The Chuunin exams were coming fast and Xiao Guan, or Kyutai as the spider-clan knew him, was attempting to find every Kirigakure genin he could possibly get his hands on before the grand event arrived. His plan was simple, not only as a Kirigakure patriot but also as one of the great clans of the misted isles he wished to ensure that kirigakure  was at it's utmost strength. He had no ambitions of being the Mizukage, nor did he hold any promise of becoming a great warrior in the halls of heroes but instead he wished to still do his best to keep the great mist in among the top percentage of students who were going to compete against the world. To compete against the rising storm of Konohagakure, of Kumogakure, of Iwagakure and strike them down with the mighty wave of ruthless justice that was Kirigakure No Sato.

He had attached to his back pocket a list of names attending the exams but one stood out to him as a name he had never come across before. Akiyama Momochi. The name of a seven member that would always stand proud for the clan was known for their great and abundant strength. They were honorable warriors, they were those who always shined above the rest and always seemed to be the last ones standiing. Perfect.

A defensive shinobi is what Kirigakure wanted and after testing Yoshito - whose ice techniques and quick thinking were more than satisfying, Kaito and others it was time to test the Momochi shield to see how he would fair in the exams and more importantly how to utilize each of the mists abilities as a team. They were the new genin and searching out for a Momochi was going to cement their victory.

Xiao Guan had left a note for Akiyama, mailing it to the corresponding address on the sign up form and had instructed the little shinobi to meet him at a grand spiraling bridge in the shape of a dragon that from it's mouth spilled forth a waterfall into a grand lake below pooling into a ravine roughly the size of the chuunin exams arena. He would stand upon the dragons nose awaiting Akiyama, perched and poised with his mask firmly on his face.


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Carefully descending the spiral staircase that Akiyama was told to meet at he would glance to the ravine below. It was an oddity for Akiyama to be sought after so bluntly, a letter being directly sent to him, inviting him here for some sort of meeting. It was clear from the letter that this Xiao was intent to battle him in one way or another. Akiyama never knew with these types, for all he knew the other genin just wanted to play chess, so he wouldn't make any assumption. Pulling on one of the bandages that hid the lower half of his face Akiyama would lean over the edge of the steps. Upon the nose of the dragon head below, Akiyama spotted another young man, a mask fixed over his face that hid his visage. It was an oddity to meet somebody who went so far to hide their appearance, especially one who had requested the presence of another.

Akiyama supposed he wasn't one to judge however, seeing how he almost constantly wore the bandages on his face. Leaping from the staircase Akiyama would come to rest upon the neck of the dragon, some ten meters away from this Xiao. "You called?" he said as his bandages wrinkled, an obvious sign of a smile hidden beneath. "So, what exactly is your plan of action calling me here? Do you intend on a fight, or are we going to play kickball to prove who the better shinobi is?" he questioned with a light chuckle. Resting his hand upon the hilt of his blade that seemed glued to his left hip Akiyama would gesture to the water below. "Or are we going to see who can swim faster? I'm warning you, I'm pretty quick."

As Akiyama leaped down in his own way Xiao turned with a grin "So cool! You even look like him!" Xiao stated as his mind raced with imagery of the Momochis of the past that had accomplished so much and fought for the rites of the people above all else. Zabuza Momochi had gone down in the history books as a good man and here one of his descendants stood looking as calm, collected and vicious as ever before with an opening to match 'You called' he stated as Xiao began to clasp his hands together, leaping to his feet and smiling at Akiyama with delight.  "I mean, totally assuming here that the bandages are just a fashion choice and you're not disfigured - oh wait, are you disfigured? Jeez, I'm sorry I always do this" Xiao stated with embarassment and slapped his head with a feeling of guilt rising from his stomach.

Akiyama made a casual joke, one that Xiao liked and so he responded in kin with a hearty laugh "Oh man, I like you! You're interesting!" Xiao retorted with a laugh covering his mouth as he gazed at the blade so utterly protected by Akiyama "My names Kyutai of the Osada clan, more or less we know the chuunin exams are coming up" Xiao stated using his given name of Kyutai as opposed to 'Xiao' which was more of a name bestowed by those long passed. He leaped to his feet and proceeded to draw along his palm as if it were a notepad and his finger a pencil "I want us all to do well, so, y'know, I stole the sign up sheet and I wanted to make sure we all knew each other. I mean hey, we're the new generation of ninja..." Xiao remarked with a smile as he walked towards Akiyama with a smile and extended his hand to shake it "Basically? I'm here to test everyone. Just call me your crash test dummy haha" the little spider stated preparing his trap. If Akiyama was to shake his hand, he would proceed to then take the man by surprise and attempt to suplex him into the river below so that they could start the testing match. It wouldn't do damage, far from it, but rather would set the temperature and point of the appearance of the two here.



