The Forest of Death

A crowd was gathered outside the gates of the place known as the forest of death. Anko stood with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face, looking out over the crowd, noting most the rookie teams. Team 7 were chatting with the Hokage’s grandson and his little lackeys. Team 10 seemed to each be doing their own thing, despite standing together; Chouji ate from what seemed to be a never-ending bag of chips. Shikamaru looked annoyed, as usual. And Ino was glaring at her rival/best friend; Sakura.

Team 8 were also standing together—all teams were, of course—Kiba was barking pretty loudly about how good their team was to both his team-mates and the small dog, Akamaru, perched on his head.

“We’re gonna win this! Who cares that it’s called Forest of Death?!” he clapped a hand on Hinata’s back, who glanced at Kiba shyly before affixing her eyes to her feet. “We have Hinata’s Byakugan and,” he slapped Shino’s back, too, and it may have been Kiba’s imagination, but his lowered brows seemed to lower even more (not that he cared). “Shino’s bugs! Not to mention my superior senses!” Kiba grinned.

Team Baki weren’t even talking amongst themselves. Kankuro was looking around at all the kids with a cross look on his face, while Temari stood with a hand on her hip with a small smile on her face. Analyzing these kids, she didn’t see anyone that stood as a threat to her. Gaara, standing a little behind her with his arms crossed, also let his gaze wander around the crowd, though he was also silent.

Meanwhile, Team Gai was looking around. Lee was talking about how the team could do it in an enthusiastic voice, while trying to look into the forest, wondering what was in there, other than a forest. Neji had his arms crossed while he gazed out at their competition, sizing them up. Ten-Ten was smiling as she looked at both her team-mates, then out at the competition. At this point, she was feeling pretty confident, too. Moving up next to Neji, she said, “I know you can’t wait to be able to fight against the Uchiha yourself.” She had noticed that Neji was looking in his general direction. “I don’t know why though. Lee already proved he’s not that good.” Sasuke may be cute, but he was nothing compared to her team-mates. This made her smile all the more confident, and she put a hand to her shuriken pouch in her eagerness.

After some commotion in which Naruto was injured and then licked, Anko called out to the crowd that the second exam was going to take place over five days inside the Forest of Death, where they would have to collect two sealed books, one of Earth, and one of Heaven. The catch was that each team started with one, and the other teams had no idea which one their opponents had possession of. Basically, the point was to fight each other or sneakily grab another team’s scroll, in order to have a complete set by the time you got to the tower in the center of the forest.

Each team lined up at a gate, and then they were allowed to enter….




(OOC: In case you're wondering about any other teams; ie the Sound Ninja and Orochimaru, well, I just didn't see a point. And I'm leaving the original characters to their owners.)

OOC: Good the grand opening.....

IC:

Shinobu Takehiko perched himself on the high branch of a tree. He belonged to Null Team, the only team in the entire nation that wasn't headed by a permanent Jounin.

"Okay Soki. What did you make of some of these kids?"

Soki Ischi swung down from the above branch.

"You want my honest opinion Shinobu-chan?"

Shinobu fiddled with a kunai.

"Of course Soki. Or would you rather give me a dishonest opinion, and get us killed?"

Soki shook her head.

"To tell the truth, there isn't much competition. I saw a few people who look like trouble. Here, I have a list."

She handed a piece of paper to Shinobu. It read as follows.

Ninja to watch:

Gaara of the Desert
Sasuke Uchiha
The three Sound Genin
Neji
Lee

Shinobu continued to read the names of ninjas, until he finally reached the last page. The last name caught his eye.

Naruto Uzemaki

He grinned.

"Soki, this Naruto kid is the one who got hurt, correct?"

Soki nodded happily.

"Explain why he is on the list."

Soki dropped down from the branch.

"Call it a feeling, but there's something inside this kid. It didn't feel right. My heart told me that it's wrong Shinobu. I got the same feeling from Gaara of the Desert. But I didn't see any Cursed Seal on Naruto."

Asuka Miruka appeared from under the branch.

"It was probably sealed in him from birth. The most obvious place to put that would be in the stomach. That's where the cord is cut."

Shinobu nodded. Asuka was a strange character sometimes. Soki just sat beside him, smiling.

"Of course Shinobu-chan, none of them compare too you."

Asuka just sighed.

"Let's get moving. We should get an Earth Scroll soon."

Soki looked cheerfully at him.

"Oh don't spoil the fun. Let's take down some of the Ninja first. The less who make it through, the less who we have to deal with later."

Shinobu nodded in agreement.

"Let's move out then. We obtain the Earth Scroll first, then we have our fun."

OOC: This is the Edit point, I feel like expanding my post.

Asuka was the first to spot an Earth Scroll.

"Alright Shinobu. This guy is on the List, but his squadmates aren't. It's Gishi Milamushi. I don't feel like using my chakra yet, so you go ahead and take it."

Shinobu nodded.

"Just keep Soki from intervening again. It's just insults."

Asuka jumped off the branch, and landed onto Soki's. Shinobu drew his sword and jumped directly infront of Gishi.

"Gishi Milamushi....you have something I want."

The larger Genin looked at him strangely. Shinobu noted that he was a Sand Genin. He replied in a coarse voice, to match his village.

"Why should I give my scroll to a puny little Mist Genin? How bout I just kill you instead."

Shinobu smiled. He picked the sword from the ground.

"I'm glad you want a Death match. I've been itching for one."

Gishi signaled to his comrades to attack. They both brought out their own Kunai, and lunged at Shinobu.

Shinobu waited until the last second to move. It was all he needed. Gishi watched in satisfaction as his partners collided with Shinobu. It was then that he noticed one of his partners was bleeding profusely.

"Hey! Matusuki! What's wrong?"

Shinobu raised his sword, the body still attached.

"He's dead. And you other partner seems to be very mean. In fact, he's heartless."

Shinobu shook the body off this arm and blade. Gishi gave him an evil look, and withdrew a chain from his belt.

"Now you will see why they call me Gishi the Whip!"

Shinobu's grin turned to shock as the chain came dangerously near his legs. He jumped out of the way in time, only to be forced to move again by another attack. Asuka watched, somewhat concerned.

"He's fast alright. Even Shinobu can't move his sword that fast."

Shinobu had realised this some time ago. He drew his sword into a defensive stance, hoping to stop the chain like a shield. Gishi shouted at him angrily.

"You can't stop me with that!"

The chain whipped to the side mid-flight, wrapping the sword in itself. A second chain flew into the tree next to Shinobu's head.

"You die here Mist Genin!"

Shinobu struggled to free his blade. He needed some way out.....

It was then that he saw the mark on his blade glow.

"Thank you brother."

He turned towards Gishi again, who was savoring his victory.

"You fought well."

Shinobu grasped his blade with one hand.

"Now you face the twin sides of Man! The Blades of Love and Hate!"

His sword morphed into two smaller versions of itself, the twin Blades of the Soul.

