she was hovering up the temple, she noticed a shinobi struggling while trudging up the stairs, and laughed loudly for a bit, before moving up to her destination.

Time would pass like the slow northern winds of the earth country as the Tsuchikage would maintain his focus in deep meditation. His umber skin soothingly darkening with the suns glare burning his skin darker. His white long sleeve shirt would wave gently with the subtle breeze whilst his ears alone would pickup the faint sounds of footsteps treading up the 365 steps to reach the fire temple. The sound alone of the individuals footsteps would allow the golden haired Kanetsu to decipher their personality. With each stride this unknown figure took, the Tsuchikage could visualize a tall yet toned individual, with long strides yet force was implemented with each step thus displaying a general confidence and dedication to the task at hand. Hearing the individual reach the top, he would hear panting of exhaustion which displayed a minute portion of inexperience, something the Tsuchikage felt he would change very quickly or heads would find themselves at the chopping block. Hoping the individual had enough manners to not interrupt his meditation, the Tsuchikage would begin to clear his mind to safely exit his spiritual connection. But it was too late as the individual spoke out. "Maybe you should get better messenger birds or at the very least send them out earlier, this time it actually isn't my fault I'm late and it seems I'm the first here anyway." A vein would become visible across the Tsuchikage temple as the ignorance of disrupting his meditation pissed him off to no limits, but this time he would ignore the excuse his pupil would spit out keep his eyes closed till the remaining pupils would find their way to the fire temple.

Attempting to reconnect to his meditation, it wouldn't take long to hear another sound treading up the staircase, only to hear them stand at the top in a vicious breath of air. Another pupil indefinitely which showed great promise yet great inexperience. But, as this individual already had a lot in common with the first pupil, they would not interrupt his thoughts which he would be grateful for and would show a miniscule scar of wisdom. As for the last pupil, their movements were almost completely silent, if it weren't for the slow winds which would allow her non-walking ability to display the sounds of thin material to shake with the winds. But as the Tsuchikage began to ponder about her abilities without sight, he would hear a woman laugh out. It would seem she was to be the one 'he had to keep an eye on.' Not only had she showed her abilities open to the others but she had showed ignorance through hysterical laughing, no matter, he wasn't going to judge them of there worthiness on just their first encounter. They were still only beginners and it was his job to hone their skills and make them the best possible shinobi that they could be. Waiting for all three shinobi to stand before him, the Tsuchikage would awaken from his seated position and swiftly stand tall allowing his posture to straighten and legs stand shoulder length apart. His eyelids would slowly retract revealing two crimson orbs to to come to view. Kazu's sight would slowly move from left to right allowing his crimson hued lenses to pan across their bodies and take in who was who. Keeping a monotone/serious facial expression, the Tsuchikage would raise his right hand affront his mouth in a clenched state before clearing his throat.


The Tsuchikage would take a deep breath before speaking out to the three individuals once again.


The golden haired Kanetsu would commence a 180 degree turn allowing his back to face the three shinobi before slowly making his way into the temple. He would allow any of their comments/questions to be answered during the walk in. The Tsuchikage would slowly make his way to the statue whilst allowing his arms to slowly raise shoulder height allowing visual directions to where they should all stand. Kazu would hope the interior of the temple alone would input fear into their hearts. As the fire temple was truly a remarkable place that instilled fear into the hearts of the undeserving. The Tsuchikage would point each pupil to a different set of stairs.


The Tsuchikage would stand at the center of the temple allowing a small ray of light piercing the hole atop the temple to gracefully bless his body with it's light. His crimson hued lenses would pan the temple allowing his crimson gaze to see the statues of fallen heroes and the surrounding cliff-like hole which would be too deep to see it's ending point. The Tsuchikage would smile as he would wait for the pupils to take their positions allowing a miniscule grin to come to view. He truly adored combat.

(OOC: To be more clear, you cant commence combat till after my next post, this won't be to the death (I'm not that mean) and i'll stop the fight as soon as it gets risky. Happy Kazu games, and may the odds be for-never in your favor.)

'Maybe you should get better messenger birds or at the very least send them out earlier, this time it actually isn't my fault I'm late and it seems I'm the first here anyway.'
The Kage slowly raised his head to look into the eyes of Nakashima, he paused and waited for the kage to explain the situation. But instead of an explanation Nakashima could quite clearly see the anger and disappointment of the Kages face, as he looked up at Nakashima a vein became visible across the temple of this great man. His eyes remaining shut as the Tsuchikage lower his head back down and continued his meditation. Nakashima found a wall behind the Tsuchikage and sat down with his defined muscular back pressed heavily against it, Nakashima crossed his now straight legs which were along the ground. He slightly removed his hat from his head and placed it over his face to cover it from the sun that seemed to be rising in the direction he was facing.

