Ask to Join Shinobi’s Dawn

[Godjacob]

It would be soon enough as other Genin followed the proctor, and while Anko's attitude and well actions had gotten the attention as Hiroshi and Mitsuko would be wise to not mouth off to Anko as she seemed to have almost a sadistic glee in targeting the outspoken in the room. Course Mitsuko had felt a number in the room were a bit disrespectful to the proctor which again caused her to inwardly scowl at her "ninja peers" though the conduct of the proctor herself had slid a bit on the sadistic side rather than the professional side of things.

Hiroshi in turn had to hide a snicker at the way this woman seemed to quickly cool the "I'm too hot for this shit!" attitude the Oto-nin had as he'd rather avoid being in line for a strike or being made an example of in the room. Really he had been in high spirits as they followed the proctor; he passed the first exam and had managed to keep out of the radar of other faces around while showing his skills in what they seemed to look for to this point. While he naturally hoped the next exam offered something more exciting he had no complaints about how it had gone to this point.

Koichi in turn naturally had followed and kept shockingly quiet for his standards on the trip a outwardly he seemed unphased by the earlier interaction with the proctor but inwardly he felt a touch of humiliation. How dare this Leaf trash make a fool out of him? She's lucky she has a few years experience on him, once he passed these exams and progressed on his path he'd make certain no one would ever be in position to do what she had done to him ever again.

Once the group made it outside the, rather approximately named if the build up by Anko had been any indication, Forest of Death where it seemed that they would have to try and survive as well as seek out scrolls to progress to the next phase of the exam. Much as Koichi snickered at the name of it being a touch on the nose he had to admit this chance was what he dreamed of when he signed up for these exams. Now he had a chance to enlighten his peers of his true talents, and much as Mitsuko was cautious of what lied in the forest and Hiroshi a bit too excited for what was in there, they seemed to share this sentiment as a physical exam over a paper one was their preferred cup of tea.

With that said, each Genin moved to their tent to get whatever scroll they were assigned. In the case of these three, Koichi seemed to bare a white scroll with the "heaven" symbol while Mitsuko and Hiroshi each were given dark blue scrolls that had the "earth" symbols on them. Course none of these strangers had any knowledge of what others on the test had, and worked to hide their scrolls to ensure nobody had knowledge of what they had as they roamed about aiming to use the fifteen minutes to their advantage.

Mitsuko found a tree as she sat underneath it in a meditative position and closed her eyes; aiming to relax and clear her mind for the struggle that was to come.

Koichi merely walked about the area on a casual stroll; mostly a means to get an eye of his competition as he made some internal first impressions and tried to eye out any details while his expression betrayed a cool disinterest in all things. And Hiroshi?

"Maybe I'll find some big game if there are lakes or rivers in there. This could be a chance to get foreign goods!"

Hiroshi found a space in the middle of the waiting area as he pulled off his wrapped up spear from his back and began to thrust with it as he practiced some strikes with it as he figured he should get nice and lose to get the blood flowing as he had little concern for what danger he may face or what others thought of his little "warm up" session.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Ryu Ryu followed until they arrived at their destination.. Ryu Ryu looked up at the tall fence. "What was the purpose of this fence? To keep stuff out or in? Why is it called the forest of death? Forest of chumps! Ha! This is fixin' to be a breeze... breeeeeze" Ryu Ryu thought to himself. "We got this guys! Grab a scroll, and find another scroll. Then its on to the next challenge. Get rekt chunin exams!" Ryu Ryu said grinning. Ryu Ryu began lightly tapping his drums in excitement. He looked in the forest with excitement, hoping he'd spot a dangerous creature or possibly a missing nin. Though Ryu Ryu wasn't entirely expecting to find one of those, though.

"Better get my scroll... This portion of the exam is already halfway over" Ryu Ryu said with a heaven scroll clutched in his hand. Ryu Ryu leaned to the left and stretched all the way to the ground. Then did the same towards the right. "15 minutes, huh? Just enough time to try some of my sweet pick up lines! Or try a new drum solo! Ladies love drum solos" *badum bop!* Ryu Ryu smacked his drums. Ryu Ryu felt pretty confident in his abilities, and was also confident his team would do good too. He wondered just how good the competition would be. For now he'd just have to wait and see.

Despite Ryu Ryu's overconfidence, he was fully aware of the fact that getting another scroll would not be so easy. These fifteen minutes were pretty suspenseful. Some of the exam participants looked pretty scary, and rough around the edges. Ryu Ryu still felt pretty optimistic about their chances of advancing onward.

 

[=Nightshade=]

At Tensai’s silence, Yuna smiled slightly. Hopefully that meant he’d leave her alone now. She stood abruptly, pushing back from her chair, before following Anko out of the room. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides as she waited for her scroll, itching for a fight. When it was handed to her, she glanced at the symbol for all of two seconds before stashing it in her pants pocket inconspicuously. Earth. Guess that means I need a heaven scroll to pass. She glanced around at the other genin, but it seems that everyone else who had gotten their scrolls had either been really cautious or really lucky.

As an extra precaution, Yuna used a small amount of chakra to create an ice replica of her scroll and place it carefully in her other pocket. If she was ambushed, her attacker would have a fifty-fifty shot of grabbing the fake, assuming they were close enough to even see the slight telltales of where she’d hidden the scroll. The girl selected a tree at random near the area, and leaned against it, attempting to clear her mind before the exam began.

 

[Mystic Zander]

“A game of capture the flag, I see...”

Yoshi raised his brow as Proctor Anko explained the details of the second exam. Standard scenario- retrieve and return. Good reason to get everyone fire up, but...

“Disqualification? Why would opening the scrolls lead to such a thing? It’s gotta be another trick...”

No point in asking as it would likely lead to the young Demolition-Ninja being turned into another example.
Instead, he tried to focus on what he did know.
He knew that there was a 50/50 chance someone he encountered would have the scroll he needed. He knew everyone else would likely keep their scroll a secret. Most importantly- he knew the strategy of his peers was flawed.

“Heaven Scroll, huh? Nice!”

As the red and black adorned Shinobi received his scroll, he turned around and immediately announced which scroll he’d been given. He even went so far as to hold it out in front of himself for confirmation.

“Here’s hoping I find an Earth Scroll!”

To everyone else, it would appear Yoshi had absolutely lost his mind, turning himself into one of the biggest targets right away. Little did they know, this was purely a tactical move on his part.

 

[Gamingfan]

Zeren looked over his Earth scroll once it was plopped into his hand. There wasn't he could do to hide it, so simply attempted to cover the characters with his hand. Maybe some of the students were colorblind. He could certainly hope. As of now, all he could do was prepare for the chaos only a couple minutes away.
A sudden announcement from another ninja startled him. His surprise was only amplified by his statement. He had a heaven scroll, and just decided to casually announce it to everyone?
Wha-what was that? Is he stupid? Or was that intentional? No one is that idiotic....right?
Intentional or not, he took the tidbit of information. This ninja, who he mentally named Blurts McGee, had a heaven scroll. Noted.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

"Alright, got my scroll." Hatsumei mumbled to herself as she exited the tent with a Heavenly Scroll hidden away on her back, removed from sight by her backpack. She had stayed unusually silent ever since Anko broke into the first exam hall and directed them to the second one. Their second proctor has caught the curiosity of the young girl. "That woman sure is carefree, I guess people like her who treats lives with as much seriousness as signing a wager are not too out of the ordinary in a profession such as this." She mumbled.