Cytris looked around, everyone who had arrived for part2 of the exam had two other teammates; Cytris had none. Alone, Cytris put his hands in his pockets and examined his opponents. If im going to survive, I'll either need an aliby or hide. I don't want to kil anyone, not yet at leaste. Thought Cytris. He did not recognize anyones face, had no friends here, and had no confidence in himself.
Cytris shuffled in place at the thought of him losing, he Hates losing. Everyone seemed to be eager to enter the Forest of Death, Wasn't it names to scare people? Not get the, all hyped up? Cytris pondered over this, but a logical answer did not seem to come to him. "Okay! Everyone!" Said a woman near the gates. Everyone stopped and turned and gave their attension to her. "My name is Anko, I will be the refferee of this part of the Chunnin Exams. Setting all goals asside, there is one main rule, Dont Die." Everyone was silent for a while, then someone spoke out.
"I wont die! Believe it!" Said a boy, who then got slapped on the back of the head by his (assumed) partner who was female.
"Shut up, Naruto!" She replied. Anko continued,
"I'll open the gates now, but dont start kiling eachother as soon as you enter! Or I WILL break it up!" Anko shuffled around with a set of keys, found the propper one and inserted it into the pad lock, holding the two doors of the gate shut. Before turning the key and offically unlocking it, she turned and said: "One last thing, since ill be there to referree, If i see that you are about to die by another opponent I will jump in. The one who was beatten shall be discaulified on the spot I shall escort them out. As for thier scroll, it belongs to the opponent who defeated him/her. With that in mind, Good luck!" She turned they key and the two metalic doors slid open. All the teams gathered together and sprinted forward into the unknown forest. Some whent left, others whent right. Pretty soon it was just Cytris standing alone, not moving. Looking forward into the forest, Cytris stood there watching where everyone whent. Seeing how flexible they were, and how fast they moved, he could tell who was the slow one in the trio, holding the other two back. Anko approached him, "The exams have already started, If you don't enter now, Ill have to discaulifie you right here and now." She said with a smile. Cytris just looked at her, not changing his face or showing any emotions. Instead, he shuffled around in his little pouch that he kept on his right side. It had many pockets and held parchment paper, ink, and other objects. Cytris stared at Anko still, and finaly reached what he was looking for. He pulled out a small purple marble. Anko looked at it and raised an eyebrow, Cytris released it. It hit the ground, releasing an enormous amount of purple haze wich engulfed him and Anko. Cytris raised his right hand chest level and put his hand in a fist, raising his pointer and middle finger. He took control of the haze and focused on it to sorround just himself, the haze swirled upward and dissapeared after it reached around a foot over his head, then starting from the bottom, repeating the cycle. The haze swirled and began to swirlf faster, eventually it began to form a type of barrier around Cytris. Penatrible? Yes, but you could not see Cytris. "Bye." Cytris said. After he said Bye, the haze stoped moving and spread out in every dirrection until nothing weas left. Where Cytirs once stood, he was no longer.

The haze the had seperated near Anko now gathered somewhere in the Forest of Death, from thin air. Swirled again, and engulfed a small area, where Cytris had now appeared. Cytris put our his hand, palm up, and the haze started attracting itself the the center of his palm, forming a small purple marble. Cytris looked around, he stood ontop of a large tree branch; the trees in the Forest of Death grew hundreds of feet tall, and nearly fifty, or more, feet thick. "Comon! I think I heard someone over this way!" said a boy beneath Cytris. The boy and his companions sprinted through the woods and followed the one who had spoken out aimlessly. Soon they were out of eyesight, so Cytris began to worry about himself. Cytris looked up, "Shelter, first thing on my list." While looking up, Cytris noticed that the tree whent higher. So, from hoping from branch to branch he jumped higher and higher. To his surprise, the branches did not grow thinner as the higher he climbed. Cytris stopp when he was nearly to the top. Looknig down, Cytris noticed that he was very high up, not likely to be attacted from the ground; or at leaste succesfully. "Shelter.." Cytris said to himself as he looked up and down the long, thick tree branch. "Ah ha! I got it." Cytris put his right hand in the same sign as he did to control the haze, this was his standard handsign for controlling and focusing his chakra. Focusing his chakra onto the tips of his extended fingers (pointer and middle) a small thin purple haz began to evaporate off of the tips. Keeping his thought on his fingers, Cytris kneeled down at the center of the branch, turned his hand over, pointing at the branch. His fingers touched the bark of the branch, feeling the contact, Cytris said: "De-Cay". The haze fel into the branch, soon after, a purple haze began to mist up from the branch circling Cytris, about twelve feet wide. Keeping his position, the haze began to come towards Cytris, leaving behind it dead mush formaly known as tree bark. The haze centered back at Cytris fingertips, from where it had spread from. Cytris stood up and his foot sunk into the tree, he now stood upon dead modly bark. Kneeling down once again, Cytris scooped up hand fulls of dead tree bark and began placing it around the diameter of the circle. Minutes lader Cytris completed his task and had dug himself nine feet into the tree branch, with still several feet of bark beneath him. He stood in the center and, as planned, stood within a twelve foot circle. The outside had about two feet of mush for a 'wall' because Cytris did not want to throw it over the edge, and having it land upon an enemy.

Cytris layed down adn watched the day turn into night, hes used his sack as a small semi-comfortible pillow. Closing his eyes, Cytris began to fall asleep, only to wake when nightfall had come. His time to attack.


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Its an intro, so I didn't want to start anythign YET. If you want to comfront my character, have it be durring nightfall. Anything else, PM me. Aslo<<>>><< Any mistake, errors, or anything else>><<<>>PM me ASAP please!
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Kiba and his team started right off by creating a trap. Shino had noticed the moment they came in which sort of bugs lived in the Forest, and he was already utilizing them. Kiba grinned as he crouched on a branch. Hinata was on one side of him and Shino leapt up onto the other side after he had done his spooky bug voodoo. Kiba whispered, “So, when do ya think some hapless idiot’ll fall into the trap?” It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the look Shino was now giving him said something along the lines of, “How about I throw you into the trap?” but as usual, the bug nin kept his thoughts—whatever they might really be—to himself. Hinata checked the area with her Byakugan, so that they’d be alerted by the presence of another team. Kiba kept his nose to the wind, as did Akamaru, who was also looking around. As yet, none of them were seeing anything but if they remained patient…

~*~

Team Baki was being as silent as ever. As they looked around for something or someone to take a scroll from or fight, they each were concentrating on their own tasks. Kankuro kept casting wary glances at his little brother, not enjoying the idea of spending five entire days alone with just him and his sister in the forest. He couldn’t help hoping they’d find someone to fight, just so when the younger boy eventually snapped, it wouldn’t be at him or Temari.

Temari meanwhile, was thinking of the mission ahead. She just wanted to get this part over with as quickly as possible so they could get to the next stage in their plan. She, too, cast a glance at Gaara. Everything hinged on Gaara. The entire plan involved him and his…specialty, after all. Gaara didn’t look at either of them, though he sensed their looks at him. He was even now, crossing his arms and he blinked sluggishly as he turned his head to look behind them.

Temari’s sharp gaze followed him. It was just a squirrel. She frowned. “We need to find a scroll quickly so that we can get to that tower.” The tower was visible from every part of the forest, being tall and set in the center of the forest, it was a little hard not to notice. Kankuro nodded, though there was a glance at Gaara, as though he expected him to kill him for even nodding. Kankuro looked at Gaara’s motionless hand. It twitched slightly, but he strode forward without saying anything to either sibling.