'I'm just going to take a short nap, Kazu, if you have a problem with it speak up.' Nakashima said with a sadistic grin appearing from underneath the hat.

While slightly dosing of the other pupils were already almost at the temple. It wouldn't take long to hear another sound treading up the staircase, only to hear them stand at the top in a vicious breath of air. Upon reaching the top Nakashima awoke from his slumber and noted that this other pupil would quietly place the package he was carrying beside the Kage and walk on past. Nakashima thought to himself, hmm what a suck up. Nakashima didn't realise it at the time but the third and final pupil was silently hovering above the heads of himself and the other two males. If it wasn't for the sudden downward gust of wind, nobody would have realised she was there. Also the loud laughter that she gave off gave away her position, but Nakashima knew he would have known her to be there without the laughter. This pupil seemed to be the most 'full on', or out spoken of the three. Not only had she showed her abilities open to the others but she had showed ignorance through hysterical laughing. Nakashima decided now that all were here it would be a good time to stand up and get ready for whatever was about to be thrown at them. As the Tsuchikage waited for the three to stand infront of him, he wiftly stood up from his seated position, adjusted his posture and slowly retracted his eyelids to be able to gaze upon the three in front of him. Nakashima noticed Kazu panning his gaze across the three shinobi standing in front of him. Keeping a monotone/serious facial expression, the Tsuchikage would raise his right hand affront his mouth in a clenched state before clearing his throat.

"Okay you three, Congratulations. You've been hand picked to try out for my team. Yes that's right, you're not my pupils just yet..... As you may have seen me around, I am the Tsuchikage, Kazu Kanetsu."


The Tsuchikage would take a deep breath before speaking out to the three individuals once again.

"As for what the messages you received said, that wasn't from me, to be quite honest i have no idea who you three actually are. But in saying that you have each been picked as exceptional shinobi who excel in you respective fields, and for that you must show me your progress. Now, before we head in, whether you know each other, once we head into this temple you are to begin the try out. And what does the try out ask of you? Well, this will be a free for all. Only one of you (the winner) will be assigned to my squad, and the other two will be expelled from the Iwagakure shinobi force. I shall be watching from atop the Tsunara statue which is placed at the end of the temple. Follow me in, and the battle commence with the word 'Hajimaru' (begin). Is there any questions?"


Nakashima instantly thought to himself that even if he had questions that Kazu would not answer them for him as he had been quiet rude to begin with and also it was not common for him to explain his methods of teaching, or so Nakashima had heard. He immediatley started to think of a plan to beat thee other pupils. He began to infer about their stature and what they might be capable of. The Tsuchikage did say they were all selected as being the best three shinobi that were rookies after all. So what was so special about the other two. Well for the female, it was unlikely that someone of her size would be able to use hand to hand combat as well as she had already shown of her ability to use the wind element. That was all he could infer about this particular pupil. As for the other female, judging from her size she was smaller than Nakashima but this did not mean anything hhe had met many small Taijutsu users before, he could only hope that this young woman would not be able to overpower him in hand to hand combat. The golden haired Kanetsu would commence a 180 degree turn allowing his back to face the three shinobi before slowly making his way into the temple. He would allow any of their comments/questions to be answered during the walk in. The Tsuchikage would slowly make his way to the statue whilst allowing his arms to slowly raise shoulder height allowing visual directions to where they should all stand. The Tsuchikage would point each pupil to a different set of stairs. The Tsuchikage would stand at the center of the temple allowing a small ray of light piercing the hole atop the temple to gracefully bless his body with it's light. The Tsuchikage would smile as he would wait for the pupils to take their positions allowing a miniscule grin to come to view. He truly adored combat. Nakashima took up his position trying to think of a plan to take these two down, the only time he removed his eyes from the other two was to switch between them. As soon as those words had left Kazu's mouth, Nakashima competitive nature had instinctively kicked in. He awaited Kazu's signal to allow the fight to begin.

Katon B=>A 1578/3000

OOC: Female, in case you didn't know.

Also, if water is down around those holes in the picture, please say so.

---

I watched as the blue clothed person floated above me, laughing as she passed me by.  I looked up, in a slight awe as she did, thinking, 'that is the way to travel.'    Though as she laughed, passing me, a bit of anger grew over me, and I stopped my trek, about to push my hand forward.  I thought about taking her down, pulling her down to the ground.  I pushed the feeling of anger out of my mind, the thought of doing such a thing would be pointless in the end.  I would end up getting in some form of trouble, one way or another.

