[TAKEDA SANOSUKE™]

Sanosuke was surprised to hear that he and blonde haired guy were going to be on the same page for once. While that might not seem like progress to most it felt like a big deal to him. While they were in the chambers they constantly were at odds with one another that led to a lot of time being wasted. With them willing to work together so easily this time around they could actually focus on the mission and helping each other out rather than being consumed by their own personal opinions. Bokuton? The Takeda tried thinking over if he ever heard anything of that sort before. He wanted to say yes, but his memory of that name was extremely foggy.

Hopefully he'd get the chance to see it in action, but whatever it was it seemed like something special. It wasn't the typical natures that most Shinobi were capable of learning so perhaps this guy too had a Kekkei Genkai as well. To go along with that the guy was also a specialist in Tajutsu like himself. Having something in common that he was dedicated to was sure to make building chemistry between each other much easier than if he were to not have any close range fighting abilities. Everything so far appeared to be going well, but just as before be in too over his own heads. Again he found himself feeling somewhat dumbfounded as the quiet girl whom was once covered in armor begin to speak as she had rarely done before. How could I be so ignorant? A sigh escaping the lips of the Takeda as he immediately stopped in his tracks.

She was right. They had no idea which direction of which they were supposed to be going, and had she not spoken up sooner than later they could have removed themselves completely from contention by going in the wrong direction. With that they would not even get the chance to make their move on the offensive unit set to come through them. At least thats what he assumed based on the little bit of information provided. Nonetheless, the girl went on to add in her own brief explanation of what her strengths were. Weaponry. Something that he was completely familiar with as he himself had six swords to carry. The other trait of which she mentioned seemed very fitting based on what she'd done with them so far. Although it was definitely safe to assume that being social was not a strength for her. Regardless, her defensive tactics were sure to be of good use to them.

So far it already had done well to get them to this point. "Your right. Location seems to be the key element here. Based on what we were told the other team I'm assuming is to bring sensitive information from the north to the south. I'd imagine that they'd have us separated based on the outcome of the first round of the exams. That more than likely would mean they probably placed us in between each of the post As it wouldn't make sense for us to start in the same area as the other group... In terms of how great my eyes range is? Right now its pretty much everything in my natural line of site.. Maybe another 2 meters of focus included, but that doesn't really help much... On a positive note its possible for me to see anything with chakra so long as whatever I'm look at is within normal eye site." Sanosuke didn't have much time to work on that part of his eyes visual prowess as most of his time was spent training them to be in sync with his close range combat maneuvers.

Hopefully what he had to say would be of some use for her in terms of what kind of plan she'd come up with. Whatever she'd have to say he'd go along with her. He had no reason not to trust her as without her judgement they probably would have not been able to make it out of those chambers. Afterward she'd address the other guy about his knowledge of the terrain. If he had any it would move helpful to intercepting the enemy team and taking whatever sensitive information they held. All he could hope for now was that everyone bought into whatever plan she came up with because he was certain the other team was going to be on the move.

[Yutakako Ryuu]

You'll never get away

when you're running

from the past

For once it seemed his group would finally begin firing on the same wavelength. It was a long time coming but at least it was happening. His mind began to spin up as he listened to the others begin to talk and explain to some degree what they were better at. However, he knew that the more they talked, the more time they wasted. His attention turned to the boy with the puppet. That was the key as his own plan began to formulate. "That will probably work out the best if we are all going to be honest here. We should head south and try and set up near the ending point... However, you should find a place to control your puppet from a safe distance. The goal will be distraction and delay, not defeat. We will try and give you a sign to retreat when we are ready but if you start getting pushed, fall back... The rest of us need to move. Now." With that, the young Yutakako turned to the rest of the group and began to move.



It was strange for him to be thinking on the move like he now was and not be in combat. His mind raced as the group began to move out towards their destination. He knew they had to move fast but they also needed to play it smart."We know where they need to go, it's the same place we need to go in the end. Trying to set up there gives us a bit of an edge and adds a new variable to our opposition. By us opting to set up near the goal it forces them to come to us in the end. Beyond that, they will spend a majority of the time waiting for us to appear... Add in the fact we will have a decoy to bring them to us, it will keep them wondering just how and when we will strike... It also means they cannot effectively prepare..." So many variables were being added with this option and it made Ryuu excited. Not just because it forced him to think outside the box, but because it forced them all to act like the Chuunin they were hoping to become at the end of all this.