~*~

Ten-Ten leapt and twisted in the air behind her team. “Who are we going to go after first?” she asked the others.

Neji snorted. “Most of them won’t even provide us with a challenge.”

“That is not true!” Lee protested earnestly. “We could defeat many of them. I agree with that, Neji-san. But, it does not mean that they will not be a challenge.”

Neji didn’t respond, but he looked at Lee with disdain. Ten-Ten shook her head. “Well, either way, it doesn’t much matter… What we want to do is get one more scroll… The get to the tower as fast as we can. We don’t want to be late, right?”

Episode 2: Love and Hate; Legacy of Family!

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Shinobu drew the two blades into an X formation, the chain sliding off the blades. Gishi looked on in astonishment, the former single blade now two smaller ones.

"Your impressive...for a child."

Gishi withdrew his chains back into the sleeves of his robe. He made several quick handsigns.

"Summoning Jutsu! Spirits of the Forest!"

Shinobu drew his blades in double defensive formation.

"Damnit. That's a high level summoning Jutsu. Where will it come from"

His knew as soon as a vine shot at him from the trees across from him. He planted one of the blades into the tree, using it as a platform. The vine punctured the tree, and then grew hard. Gishi smiled evily.

"There is no escape from this Jutsu! As the vines plant themselves, you'll slowly run out of space to move. I'll kill you easily then."

Shinobu dodged three more vines in a horizontal line. Soki and Asuka watched in horror from above. Soki had her hand to her mouth.

"Do you think he'll make it Asuka-san? Those vines are moving fast."

Asuka didn't know.

"Soki, get your chakra concentrated. We might need to come to Shinobu's rescue. We need to save our Chakra, and he shouldn't be down there too long."

Soki nodded, and made a handsign to focus her chakra. Down on the ground, Shinobu continued to dodge the vines, which where steadily decreasing he mobility. Ducking under another vine, he realized that he was trapped under a canopy. The vines stopped coming. Gishi stared at him, chains on the ground.

"You ready to die Genin?"

Shinobu focused Chakra into his hand.

"Barrier Shatter Jutsu!"

He blew a hole in the canopy of vines, landing on top of a web of wood. Gishi was soon to follow, seemingly sprouting from the vines.

"That was impressive for a Genin. But you still can't defeat me, and you can't use any powerful jutsus on this unstable ground."

Shinobu looked around for some way to defeat him. The pieces of Vine on the ground gave him an Idea.

"You lose Gishi. Your Earth Scroll is mine."

Shinobu leaped high into the air, reflected off a tree and dove straight at Gishi. Gishi grinned with satisifaction. He let one of his chains fly into Shinobu, puncturing through his stomach.

"I have you!"

The pulled the chain in, with Shinobu on the other end. His feeling of satisfaction disappeared as he saw the body disappear in a burst of smoke, revealing pieces of vine with Kunai attached to them. He let out a cry as they stuck into his chest.

"H....ho....how....."

Shinobu stood on his sword behind him.

"It was simple really. While I was leaping the air, I made replaced myself with a Vine. The "dust" that came off the tree was me, I used Mist Meld for it. So, the scroll please.:

Gishi layed it at Shinobu's feet.

"Oh, and Gishi. That stump, has bombs on the back. It's a much less painful death than bleeding."

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Preview (narrated by Soki)

Yeah! That's my Shinobu! He took that Genin with the Chains and beat him back into Ninja Academy! And now we have an Earth Scroll, so we can make it too the tower! But who's this guy without a Village, and what's with his giant Bow?

Next time!: Soki's Devotion! Shinobu's Sacrifice!

Team 10 was hidden well between some trees. When they were absolutely sure that no one was around, they left their somewhat good hiding place and came closer to each other. Shikamaru was the leading man. They started walking step by step but soon after Ino noticed that Choji is missing she turned around only to notice him sitting on the ground and opening his new bag of chips.
''What are you doing Choji!?'' - Ino asked with a surprise

''Timeout. I'm tired, actually hungry''- Choji says that while eating his new opened chips

''What are you saying?'' - Ino asked again

''I'ts only been five minutes since it started'' - Shikamaru said while rubbing his head as always
'' But it can't be helped since I'm hungry'' - Choji stated with his full mouth

'' If you have the space to bring snacks bring an extra knife or two'' - Ino says while taking one of the knives as an example
Shikamaru suddenly noticed someone approaching. As their team was one of the weakest they would be car
eful when they choose their opponents.

'' Ino, hide!'' - Shikamaru says to Ino while dragging Choji in the near bush.
They all hid there for a second and when some persuers arrived that shoved that Shikamaru was right. Some three unknown boys they were. They looked around carefully. Still hidden in the bush Shikamaru noticed that some of Choji's chips were on the ground.
'' Crap'' - Shikamaru said that sillently while holding Choji
But luckily those three ninjas didn't saw it and they continued to go forth.
As soon as those guys disappeared Ino sighted and Shikamaru was more annoyed because of this.
'' Something like this is going to go on for five days!'' - Shikamaru said that to himself with annoyance. Choji opened his eyes too and slowly they all got out of the bush.
'' We can't go like this! Let's find some weak teams and then we will hide!'' - Ino was sure in herself.
Sikamaru just said on that like on everything else '' Man this is troublesome...''
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(OOC : I wanted to make this post as more as closer to one at anime, but the others will be original. If you don't like it then I'll change)

Episode 3: Soki and Shinobu!; Devotion and Sacrifice!

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Soki switched backward mid jump, flipping the scroll in her hand. She had an enormous smile on her face.

"We're gonna make it to the tower in record time!"

Shinobu couldn't help but chuckle at her positive attitude. Asuka on the other hand, didn't like it.

"There's lots of Ninja here. If we run into that Gaara character, we won't make it back alive."

Soki frowned at him.

"Your such a rain cloud Asuka."

"Hmmph"

Shinobu couldn't help but laugh out loud this time.

"You two fight over the stupidest things. If it comes to a fight, we just ignore it and run! No sense dying for something that's not our cause."

Soki looked at him brightley again. It was then that she heard a person yelling.

"Light Arrow Jutsu!"

A bright streak went right by her face, grazing her cheek. Everyone stopped on the next branch, and then relfected down towards the ground. Shinobu heard the cry again, and split the arrow with his sword. A figure clad in armor was standing about 10 meters from their landing position. He spoke in a menacing voice.

"Takehiko Shinobu.....It's been along time."

Shinobu drew his sword a little tighter. Who was this man?

"Who the hell are you?"

The figure just laughed.

"You don't recognize me? Just call me Jaicho. But I should at least tell you my purpose here. I'm here too kill you."

It was Soki's turn to act angry.

"Why would you want to kill Shinobu-chan?!?"

"Call it personal reasons. But it's revenge."

Soki drew her Kunai.

"Then you'll have to get through me first!"

Shinobu reached out his arm to stop her, but she shook it off.

"This is my fight Shinobu-chan. It's time to prove that I'm worth anything in this squad."

Jaicho uncurled his fist, showing seraded claws on his glove.

"I have no quarrel with you girlie, but if you stand in my way, you will die."

Soki made quick handsigns.