Soon after Hatsumei finished her train of thought, she heard the voice of another young man boldly exclaiming which scroll he had received. This act puzzled the young girl as she assumed it would be better to keep their scroll a secret as to not paint a target on themselves. After some more thought, the gears in Hatsumei's head came to a conclusion. "Oh! I see what he's doing." She thought. "Playing dumb to lure others to him. This is quite a bold strategy, but I suppose it would make finding the other scroll easier." She speculated.

 

[Retro Master]

“Oh. I have a heaven scroll like him too. Nice.”

Kazue softly murmured to himself after hearing Yoshi’s outburst. Thanks to the generous announcement from the Stone genin, those who had a heaven scroll now knew Yoshi didn’t have the scroll they needed. In other words, that was one less person they would have to worry about. On the other hand, those with earth scrolls would likely consider going after him. Of course, Kazue doubted Yoshi had inadvertently put a target on his back. It could have been a purposeful reveal to lure those earth scroll holders to him. A trap for his unsuspecting prey. The plan was a solid one and might also be an opportunity for Kazue as well.

‘If multiple people with earth scrolls do go after him, then that would be a good opportunity to get one for myself.’

Perhaps he could play the role of a vulture, swooping in when they were weakened to take the prize. Though, if there were a few others with that idea, those with the same scrolls could end up fighting amongst themselves. It would just be complete chaos at that point. However, Kazue didn’t plan to place all his eggs in one basket just yet. He had some other ideas in mind. Teaming up with someone was one of those ideas, but he would have to be careful about it. As much as Kazue wanted to believe the best in others, he wasn’t completely naive. Choosing the wrong teammate could be fatal if he was backstabbed. The life-lease they all signed was proof of this.

‘I’ll need a way to guarantee my safety or at least some type of insurance in case I am betrayed or taken down by someone who wants my scroll.’

The young genin scratched his head as he tried to think of something. After a few moments of thought, the boy came up with something. However, he would need some confirmation before he could continue with the idea. Fortunately, Anko hadn’t left the area. Raising his right hand like a child in the Academy, Kazue spoke up to ask his question to the proctor.

“Um. I have a question Ms. Anko. This might sound pointless, but are we disqualified if the scrolls in our possession are damaged in any way? Can we turn in damaged scrolls?”

 

[kyuukestu]

"Confident."

As opposed to the striking fellow who decided to reveal his Heaven Scroll, Kikyō concealed her own Earth Scroll within her quiver.

Many of her peers seemed all-too-eager to reveal their fighting styles or blatantly hint at it. The guy openly declaring his Heaven Scroll was likely suited towards direct confrontations; perhaps he wanted people to find him because he wasn't that good at tracking. His reveal would not only cover a potential weakness but also provide him with the fight he wanted. Kikyō could respect that foresight.

Even more blatantly than the scroll-boy was a spear-wielding Mist shinobi, and Kikyō, as a spear-user herself, was even more interested in the latter. In fact, she decided to hit him up for a bit of conversation.

"It's not often you see someone wielding a spear; it's especially strange since the Mist is known for their swords."


-----


"The scrolls can take a beating," Anko replied, "but you should try to keep them protected. Excessive damage of the scroll will also fail you."

 

[Retro Master]

“I see. Thank you.”

After receiving an answer, Kazue respectfully thanked Anko for her response. It appeared there was a limit to how much the scrolls could be damaged. He was satisfied with this. His idea should work in theory. Of course, the only way to know for sure was for certain scenarios to occur. At the very least, the Namikaze could have something else in his back pocket in case things went south.

‘Is there more stuff I should be thinking about? Seems like we still have a lot of time before the exam starts and everyone else seems to be pretty calm. Maybe I should relax a bit too.’

They had 15 minutes of downtime and Kazue didn’t want to just stand around. If he thought too much about the upcoming exam, it could make him anxious. Instead, he looked around for something to do. There were two girls meditating separately by some trees. They didn’t seem to want to be bothered. He saw another girl walk up to a genin that was practicing with their spear to converse. Perhaps she was planning to team up with him. Kazue then found one of his fellow Leaf shinobi nearby, but they appeared to be brooding to themself or something. The Namikaze decided to leave him alone for now. He continued to look around before something eventually caught his interest.

‘Drums?’

More specifically, the four drums on the belt of a Sound ninja. Kazue hadn’t expected to see musical instruments at the exam and wondered why Ryu Ryu had brought them. In fact, now that he thought about it, the other Sound ninja seemed to have instruments as well. The outspoken boy earlier carried a gold banjo on his back and there was a another girl who carried a whole guitar with them. Maybe they were more than just instruments to be played for some music. If the instruments were even real at least. Perhaps the entire Sound village was actually just one giant band. There wasn’t much known about Otogakure and its members so it wouldn’t be too surprising. Kazue supposed it couldn’t hurt to learn some more about them.

“Hey. Uh, are those actual drums or just for show? Like can you really play them? If so, do all Sound ninja have instruments as well? Can they be used like ninja tools too? Sorry for all the sudden questions. I’m Kazue by the way.”

The young Namikaze ended up walking over to Ryu Ryu to get some answers. After a casual greeting, he ended up carelessly unloading a barrage of questions. Hopefully it wouldn’t annoy the Sound ninja too much.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"You got the wrong scroll stupid! I already got a heaven scroll! Go back and get an earth scroll ya dingus! None of these ninjas do anything right!" Ryu Ryu thought to himself. "Wrong dam scroll dammit. Doesn't matter though, someone has what I need" Ryu Ryu muttered. Ryu Ryu was confident, but not bold enough to outright show his scroll off. He loved showing off, so it did cross his mind.

"Huh? What? Of course they are rea-" Ryu Ryu paused to look at Kazue's headband. He was a hidden leaf ninja! Ryu Ryu didn't have a strong opinion on the hidden leaf ninjas, so this was irrelevant. "They are the village home of that one clan called the Uchichi Clan. Chuhaha Clan? No wait! The Uchiha Clan. I probably should have payed more attention in history class" Ryu Ryu thought to himself.

Ryu Ryu grinned at Kazue, "Off course they are real drums! I can't bust sick beats on a fool with toys. These are the real deal! I made 'em myself! Of course I can play them!" Ryu Ryu said before briefly tapping one of his drum at a steadily speeding tempo. "Oh, they are for show alright. When I fight people, I show them I mean business, and my drums are just what I need to do so. Never underestimate the power of a good cadence! I use them on my missions all the time. A stupid ninja that does underestimate it, will get marched on to the rhythm of a percussionist ninja!" Ryu Ryu said using every ounce of willpower in his body to not drop some sick beats. Ryu Ryu also didn't want to show off his drum abilities since his sensei warned him multiple times about showing off.