400

The Osada clan, it was an old clan, ancient even by some peoples standards. As far as Akiyama knew, their abilities were either heavily guarded or completely nonexistent, for he knew nothing about them. The only thing he knew for sure was that they produced shinobi on par with what was expected of a clan from Kirigakure. In fact, Akiyama would go so far as to say they produced exceptional ninja even at the worst of times. This was a far cry from Akiyama's own clan who were always tough and determined, but often lacked power and skill. It had been some time since the Momochi clan had produced a shinobi of true renown, though Akiyama intended to be just that. "It's all style." responded in turn to Kyutai's remark about his bandages. This was a lively boy, and one who held a respectable amount of manners when it came to conversation. However, this also had the boy come off as naive in a way, becoming so guilty about such a small thing.

"You've got it." Akiyama paused for a moment before reaching out his hand to shake Kyutai's. "Dummy." He spoke as he was lifted from his feet in an instant, thrown like a ragdoll towards the water below. Soaring through the air, flipping several times Akiyama would call out to his new opponent "Oh come on!". Turning to steady his position in the air he would focus his chakra in the soles of his feet. Coming down hard upon the still water it seemed to detonate on impact, sending a spray of water as small waves rippled out from the impact site. Standing atop the water however was Akiyama, in a low squat from the pressure the impact put on his body nearly forcing him down and into the water. Slowly standing to his full height Akiyama would reach behind his back, seemingly digging around in the small pouch that hung from his lower back. "You know, its impolite to throw somebody you just met. Guess I'll have to teach you some manners." He grinned again beneath his mask.

Pulling a shuriken from the pouch Akiyama would begin spinning it on the index finger of his right hand. Looking up at the boy atop the dragons head he would sigh to himself, knowing that throwing the shuriken now would be pointless. The distance between them was far too great, giving Kuytai plenty of time to evade or block the attack in the time it took to reach him. So, instead of acting rash and retaliating in a way that would reap no results, Akiyama would instead remain where he was. The distance between them was too great for the boy to realistically sling any weapons or ninjutsu his way without Akiyama receiving ample time to dodge. For now, Akiyama would simply wait for Kuytai to come closer, where Akiyama generally maintained a solid advantage against his peers.

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As Akiyama flew over his head Xiao looked to the Momochi with worried eyes hoping it didn't harm him all too much, of course he had estimated the height of the fall in conjunction with the shinobi training would enable the Momochi to be able to sustain no injury or so he calculated. Hopefully, Xiao thought, this would be enough reason to get a gauge for how the Momochi was going to fair in the exams and to ensure that Kirigakure was a strong front against the rising tide of fire. As the boy soared through the air Xiao cupped his hands over his mouth making a makeshift megaphone as he called out to the young shinobi "Sorry! Just land safely!" he called out over the valley as he watched his opponent flip and stabilize forming a small squat like pose a top the water to which Xiao gave a swift smile and nod to show his comfort in knowing that the boy was okay. Xiao was only about 4'9 in height and knew he'd never grow much more than that, not to mention that he was quite slender and frail but within him he had a deep care for Kirigakure No Sato and especially his fellow Genin, he needed to make sure all were strong and alligned. All were willing to fight and all were able to hold their own. As the boy stood to his full height brandishing a shuriken of sorts spinning it Xiao gave a grin, was he a projectile user? He actually hadn't seen one before, mostly people focused on Ninjutsu or blunt physical force so it made Xiao feel quite happy to engage with someone unique.

Waiting in the pooled water, Xiao opted to calculate the time between he and the Momochi. This wasn't a fight born out of bloodlust or rivalry but rather this was a kindness in the same way that Haka had shown him kindness, it was a way for Xiao to ensure that he was able to make Kirigakure stronger and also to meet his future team mates for the chuunin exams. He'd give the Momochi a wide opening, not that he was some amazing S-class shinobi but rather Xiao wanted to test his friends not merely go about challenging everyone for the sake of it. It was a kindness not a hunt. Xiao opted to let loose two webbings, one directed to the walled off exterior of the water below that allow Xiao to rapidly zipline towards the Momochi with a flying kick. It would be a similar pose to the dynamic entry technique yet hold less of the impact it punched merely emulating the positioning. The second webbing was then fired towards the Momochi, it was utterly harmless only able to sustain Xiao's weight and allow him to swing utilizing the web but held no other real physical or harmful affects. No, this was a feint, something to see what the Momochi would do when faced with an alien threat though the web itself was little more than silly string perhaps it would enable the Momochi to show the techniques he held.

The response Kyutai gave was unorthodox to say the least, shooting webs from his body to allow himself to safely traverse the distance between them. It was a technique he had never seen before, and one he wasn't entirely sure was possible up until now. Seeing the trajectory of his tow lines clear as day Akiyama would quickly pull the arm that held his shuriken back. Whipping it forward to launch the projectile at the highest speeds his young frame would allow. Initially it may have looked as though the shuriken was directed toward Kyutai, intent on striking him as he sailed through the air. Instead however, the shuriken was aimed past the boy, intent on severing the line he used to guide himself towards Akiyama.