"Water Spear Jutsu!"

"Too slow!"

Jaicho appeared behind her, backhanding her into a tree. Shinobu drew his sword, lunging at his foe.

"Bastard! Die!"

Jaicho side-stepped, catching Shinobu in the stomach.

"Don't get involved. Your time will be after hers. But just to keep you both out; Earth Style: Rock Bind Jutsu!"

Shinobu felt his feet cement into the ground. Behind him, Asuka remained calmy planted.

"It's useless to struggle Shinobu."

Jaich turned back to Soki. He gripped his claw with his other hand, and gathered Chakra into his arm.

"You've lost girlie. I'm an S-class Criminal. Even if your one of Zero Squad, all three of you aren't a match for me."

Soki drew her Kunai into defensive stance again. Jaicho just laughed. He ran forward, claw put forward like a spear.

"Shield Breaker!"

Soki felt a sharp pain through her right side as the claw tore through her abdominal muscles.

"You can't move now girlie. The fights over."

Jaicho turned back to Shinobu.

"Now to finish you."

Shinobu struggled to free his legs from the rocks, but to no avail. Jaicho gathered chakra into his hand again.

"Revenge is mine!"

He sprinted forward in the same style, putting more and more chakra into his arm. He was all adrenaline. He felt his claw impact flesh, and he smiled. Shinobu put his arms down from across his face. Soki was standing above him, arm bleeding profusely.

"I won't let you harm Shinobu-chan!"

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Preview (Shinobu)

Whoa! I never knew that Soki had such determination inside her! What could possibly be driving her to fight this man? And why does he have a vendetta against me?

Next time!: Secret Technique! Water Restoration Jutsu!

Huddling in a corner of the tower, Team 8 was exhausted and also disturbed by their multiple encounters with the team that had come from the desert. They had seen the smallest of the three kill three people; two of who had begged for mercy before their untimely and cruel death. Even though the boy had said it was a painless death, Kiba didn’t see how the guy could know that without having experienced his own jutsu himself. Holding the trembling Akamaru close, Kiba closed his eyes, then slowly opened them. Akamaru was still trembling after their encounter, though his whimpers had subsided. His teammates sat around him; Hinata was right next to him, holding her arms close to her chest and looking worriedly at Akamaru. Shino was standing in front of Kiba and Hinata, his gaze sliding over to a corridor nearby. A rodent skittered by, but other than that, it was silent.

“It’s been a day now…” Shino said, putting a finger to his glasses in adjustment. “It seems that none of the other teams have arrived…still…” He looked down at his hip pouch, where one of the scrolls was now sitting. They had decided to split the books, so that Kiba held one and Shino held the other. It had been Hinata’s idea; after Kiba had insisted on holding them both, and Shino had thought the idea stupid, she had shyly stepped in with her own.

Kiba grinned, even though he was weary, he still hadn’t lost his cocky attitude. “That’s because we’re that good.”

Shino didn’t reply, merely lifting a single brow briefly, before casting another look out the corridor. Moonlight spilled into the corridor from a small window in the hall.

“We…we got here before the second day started…” Hinata said, poking her fingers together and smiling at Kiba shyly.

“Exactly!” Kiba barked. “See how good our skills are? We’re awesome. We’re the best team out there.”

“Other than that team we ran from…?” Shino said quietly.

Kiba scowled. “We didn’t have much of a choice! You saw what he did! He killed them, even when they begged for mercy and put their scroll down and everything!”

“B-but, Kiba-kun…w-we killed…”

“They woulda killed us if we didn’t kill them!” Kiba interrupted, though he didn’t know that for certain, especially since they had attacked in a particularly ninja-like stealth: traps. Traps and big, creepy leeches. Kiba actually didn’t feel all that guilty for what they had done, but he could tell that Hinata did. “Don’t worry so much about it, Hinata! This is what being a ninja is all about; the stealth killing, the gauging of the opponent’s strength. We knew we were in over our heads, and we retreated.” This last statement was said to Shino. He didn’t like the idea of Shino sitting there thinking of him as a coward. Especially when he rarely did any fighting of his own, relying on his chakra eating bugs as he did.

~*~

Gaara sat in the sill of one of the windows in the tower, waiting. They had four more days left in this forest. He felt…restless, knowing there were so many people out there he could kill. He felt sand stir around his fingers as he thought about that; thought about killing. But he calmed his bloodlust and looked out at the moon, and the trees and the forest out there. There were no visible people approaching. He sensed another group inside the tower with them, but he had been asked not to kill them by both of his older siblings. So he wouldn’t. For now.

Temari sat against a wall with her knees drawn up, asleep. It had taken her hours to finally allow herself to fall asleep so close to Gaara, but eventually, she found herself falling into a fitful sleep. Kankuro stood with his arms crossed, back against the opposite wall, watching Gaara warily. He couldn’t sleep. He didn’t feel the slightest bit tired, even in the night like this. Gaara made him too nervous. He was out of control, and increasingly dangerous. Kankuro didn’t want to end up a hapless victim. He almost had earlier, yelling at Gaara as he had earlier. If it weren’t for Temari… Well, he couldn’t be sure it was Temari who had made Gaara see sense. Gaara did what Gaara wanted.

Kankuro looked at his older sister for a moment. Her sleep was anything but restful. She twitched every now and then, opening her eyes a crack and trying to go back to sleep. Gaara still looked out the window.

~*~

Ten-Ten looked at her teammates tenderly. They had started a small fire in the area they had decided to camp out at for the night. Lee was looking pretty beat-up, and Ten-Ten didn’t like how he seemed to feel defeated. He’d lost where Sasuke had not. Of course he felt defeated. It made her feel bad to see him like that.

“Lee…” she said, looking at him over the somber crackling of the fire. Lee looked up at her, still looking dejected. “Don’t worry about losing to the Uchiha… We…saw how he fought, and he didn’t seem to be himself.”

Ten-Ten looked at Neji to see if he agreed with her.