I continued on my trek, reaching the top finally, and trying to compose myself as I looked around the top of the temple grounds.  Three people were in an area, one sitting on the ground alone, and the other two keeping some distance.  'I guess that is the Kage and my squad mates.', I thought to myself.  I started to head towards them, slowing my breathing as much as possible.  I started getting close, and saw the one sitting, with blond hair, possible in meditation, as cliche as that might be.  I gave a slight nod as I passed him by.

I continued over to the other two.  One was a man, easily 2 feet taller than me, and with several years on me.  He had black hair and black eyes.  The other person, was the one that passed me, ?still flying in the air?.  She was perhaps a little older than me, and taller.  She had black hair, and she wore a blue dress with a blue hat, which made her seem out of place.  I joined the ranks, greeting both of them silently.  

The man in front of us slowly opened his eyes, and pushed himself up.  He towered over me, and than I saw his eyes of red.  The Kage had some odd traits, the blond hair and red eyes was quite rare.  He started to speak to us, skipping some basic formalities and going straight to business.  His first words though, struck me hard.  " You've been hand picked to try out for my team"  

Try outs...we were to try out for the squad.  It bothered me somewhat, as I had been waiting for a squad for some time.  Though, perhaps it was expected somewhat, after all, we were to fight alongside the kage.  And for all intensive purposes, we were his bodyguards, in a way.  Kazu continued speaking.  Most of it seeming to be pleasantries.  "you have each been picked as exceptional shinobi who excel in you respective fields."  That got me by surprise a little.  I had very little time to think about that comment as he continued, now getting to the nitty gritty.  

The kage continued, "this will be a free for all. Only one of you (the winner) will be assigned to my squad, and the other two will be expelled from the Iwagakure shinobi force." We were going to battle each other!  One will join his squad, the other two would be expelled.  It seemed  rather extremely harsh.  I was a little struck of balance by this 'free for all' try out, thing.  The situation was slightly getting to me.

The kage asked if we had any questions, than started to walk towards the temple, and the others followed.  My steps seemed slow, time seeming to stand still.  The other two before me were older than me, perhaps much more skilled as well.  Thoughts raced through my head, 'Was I the right person chosen?  I was a genin, these two could easily have been chunnin.  Hell, the one guy was perhaps the same age as the Kage.  He could have very well been a Jounin or ANBU.  Perhaps their was a mistake, I had to check my suspicions.  I breathed in, calming myself as I spoke to everyone, "So, is everyone else here a Chunnin?"  Thoughts again racing through my head, hopes that they would say no they were genin, hopefully the words ANBU wouldn't come out.  

As I listened to the answer given by the others, or any questions asked, I analyzed anything I knew of the two I would be facing, and what I could do to start things off in my favor.  The male was tall, and slightly muscular.  He didn't have a weapon on him so he could have been limited to the basics taught at the academy.  The girl skinny, so taijutsu could have been unlikely.  She had no weapons, so that left Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu like me.


So I was the only one with a weapon here, perhaps that would work in my favor.  Though, I wouldn't leave that to chance alone.  We walked into the temple and the kage pointed us to different locations.  I looked around, hoping for some form of water to be around.  Water was lacking in this area, an unfortunate turn for me.  Though their was just enough in the general area, that perhaps I could use one minor area based water jutsu.  I stood on my spot designated, and looked at the faces of my two competitors.  A swirl of wind went through the opening into the temple, circling passed, waving my clothing as it did.  The gust circled around and than traveled upwards out of the opening that shown upon the kage with an eerily drown and whistle.  

I looked to the kage, still thinking of what I could do for an advantage.  I took my gourd off my back, slamming it onto the ground with a loud thud that echoed within the temples walls, to draw attention to myself.  As the  echoed slowed, I took off the first cork of my gourd and the sand started to drain onto the ground.  The sound from it easily heard.  I kicked off the second stopper and more sand poured from the bottom before me.  I chose not to manipulate it, and allowed it to pour.  I spoke up to the kage, to buy myself some time. "We won't be held liable if this place is damaged will we?"


During any of my movements, the slamming of the gourd, the pouring of the sand, or when I asked my question, if either of the two looked at me, it would be beneficial for me.  I was ready to cast my jutsu the second the Kage spoke the words to begin, and both of them would be caught within my genjutsu.  Than my next attack would be ready for use.

Prepared for use:

1111 words.  Going towards Scarred Illusion: Endless Blood and Pain  D rank genjutsu.  Finished training both jutsu. (unfortunately)  906 words used up.  205 words left to go to a sand jutsu.

"Okay you three, Congratulations. You've been hand picked to try out for my team. Yes that's right, you're not my pupils just yet..... As you may have seen me around, I am the Tsuchikage, Kazu Kanetsu."