"Nice to meet you Kazue, I'm Liu Liu. From the Sound Village" Ryu Ryu said jiggling the headband around his neck. He didn't tell Kazue his real name, even if he did seem friendly, and fairly trustworthy. Maybe if Kazue is the friendly guy Ryu Ryu thinks he is, he might end up telling him his actual name, but for now, he used one of his aliases. "What about you Kazue?" Ryu Ryu crossed his arms, and curiously awaited a response.

 

[Godjacob]

Not a remarkable bunch of faces, but who knows maybe one will throw a surprise or two. A few easy on the eyes...others less so, either way should be a breeze...

Needless to say as Koichi moved about the area and scouted the competitors he had not been overly impressed with any of them on first impressions. Call it cockiness or assured confidence but Koichi seemed sure of his chances regardless of the reason as he had hands in pocket and as he had began to whistle a tune to pass the time he heard the sounds of a familiar set of drums as he wondered over and saw a familiar face playing them.

"So, seems you managed to not slip over the first hurdle?" Koichi mused, striking conversation with his Oto-teammate with his usual sarcastic undertone. Though in spite of that he had been happy to see one of his teammates had made it through to the next exam. The more of their team hell their own nation advanced on the more they could earn credible reputation and get some respect among their peers beyond that new minor nation people had only vaguely heard of. Naturally he seemed to ignore the Leaf ninja that Ryo seemed to be conversing with as his focus had been on that mindset.

Indeed, they'd make their lord proud. Koichi would make certain of that. Though the comment from one teen who annoyed what scroll he had made him chuckle. So going by that tactic huh? Well Koichi admired his boldness if nothing else.

Mitsuko merely shook her head. While she could respect an attempt to be open and transparent in a land of deception & underhanded play, but with this many field of competitors he likely risked over exerting himself since he seemed to be a known quantity among a field of mystery holders. Not to mention she figured he'd made a big spectacle over Regardless her focus shifted to another individual who seemed to sit by a tree close to hers as even with her eyes closed Mitsuko's senses had been more than sharp enough to pick up on a nearby arrival all the same.

"Seems you are relaxed..." Mitsuko muttered with her eyes closed, much as he had usually tried to keep to herself she figured getting the mindset of her fellow competitors had been one way to pass time. Hiroshi seemed to enjoy his method of passing time as he worked on his form with the spear thrusts and strikes before he paused as one Genin boldly announced what scroll he had.

Hiroshi had to admit, he liked the style, fearless and daring confrontation which he had respect for though before he had much more time to think over the display someone approached him as she seemed to comment on his weapon of choice which caused him to grin as he twirled it behind his shoulders in a rest position while he faced her.

"Go with what you no is something I was told growing up, and I could make more out of this baby than a regular sword. Helps stand out in a way really. I take it that it caught your eye?" Hiroshi asked back, casual demeanor as he figured his spear was what drew her to him and was curious what had been on her mind.

 

[Retro Master]

Kazue was pleasantly surprised by the exuberant nature Ryu Ryu seemed to give off. The Sound genin was pretty chill all things considered and was quick to clarify his instruments were indeed real. He seemed quite passionate when it came to talking about his drums and Kazue could only imagine how they were used in battle. Genjutsu was fairly obvious, but there were also other ways sound could leave an opponent disoriented. An entire band of Sound ninja would put on quite the show in more ways than one. Needless to say, Kazue was quite intrigued. He didn’t even think twice when Ryu Ryu revealed his “name”. The question at the end did confuse Kazue a bit, but he still answered the best he could anyways.

“Um, you mean where I’m from? I’m from here. The Leaf Village I mean.” Kazue said with slight hesitation, pointing to the forehead protector with the Leaf insignia on his head. “Speaking of villages, I heard the Sound village was founded pretty recently, so you guys are probably the first of your village to be taking the exams. That’s probably pretty cool. Plus, not only are you guys ninja, but you can also play different types of instruments as well. Unfortunately, I can’t play any. The Sound village must be filled with many talented people like you though. Your leader must be proud of the quick growth of the village.”

As he said that, the vocal Sound genin from earlier came over to greet Liu Liu. However, Koichi seemed to ignore Kazue completely. It was quite the contrast to his more welcoming comrade. Perhaps the encounter with Anko was still on his mind or something. Kazue felt it be wise to leave Koichi alone for now. He didn’t want to risk further bothering someone just before the start of the exam. Instead, he continued the conversation with Liu Liu.

“So do those drums slow you down at all? I’m guessing you’re always carrying them wherever you go. Well, they don’t look too big...”

Kazue questioned as he further examined the drums. Of course, he didn’t expect Liu Liu to give away too much even though it was a genuine question.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Ryu Ryu heard a familiar voice, his squad mate Kouchi, "Naturally! Naturally. Hope you can keep up, cause we're gonna slip right past the forest of death, no prob" Ryu Ryu said.

Ryu Ryu turned back towards Kazue, "I guess it is kinda new still, isn't it? Maybe?" Ryu Ryu thought about their kage for a moment. Ryu Ryu already felt special, even without taking part in the chunin exams. This was just a step on a very long path of glory for Ryu Ryu. "Heavy? Are your clothes heavy? Do they slow you down? To answer your question" Ryu Ryu paused to perform a back flip. "Not really. Even if they were heavy, you'd get used to it" Ryu Ryu said. They were fairly light so Ryu Ryu didn't have to worry. Ryu Ryu began wondering what type of abilities Kazue knee but wasn't sure if Kazue would tell him. Perhaps time will tell.

 

[kyuukestu]

"You could say that," her comment was offhanded, "I prefer them a bit shorter myself, easier to control and better at close-quarters."

As Hiroshi shouldered his spear, Kikyō brandished her own with a twirl. Her spear was closer in dimensions to a javelin; a bit over a meter's length with a lengthy blade and tapered point—good for stabbing and good for slashing. It was everything a girl could ever want in a murder-weapon.

"Mind if I take a closer look at your spear?" She asked, innocently enough. "You can take a look at mine in exchange."