After the battle with the Sound Ninjas Team 10 was taking the rest near the river. They all seemed rather down.
’’ What a waste of time! We fought with no reason and we just got beat up!’’ – Ino yelled
’’Damn she is two faced, she jumped first to help Sakura and now she is mad? I swear…I will never understand women’’ – Shikamaru was telling that to himself
’’I’m hungry!’’ – Choji complained
’’ You know, you are not funny anymore’’- Shikamaru says with minor annoyance
Ino stood up and a small flashes of near past stormed through her head. It was about Sakura and the way how she fought. She really grew up. She became a different person now. Ino though if her change was influenced by Sasuke. And of course…Ino was worried what happened to him during the battle…
’’ Hey Ino don’t worry. We should find some teams to take the scrool so…’’
’’ I’m not woried about that Shikamaru ‘’ – Ino interrupted him
’’ I wandered what was wrong with Sasuke…’’ – she said while holding her right hand
Shikamaru and Cjoji didn’t said anything. After a few moments they sensed someone approaching. They all stood up to prepare for battle.
’’ W-What now? ’’ – Choji asked
’’ Let’s attack them from behind. We will make a trap! ’’ – Ino suggested
’’ I don’t think so. If we fail, the enemy will likely know that backstabbers are usually weak and if their team is strong we won’t stand a chance. Let’s fight them head on!’’ – Shikamaru says with confidence
’’ Are you crazy!? We will die! ’’ – Ino yelled
Shikamaru ignored Ino’s warning and says to Choji
’’ Listen, you hide among the trees, when I give you the signal you use your Meat Tank OK? ’’
’’ I will definitely hide but don’t count on my help that much’’
Choji jumped on some tree while Shikamaru and Ino stood on the open. The teams that were coming soon found them. Some two males and one female. They were all dressed in black. The one in the middle looked like a leader. He made three steps forward and said
’’ Well well, a fools who like to battle head on? Where is your third member? Hiding?’’
’’ Hehe, he is somewhere trashing some other teams. We don’t fight together since no one is match for us ‘’ Shikamaru bluffed
’’ I see… I’m also interested in strong opponents! Let’s fight! ‘’ – ninja said while preparing to attack.
Ino was rather frighten and Shikamaru thought ’’ Damn they didn’t fell for it… have to try a different song’’
Shikamaru started walking toward their opponents and stopped when he was eight meters away. Their opponents were rather surprised. Shikamaru suggested
’’Let’s fight one on one! If I win you give me your scroll and reverse ok?’’
Three ninjas looked at each other and they smirked. The leader came closer to Shikamaru and nodded showing that they are agreed.
’’ That fool Shikamaru, he will get himself killed and on top of that we don’t know if they have the right scroll! ’’ Ino though just standing there and watching Shikamaru from behind.
Shikamaru and his opponent stood there looking one another. Shikamaru was annoyed as always, not motivated to fight or do anything else. But he knew that this time he has to use his brain to win. He looked at the sky for a few seconds then he turned his head right and left observing the field. His opponent started right away by forming a seal
’’ This is my own tehnique, take this! Fire Style Burning Hands Jutsu! ’’
He spread his arms vertically and his hands started to burn. The fire was becoming bigger and when it consumed all his arms he pointed them towards Shikamaru. Ninja fired a large dose of fire that looked like a flamethrower. Shikamaru quickly jumped behind the tree to hide. The area close to Shikamaru was covered in flames. Ino gasped.
Shikamaru then started running fast from one tree to another throwing one kunai each time toward his opponent but all his attacks were useless. Shikamaru’s aim was pretty bad and all his attacks didn’t even made his opponent move.
’’ You coward! Not only is your aim bad but you run around like a chicken! I knew you were bluffing about how strong you are! ’’ – ninja leader yelled at Shikamaru while firing his Jutsu at every Shikamaru’s movement from tree to tree. But luckily Shikamaru was able to dodge them somehow. He made a full circle around his opponent, still jumping and running from one tree to another, but when he was done Shikamaru came out in the open. He wasn’t hiding anymore.
’’ So..will you finely fight me head on? ’’ – ninja asked
’’ Pretty much, here try this. Shadow Possesion Jutsu (Kagemane no Jutsu) ! ’’
Shikamaru’s shadow stretched toward his opponent who was able to avoid it by jumping backwords a little ’’ You fool! I know about that tehnique! You won’t catch me!’’
The shadow continued forward and combined with kunai’s shadow that was on the ground. Kunai that were throwed were not meant to hit his opponent but to stab the ground making a circle around him. Shikamaru superbly calculated how the sun will create shadow and so he throwed kunai in the direction that will make one. Shikamaru’s Shadow was combining with every kunai’s shadow making him able to strech his shadow even further and before his opponent figured out he was already in trap. Circle of Shadow was inescapable and his opponent was coughed in a few seconds.
’’ Ugh, I can’t move! You…this was your plan from the biginning!’’
’’ Yeah, I figured that you won’t be fooled by my bluff so making you think that we are weaklings will only make you drop your guard. Which happened now’’
Everyone was amazed. Ino and the rest of their opponents just stood there watching.
’’ Choji it’s your turn now! ’’ – Shikamaru yelled
Meat Tank! Choji came down spinning like a ball. He hits the ground in the middle between their two other opponents. They were drown to the match so they were careless. They both fall on the ground unconscious. Ino started running towards their bind leader. Just when she jumped to kick his face Shikamaru let go of his Shadow so that he won’t do as the opponent do, in other words fall on the ground. Which happened of course.
Ino looked at heir opponent bag and found the scroll that they needed.
’’ Awright! Ino-Shika-Cho formation worked perfectly! ’’ – Ino was overjoyed
’’Ma what a drag…and she will take all the credit too… jeez’’- Shikamaru thought
He then got down on his knees because he was tired. He was still looking at Ino who was jumping and laughing cuz of their victory. Choji was happy too. And so the Team 10 finaly got what they wanted. Their first victory and a ticket to win in this exam.


~*~

Neji didn’t said anything. He was just looking at her without giving an answer.Then he turned his head toward Lee who looked pitiful. They agreed that they will only scout ahead and not to get in battles without their teammates. He deserved that because he was rushing as always. Hot – blooded fool.
Neji was holding a kunai in his left hand which he would spin for time to time. His attention was now that Uchiha boy. No one knew what power he had and how great it would be. Chakra was too big and unnatural for him. It felt like it didn’t belong to him at all.
Neji returned his kunai in his bag and stood up.
’’ You should all rest now. We didn’t get scroll yet and I don’t wont you to be tired when we start fighting.’’
He started walking away but soon he stooped and turn his head to Ten-Ten
’’ I’ll stand guard first. We can switch later.’’
After saying that he stood against a nearby tree with his arms crossed.

It was still nightfall, Takashi was leaping from branch to branch with astonishing speed, he had already looted the Earth scroll that would go with his Heaven scroll from a band of sound genin. He had thought about headin to the tower, but he decided to stick around to see how everyone else would do, he thought with a smile on his face. He stopped about a mile or so infront of the tower, there he would lie in wait.
He set up a very thick mist in about a 500 yard radius of his current position. He then littered all the surrounding trees outside and within the mist with explosion kunai, however they were unlit. In the center of the mist he shrouded himself in a shadow and placed himself in a nearby tree, thick enough for mobility inside, he shot out marble width shadow blasts throught the tree at his eye level so he could see outside. It was under these conditions to where he waited...

----~------

OOC: I won't posts Sasuke's yet until the Chunnin preleminaries matches because I have a vague memory of what happened with his team in the Forest of Death arc, but apparently he's already fought Lee and got his curse mark from Orochimaru and is probably unconscious if my memory serves me correctly, Kakashi is not really in the Forest of Death arc so I won't be doing his either, and of course Itachi is still not available. Btw sorry if I used Takashi before approval, but I figured I needed to post something soon and I was a bit eager to use him...

OOC: For Sasuke, he's unconcious until he fights the sound Genin. Then he wakes up, curse goes active, and he beats them fast. It's really not much of a battle, just keep him until the 1v1.

IC:

Episode 4: Soki's Secret Technique! Water Restoration Jutsu!

---------

"I won't let you harm Shinobu-chan!"

Jaicho looked suprised at the girl standing in his way. She was proving much tougher to deal with.

"That's really quite impressive. You would make an excellent Chuunin, except once again, you've gotten in the way of my target. This time, you won't be able to stand."

Jaicho jumped back onto tree, sticking his blood-soaked claw into the trunk.