Riful was slightly shocked by the Kage's announcement she opened her mouth a bit, over-reacting slightly. Riful tensed up, knowing that combat would be inevitable, and she started preparing for battle by fully activating her Kekkei Genkai.

Dance of the Yasunori:

The Tsuchikage confirmed Riful's suspicion when opened his mouth again to talk.


"As for what the messages you received said, that wasn't from me, to be quite honest i have no idea who you three actually are. But in saying that you have each been picked as exceptional shinobi who excel in you respective fields, and for that you must show me your progress. Now, before we head in, whether you know each other, once we head into this temple you are to begin the try out. And what does the try out ask of you? Well, this will be a free for all. Only one of you (the winner) will be assigned to my squad, and the other two will be expelled from the Iwagakure shinobi force. I shall be watching from atop the Tsunara statue which is placed at the end of the temple. Follow me in, and the battle commence with the word 'Hajimaru' (begin). Is there any questions?"

Riful nodded slightly, and went into her position, observing her enemies, making sure that they were not doing anything suspicious before the battle begun. Riful noticed that the girl who was slightly shorter than her had started preparing a genjutsu, and she stared directly at her, smiling.

The Tsuchikage would lead the group of individuals into the temple before directing them each to stand affront each set of stairs (there are three in total as seen in the image from the last post). If they were to stand as directed, each shinobi would stand 10 meters apart in a triangle formation, allowing Kazu to stand in the middle. The fire temple was truly a formiddable opponent in itself, it's architecture was quite remarkable with it's unique statue formations and the deep pit surrounding the centre platform which would fall 20 meters deep before a 2 meter deep collection of water would sit. The Tsuchikage would be suprised as only one of the candidates would ask a question, one that was quite reasonable to the fact that he had to answer with respect.



The grin already present on the Tsuchikages lips would diminish as he felt the battle was ready to be underway. With a swift single movement the Tsuchikage would leap backward, using his legs to thrust his body backward atop one of the statues whilst expelling a single word.


(OOC: Riful. You can't simply notice she's making a genjutsu. You need evidence. How did she know it was a genjutsu. All genjutsu do not look the same. Unless you directly KNEW the jutsu (either seen it before or has learnt it herself) and can evidently point out clues that suggest she is doing a certain genjutsu, than you shouldn't be expecting it to come.)

Nakashima would enter the room at the back of the group, upon entering he could see the Tsuchikage, Kazu Kanetsu, directing each of the others with simple hand gestures to their starting position. Nakashima gazed into the tall slim mans eyes as he saw a grin appear on Kazu's face as he was shown to his starting platform. Nakashima would take note of the distance between himself and the other two competitors, as well as where Kazu would be standing. Nakashima climbed to the top of one of the three podiums, he noticed that the distance between each shinobi was roughly about 10 meters. He would notice Kazu positioning himself in the centre of the room. Very rarely had Nakashima taken his eyes off of the other two still studying them, trying to find some weakness he could exploit. His concentration went unbroken, he almost missed Kazu stating information about the temple.

"........sturdy. It would even be difficult for me to damage......feel free to go all out. As long as it doesnt lead to your death......'

Nakashima would only hear parts of what the Tsuchikage was saying. Not knowing when to get himself set he noticed that the other two seemed to be preparing jutsu for that exact moment Kazu would give the word to begin. Nakasima felt that he should do the same. But before he could completely prepare himself Kazu had shouted begin.

Nakashima would try not to panic, he was able to keep his mind calm. He remembered why he was doing all of this and it helped him to focus as it always did. As he had not yet sensed any movement from the other two podiums, he decided he would make the first move. Nakashima would then use his Denton: Kigen, which would summon ten cubic metres of plasma to the surrounding area, this plasma would be mainly on the centre platform. It severely raised the temperature of the temple, just by the pure eat coming from the plasma Nakashima believed that this would cause the other two competitors to suffer from heat exhaustion, sweating and the inability to perform at their best. As some of the plasma dripped into the gaps it would evaporate the water that was present before. Surprisingly the plasma had little to no effect on the structure itself as the was not the first immense heat it had come into contact with. Nakashima also jumped backwards and upwards to an overhanging ledge to distance himself from the others as he began to prepare his next jutsu. With this he had increase the gap between himself and the others by another 7 meters. He took a crouching position and waited for his next chance to strike.

Chakra 195/200

jutsu:

Katon B=>A 2035/3000

OOC: I am having a little bit of difficulty understanding the...nuances of Plasma Release. After a little bit of studying, and discussion with others on cb, I think I have grasped some of the details. Though with that, and the information provided, I have to take some liberties. If you wish to respecify certain things, or correct me, than please post after me and say editing or something, and pm.

Also Ritful, you forgot to post your chakra count after activating your jutsu. And when flying up the stairs, if that should count? The second one is up to you and the others.