 

[sSoul]

Sooner than he could react, Garu found a snake on his shoulder that proceeded to hiss at him and brush its serpentine lounge against his cheek before returning to Anko. Though he outwardly seemed unfazed, a closer look would reveal sweat beading down on his face. Inwardly, the Iwavian shinobi was trying to calm his nerves, ignoring the proctor mockingly hoping that he managed to survive until next week. As he was calming himself down, the genin finally decided to sign the death warrant before following his peers to the Forest of Death. Fortunately, he wasn't gone long enough to miss out on Anko's explanation of the next exam. As he went to the tent to get his scroll, he noticed that someone else from his village publicly announcing the type of scroll that he got. While Garu would normally brush it off as arrogance or foolishness, he proceeded to double down on his proclamation by saying "Here’s hoping I find an Earth Scroll!" Given that the Iwavian shinobi knew that he had a Heaven scroll as well, he felt assured in investigating the intriguing tactics of his fellow Iwa-nin. Fortunately, the shinobi's vocal projection made him easy to find

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear that you had a Heaven scroll, the same kind as me," Garu began as he made his way over to Yoshi, "If you don't mind appeasing my curiosity, what did you hope to gain by making such an announcement?" At this point, Garu had loosened up from his encounter with the Proctor's snake, though it did linger in his mind.

Konohagakure must be desperately short staffed if they have to hire people like her...still, I think it's been made blatantly obvious that I should give her some amount of respect...

 

[=Nightshade=]

Yuna glanced irritably in the direction of the voice. Though she would never admit it, she hadn’t noticed the other shinobi about two trees away. I need to be more aware, or else I’ll end up making stupid mistakes like that one. Focus. She leaned her head back against the trunk, letting out her breath slowly. “Relaxed?” she repeated with a slight frown, glancing away at a random point in space, idly noticing that a nearby cloud was shaped almost like a shuriken. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

The girl’s brow furrowed slightly as a boy announced his scroll for about... eh, the whole world to hear. She would have to keep that in mind. A heaven scroll holder would have what she needed, but that would also mean every other earth scroll holder would go after him as well. But if other heaven scroll holders had figured that out, they would also be following, looking for someone to pick off. So maybe, if I wait for one of them... or maybe I’m overthinking this. I should focus on basic survival first, then go for a scroll once I’m certain I know the basic terrain. Right...? The creases in Yuna’s brow deepened as she continued the circular arguement in her head, psyching herself out. You know what, I’m just going to wing it for once. Trying to plan for every possible outcome just isn’t working for me right now.

 

[Godjacob]

"Hope? There is no need to hope, we'll blow past this "spooky" forest and get to the next exam assured. Anything less is just a failure's mindset." Koichi mused as he seemed to consider nothing other than passing this exam in his usual cool confidence, though as the convo turned to the new arrival he figured he may as well get his own word in as he chuckled by the backflip of his teammate as if to prove a point.

"Seems you are as spirited as ever Ryu, though it seems you've already made a foreign friend." Koichi mused curious about his teammate's discussion partner; not about him naturally but how casual his teammate seemed to be with him.

A contrast made notable by just how into the conversation the enthusiastic spear user had been.

"But on the plus side this allows me greater range and hits harder when it lands. Effective on big game or enemy ninja." Hiroshi replied, as it seemed he spoke to a fellow spear enthusiast as she pulled out her weapon and gave it a stylistic twirl as his eyes seemed to light up and he had let out an audible whistle.

"Gotta say some handy construction. I admire the craftsmanship, and sure don't mind a quick share." Hiroshi said with a smile, as he opened his hand to accept her javelin while he presented his spear to her, though he'd wait till he had her spear in his hands before he'd make the temporary trade. Such a jovial attitude had been in start contrast to the rather unexpressive samurai apprentice of Kumo as even with her eyes closed she processed the words spoken of her tree "mate" as she internally nodded in reply.

"I see, well presentation sometimes matters more than reality. So regardless whether you are relaxed or merely appear to be, could serve you well since it seems some are rather too open about their feelings..." Mitsuko said, as clearly she referred to the boy who confidently revealed his scroll for anyone who listened that she sensed her neighbor had been in in thought over.

 

[Retro Master]

“I should’ve figured...”

With a soft chuckle in his tone, Kazue commented after seeing the casual backflip. He felt a bit dumb for not considering that Liu Liu would be used to the weight of the drums. Obviously the Sound genin wouldn’t be carrying something that could slow him down in any way. Both of them for that matter. Judging by Koichi’s comments, it appeared nothing was holding him back either. While Kazue believed he could pass the exam, the confident aura that seemed to emanate from them made it seem like they thought it was going to be a cakewalk.

“Anyways, you guys seem to be pretty calm all things considered. This exam looks like it will be much tougher than the last one. Do you think Ms. Anko is over exaggerating how dangerous it is? The area is called the forest of death and we even had to sign those permission slips. I mean just look over there.”

Kazue gestured in the direction of the forest where there was a humongous snake slithering up a giant tree. It was one of the biggest creatures the boy had ever seen. He shuddered slightly as the large reptile caught an unsuspecting bird on the tree branch and swallowed it whole. Near the middle of the tree there was also a huge centipede slowly crawling up. Those were the type of creatures they were going to have to survive with for at most five days while fighting each other for scrolls. Taking on those monsters alone would probably be manageable, but things could get hectic if there were other genin to fight at the same time.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"That's the right attitude. Winning and grinning. Enter with a whisper and leave with a bang" Ryu Ryu said. Koichi was an equally confident person, which meant he was easy to agree with. "As soon as we get through the forest of chumps that is. One step at a time. I hope I get an earth scroll quickly. Sooner this challenge ends, the sooner Team Ota can prove why we're the best" Ryu Ryu thought to himself

"Of course we're calm. It beats the alternative by a mile and a half. No point in freaking out. People win, and people lose. You got nothing to gain by losing your shhh. Your a ninja too aren't you? Might as well have some confidence, unless you just suck? If you are tough, then you have every right to be confident. No point in being bashful. As for this portion of the exam, I'm not worried 'bout some crazy chick. Screw the permission slips. I bet they are just some lame low budget scare tactic. I have no doubt this next portion of the exam will be harder. It doesn't matter because like I said earlier, If your tough you'll be fine" Ryu Ryu said. "Unless you suck, in which case... Good luck..." Ryu Ryu thought to himself. Ryu Ryu had a feeling that Kazue was likely strong too.

Ryu Ryu saw part of the snake slither around. Though he remained physically unphased. The snake would definitely be a threat, no telling what else lie in the forest as well. Ryu Ryu wasn't going to break composure by freaking out just yet. Not after talking to Kazue about confidence. No. Ryu Ryu would have to practice what he preaches. He continued to look around within the forest. Maybe spot some tracks, or other signs of inhabitance. Then there were also the other participants who would no doubt want Ryu Ryu's scroll. He'd need to not only find a scroll, but protect his own scroll, and possibly himself. As well as his teammates of course. "Just another obstacle is all that is. That snake better hope it doesn't cross my path or I'll leave this forest with snakeskin boots, and a belt" Ryu Ryu said.

 

[Mystic Zander]

Yoshi believed many ninja would employ ruthless and methodical tactics to get at his precious Heaven Scroll, so he was ready for anything...or so he thought.
What he didn’t expect was a boy from his own village to walk right up to him, and try and throw out such a touchy set of questions so casually.
Either the guy was an idiot, or he was genuinely a non-threat.

“Let’s see that scroll then, buddy-boy!”

The amber-eyed Genin said with an unwavering smile whilst giving Garu a friendly slap on the back.

