Ashi could hear the bit of pride in that growl, but didn't even bother allowing it to go to her head. 'Stay focused!', was the words playing over and over in her mind right now, along with 'What are we going to do next?!'. Like a bunch of friggin' cheerleaders the voices were.

Ashi had one more idea up her sleeve. It was probably a bit reckless and stupid... but hey, what's to gain if you don't at least try? She was playing for Kenta being distracted by Takao, at least a bit, as she put this next plan into action. Now, she figured with the skill level between Kenta and herself she was honestly going to be lucky if this left a scratch.. but he wanted to see what they could do, and so she wasn't going to bother holding back.

Her body began to spin as she began to move across the ground, much like a mini tornado, picking up a great deal of speed as she did. Her form spinning rapidly towards Kenta. Piercing Fang, one of her favorite's, though she did enjoy doing it more with Akai.. but what can you do? Only time would tell if it would hit and even leave a scratch...

Spoiler:

Did his kick actually... connect? It had to of been just pure luck, or maybe the Hokage was just allowing for the attack to hit so that he could determine how much 'kick' Takao's attacks had. Even though this attack connected, Takao wasn't just about to let himself be grabbed and thrown about. Not if he could help it anyways.

He attention was momentarily directed towards Ashi as she rushed at Kenta. With the two separated and attacking on their own they wouldn't stand much of a chance against Kenta, but their odds would be better if they worked together. It was a little late to form a plan, especially during a simple exhibition match, but Takao was in a good enough position to try and give Ashi a large enough opening. He directed his attention back to Kenta

Takao reversed his momentum by rotating his hips and throwing the opposite foot into the air, towards the front of Kenta. He'd attacked from the back, but he knew that if he didn't do something his attacks would be redirected without much trouble. At the very least, Takao could try and hold his attention long enough, but he would see the attack coming with ease. He wasn't expecting to create the perfect distraction, but it was worth the try. Assuming Kenta hadn't already grabbed and thrown him, Takao planned on continuing with his motion of falling onto his hands and spinning his body around on his back whilst also kicking his legs out in an attempt to knock the Hokage off his feet.

Chakra: 55/80:

Not a bad kick; the kid had potential. Smart to use the follow-through to change into another attack. And now a Piercing Fang from the other side? Oh yes... he could work with this. At least these two knew what they where doing. Alright... time to move. That tornado working his way would do some damage; they where made to be extremely powerful for being so easy. Inuzuka skill; honed to perfection. His left arm raised to partially deflect Takao's legs, no where near enough to actually stop a hit; but it would buy him the split second he needed to (literally) melt into the water.

Hiding in Water, his newest best friend. He loved all the uses he'd been finding for the tricky little bugger. In the blink of an eye he was completely gone; not a trace left anywhere. In reality, he had become one with the water below their feet; able to hide perfectly and travel at will through the small pond. All he had to do was direct his chakra in what direction he wanted to go, and reverse the flow of said chakra when he wanted to reform. And that's exactly what he did, moving out of the line of Ashi's attack and far enough away from Takao for him to form the next jutsu in mind. Over-kill, away!~

His body seemed to rise like a phantom, hands flying through the massive number of hand-signs needed for one of his other favorite jutsu. "Suiton: Water Dragon Bullet!" To say this was a beast was... well... understatement. Out of the water below his feet rose an enormous dragon made entirely of water; mouth agape in a silent roar. Kenta himself was standing upon it's head, seeming to ride the beast as it formed. With the final hand-sign, the dragon began to race across the water faster then the average Jounin could sprint; more then fast enough to screw over both of them.

Oh, the blonde wasn't trying to hurt them; but he was going to mind-fuck them. Easily done; as he was able to control the beast to some degree by riding it; using his chakra to aim it. He pulled so that the head was aimed upwards; pulling the beast out of the water entirely with a spray of water the instant before it would have impacted. The force of air rushing to fill the void left by the dragons movements would create a suction effect, pulling them closer to the point he rose from; taking the dragon high into the air before forcing it to arch downwards and race back into the water behind Ashi's tornado. The fore of the impact would create a giant wave of water; perfect for knocking them away and creating so much counter-drag that it would break the Piercing Fang. He fell back into the water, not melting this time; merely allowing himself to drift to the bottom where he was safe from countering; amused smirk on his face the entire time. He'd reappear in a few moments, after he'd had a chance to work the laughs from his system. Interesting idea, that was... he'd hafta use it more often.

Spoiler:

'Oh no...' was quickly followed by 'What the fuck?', as her brain tried to take in exactly what was going on, along with the sudden stop of what she'd previously been doing. Kenta, riding a giant dragon? Made out of water? There was no missing the water, at all, though something inside of her still wanted her to try. She was indeed hit with that giant wave of water.. though the knock back was more then she was expecting. She actually flew backwards a good bit before skidding to a halt backwards along the ground.

She laid there blinking for a moment, staring up at the sky. After a few seconds however she stood up to her full height, first looking to see if she could find where Kenta had disappeared to in case he was going to pull anymore water dragons out of his ass, and to see if Takao was still alive and still nearby after the force of that wave. "I'll be seeing that damn thing in my dreams..."

Spoiler:

It was very apparent to Takao that his attempt to buy Ashi enough time to land her attack had failed. Watching Kenta sink into the water was rather... unnerving, to say the least. He didn't like the idea of not being able to see his opponent, even if it was just for demonstration... At least he was able to show how he would react in actual combat compared to some controlled environment where he would just be hitting some kind of straw dummy. Takao recovered from his leg sweep and stopped his momentum by dropping to one knee while surveying the area.