---

The girl turned a shade of white to my surprise. Though I was close enough this time that I got a good look at the girl. The scale like white on her didn't look right, and with a moment to actually look closely, the scales looked to be as of paper, dull to the sunshine, yet malleable as she moved with the cloak. It was an interesting sight and an amazing sight to behold. A girl of paper, almost doll like in form. When she had been flying before, I had seen the white, but it was to fast for me to get a good look at. It seems with her ability, she could manipulate her body in a multitude of ways. Only 2 weaknesses came to mind when I thought of paper, water and fire. I would have to keep that in mind.

As we were walking to the temple, I was disappointed slightly that no one answered my question about what their ranks in the village were. Though, perhaps that was for the best, and it might not have changed much anyways. If they would have said that they were Chunin, or even perhaps ANBU, it might have caused some form of fear perhaps. Though all I knew was that they were Shinobi, just like me, and that was all that had mattered. They were my enemies the moment the kage told us what was to come, and that is how they would be treated.



I had asked a question, buying myself some time as the sand poured out. The kage spoke about how well built the temple was. It had bought me a decent amount of time. Inside, I was still calculating all my options, and had several under my belt so to speak. I felt ready now for the fight to come.

The moment was coming, and the adrenalin pumping from the anticipation of my first real fight. I awaited for the kage to speak the words to begin, prepared for that exact moment to start my genjutsu on the two before me. They were 10 meters from me, each in slightly different directions, but easily seen at the same time. The sand continued to pour from my gourd, about 1/6 of it had emptied before me, over 100 lbs of sand sat on the ground now, ready to be used. Though I chose to start in a different direction.

I looked at the people before me, ready, waiting. My gourd sat easily without me holding it so I released it for a moment, getting the hand sign ready. Everything seemed to slow down in that moment before the kage was to speak, just as the kage jumped back. I saw him jump, and got my hands closer together behind my gourd, and slightly together ready to wave the single hand sign needed.

"Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbeeeeeeee"

My hands came together, to form the Rat hand seal. Before the Kage had finished the word, my hands met, forming the rat hand seal.

"eeggggggggggggggiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnn."

I hid my hand sign behind the gourd, masking the movement from those before me. The genjutsu was set just as the Kage finished speaking, though it wouldn't activate immediately. It would take a moment before the genjutsu would show the opening sign, perhaps unbeknownst to those under it's affect, though it would be only a few seconds after the battle commenced. I released the sign after sufficient time as my competitors would start their own actions.

In the center of the temple, a ball of some sort formed. It was about 2.5 meters wide, and the heat coming from it was intense. I grabbed my gourd, and backed up, a little more sand spilling from the bottom. I used the gourd to shield myself from the ball as much as possible, walking up the stairs and away. I kept my eyes on the two of them though, looking back and forth at my competitors who should be feeling the affects of my genjutsu right about now. The guy jumped up the wall onto a ledge, and I could see the light moving along with him, keeping a certain distance within him. The jutsu was his it seemed.

I glanced down and could see the floor moving below the hole, then looked towards the girl. The heat was getting more and more intense as the air became dry. I used a basic jutsu and went to the edge of the stairs and fell into the hole, and as I fell into the hole, I gripped my feet onto the wall, now about 8 meters down and slowed myself to a stop. I looked up, seeing the bright light still glowing. The temperature was a little warm, but much cooler down here. Their was just enough light here to allow some sight, as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I put my gourd back on and awaited for them to dictate my next move.

Chakra: 118/130:

OOC: So Riful's been given an extended amount of time, and still hasn't posted. So ~ she's no longer in this thread, she leaps from her position in scarce and runs through the hallways. Kazu watches silently above the statue and overlooks the battle as it continues.

The tall dark haired Nakashima would watch from his perch as the small and young Riful would burst out in pain and run from the temple crying, he had wondered what had happened when suddenly an intense fear would overcome him nearly knocking him from his high hiding spot. A moment of panic would set in, and Nakashima would lose his composer for a short period of time. It would overcome him for only a short while until he was able to realize that he was in fact under a genjutsu, as there was no need to be in such terror. Because he had turned his back on his opponent he had not seen his use this genjutsu. 

With Riful running away, the young man didn't know if this meant the match was over, he gazed over at Kazu. But kazu was focused on what was happening at hand and so Nakashima returned to the fight. In the confusion he had lost the other competitor, using his mind Nakashima thought for a moment and decided that he would wait for his opponents next move.

Chakra 190/200

Katon B=>A 2287/3000

From below the stage, Suteki heard the echos of the female competitor screaming, and growing distance quickly.  It seemed one was down, though a little to quickly for her taste.  She had hoped the woman would at least hurt or waste a little chakra of the male fire...bubble...thingy user but that obviously didn't happen.  If any form of luck was on her side, the guy would be under her genjutsu, seeing the image of his greatest fear doing something.  