“Test one.”

 

[DarkHydraT]

Kani instinctively put some distance between her and the snake that Anko seemingly conjured out of thin air. Is this what ninja are capable of doing? I don't know if I am a fan of this. Swallowing down her fear, the Iwavian followed the group and listened carefully to the instructions given by Anko who was dubbed 'Crazy Snake Lady' in her head. After getting told what the deal was with the exam, the girl went to the tent and got her scroll. It was an Earth Scroll, so she'd need to get her hands on a Heaven Scroll in the hopes of passing. Casting a glance at the Forest of Death, she surpressed a shiver. Judging from what she had seen so far, the forest wasn't called that out of sheer novelty. There were bound to be scary creatures in there. Tearing her eyes away from the site of the second exam, Kani began looking for the boy that talked to her after the first exam. They weren't friends, but having a familiar face around could probably ease her nerves. Walking over to Garu who was talking to another Iwa-nin, the girl twiddled her thumbs as she tried to interject in the conversation. "Umm, good luck in the exam. Hopefully at least one ninja from Iwa will make it to Chunin."

--------

An Earth scroll, huh? Utano looked at it with intrigue before stashing it in the soundhole of the bass guitar on her back. She'd been lucky in the last exam, but she could not rely on luck the entire time. Her pride wouldn't allow it. If she was going to be a Chunin, it would be because of her skills and not because of her luck. Leaving the tent, she looked around for fellow Oto-nin and found Ryu-Ryu with relative ease. Those drums were not exactly subtle. Walking over to her fellow village member, the bass guitarist put her hands in her pockets and grinned. "Yo, Bongo Boy! You passed too?"

 

[Retro Master]

“Yeah, you’re right.“

The encouraging statement by Liu Liu caused the Namikaze to grin a little. Kazue was already confident in his ability to pass to pass the exam and the words of the Sound ninja only reaffirmed that feeling. Those who weren’t sure of themselves would likely find themselves in trouble if they hadn’t already been consumed by fear. The proctor could have very well been hoping to shake the spirits of the examinees with the life-lease. Of course, it didn’t seem like any of the Sound genin were even slightly affected by her ploy as another one casually walked up to Liu Liu. Even though she didn’t seem to notice him, Kazue still took the initiative to greet the girl.

“Hello.”

Kazue did take note of the fact that the two Sound genin who approached Liu Liu and him seemed to ignore his presence for the most part. Was it specifically him they were avoiding to the village he was aligned to? Perhaps unlike Liu Liu, they simply weren’t interested in conversing with people from other villages. He honestly didn’t know enough about them to make any assumptions. While being ignored like that was still a bit awkward, it didn’t really bother Kazue at all. Instead, he used the arrival of Utano to transition to a more relevant topic.

“I’m guessing the three of you make up the full group sent from the Sound village. Are you all thinking to team up for this exam? You would have the advantage due to already knowing each other. The only issue is that you might have different scrolls. I suppose that’s fine as long as you can gather the scrolls each one of you need before the five days are up.”

After the boy spoke, he scratched his head wondering if maybe too much was said. There was a chance all of them had an earth scroll. He didn’t want to consider it, but if that was the case, they could just gang up on him for his heaven scroll. On the other hand, that would mean more opportunities to get the scroll he needed. It was an unlikely possibility, but one nonetheless. Having spoken with Liu Liu now, Kazue would prefer to avoid such a scenario if possible.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Ryu Ryu heard yet again, another familiar voice. It was Utano. She looked happy as usual. "Looks like you managed to make it too" Ryu Ryu said. Ryu Ryu was going to challenge Utano so a music battle, but decided against his better judgment. Perhaps he might challenge her later, after they gotten their chunin rank.

"Of course I'm right" Ryu Ryu said. "I'm always right! I don't need confirmation! Though feel free to continue telling me just how right I am. I don't mind" Ryu Ryu thought to himself

"The one and only!" Ryu Ryu said excitedly to the hidden sound comment. "Maybe. Maybe. We'd be a powerhouse team" Ryu Ryu thought to himself once more. "Hope your feeling ready for the exam! I know I sure am fired up! Gonna drop some sick beats on that dumbass snake if it comes near me! Then get my second scroll! Yoink!" Ryu Ryu said. Ryu Ryu wondered if Kazue had an earth scroll but didn't wanna ask.

 

[sSoul]

Garu nodded his head slowly at Yoshi prompting him to reveal his scroll. Though his intentions were genuine, it would be unreasonable to assume that others would believe him without reasonable and substantial proof. Therefore, the Iwavian shinobi grabbed his scroll from within his vest and showed a white scroll with the "heaven" symbol adorning it. As he was putting away the scroll, he turned to notice the girl that he talked to before wishing him luck in the coming exams. Although a part of Garu wanted to continue the conversation between them that was abruptly ended by Anko siccing her pet snake on him, an idea presented itself to the Iwavian shinobi now that he was in the company of the other Iwa-nin assigned to take the exams this year.

"While I appreciate your wishes for success, I believe I may have a better alternative," After giving Kani a small grin to acknowledge her presence, he turned himself to face both of his peers so that he could address them clearly while keeping a low voice, "Given that we all share a homeland and that the goal each of us is working towards are fundamentally the same, I think that we should group up for this exam." He paused to let them register any implications of his proposition, remembering how his father carried himself when making similar suggestions to groups.

"Not only do we greatly improve the likelihood of one of us passing by actively looking out for each other, but given that we're from the same nation and we're taking the exams in the same period of time, there's a chance that we could end up working together in the future, so now is a good time to lay the groundwork for future cooperation." Now that he properly elaborated, he decided that it would be prudent to see if his peers were able to follow and agree with his logic before making any further plans.

 

[Mystic Zander]

Yoshi’s smile widened as Garu proposed an alliance. Not only was he genuine, he also wanted to team up despite the target the Demolition Ninja painted on his own back.
He was so reckless- he might be useful.

“Kani, was it?”

Yoshi turned, addressing the girl he’d previously encountered once before. She seemed very kind, but quite nervous. There was a definite concern of her cracking under the pressure of combat, and that would make her a liability.

“I’m always welcome to make new comrades, but what about you? Would you wanna team up with some other Iwa-Ninja?”

His reply was considerate, yes, but he was mostly concerned with discovering what scroll she held. If it were an Earth Scroll, he’d attempt to refrain from taking it...but it would be nice to know...just in case.

 

[kyuukestu]

Kikyō

"It's heavier." That much was obvious, but a heft of the lengthy spear—longer than she was tall—really drove home how heavy and unwieldy the weapon was in comparison to her own. Its thickness, its girth, the texture of its shaft, it was so much bigger than what she was used to; she salivated like a child.

Kikyō brandished the weapon at waist-level. Hiroshi's long-spear, lengthy as it was, required both hands to be properly controlled. She gouged the air with a testy stab, delighted by the sharp howls of the wind.