As the group moved Ryuu looked around and nodded. "Sanosuke, right? We will need to rely on your site for this to work, at least that's how I feel. We can use it to give us a heads up on when they are coming, it can also tell us how badly our decoy is or isn't doing. Then, we can use the suna's black sand to try and funnel them where we want them... Depending on how well he can control it... Once we have them moving the direction we want, we can launch our counter offensive... We also need to make sure we aren't distracted... We need to keep them all contained with us... If even one breaks through it could be trouble... It could be the one holding the scroll, or a decoy... We wouldn't know and we'd be forced into a position we cannot control. We must also be prepared that finding the scroll will not be easy... Just as we are using a decoy, they could easily do the exact same thing. So we need to hit them fast and hard in order to make sure they never have the chance to overrun us..."



With that Ryuu went silent. He'd said what he needed to and his plan was out in the open. It would be up to the others to either agree with, disagree with, or adjust it as they saw. It was situationally sound, but there were still plenty of holes in it because of the high amount of unknowns. Still, it could work and that's all that mattered...

YUTAKAKO

RYUU

template by SKYE at CAUTION 2.0

[Masahiro Kaiya]

With Life There Is Always Another Chance

In The Light There Is Always Darkness

They seemed to have different skills. That was typically good in a team setting. Spread out skills covered more ground. If they all pulled their weight, it should mean success. They were an interesting group, to say the least. She would have to agree enough that they must be placed in the middle of the group and where they wanted to go. Hopefully… Otherwise the task may have been near impossible. On the other hand, the tasks they just came from seemed near ridiculous in their confusing riddles.

The blonde boy, the one who liked to show charge, would begin ordering. And if all else would fall in line, she would too. Better to let him have the charge when she didn’t wish it upon herself. Kaiya was subtle, small, and quiet. While that could be befitting a leader, it was not a type that fought for leadership. With a nod, she’d agree. To the South the group would move, leaving the other youth behind. With a glance back, she’d attempt to catch his eye, giving one final thumbs up before they would begin their trek into the desert… a long trek.

With the Sand Shinobi not moving nor speaking, Kaiya would hesitate, then direct him come with them. The other boy could handle things alone. What was best was to mostly stick together… Correct path or not, the one left behind was a distraction and decoy. Or so her mind worked. Slow them down. So that the rest of her group could set up and prepare for the oncoming ‘enemies.’

Her mental plan was confirmed by the other boy. He spoke aloud and Kaiya would mentally agree. They’d set ahead and prepare. She imagined it might be long… They would have to keep moving, but rest enough to remain prepared for the battle that was sure to ensue. She’d encourage so, not wanting them to run low on energy. They could even pass off shifts so that they never stayed in one place too long. Rest was important, but they couldn’t waste time. They had to get there swiftly. And get as much time as the other boy could buy them.

It was why all the speaking didn’t bother her. Had to pass the time somehow, right? The plan sounded solid enough. Locate. Draw in. Contain. The scroll could possibly be the hardest part. If it were a team they were against, then who knows who might have it? They had a journey to prepare though… and an unseen enemy.

"I have some smoke bombs at my disposal. Perhaps your sensory could help you weave through them and subdue opponents quickly. A still target is easier to search than one attacking.”

A suggestion. She didn’t have a ton of trap like weapons. Her inventory was small and light, for so was she. Moving swiftly because she might need to. But preparation? She had never thought to be in this situation. She may have to rethink her gear… Speak with Master Kirei.

"Traps? If the sand doesn’t work so well, perhaps we can guide with explosives? I could help direct as well.”

Further suggestions to a growing plan.

Days it would take to get through the desert and to the outcropping destination. But what they left behind was a teammate. A teammate ready to intercept at all possible. And likely, the scout of the other team would locate him first. Do with that information as it may.

Masahiro Kaiya

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Mikazuki Aikawa]

[googlefont="Playfair Display"][googlefont="Alice"]