"I could finish this quickly, but I need to save my Chakra too kill both souls in Shinobu."

He pushed off onto a higher branch.

"Time to end this. Summoning Jutsu! Flesh Clones!"

Soki looked around for some form of attack.

"Damnit. I'm not even near a summoning Jutsu level. And I'm too wounded to fight anything powerful."

Soki had a sudden idea. Activating her water control, she gathered all the moisture in the air. She put it onto her bleeding shoulder and abdominals.

"Healing Technique! Water Restoration!"

Jaicho couldn't help but smile.

"That's actually quite brilliant. So, every member of your team is trained in medical abilities?"

Soki nodded.

"I see. So one of you is specialist, but the other two can heal minor wounds. So if the specialist goes down, you can heal them minorly while another specialist comes to help. You three are full of innovation aren't you. It's too bad that you have to die. You'd even have suprises for a Hokage if this continues."

He stoped the summoning Jutsu.

"You have enough skill in what you do that I'll take care of you myself. I'll save the Flesh Clones for later."

Reaching behind his back, he pulled a giant bow from his back.

"You'll die first girlie. Can't have any interferance."

He pulled the bow back, the massive arrow aimed at Soki's shoulder. Shinobu struggled desperatly to get free, but the rocks continued to hold him down. Soki prepared to move. Jaicho steadied his aim.

"You won't dodge this one."

He fired the arrow as soon as he finished talking. Soki jumped to the side as soon as she could, but the arrow hit through her shoulder, sticking her through the tree.

"Bastard."

Jaicho smiled as he notched another, much larger arrow.

"Now that you can't move, I'll kill you quickly."

He pulled the bow back as far as possible, the arrow aimed directly at her heart.

"Don't worry. You won't feel a thing. This has over 400 tons of force behind it."

Soki looked at him defiantly.

"Fighting to the last I see. Pity."

He let the arrow go. Soki flinched as she prepared to die, waiting for the arrow to seperate her soul from her body. Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

"I'm sorry Shinobu. I'm sorry that I failed."

She heard the arrow impact something wet and dense. She felt no pain. Jaicho looked in astonishment at the sight infront of him.

"How did you get out of the rocks?"

Shinobu stood infront of Soki, the arrow gripped in his bleeding hand. Chakra covered him, making him look like he was on fire. Asuka, wanting a clearer view, had simply stepped out of the rocks, most of which where still attached to his feet. Shinobu looked at Jaicho with murderous intent.

"I won't let you hurt anyone important to me!"

Jaicho stepped back a little. He put the bow back. Shinobu continued to speak.

"Long ago, back before I was a Genin, my father left me. My mother died shortly afterwards, killed by a broken heart. It was just me and my brother."

Shinobu gripped harder on the arrow, crushing the head in his grip. Tears started to well in his eyes.

"He was Jounin for the village of the Mist. When mother died, he vowed to protect me with his life. He became my father."

Shinobu wiped the tears from his eyes.

"And he protected me, taught me, and trained me. I became strong under him, but he was kind. And he meant what he said about protecting me. And he protected me with his life, and lost it in the process."

Shinobu looked back up, his eyes a mixture of sorrow and rage.

"One day, a serial killer came to our village. He was looking for a place to hide, and he choose our house. My brother was away, and I was just home from a fishing trip. He came in, and threatened to kill me."

Shinobu threw the arrow on the ground.

"My brother appeared, and tried to stop him, but the guy was an S-class criminal. He poisoned my brother, and then ran. As my brother, my real father, laid dying, he told me to bring the fishing knife. He told me that even after death, he would protect me. So he sealed himself in the knife, and it took his soul readily. It became this blade."

Shinobu drew his sword.

"My brother died to protect me, and he still does. The lesson he taught me says to never abandon your comrades! Ever! And like my brother, I defend them with my life!"

He drew blood from his hand with the blade.

"And I vow, with this blood, that one day, for hurting my friends, I will run this blade through you. That is the vow I take!"

Jaicho looked at him somberly.

"Then, Takehiko Shinobu, I will look forward too the day we fight. And I make this vow, that when we fight, I will be stronger, and I will kill you. But I will not interfer with you until you are ready to fight me."

Jaicho disappeared in a puff of smoke. Asuka dropped down, and began to examine Soki's wound.

"She's unconcious. We need to get to the tower, where I can treat her. I'll carry her."

Shinobu nodded, and replaced his sword.

-----------

Preview (Soki)

So Shinobu saved me? Who was that Jaicho, and why was he after Shinobu?

But right now, we have to worry about the prelimanaries, and we still have another three days to wait in the tower!

Next time!: Asuka's past! The prelimenaries begin!

Episode 5: The Cold-Hearted Asuka! The Prelim Matches Begin!

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

Shinobu leaned on the railing. The rules for the matches had been given, and now they were selecting who would go first. He smiled eagerly. Asuka looked at him.

"Don't get so excited."

Shinobu gave him a mock-angry look. He smiled immediatly after.

"Can I help it? I finally can use my bloodline, and there's no point in conserving chakra now."

Asuka looked back, and adjusted the protector around his arm.

"The first match is coming up. If we fight, I wish you luck. Because you will lose."

Shinobu grinned back at him. He felt a light tap on his shoulder. It was Soki.

"Shinobu! Sorry about being late, I just wanted to finish the healing techiniques. I had to used some sealed chakra though, so that my reserves don't run out."

"It's okay Soki. There's no point in conservation now. My guess, they'll have us fight, and then give us time to rest. At least a few weeks. Then we'll have some more matches."

Asuka nodded. The combatants had been chosen.

"Miruka Asuka vs. Mushi Haji!"

Asuka climbed slowly down the railing. Haji stood on the opposite side of the circle, his upper body covered entirely in bandages. Shinobu turned to Soki.

"What do you make of him?"

Soki looked back at Shinobu.

"I don't need to guess. I have stats on him here. Let's see......Mushi Haji. Looks like he's a Cloud Ninja. Oh this is interesting. Looks like his special jutsu is the ability to move lightning fast, and to electrify his limbs. I wonder if Asuka can handle him."

Shinobu grinned.

"Give him ten minutes."

Haji stood, in a fighting stance. Asuka didn't recognize the Jounin, but he listened anyway.

"Alright, you both know the rules, so follow them. Begin!"

Asuka stood there, looking at Haji's face.

"A Cloud Village Ninja. I haven't seen one of them in awhile. I'm suprised you made it through the forest."

Haji's face became dark.

"Do not insult my village. I'll kill you."

He lunged at Asuka. Asuka sidestepped his blow, sending Haji rolling past him.

"First rule of Combat. Never expend more energy than is needed."

Haji lunged again. Asuka ducked under his stomach, and at the last second stood up and grabbed his legs.

"Second rule. Never expose more than is necessary."

He swung Haji around, throwing him into a wall. Haji spun around in time to save himself from the impact. He landed on his feet, panting.

"Your fancy taijutsu doesn't impress me. Perhaps I should show you what TRUE power is!"

Haji gathered electricity in his arms and legs. He began to smile.

"Now the fun starts."

He ran towards Asuka, faster than the eye could follow. Asuka stepped out of the way of his lunge, and smiled. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and started to cough. Haji smiled.