"Good weapon," She asserted, but after that single stab, she returned the spear to Hiroshi; in the end, she preferred her own short-spear. The length and weight of Hiroshi's spear introduced the issue of weight-distribution. The heavier head of the spear meant that most of the weapon's weight was focused there. That allowed stronger stabs with more driving power, but it also made it harder to retrieve the weapon after an all-out strike.

Momo

"Here's your scroll."

"..."

Wordlessly the girl received her scroll, its white bindings stained with the character for 'Heaven'. She offered a half-bow to the proctor and stepped out of the tent. She hid a disparaging scowl with frank indifference as she faced the crowd of examinees. Their overflowing emotions washed over her, a slight queasiness resulted.

Even now she could feel her anxiety mounting, her own uncertainty amplified by the crowd. The stomach-butterflies of—what she felt was—a thousand anxious genin, fluttered menacingly; If not for her furs, inlaid with seals that suppressed her kekkei genkai, Momo was certain she would've been reduced to a nervous wreck, paralyzed in a pool of her own discharge.

She needed to get away.

The kunoichi from the Frost took off, retreating to the furthest corner of the exam-grounds, her expression lightened as she put distance between herself and the crowd. She eased herself to a cross-legged seat, sighing her sweet relief.

Now in the safety of solitude, Momo cast a final gaze towards the other genin, all moving to interact with each other, her eyes tinged with wistful apprehension. After a few more glances, Momo closed her eyes and began to meditate.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"I sure did, otherwise I wouldn't be here." Utano laughed as she put a hand on her hip. "Who's your friend here? Are you hoping that he'll get you a concert hall or something?" Chuckling to herself, the Oto-kunoichi turned to Kazue and extended a hand. "My name's Utano Suru, nice to meet you. Teaming up sounds appealing, I'm not opposed to it. But we'll have to ask the third Oto-nin first if we want a team of three, no?" Leaving the question in the air, she hoped that Ryu-Ryu would take initiative. After all, he'd already made connections with a foreign ninja. Talking to a fellow ninja from Oto should be a piece of cake for him.

------------------

Kani's head perked up as Garu proposed an alliance between the three of them. It was a tempting offer, Garu had some good arguments and the two boys definitely seemed to be more used to the ninja lifestyle. "I-I'd be honored to. I'll try my best to not drag you two down." A determined look appeared in her eyes before she realized that she had yet to introduce herself. "My name is Kani Fukui, pleased to make your acquiantance. O-oh, right. The scroll that is assigned to me is the Earth scroll, if that is something you need to know." Scratching the back of her neck, the girl lowered her head slightly. There were definitely nerves going haywire in anticipation of the next exam, that forest did not sit well with her. Where were the mountainous hillsides of the Land of Earth when you needed them?

 

[=Nightshade=]

Yuna glanced away from the other kunoichi, unsettled. Some people are intuitive, but this... is just creepy. With any luck, I won’t have to associate myself with her; with instincts that strong, she could probably tell if I was planning to betray her, or betray me without my noticing. And as a blatant enemy, I doubt she’d be any less formidable. She was jolted out of her thoughts as soon as she noticed another genin fumble his scroll before promptly faceplanting in the dust, his scroll rolling out of his grasp for anyone to see the earth symbol clearly printed on its bindings. Yuna made a mental note of the boy’s face and scroll before pretending she hadn’t noticed.

Hideki, on the other hand, could not have been more mortified. Not much he could do but laugh it off, at this point. Maybe someone would trust him more if he appeared like an idiot. Hopefully, someone with a heaven scroll. He grabbed his scroll, stuck it in his scarf-belt, and sat up, grinning childishly. “Whoops!” he said cheerfully, dusting himself off. He put a sheepish hand to his head as he stood. “Looks like I’m as clumsy as always!”

 

[Mango137]

“Ooooh nice, looks like we got the same one.”

Above Momo, another shinobi from Shimogakure jumped down from his perch in the clouds and faced his frost counterpart. Unlike many of the others, Keba had no anxiety about the next stage of the exams. Somehow he had passed the first despite falling asleep, and the relaxed aura he so strongly exuded prevented him from getting stressed about something even as monumental as the chunin exams. In fact, if it wasn’t for the wolf fur hood he wore that Momo’s family sealed with the ability to draw out his dormant aggressive side, he probably would have never engaged in any confrontation.

“Anyways, Peach.” He smirked and wrapped an arm around her, attempting to calm the nerves of the girl who seemed a bit on edge. “From what I overheard while I was trying to nap, it seems that a lot of people are teaming up. Whaddya say, wanna show these guys why Shimogakure’s the best?”

Though he would soon eat his words. The commotion of a stumbling ninja alerted Keba to the least graceful of shinobi their humble village had to offer. “Well maybe not the best...” He cringed and pointed at Hideki. “Looks like clumsy just made himself an easy target so we’ll have to watch out for him.”

 

[Retro Master]

“If you have some time after the exams, I do think it would be pretty cool to see you all play some stuff. Like a mini concert or something like that. I’m Kazue Namikaze by the way. Nice to meet you as well Utano.”

Kazue said the first part in response to the concert hall question directed to Liu Liu and shook Utano’s hand that she had extended. It did appear like they were thinking to team up, but wanted to ask the other Sound genin first. Of course, they would have to consider which scrolls each of them had first. Even if they had different scrolls, the Sound seemed to already some camaraderie with each other. That would give them an advantage. Unfortunately, Kazue couldn’t say the same about his fellow Leaf shinobi yet. Perhaps he would indeed be going through the exam solo. Unless something unexpected happened, Kazue was pretty certain of this as he turned back to Liu Liu.

“To be honest, I was considering the possibility to ally with someone. However, you seem to have a team already so us allying together is unlikely for now. That is fine though. It was cool meeting you both and I’m sure we will be seeing other again after this exam is over.”

The last part of his words were said with confidence. Unless Kazue had to fight one of them, he was certain all of them would pass. After all, the Sound genin had pretty much guaranteed their success and Kazue believed he could as well. The exam seemed like it was ready to start at any minute, so now they just had to put words into action.

 

[Godjacob]

"I'm sure it is dangerous, but if anything that only makes it more worth wild. If becoming a Chunin was a cakewalk then the rank would have no meaning to it. I'm sure a few will piss themselves but that is hardly my concern. We of Oto will prove to be made of stronger stuff." Koichi said with pride, though beyond that comment he had kept quiet as he was not one to mingle with outsiders to a degree; one advantage Ryu had was that he always seemed to be more approachable between the two of them. Not that he considered it an area that mattered in this instance...

Course, his mood changed when Utano arrived. He seemed to have a touch of pride that all of their team had passed the first exam; course this was to be expected, their Lord expected nothing short of excellence. "Well, seems we've swept the first exam. Course that just means we have a standard to maintain. Course that shouldn't be much issue." Koichi said, which showed both a bit of his confident flair but also belief in his teammates. Which course made the suggestion for a team up natural as they already had such experience together and would make it easier for them all to make the tower.