I really can't remember if I'm insane or insomniac

"Fair! That is absolutely true," Squeakers said with a nod when Sabishi brought to attention that the average human could survive with no water for three days... assuming they weren't in severe heat and exerting so much energy. "Good thing though that it's only two days, huh?" He seemed to beam with excitement. "So it'll definitely be cutting it close! But having to keep traveling in these extreme conditions, and fighting to the brink of death for the sake of a mission--it all sounds very exciting to me!" Even though he was an eccentric sort of person... Squeakers did not seem to be joking about what he said.
    He listened to the Moth Boy's suggestion about switching positions. Squeakers liked to be in the back. It gave him a more tactical view, and since he liked to analyze so much... he prefered to be in the back where he could see everything. That, and he had trust issues.
    But, he'd nod in agreement anyway. Akio had a fair point, and Squeakers was willing to sacrifice his feeling of security for the sake of a more secure formation.
    However, he did have a few thoughts about giving the girl the scroll.
    "Well, ya see, Sabishi, I didn't think it'd be a good idea for you to have a scroll and make yourself a target if you're not good at fighting, and certainly not the actual scroll, since if it were discovered you'd have no way of protecting yourself or the scroll, probably. If the enemy shinobi think anything like I do, you being a medical shinobi, and less capable of defending yourself, makes you more vulnerable and thus a bigger target than anyone else." Being a healer, she was valuable to the team. If someone got hurt, instead of being down for the count, she could hypothetically help them to their feet again--so killing the medic was usually the first step to crippling the team, in Squeakers's eyes. That, and as she said herself, she wasn't the best at fighting. So if someone did realize she had the scroll with her, even if they didn't kill her, there was a good chance they'd be able to take it from her with little resistance since she had minimal fighting capability. Squeakers could defend himself. He could probably slip out of a sticky situation and flee if he needed to. He was strong. He had more chakra than probably his whole team combined. He also had a better hiding spot for it than she probably did. Deception was Squeakers's forte. Although he was fine with giving her one of his spare scrolls as a decoy like with everyone else--though he was a bit wary of that since he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to her to make her a target--he wasn't going to take her suggestion of giving her "the" scroll. "Plus I've already got it safely hidden away. But you can have one of the decoy ones!"
    She didn't, however, and instead suggested a different plan entirely. Only one decoy scroll.
    On one hand, if every person had a scroll, that meant that no matter who was hypothetically caught, they would certainly have a scroll to give up and claim surrender. It also meant that, if needed be, they could keep throwing all of the decoys around and passing them among each other to further confusion. Not only would the enemy not know which one was real, but it'd be impossible to guess with their locations constantly being shuffled around with the wrong ones. But, if somehow a hostage situation were to happen, if every person had one scroll, it'd be easy to guess that the person with two scrolls is the one with one of the real ones. Which is why Squeakers put such care into hiding the real scroll, in which case, then it would seem like every person had only one scroll, and there'd still be no guess to which one was real, which if the enemy was impatient, it could lead to the hostage's death.
    But, if they only had one decoy scroll, they could easily surrender it. Since nobody else would visibly have any other scrolls, it would be easy to guess that it was the real one. If the transaction was quick, then nobody had to even find out that Squeakers had multiple fake scrolls with him, and they'd be given no reason to think the one they had wasn't the real one.
    But Squeakers didn't like the idea of only having one scroll, and that scroll being a bomb. When it went off, whoever survived would know for sure that it was fake and they still had the real one. Not only did he not want to kill anyone in the exams unless it was necessary, but there was no guarantee that everyone would be seriously injured. Sure, the other team would have some injuries--if not casualties--and be at a disadvantage at that point, but... Squeakers didn't think it was necessary.
    If they posed to be tired and gave up the scroll... why not let the enemy run off with it, thinking it was the real deal? Why even stop them or try to engage in a fight, or try to harm any of them when they could, hypothetically, get away with it with minimal conflict?
    Minimal conflict was always preferable.
    "Eh... I see your point," Squeakers said. "But I'm not certain it's the best course of action. I don't think we need to eliminate the enemy at all. We were told to transfer the scroll safely, that's it. Make sure that the enemy doesn't get it, whatever the cost... but that doesn't mean necessarily killing the enemy. It's possible that they're also genin, same as us, and I'd rather not kill unless we absolutely have to. How about... this. Sato. You're small and frail-looking. You keep the scroll you have. If we're confronted by the enemy--" because Squeakers's clone would likely encounter them first, and with the given information, there was a good chance they'd be able to avoid the enemy group completely, even-- "we can try Sabishi's idea. We can pretend that we're weary from the journey, and were exhausting ourselves for the whole trip. Since you do seem more unsuspecting than the rest of us, it wouldn't be too unbelievable that you're intimidated by the other team and quickly give up--handing over the scroll to the enemy when they demand it. We'll have to pretend we were genuinely betrayed to make it believable, but I think the act would feel legitimate enough."
    A tired group. The one in the middle, who was being protected by everyone else, who seems a bit more frail than the others... quickly getting scared in the face of peril, and surrenders the scroll. The team feels betrayed, but it's too late. The enemy make off with the scroll, not knowing it was a fake all along. They probably aren't supposed to open it to check.
    "If, for whatever reason, they see through our act, then I'm counting on you Akio. You also have a decoy scroll, but you gussied it up to look more official--not that they'd know if the scroll is plain or not. If for whatever reason they don't believe us, we have to all act as though the one you have is the genuine one. At that time, we may fight to defend you and 'protect' the scroll. During that time, we'll have to give it our all to defeat the team or possibly escape if we can to carry out the mission. We will likely have a little bit of an edge over the team, since my clone very well might pick up some combat information before reporting back to me. But it'll still be dangerous, so everyone be careful and fight with whatever you have."
    Squeakers paused for a bit as they continued to quickly travel the desert.
    "If any of your lives are in grave danger and you're about to be killed... you can tell them that I have it. Of course, we should all agree to try to look out for each other and look after each others' backs. We don't want to fight if we can handle this entirely with deception and not even get anyone injured. But, I don't want anyone killed. If it is a matter of life or death, please betray me and tell them the truth." They didn't know where he hid the scroll, but Squeakers was prepared to take all the heat if they needed to point fingers at someone. Only as a last resort. "I'll take care of it."
    And, with that, he would ask to take the scrolls back from Sabishi (if she'd even taken the decoy scroll from him in the first palce) and Isamu. "I would like to take these two scrolls back," he said simply. Not everyone would have a scroll, just as Sabishi suggested, but Squeakers still felt safer about it if more than one person did. He somewhat doubted that Isamu would refuse to give his scroll back, and hopefully Sabishi would agree with the plan and allow him to keep the other scroll he was initially going to hand her. So, he'd take them back, now possessing four scrolls. One was the real scroll, hidden away. Two were the fake ones he'd take back, and the last was the one he'd sealed the bomb into.
    So, there it was. A suggestion for a plan.
    A plan. A backup plan, and then a backup plan for the backup plan.
    But, hopefully, the first plan would work and they'd succeed without anyone getting hurt or maimed in the first place.
    That was, if everyone agreed.
    Hopefully they would.
    "Though I don't wanna use all of my tags for your clones, I'm willing to spare one," Squeakers said. He gestured with his hand. If one of the rock clones did come near him as they traveled, Squeakers would seal a single explosive tag into the stone body. "Use it wisely." Sabishi would only be given one shot to use it. Though, Squeakers hoped it would only be detonated and used if a fight did break out, and not if the first plan of full deception succeeded.