But she wouldn't go with that assumption.  As far as she knew, her foe was of a much higher rank than she was, and most likely would remove it from himself before it would be of any use.

Suteki weighed her options.  She needed the guy to follow her down to have any advantage.  The slight maze of walls below the arena would benefit her greatly.  "I could always...." It hit her, 'it's overly showy way to use my skills, but I would have to go all out to have much of a chance', as far as she knew.  

Suteki ran to the wall away from the enemy and up it.  She still hoped the guy was waiting on his perch for her to come out, giving her about 25 or so meters between the two of them.  As she ran up the wall, Suteki breathed into her hand, getting her jutsu ready for when she made her surprise appearance.

Suteki would run up the wall and go to a platform with one of the statues.  Her enemy was directly ahead of her and she blew a 'kiss' at him, opening her hand and launching a small spiraling ball of wind at the guy.  She blew another ball of wind into her hand and released another shot ahead of the man or at him if he defended.  She needed to keep her distance from him, so if he ran along the wall, so would she shooting another ball at him, or If he ran towards her, she would just launch the ball directly at him.

Chakra: 99/130:

The tall slender built Kaneko would pan across the room with his eyes scanning for any sign of movement. It wouldn't be long before he sighted his opponent racing toward the perch opposite him, about 25 meters away, to stop and take an offensive stance. Nakashima contemplated taking a shot at this very exposed little girl. Although he decided against it to continue off with his plan to be very defensive. As Nakashima noticed this short woman had taken an offensive stance against him, this made the young slender man think of preparing a defensive jutsu for himself. Nakashima concetrated a powerful stream of wind in his mouth ready to be exhaled at any given moment.

He watched as the girl blew into her hand and then followed this up by blowing a kiss toward Nakashima, although this was no normal kiss, a large wind ball came hurdling toward him. Nakashima pause, only briefly as he weighed in his options, he had two block this one, which there was a high likely hood of another coming straight for him if he did, or dodge the attack and look for an opening. The dark haired Kaneko decided to go with the second, Nakashima quickly jump across to his right hand side, narrowly avoiding the wind ball as it slammed into the perch causing dust and debris to travel in all directions around the point of contact. During all of this he had managed to keep control of the wind jutsu in his mouth and kept it concealed the entire time whilst not taking his eyes of the short petite girl. As he had not taken his eyes off the girl he noticed that she had blown another wind ball into her hand, he would prepare his next defense. He was now free falling down toward the gap between the wall and the center stage.

chakra 175/200:

Katon B=>A 2602/3000

Suteki sent the second ball flying towards him, and it missed him as he fell down the edge of a hole in the floor.  The attack couldn't have gone better.  The guy made a getaway down the side passage down below, but their was a large enough gap for her to think twice before jumping down to join him.  Suteki used the Body Flicker Technique up the wall just on the edge of the hole in the ceiling, into a view point on the ceiling to make sure the man did jump down.  Without her realizing it, some of her sand flowed out of her gourd and onto the field.  She reached the location, and looked towards the spot, having launched her last ball that would slam into the back wall just down the hole, scaring him deeper if he did stick around the edge hopefully.

Chakra: 88/130:

Last ball from prior attack used.  Reduced chakra for walking practice jutsu.

OOC Body flicker can only be used to escape a thread, and cannot be used as a technique in a thread, which can be seen in the last sentence of the jutsu's description. But if you just want to say that you moved across there in some sort of way I'm fine with it.

As Nakashima would free fall down towards the hole the young female competitor would launch another wind ball at him, although she was unable to judge the speed he was travelling at and narrowly missed the slender built man. As he entered the gap in the edge Nakashima would use his wind technique that he had contained inside his mouth during the free fall to propel himself above the ledge enough for him to grab on and pull himself quickly up. As he did this he glanced up to see the other competitor moving to the other side of the arena, and was not paying attention to Nakashima. He quickly breathes deep, filling his mouth and throat with chakra and then converted this into a gaseous substance and exhaled it rapidly in the direction of which she was heading. Nakashima then ran across the middle platform and up the adjacent wall with his supernatural Walking Practice technique. He found himself close to the ceiling once again when the young girl fired her third wind ball into the gap which he had just pulled himself out of. 