"Eh? First of all if you wish to ask something of me I'm still here. Second, I am open to teaming with you two." Koichi interjected, as he had focused on Ryu and Utano when he had made that comment. Hopefully this stayed a team of three, but part of him worried that their friendly nature with this Konoha guy may bring a 4th wheel. Though he'd refrain from comment...for now.

Equally silent had Mitsuko fallen, as the other kunoichi seemed to take her comment internally which was fine with her. Though the sounds of a faceplant caused her eye to open as she glanced at someone with an exposed Earth scroll and had shaken her head. Not only had another revealed their hand in even more questionable fashion, but this one was a scroll she had no use for which only caused an internal sigh as she tried to focus back on meditation.

"Yep, makes for a good exercise even when I don't put it to work." Hiroshi said, a bit more personal than the samurai as he examined the girl's smaller spear; it felt rather weightless in his hand, which on hand hand gave it a natural edge in finesse but also felt it was more of a tip and less a full weapon this way. He preferred the strong style his own gave him as this spear had greater risk of breaking and designed to deal less damage than he preferred.

"Yours is pretty comfy on the fingers. Like the form, but not my cup of tea." Hiroshi said, as he twirled it a bit showing a bit of his flair before he presented it back to her and moved to get his weapon back. Though with this discussion he sought something more than just comparing blades as he grinned her way.

"Course, we could see how our styles compare. Spear buddies sounds like reason enough for union in these circumstances as any, what do you say?" Hiroshi asked as he laid the offer to Kikyo as he seemed to open a possible team up if she had interest.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Hideki rubbed the back of his head before turning with a scowl in the direction of the voice of a fellow Shimo-nin. “I can hear, you know,” he muttered, slouching to put his hands in his pockets. His hood was down, revealing his half-dyed hair. He walked towards the two other genin from his village. “Yo,” he said to Momo with a small wave, then lightly punched Keba in the shoulder. Lightly because he slipped at the last second and pitched forward off-target. He gave a sheepish laugh, stepping back. “Lady Luck seems to be unfavorable to me today,” he said unabashedly, in a manner in which he might have commented on the weather. “Oh, well.” The Village Hidden in the Frost wasn’t exactly what you would call “big,” so he was aware of the other two’s existence before the exam, even knew them to an extent.

Yuna continued to stare off into space.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"I guess you wouldn't. True enough. You mean him? That's Kazue. He's a hidden leaf ninja" Ryu Ryu grinned as he patted Kazue's shoulder. Ryu Ryu paused to look at Utano with a blank expression, "Concert hall? Who needs that crap?! Please. The concert is right here, ya dingus!" Ryu Ryu smacked his chest just above the heart. "The concert is in the soul. The concert hall is wherever I just happened to be. I'm always ready to drop some sick beats! HWWUUUAAAAAHHH!!!" Ryu Ryu roared. In the midst of Ryu Ryu's excitement, he didn't even think about Koichi possibly having a difference in opinion.

After Ryu Ryu calmed down, he turned to look at Kazue. "Hell yeah!!! HWWUUUAAAAAHHH!!!" Ryu Ryu roared once more ready to play his drums. Ryu Ryu stopped to listen to Kazue, "Huh? Aight... Don't die, dude! Or get eaten by a snake, cause the snake would swallow you, and you'd be in its stomach for days, dying of starvation as the stomach acid slowly burns the flesh from your lifeless bones... Again, try not to die!" Ryu Ryu said excitedly.

He then turned to Koichi, "that's right! Were made of very sturdy stuff! Firm. Like earth! Dirt! Big ol' earthquake, anyone foolish enough to get in it's way perish" Ryu Ryu said. Ryu Ryu didn't think his last metaphor through before throwing it out there. "You guys wanna team or are we just yanking each other's kunai?" Ryu Ryu asked. Ryu Ryu was open to the idea, but didn't wanna force it on anyone.

 

[Mango137]

“Hehehe don’t worry about it, I didn’t expect anything else from ya.” Keba giggled and wrapped his free arm around Hideki. “Besides I figured a genius like you would’ve realized it doesn’t matter if people know what scroll you have. Doesn’t do ya any good to keep it hidden cause then people will just attack you anyways hoping you have the one they need. Might as well just show it off, that way only half the people will wanna attack you.”

Keba pulled the two in tighter and his grin grew even larger. “And it doesn’t make a difference if people are gonna target you or not. For me to become a Kage I need respected ninja in my village, which means we’re just gonna have to beat everyone and pass.” The absurdity of his statement failed to dawn on the carefree boy. Up until now they had been big fish in the smallest of any pond. Each lacked the benefits of more traditional training the other villages had, but Keba was confident that with each of their self made specialties their group of misfits could stand up to any ninja here from any village.

 

[Retro Master]

It appeared Liu Liu could barely contain his hype any longer. Anyone in the vicinity should’ve been able to hear his excited roaring. The dude looked ready to start his own concert right here. Kazue laughed slightly at this. There was definitely no one here more pumped up than Liu Liu. Before Kazue could turn away, the Sound genin did bid him a farewell. A very descriptive one at that. At first, Kazue simply nodded along in response.

“Heh. Yeah, I know man. Don’t worry... wait what the fudge?”

The use of foul language had been narrowly avoided by the innocent boy as he chose to settle for an alternative term to display his surprise instead. It took a moment before Kazue actually took in what Liu Liu was saying. was just about to turn away, but froze up when he heard the rather descriptive warning from Liu Liu. It didn’t take long for the mental image of what Liu Liu had said to begin consuming his mind. The thought of being swallowed whole by a giant man-eating snake was traumatizing enough. That combined with the thoughts of having to live out his remaining days inside the belly of a snake without any hope of assistance, starved and dehydrated as skin and flesh slowly dissolved, would probably make most young kids either laugh or puke their guts out. Fortunately, Kazue was strong enough mentally to not let it affect him much. Albeit, he had frozen for a moment before quickly snapping back to reality.

“Well anyways, thanks for the... um... encouragement Liu Liu. You try not get eaten by those giant centipedes as well. I don’t even want to imagine what that would be like so good luck.”

 

[kyuukestu]

Kikyō

Hiroshi's offer came as a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Kikyō crossed her arms, tilted her head, and closed her eyes. She quickly sunk into pensive silence.

Originally, Kikyō had the intention of tackling the forest of death alone. It wasn't the most ideal arrangement; but, between her hunting skills and archery, she held an advantage. Stealth and mobility would define her M.O. because, if possible, she didn't want to directly engage her opponents. She certainly wasn't afraid to take the fight to a foe, her short-spear was designed for precisely that kind of face-to-face confrontation; but, her goals went beyond the second exam. in the wild, it was a rule of thumb that hunters avoided unnecessarily sustaining injuries that could affect future hunts; after all, an injured and ineffective hunter was days away from death.

In more practical terms, she simply didn't want to risk injury in the Forest of Death and end up too injured to compete in the later portions of the exam.