"I have electricity in my limbs. Even if I miss, you get hit. It's not quite as strong as lightning, but it'll do."

He lunged as Asuka again, who jumped out of the way. Asuka fell to the ground, his body filled with electricity.

"You can't stop me! I'm a hundred times more powerful than you."

Asuka got up and dusted himself off.

"Fine. I'll cut down that arrogance of yours about five notches."

Haji glared at him again, and lunged. He felt contact with flesh, and smiled.

"Got you!"

A sharp pain cut through his body. He felt a fist collide with his chest, and he went back into a wall. Asuka stood where he had been when the match started, almost completely unharmed.

"Your techinique is easy to crack. I was just testing an idea. Since it's like lightning, I knew that I would as a conductor. So I checked that. When it was confirmed, I simply re-directed the electricity back into your stomach. Not enough to kill you, but I've wanted to open this seal for a long time."

He removed his shirt, revealing five seals. There were two on his shoulders, one on his heart, one on his neck, and another on his stomach. The one on his stomach was the biggest.

He bit his thumb, letting a bit of blood run. He pressed it to the seal on his left shoulder.

"First Seal Release!"

Chakra began to flow from off his body. The seals glowed a faint blue. Haji got up, and sent more electricity into his limbs. Asuka smiled.

Haji never saw the blow that came.

"Damn..."

He coughed up blood. Asuka twirled around for a kick to the face, sending Haji spinning into a wall. He lunged at the spot where he was going to contact, and jumped. He caught Haji's head mid-flight, ripping the body with it.

"Blizzard-Style! Dance of the Snowflakes!"

Haji was suspended in mid-air by thousands of hits, up and down, right to left. Asuka landed a final blow onto his stomach, sending him into the ground. The seals receeded into his body.

"It's over."

Asuka walked to the center of the circle, dragging Haji's unconcious form with him. Everyone was in shock, except for Shinobu. He was grinning.

"The winner is, Miruka Asuka!"

---------

(Soki)

Wow! I never knew that Asuka could do that! I would have hated to fight him! But who's next?

Next time: The Dreaded Match-up! Shinobu vs. Soki!?!?!

OOC: I'm taking the initiative and getting my characters out of the way for matches.

IC:

Episode 6! Conflict among the team? Shinobu vs. Soki!

----------

"The winner is Miruka Asuka!"

Shinobu grinned at the announcement. The first match was over. Zero Squad already had a victory under it's belt. The Jounin announced was preparing to announce the next match. Shinobu looked at the screen.

"I'm ready to fight. Let me go to it!"

The pictures and names rotated. Shinobu recognized some from the list Soki had. Another name he was suprised to find. Uzemaki Naruto......

The board stopped spinning. Shinobu was looking at his feet. He glanced at Soki, whos face was plastered in a look of horror.

"The next combatants will be between Itchi Soki and Takehiko Shinobu!"

Shinobu felt the same look come across his face. Fight one of his comrades? How could he? He turned to Soki.

"I can drop out if you want Soki. I don't fight comrades, even if I don't become a Chuunin."

Soki shook her head.

"No. We need to do this. I want to prove that I'm strong enough."

Shinobu looked grim.

"If that's what you want."

They both jumped down to the center. The Jounin put them through the starting routine.

"Go!"

Shinobu just stood there. His brain was spinning.

"Soki....I don't want to fight you. I don't want to hurt you."

Soki was the one to make the first move. Shinobu caught both of her Shurikens. Soki jumped back onto the wall, and threw a kunai. Shinobu jumped over it, only to find another kunai headed towards him. He caught it between his palms. A hissing sound came from the handle.

"Explosive seal! Damnit!"

The explosion sent him flying towards the wall. Soki stood across from him.

"I won't hold back Shinobu. If we fight, we need to fight with all our hearts."

No matter how brave her words sounded, Soki cried on the inside.

"Shinobu-chan...."

She yawned to cover her tears, then looked determined at Shinobu.

"Stop fooling around!"

Shinobu looked a bit hurt. He gathered his resolve.

"So you want me to go full out? Fine."

He drew his sword.

"I won't use this to kill her though. If I can avoid hurting her too much..."

Shinobu drew two kunai, and sent them towards Soki. She turned too the side, and both where sent past her feet.

"Damnit. She's good at dodging. I need to remeber her strengths."

Shinobu grabbed two more kunai from his pouch. Soki laughed.

"Don't tell me your gonna try that again!"

Shinobu threw them on a curve. Soki stepped forward and avoided contact. Shinobu grinned.

"Bingo."

He pulled back on the wire attached to the kunai. They wrapped around Soki's legs. Shinobu pulled tighter.

They went through her.

Shinobu looked in horror as the wires ripped through her legs. He rushed over to make sure she was alright.

"A water clone?"

Soki's voice came from around him.

"I'm great at genjutsu, remeber? Hmmph. You should know more about me Shinobu-chan. Oh well. I suppose this is the first time you'll lose. Swamp Illusion Jutsu!"

Shinobu looked around him as the entire arena disappeared.

"Damnit."

He heard Soki's voice again.

"I've worked on this one for awhile Shinobu. Your not the only one who learned new Jutsu's! Summoning Jutsu! Twin-headed Sea Serpent!"

Shinobu moved out of the way as a jet of water came from the swamp.

"Damnit...."

---------

(Soki)

It looks like I got Shinobu this time! This is my specialty Genjutsu, and nobody but a Jounin can break it! Go ahead and try Shinobu!

Next Time: Shinobu's Bloodline!: Aisukaome is Revealed!

Episode 7: Cold Eyes and a Warm Heart! Aisukaome!

---------

Shinobu looked at the trees around him.

"Damnit. Those water jets are powerful. I've got to break this genjutsu! Release!"

Shinobu ducked out of the way as another jet came towards him.

"#####! They're getting closer. And this damned genjutsu won't clear! How the hell did she get so good?"

Soki laughed on the outside.

"Poor Shinobu-chan. Stuck inside an illusion and you can't get out. You won't even be able to detect my chakra like you normally can. The mist is laced with chakra, so it should confuse you long enough for the serpeants to wear you out."

Shinobu grimaced. He had to use it......

"Fine Soki. I didn't want to use my technique until necessary, but I guess it's necessary. Congradulations, you've forced my bloodline!"

Shinobu grinned. Time for the fun to start. He gathered the chakra into his eyes.

"Aisukaome!"

Everything became instantly clear. He saw the two serpeants near a second source of heat, which was Soki.

Shinobu drew his sword, and ran towards the serpeants. He saw the chakra concentrate for two water jets, and ducked out of the way. Two strokes severed the heads.

Soki swore under her breath.

"Well now it's my turn to be dazzled. I'll have to finish this quick and I-!"

Shinobu stood looking at her. Those eyes.....

"What the hell Shinobu?!?"

Shinobu grinned.

"You can't move Soki. You put up a good fight, but like you said, no holding back. Your will power simply isn't strong enough."

Soki gathered as much chakra as she could.

"Release! Release! Release damnit!"

Shinobu yawned. Soki felt a brief respite, but then she froze again.

"As long as I'm looking at you, you can't move. It's over."