By this time the gas had traveled up towards the young girl and had now surrounded her, Nakashima had decided now it was his turn to go on the offensive. The tall dark haired Kaneko positioned his hands into a gun formation, with his thumb, index and middle fingers on both hands becoming extended. He built up electricity into his finger tips and began running horizontally across the wall toward the defenseless girl, when he reached eleven meters away he began to open fire, stopping at ten meters to stay out of the blast range. He would shoot around her so that she would not try to run to the sides or drop down of the ledge, while doing this he was waiting for one of the electrical charges to ignite the noxious fumes and burst into flames. It wouldn't take many shots before the gas exploded engulfing the young girl in flames. Nakashima continued to fire his shots into the flame until all the charges had run out. He waited to see the after mass of the explosion. Knowing that this would not kill her but would cover her in first and second degree burns, Nakashima hoped that the Tsuchikage would think this sufficient for the battle to be over as he had grown tired of the fight and wanted it to end. He waited, prepared for anything, as the smoke cleared.... 

chakra 145/200:

Katon B=>A 3000/3000
Raiton D=>C 18/1500

OOC: Okay, missed that last sentence.

Suteki ran up the wall, heading towards the center hole within the temple.  As she ran, she watched for a good position to fire her shot to make sure the guy was within the cavity of the arena floor.  He moved quickly, popping out of the hole and looking towards her.  She gathered her last shot in her hands.  She shot her attack, and as she released it he was already moving, quickly across the arena below her, it missed him entirely.  She took control of her sand that was drizzling down and had it go towards the direction of the man.  He was already heading up the wall and her sand tried to follow his path ahead of him.  Her sand weakened and some fell when it became uncontrollable.  

'Shit, he is outside of my range.'    He slowed down at one point, it seemed, perhaps and surely figuring out the distance of reach of her jutsu.  She had screwed this up badly, revealing such a weakness.  She pulled more sand out of her gourd, getting it ready to wrap around her for defensive purposes, as the sand wrapped around her slightly.  She kept the other grouping of sand ahead of her, in his general path of attack, perhaps keeping him at bay for close range attacks.  

The man was off, and started to fire bolts at her.  She tried to close the inner sand ahead of her off to block attacks, but kept a small opening to see out of.  The sand that was about 9 or so meters away would keep along with his general location.  That was when the explosion happened.  Instinctual she put her hand where the opening was for her eyes, and the sand followed suit, blocking her front from attack.  The sand tried to encapsulate her, but it wasn't fast enough.  The explosion wrapped around her and found an opening behind her, and entered the dome defense.  



The sand that was closest to the man fell to the ground.  As the smoke would clear, the girl was still holding onto the wall with her chakra.  The sand dome completely covered her now except at her feet.  Though the attack had burned her back enough to feel the burning sensation strongly.  She pressed her back against sand dome, making sure if her cloths were on fire they were put out.  The feeling of her back against the clothing and sand wall hurt, sending a sharp shot of pain along her back.  Some of her clothes kept the burns from running deep, but a portion was burned off.  She stood their keeping her defense up.  More sand exited the gourd and infused with the dome. A certain amount of fear was present, as he could attack and all she could do right now was defend herself.

She thought for a moment, trying to get her baring.  'He was attacking in that direction..I think.  Though he could be anyw..'  Another jolt of pain from the burn on her back stopped her train of thought.  Along with her loss on the though, her chakra fluctuated with the jolt of pain and she lost her hold on the ceiling. The large dome of sand free fell through the air and squished on the floor, slightly losing it's roundness.

Chakra:

The tall Kaneko stood horizontal on the side of the dome as he waited for the smoke to clear, as it did to his surprise, a ball of sand would be attached to the roof. The Kaneko was infuriated by this, but it was long before he saw grains of sand falling from the dome, he paused for a moment, when suddenly the entire ball would fall from the ceiling, he watched as it plunged toward the middle platform. Nakashima watched as this ball of sand crashed into the centre stage, as it did, he watched as the ball changed from a complete spherical shape to a somewhat flattened out shape. Nakashima took this as a sign of the poor little girls chakra fluctuating or weakening. This would be the final moments of the match he thought to himself, he gazed over at the Tsuchikage, Kazu Kanetsu, the expression on the kages face had not change one bit from the start off the fight. He would still be sitting there on top of his perch. Nakashima turned back to the ball of sand.

'You might want to step in now sansei, I recommend that you do, stop this before is to late.' He shouted while staring at the ball of sand. There would be no response from the kage, nothing at all.