A teammate could end up a blessing or a curse. If it had been another shinobi requesting partnership, Kikyō might've directly rejected them, unwilling to gamble on their abilities; but, Hiroshi was from the Mist. The village had great renown for its Hiding in the Mist technique and the accompanying Silent Killing method. If there was anyone she expected to be accomplished at stealth, then it was a Mist shinobi.

Following that logic...

"That should be fine," she concluded, "I think, I'd like that."

Her decision made, Kikyō embraced the idea of a partnership and offered a warm handshake.

"Spear buddies."

Momo

"..."

Momo shrugged off the overly-familiar approach of her 'companions'. She knew of them, of course, there weren't many in Shimogakure who she didn't know; but, she was by no means familiar with them. She didn't know them and they didn't know her either.

She extricated herself from the uncomfortable group hug and silently projected her disapproval with a rimy gaze.

Fortunately for them, Momo was immediately distracted by the proctor, who had leaped atop an outpost.

"Times Up!" Anko loudly declared with an exaggerated swish of her sleeve, "The Second Portion of the Chūnin Exam has officially begun!"

Heavy groans resounded as the gates granting entrance to the Forest swung open.

"I should warn you. Only the creme of the crop have the right to advance to Chūnin; the tower has a limited amount of space, so it's first-come-first-served. Good Luck!"

With a final flourish, the Proctor vanished in a puff of smoke.

Momo blinked, her mind processing the information revealed to them. It seemed that a limited number of candidates would be able to advance, which meant that a team or individual would need to be among the first to reach the tower to proceed to the next round.

"...go"

Momo spoke for the first time since she'd left the Frost, her voice whisper-thin and almost unheard. Wishing to get ahead of the crowd, she hastened to the nearest open gate and plunged into the Forest of Death.

 

[Godjacob]

"Why not? Regardless of what scroll we have we owe it to Oto to try and all make it to the next exam. Besides strength in numbers in a field that stirs distrust can only be a benefit and help progress quicker. Would serve that bitch right if we ended up with the fastest time after all that hype she had about how dangerous this exam would be." Koichi said with a smirk, as he seemed to care not what scrolls Ryu Ryu or Utano had; they were his teammates and if they decided to join forces for this exam he'd do what he could to get scrolls for them and himself that had been all the discussion needed in his mind on the subject.

Sticking it to that proctor with an added goal to finish fastest had been far as Koichi was concerned merely a nice bonus.

As Kazue began to depart, Koichi smirked to himself as he decided to pass a comment. "Do know if we cross paths and you end up having what I need I intend to hold nothing back even if my teammates seem to have taken a liking to you. So I do hope you can make it interesting~" Koichi said, and while part of him would never admit it beyond his vale of open ego there was a part of him that wanted to see what this guy was made up. Course, that depended where the cards fell.

Hiroshi's demeanor was far more welcoming and after he granted the woman and fellow spear specialist time to think of a reply to his offer as sure enough she seemed to accept his proposal and even offered a hand his way which only made Hiroshi beam with a fire as he shook her hand and had a thumbs up.

"Alright spear buddy, then let's rock these...oh uh Hiroshi. Hiroshi is my name." Hiroshi said as he added a sweat drop as he realized that he had yet to introduce himself to her which if nothing else would aid in communication.

Times Up! The Second Portion of the Chūnin Exam has officially begun!​

----------​

Anko's call had been heard by all the Genin present as the entrances would open and individuals began to poor through the doors. Mitsuko had been among there first through as her eyes shot open and in an instant she spread ahead from her crouched position and in one motion raced into the forest. First order of business, find a water source...

---------
"Well, now or never. What do you say?" Koichi asked his teammates about a team up as the exam had began.

---------
"Seems like the fun has began. Any plan of attack?" Hiroshi asked, as he moved to take the lead though allowed Kikyo as he had kept his tone low so only she'd hear. No reason to have their plans be out for any passing ear to hear as they prepared to enter the forest as he strapped his large spear to his back.

 

[Gamingfan]

As he balanced his katana on his palm, Zeren blinked at the numerous groups of genjin all huddled up everywhere. He had expected everyone to be on their own, muttering game plans or trying to assert dominance before the exman. Instead, many were already grouping up, as if they were allies.
Wait.
...Wow, really? Beautiful, now I have to worry about someone's pals backing them up while I steal from them.
Anko's announcement stopped his brooding. The exam had started, apparently.
Holy crap the exam had started!
Once the realization kicked in, Zeren leapt into action. He shoved his katana into its sheath and made a mad dash towards the forest, jumping diagonally to the right as he entered to avoid the probable wave of ninja that would storm the front.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"Hell yeah it would! When we get in there, there's gonna be a scroll in every hand and a foot in every ass! I'm totally down for team up" Ryu Ryu said. Ryu Ryu readied himself for what was to come. He got out a few more last minute stretches before the exam was to begin. Ryu Ryu didn't have any beef with the proctor woman, but he understood Koichi's reason.

Ryu Ryu was also somewhat interested in seeing Kazue's abilities. Though it was just as important for Ryu Ryu to avoid underestimating his opponents, as it was to stay hyped.

Moments later, speak of the devil, the proctor announced the start of the exam. Ryu Ryu clenched his fists and hit them together. "HWWUUUAAAAAHHH" Ryu Ryu yelled.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Yuna
Yuna’s heart leaped as the signal was given for the exam to begin. She had a slow start, but quickly began picking up speed. Instead of heading for the nearest gate, like everyone else, she veered a ways away before launching herself into the air using her clan’s River of Wind jutsu. She caught a tree branch on the way down on the other side of the fence, and started moving as fast as she could away from the other genin. The first order of business was to put as much distance between her and anyone else as possible and get the lay of the land. Once she knew what natural dangers she faced out in the Forest of Death, she could come up with basic countermeasures, then snag a scroll and get the hell out of Dodge.

The lone girl leaped from tree branch to tree branch until the sounds of screeching overexcited ninja and the clamor at the gate was replaced by wind in the leaves and eerily scattered bird chatter. Yuna paused to take in her surroundings; she guessed she had come maybe a kilometer or two from her starting point. Noticing a patch of red a few meters above her head, she clambered up a few branches until she could sit comfortably straddling the branch just below the berries. She made a small incision on her pinkie finger with a kunai before squeezing one until juice dribbled into the cut. If it was poisonous, it would sting a lot more than if it wasn’t. With any luck, she could stash some on her person for rations just in case, and if they were poisonous, they could prove to be valuable in a trap.

Hideki
Hideki managed somehow to jostle his way through the crowd without tripping and being trampled over. Seems like Lady Luck hasn’t forsaken me just yet. I should stick with the other two Frost shinobi; since they’re in my village they might be more inclined to help out, plus I’ll have a better chance of reading them to utilize their abilities than with someone I’d just met for the first time. As genin all around started to take to the trees in every direction imaginable, he scanned the small clearing in front of the forest for Momo and Keba.