The Jounin declared the match over, and Shinobu carrier Soki up to the balcony.

"Did I do good Shinobu-chan?"

Shinobu smiled.

"Yes Soki. You did great."

Asuka waited against the rail. A ninja in orange approached him. Uzemaki Naruto....

"Hey! You're in his squad right?"

Asuka nodded.

"What kind of technique was that?"

Asuka sighed. Some people were just inquisitive by nature.

"That's a bloodline trait. It belongs to Shinobu and him alone. It's called Aisukaome."

Naruto had a confused look on his face. Asuka sighed again.

"Aisukaome has two abilities. It's first is the ability to detect heat. Even the slightest amount of heat cannot escape the eyes of a user who's mastered it. The second one is ability to freeze opponents who have lower will. Shinobu uses this less often, because it's draining and risky."

Naruto still looked confused.

"Then how did he see that attack coming?"

Asuka looked at him. This kid was clueless....

"You know how chakra creates minor heat, correct? Well, that heat can be registered by Aisukaome, even by an average user. So all major attacks, such as Sasuke's Fire Release jutsu, can be detected before use. This combined with the slight slowing of time make it second only to the Sharigan in dodging attacks. But it lacks a full view, so it can be very inhibiting when used to openly."

Naruto had a nervous look on his face. Asuka guessed it was because he knew his comrades Jutsu. Time to have some fun.

"Uzemaki Naruto, Rank Genin, Specialty Shadow Clone Jutsu. Squad Members Sasuke and Sakura. Leaf Village, Squad Leader Hatake Kakashi. Chakra rating high, Taijutsu average, Danger level: A-rank. I'm suprised. You seem a bit immature."

Naruto looked a bit angry.

"You're upset because you only got an A-rank? Don't feel sad. There's only a few people who get S-rank. Hokage's, Sannin, and a few others. There's only two people in this room who are S-ranked, and that's Kakashi and Gaara. I far surpass all of you besides those two, and I'm an A-rank. So live with it."

Asuka smiled, and began walking away.

"I'll be watching you Uzemaki Naruto. Soki is never wrong, and she said you have potential. And don't worry, we won't interfer with your shot at being Hokage."

Asuka was to far away to hear his response. He was thinking.

"That boy.....Soki was right....something resides in him. Is it possible that he can exceed my power while I'm in Jigoku form?"

By the corner, Soki was treating Shinobu's wounds, and they were laughing together. Asuka smiled. They looked so happy.

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

(Shinobu)

The prelimanaries are over. Soki didn't make the cut, but it's okay. We won't abandon our squad members, and we will not leave her behind. But why does Asuka want to talk more about this Naruto character?

Next time!: Asuka's unease! Uzemaki Naruto!

Takashi was leaned up against the wall, he had his eyes closed for the moment and was thinking on who would probably be next.

"Those first battles were quite entertaining," he said with a smirk on his face. "It pains me to say that there were many who didn't make it this far, matter of fact, didn't even make it out of the forest." He grinned and kept his pose against the wall.

There was someone in this room in particular that Takashi was anxious to fight....Miruka Asuka. There was a strange aura around him that just seemed to peak his own interest. He was interested in this Shinobu as well, mainly to have the chance to stand his ground against his jutsu. There were 4 others aswell, Uchiha Sasuke, Gaara of the Desert, Hyuga Neji, and Uzemaki Naruto."Well, there are still others to kill until then." he said as he started walking to the edge of the stairs, and then leaned up against the wall and shut his eyes.

----------------------------------
OOC: We'll just say that Sasuke and Kakashi are both in the back room right now and Kakashi is implementing the curse mark on Sasuke's neck while all these fights are going on, therefore, we're not interfering with the arc and I just don't have the time to deal with them right now.

Episode 8: Asuka's Suspisions!

---------

Shinobu winced slightly as Soki touched the bruise on his back.

"Are you okay Shinobu-chan?"

Shinobu grinned reassuringly.

"I'm fine. It's just a bruise."

Soki looked a bit worried, but the smile helped. Asuka motioned to her.

"Soki, I need to talk to Shinobu alone. I'm sorry, but this deals with him alone. You need to train more anyway. Go search for a genjutsu specialist and work on perfecting your technique. Two techniques you should watch out for is Byaakugan and Sharingan. It's useless working on Aisukaome, since only Shinobu has it."

Soki nodded, and left. She smiled at Shinobu, who blushed slightly. Asuka almost smiled again. His face suddenly turned serious when she left.

"This could be a problem. Both of us will become Chuunin, I have no doubt about that. Your grasp of tactics is immense, and my fighting style and leadership is equal to anyone's here. But Soki is being forced to stay behind. If we return to the Mist Village, our squad will be split."

Shinobu nodded, looking sad.

"I don't know how to work around this Asuka. If we have no choice at the end, we'll have to cut ties with the Village."

Asuka started to get angry.

"And then what Shinobu? We'll be chased by the ANBU, and I know that we won't last long. And without belonging to a legitimate village, we can't take missions, and therefore can't make money."

Shinobu nodded. Asuka continued.

"I will work on the solution, for now, I have something far more important than that."

Shinobu looked up, startled.

"More important than the future of Squad Zero?"

Asuka nodded. He pointed.

"That ninja. Uzemaki Naruto. Use Aisukaome. What do you see?"

Shinobu activate his bloodline.

"Hmmm....his body is warmer than the rest of the Shinobi over there."

Asuka nodded.

"What else?"

Shinobu looked harder.

"The heat seems to be concentrated....in a seal?"

Asuka nodded again.

"So it's true. Look at his face. It looks somewhat fox-like. The lines."

Shinobu gasped.

"You don't think?"

Asuka nodded again.

"He's the boy the Fourth sealed Kyuubi in. You can't even sense my seals heat. Only someone on the level of a Hokage could. But his seal is far warmer than the rest of him. His chakra stamina must be huge. It explains why he was able to get through the forest, even though he seems like an idiot."

"So this boy....is on par with you?"

Asuka stared out towards the ring.

"That is correct. I don't know the full power he has obtained, but if he masters Kyuubi......I don't know if even I'll be able to stop him."

Shinobu felt his heart beat faster. Asuka was expressing doubt? Even if the opponent was a Hokage, Asuka never expressed doubt about winning. He had his seals after all.....whatever the consequences were.

"Shinobu. Try to freeze him with Aisukaome."

Shinobu tried repeatedly. None of the attempts worked.

"You couldn't. I know this. He's far above anything I expected. With his determination, and a nine-tailed demon sealed inside him, he has enormous possibility. If you have to face him....."

Shinobu looked at him questioningly.

"If you face him.....Do not kill him."

Shinobu looked at Asuka's face.

"Why not?"

Asuka looked back.

"Two reasons. If you kill him, the seal might break, and then we would have to fight a Demon."

He looked down.

"And the second reason, is because that determination comes from his devotion to a dream....."

Shinobu turned around as Asuka walked away.

"Shinobu. Do you know what my dream is?"

Shinobu shook his head.

"My dream comrade. Is to fufill my promise to my father."

Asuka looked at the light above him.

"I promised that one day, I would lead a village where he could return to. And I will fufill that dream, even if I have to die to do it. That is why you will not kill this boy."

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To be continued.......