---

The clone was quite a distance ahead. It did not stop and pushed on without rest.
    He would run during the day, keeping a decent pace that didn't exert too much energy, and when he could slide down the hills of the sand dunes and not even waste any stamina at all, he did so. During the night, he'd take advantage of his heightened sense of speed. It wasn't like the flickering technique, either, where it was short, quick bursts of acceleration. No. This was a trained ability, one that was almost natural now, even. He could move at these heightened speeds with the same effort that most took to travel at lower speeds. He often turned it off and didn't move at his full potential just for the sake of having an edge over an opponent, keeping the ability hidden, but it was still an effortless ability.
    So, during the sweltering heat of day, the clone would travel as energy-efficiently as he could. Then, during the freezing nights, the clone would continue to travel--now at heightened speeds that, due to the cold, barely worked up a sweat at all. The same would likely be for the main group as well. It was a better way to travel.
    The clone would come across the puppet user who had been left behind soon enough, however. And instantly took note of him. Observing what he could, the clone would take in every detail for account, and try to gather as much information as he could based on first impressions alone. However, he wouldn't immediately disappear after coming across the puppet user. This can't be it, can it? Just one person? There has to be more, he thought, a bit in disbelief. The clone had more than one purpose, however. Scouting and observing was one thing, but... gathering as much data as possible was also needed.
    So the clone would attempt to move past the puppet user and continue on his way, attempting to catch up with the enemy team's location. He'd be sure to keep a great distance from the puppet user so as to stay out of potential range of the individual's tools, and though he was still incredibly fast for a genin, there was a possibility he'd be met with opposition. Either the puppet user could try to fight him, or pursue. Squeakers's clone wanted to catch up with the enemy group and continue scouting ahead to the destination, and he would show no interest in fighting the puppet user. But, if the puppet user insisted on a fight, and was able to keep up with the speedy clone... then the clone would be happy to gather combat data from this single individual, too, if he must.
    Hopefully, though, he'd move right past the puppet user successfully and would catch up with the other team. Since he, after all, didn't seem to be all that great of a threat all on his own...

SPOILER: Click to show

Squeakers

Items Used:
1 Explosive Tag

Jutsu Used:
NAME: Hikin Fuinjutsu - [Generic Sealing Technique]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Fūinjutsu
ELEMENT: N/a
DESCRIPTION:
The most basic of sealing techniques, in which the user creates a simple seal upon a medium (such as a scroll) for which a multitude of objects can be stored. The sheer number and scale of items that can be sealed depends on the size of the seal itself, as basic shuriken and kunai can be placed within small scrolls, but giant shuriken or massive swords require thick torso-sized scrolls. This technique is what one requires if they wish to tap into such basic seals, though there are always other ways to unseal objects.