It looked like Kenta had left the area from what Takao could see, but he was sure that wasn't the case. He'd have to be limited to wherever the water was, but that wasn't very limited at all with the stream. While paying close attention to his surroundings, Takao rose to his feet. His attention was immediately directed towards the voice behind him, calling out the name of an unrecognized jutsu. He was smart enough to know that it meant no good.

The massive beast made of water that had suddenly appeared in front of him was enough to make his heart skip a beat. Even if it was just a training exercise, the jutsu was definitely a bit excessive. Takao choked up and his only reaction was to throw up his arms defensively and fall back on his ass, out of sudden shock and fear of the monster of a jutsu in front of him. He was pushed and pulled around by the force of the jutsu with ease, though he struggled to recover and maintain his balance as he tumbled about. He recovered for a brief moment as the dragon crashed and released the torrent of water forwards. “Oh shit!” he managed to stutter out under his already heavy breathing.

Takao resurfaced after the damage had been done, breathing heavily after holding his breath. The kawarimi hadn't been activated, and even if it had he still would've been caught in the attack. Even with his labored breathing and increasing fatigue, Takao couldn't help but crack a smile and laugh a bit. He'd just been caught in a monsoon of a jutsu that was inflicted upon the two of them purely for the hell of it, and Takao found it hilarious. His guard was still up, however, and he was unsure of whether or not Kenta was still looking to test their skills.

Chakra: 55/80:

He was slowly floating to the surface now; moving with the gentle speed of something that was just on the positively buoyant side. Slow, easy; perfect for causing confusion. He'd reappear soon enough, his body was about half way to the surface judging by the light levels. Well; he believed he'd seen enough for now; skill wise. Time to get to know them (or Takao anyway) properly. His head broke the surface finally, body swinging downwards until the was treading water normally. "So. Good attempts. You're both fairly proficient in solo combat. We're going to have to work out a team exercise eventually."

Ashi gave herself a stretch, letting out a groan of satisfaction. "That would be sweet." Ashi was good working with Akai, in fact the two were practically perfect as they didn't need much communication at all to be able to make an effective team after as much practice as they've had. Working with another human being though? Yeah, Ashi wasn't so good at that. There was definitely room for improvement, and she wasn't about to try and deny it.

Ashi moved over to one of the nearby trees, leaning her back against it so she could still face the other two. She folded her arms lightly over her chest, mentally pondering what they might be doing next, if anything at all.

His eyes glanced across the way towards Kenta as he resurfaced, then over to Ashi briefly. His laughter died down as he began to catch his breath, the humor of the situation having come and gone rather quickly. He cleared his throat and helped himself to standing up, clearly soaked to the bone from the jutsu. Takao slid his arms out of the coat and rung it out tightly before glancing back up to Kenta. "So much for that bath..." he jokingly said, standing in a rather uncomfortable looking position due to his soaking wet clothing. A sigh escaped from his lips as he pulled on the wet clothing that stuck to his person.

"Was that it for today then?" he yelled out in a louder tone. Takao certainly wasn't looking forward to doing any more fighting, not in his wet clothes at least. What was that about a team exercise? The idea interested Takao, he didn't have much experience with fighting when it came to a team beyond what he was able to do by himself, such as creating openings. It would definitely be a good opportunity to learn.

"Today? Not likely. I have three bored kids at home that've likely destroyed their room and driven some puppies insane. Go home, rest up, and we'll meet up in a few days. I have some meetings clogging my schedule tomorrow and the day after. I would suggest studying survival tactics. Takao, I wanna see some improvement in your botanical knowledge. At least be able to tell the different between poison ivy, oak, and sumac. I really don't feel like listening to to whining if you wipe with the wrong leaf.~"

That he was joking showed he approved of his team; so far anyway. He was... not happy that the third never showed; but he would let it pass. With all the missions going on, the other was likely out of the village. In this case, he'd allow a second chance. If he didn't show for the next bit? Off the team, simple as that. Kenta was only so patient with people after all.

"Anyway, go rest up. This is gunna be an interesting bit of training." He was gone in a flash, seeming to almost.... how to put it... vibrate? Shimmer? However you wanted to say it; he did it for the split second before he was gone, the sound of a small sonic boom the tell tale sign of VoidStep.

-exit-

Spoiler:

Survival tactics? Ashi could only begin to imagine what Kenta was going to have in store for them next. Yeah, she was definitely going to go hit the books when she got home. Needed a break from painting, anyway. "Right, rest... I'll get right on that." She gave a wave to Takao in leaving and a sharp whistle to Akai was all that was needed to bring the canine to her symbol. An eyebrow rose at Kenta's exit style... she was sure going to have to pester her cousin to be able to learn that. She didn't waste any more time and simply took off the way she came, using the trees and other such things so she didn't run along the ground, Akai trailing along behind her in much the same fashion.

-Exit.-

Takao crossed his arms in response to Kenta's words. “What makes you think I don't already know the difference?” he questioned, but it was more a rhetorical backtalk than an actual inquiry. At any rate he shrugged and nodded. It wouldn't hurt to study up on some of the world's flora, especially with the exams coming up soon. After all, it would only benefit Takao to prepare himself as much as he could before then. “It'd be pretty dumb to wipe with any kind of leaf, but I'll make sure that I know what not to use.” he said with another shrug of his shoulders. Couldn't hurt to study up.

He waved to Kenta as he disappeared in the shimmering boom, and then to Ashi and Akai as they left as well. Takao followed soon after, though he walked rather calmly and at a regular pace. No reason to be in a rush, the forest was peaceful and quiet – for the moment anyways. Why ruin the tranquility by hurrying? He'd be out of the forest and into the bustle of the village soon enough, might as well enjoy the peace while it lasted.

-Exit-