Nakashima dropped from the roof onto the centre platform away from the ball. He looked at the ball for a short time before finally convincing himself to go through with it. He forms the Tiger hand seal and breathes deep, filling his throat and lungs with chakra. The tall slender built man then exhale this chakra as a massive orb of roaring flames, used as a flame-thrower style stream of flames. The release is the size of a bus and extends fifteen meters in front of Nakashima. The ball is completely covered in flames. The super heating from the jutsu engulfs the ball and it doesn't take long before Nakashima could here it begin to crack and break, the ball begins to harden and crack. The size of the flames and speed flooded the platform and surrounding areas with flames, anything in the vicinity would be burnt to a crisp. Mere seconds later the ball shatters into little pieces and the small petite girl remains exposed to the bared flames, as this happens Nakashima could feel something on his neck and right arm, as he turned to look he could feel his throat being closed by something and the flames immediately stopped, it was the Tsuchikage, he then proceeded to spin Nakashima around behind him. As he came to what was happening he looked over at the young girl lying in the centre of the temple, she had been lightly seared from his current attack on her front and had bad burn marks on her back with all the clothes being burnt on her back. Nakashima cringed at the sight of what he had done to her, he thought to himself if only Kazu had stepped in earlier. As he thought this Kazu would open his mouth to speak.

chakra 120/200:

Raiton D=>C 542/1500

Crimson hued lenses would widen at the sights before him as danger and imminent death began to swarm through the fire temple. The golden haired Kanetsu would keep poised as he stood perched atop a significant statue. His right hand would raise to the back of his bed of hair, only to allow his fingers to slowly weave through each golden strand in a soothing fashion. Watching and waiting for the battle to solve itself, it wouldn't take long for his final decision to be made. Concentrating a thick layer of chakra to his feet the Tsuchikage would prepare to make his entrance into the battle, as he similtaneously concentrated a thick layer of chakra to his lungs. Thrusting upward into the air, the Tsuchikage would leap into the battle only to notice the flamethrower this 'Nakashima' fellow would display. Without a moment of doubt, the layer of chakra that would flood the Tsuchikage's lungs would disperse from his lips and manipulate into a fire dragon on the jutsu's path toward Nakashima's jutsu, stopping the technique in it's tracks leaving the arena scorched in a 5 m radius. Heat would bellow across the landscape as the fiery might of the Tsuchikage had been displayed, as Kazu would descend onto the ground between the two of the combatants.

Keeping his emotions in check, the Tsuchikage would keen an emotionless facial expression showing no gratitude until his lips would expel the few words of his decision.


A smile would begin to wide across the Tsuchikages lips as he body flickered out of the fire temple. He truly had high hopes for his team.

The ball came to rest on the central platform, it's shape degraded from a sphere to something similar to a muddy sphere.  Within the center, Suteki slammed onto the what was the top, and now the bottom of her Sand Barrier.  The change in composition of the sphere lessened the impact greatly.  She regained her composure and reformed the barrier from within.  Though the shield was messy.

'Where was he?  Was he going to attack? Is the match over?  No, I am still in this fight!  So where is he?'  The thoughts came to her, strengthening her resolve slightly.  She tried to power through the pain of the burns on her back, she wasn't done yet.  The top of her barrier fell below her eyes and she could see her target ahead of her.  Suteki split the sand apart slightly and was ready to launch a water release jutsu. As she started to concentrate the chakra into her feet to release the jutsu, Kazu jumped between them and than released a jutsu of his own on an incoming jutsu from her competitor, one she didn't even see coming.  Would had her technique stopped his?  She wasn't sure but it seems the fight was over,  she lost.  She became a little sad at this fact, she felt their was more to show, more she could give.

"Well done. The both of you have proven yourselves. You're both on squad one, and I am now your sensei."

Confusion took her over, along with a slight amount of joy as a tired smile crept onto her face and some laughter came out.  She hadn't been removed from continuing on as a ninja!  He said something about meeting in one week, but she barely heard anything else beyond his first few sentences.  

Kazu vanished from between them and Suteki's sand swirled around and started to enter her from all around the two of them.  Her sand was spread out everywhere it seemed. 'What should I do now? Congratulating him doesn't seem right, not in the least!  I was burned by him, literally!  What I feel like doing is giving him something in equal!  Perhaps slicing his eye out would be a good approach!'  She breathed in deeply than looked at him, weighing her options. '..It wouldn't be prudent..' She finished collecting her sand and headed for the doorway out of the temple, trying to act like she wasn't hurt at all.

2000 words total from missed posts, going towards Earth Element training C>B
502 words towards water C>B
(exit)

Nakashima was stunned, as well as confused. He can not believe that the kage had just stopped his jutsu without him even noticing. AS well as that he was able to grab him before he could realize what was going on. This made Nakashima think to himself he had a long way to go. Nakashima knew he had won this battle as was waiting to hear the kage speak those words, congratulations Nakashima you will be my student. But that was not what the tall slender built man was about to hear. 

"Well done. The both of you have proven yourselves. You're both on squad one, and I am now your sensei. As I am on a tight schedule i must take my leave, but as i say this, i shall ask that the both of you meet me in exactly one week. The location will be known to you eventually so be prepared."