As for the remaining line, the plan was simple. Reaching out with his other hand Akiyama would move to intercept the web with his palm, gripping the silken string tightly. Pulling as hard as he could his intention was simple, to pull Kyutai off balance and send him careening towards him without the stabilization his webs offered him. In flight, and with no safety line Akiyama would intend to meet him, pushing himself off of the small lakes surface and into the air. With a simple twist of his hips and the quick snapping action of his knee he aimed a simple head kick towards the side of the masked boys face. This may have been a simple spar, but Akiyama felt as though he owed the other genin at least a little bit of payback for his sneak attack earlier. At a bare minimum his intention was to at least show his opponent he meant business, showing his aggressive close quarters mentality to combat.

The line was cut in a moment, the shuriken severing it completely like knife through butter as the zipline was altered causing Xiao to hit a point of inertia and freefall, completely lost to gravity as his forward momentum was severed and leaving him for a moment isolated in the air before his trajectory shifted downward causing him to head straight towards the water below, falling upon it and deep within the water unlike Akiyama's ability to adapt Xiao's sudden surprise found too much and the young shinobi delved beneath the waves ...but! Before it could happen Akiyama had already though ahead, gripping the webbing and pulling Xiao foreword and with it sending him upward with a quick knee to the shinobi's masked face causing pain to shoot from the spider nins cheek as the impact of the knee caused him to roll across the water and sink below. Although out of sorts for a moment the young spider then proceeded to push himself below the surface of the water, diving deeper and deeper into the water below, it would be difficult to do what he needed to do but he would try regardless.

Swimming below Akiyama the young spider would proceed to sling two webs aimed towards the boy's ankles and thusly use the web to hurl Xiao upward and Akiyama downward, Xiao rising above the water and Akiyama sinking below.

The contact Akiyama felt from his blow to Xiao was abrupt but highly kinetic. It was this level of strength the bandage faced shinobi had been training towards and beyond. He knew, based on the smaller stature and youth of his opponent that he likely held a physical edge, but to what degree was unknown. Before he had more time to analyze however he felt the grip of two solid webs on his ankles and a strong tug. Akiyama couldn't comprehend how the boy had managed to send his webs through the water how he did, and had not prepared for such an action. It was foolish and had him drop his guard, internally cursing himself as he sank beneath the waves.

Seeing from beneath the surface that Xiao had brought himself to the surface. Akiyama would grimace, pulling a kunai from its holster and cutting at the webs on his ankles in what seemed like slow motion from the slow movement he could do in the water. Swimming to the surface Akiyama would focus his chakra once more to climb to its surface, once again facing off with the young spider boy. "Weird technique you got there. Never heard anybody being able to shoot webs like this before." Moving forward at a mild pace it was obvious Akiyama was taking a protected approach. He did not know the skills or abilities of his opponent to their full extent. For this reason, caution was foremost in his mind.

Tossing his kunai in the air but for a brief moment Akiyama would perform the ox handsign. Pulling the kunai from the air the entirety of the tool seemed to coat itself in a thin layer of electricity that buzzed loudly. Pulling his arm across his chest in a near choreographed manner he would sling the weapon towards Xiao with impressive speed. As it traveled through the air the kunai trajectory became clear. It was not meant to strike Xiao himself, but instead plunge into the water just inches in front of his feet. The reasoning being that it was meant to electrify the water he stood on, sending burning pain all throughout his body, but especially within his feet if he didn't move quickly. Careful to stay out of the radius of the raiton Akiyama would wait for Xiao's movement and then quickly follow himself, gripping the hilt of his sword in his right hand.

WC=407 Total=1,512

As he delved deep below and rising up slowly, Akiyama's face was worth the entire act of getting wet as he drew a kunai cutting at his ankles which scratched across Xiao's webs in half that severed them entirely into mere threads that floated off on the water as Xiao arose to Akiyama's comment "What can I say? I've got a flair for the dramatic" Xiao stated with a laugh as Akiyama began to make his forward and so Xiao would reply in kind "If you want to know a tip they're only as powerful as silly string...well...most" Xiao stated as he weaved chakra with his tongue swiftly launching forward a large expanding senbon net towards Akiyama skimming along the surface as it launched forward with an increasingly expanding radius and speed but as Akiyama would then pull a kunai from his tool set charging it with electricity slinging it towards Xiao as the web continued forward Xiao's eyes widened his vision of the kunai obscured mostly due to the webbing blocking his own sight as the kunai slid past the webs gaps cutting the jutsu in twine as the jutsu was rendered useless but the electric kunai continued soaring across the water. Xiao had an option...he ran the calculation in his head, if the kunai struck the water Xiao would most likely be electrocuted and thus he lunged forward as if trying to save a football or a small child with his arms spread as the Kunai pierced through his palm causing him to smile "Ha! Almost got me-" before he could finish the sentence he realised that though he had stopped the kunai from touching the water...the kunai was still touching him, that was completely drenched AND touching the water causing Raiton energy to surge through Xiao's body causing him to shake violently "DANG IT" he called out as the raiton caused his muscles to spasm and twitch violently unable to react for a turn due to the stunning nature of the taser like kunai.

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1 C Rank - 15
235/250 Chakra

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