Actions:

~ 1 explosion tag sealed into one Rock Clone
~ 1 small scroll remains with Akio
~ 1 small scroll remains with Sato
~ 2 small scrolls taken back (from Isamu and Sabishi)
~ 1 small scroll with a paper bomb sealed inside remains with Squeakers

In Total, Squeakers Has:
~ 3/5 Small Scrolls (1/3 has a paper bomb sealed inside)
~ 1 Mission Scroll (hidden)
~ 8/10 Explosive Tags

Shadow Clone Used:

Enhanced Physical Trait
Due to her extensive training in her early ninja days, Mikazuki has heightened speed, stamina, and endurance. Every day that she has an opportunity to, she still trains to further strengthen each trait. This ability was not gained from heritage or being born into a clan.

OUTFIT

@tag

2211

NOTES: notes here

ⒶⓀⒾ of Adoxography and of GS

[Yugao Akio]

I HAVE A FRIEND

a moth named snowflake

VERY BAD THINGS

such horrible things

As usual things could just run smoothly, instead they'd have to hit a bump in the road. A metaphorical one, but it was one that'd put the genjutsu expert in a weird position. The Iwagakure shinobi would suggest a strategy that was very cringe in his mind. He wasn't interested in killing whatever opposition appeared, they were civilized soon be chunnin. He'd think with superior strategy they could easily execute a delivery mission without revolving around death. They just needed to deliver a scroll, if they went into the fight thinking about winning it. Then they'd be greatly risking the little stamina they had, if they were going to win a real plan was needed. Hopefully one without maiming the opposition, he'd sworn off killing after all. He could prove himself without killing anyone this chunnin exam.

The though entered the boys mind to simply betray his whole team, it wasn't a terrible plan, but it definitely wasn't a good one. He'd simply implement a genjutsu for everyone, if he succeeded then no one would be able to kill anyone. He might die from chakra exertion, but what if? He'd wonder if Kaiya was on the other team, his heart slightly sinking. He'd almost be certain that'd be the case, things often turned out to be worst case scenario. 'This rock shinobi might need to die.' A hollowed voice grumbled in Akio's head. 'You'll haaaaave to kill to stop the killing...' The wind would whisper through his ears and then giggle endlessly in the background. As if to chime in with the hum from the brutal heat constantly baking flesh and ground.

Thankfully his insanity would be tempered, as the rain shinobi seemed to share his sense of morals. He'd not have to kill everyone, this strange creature with mickey mouse voice was a worthy teammate. Same could be said to the demon girl and her immense strength. This weird adventure was really irritating the boy, he'd look to the blood red sky and question if things would ever be normal again. He'd left the frozen tundra of his home before, but this was so abstractly different it was a trip of near overwhelming proportion. He kept a hand sign to channel chakra quite slowly into his moths, which clung to the parts of him shaded. Ten moths, if I need to, that's everyone. He'd remind himself as the voices around him drowned out the real conversation happening before him.

"We shouldn't be so obvious, our opposition might know the path we've taken and the time it took. If we give up too easily it'll be obvious. If our fake scroll fails it could backfire, so it's better to have as an ace up our sleeve than to put on the table to start. We could be vastly more skilled than our opposition, so maybe we should just have an engagement and disengagement plan. Our front is our strength, but we've got a lot of clones too. We could have Isamu push us through the enemy, with the clones entangling them, then I'll catch everyone with a genjutsu and we literally arrowhead it straight to the destination. We might be able to just maneuver around them, if we do that while creating enough chaos. Then we could probably have those wasting the most chakra get caught, I'd take the catch dive. I don't plan to tell who has the scroll, if they're going to kill me, then they'll do it if I tell the truth or lie. Just in one scenario I die a traitor." He'd make it clear he had opposition in his mind. However he'd of spoken up at the end of both squeakers and homicidal medics words came to an end.

He didn't want to interrupt them, but he also didn't want to forwardly confront them. He wouldn't say they had to change their plan, but he'd suggest it had flaws and suggest his own. If they didn't like it? Whatever he'd betray them later, it'd be worth the fun. He'd think cynically and start aiming for an internal plan, one that'd involve them winning regardless of his other teammates. Squeakers was annoyingly stuck in this plan, but they didn't seem to be drastically different thinking. Hopefully everyone would keep their scrolls, if they could just somehow see scrolls, then everyone having a scroll made it that much harder to pick a target. So long as the enemy couldn't single out a single person, then they'd likely win on shear run straight for the destination.

SPOILER: Click to show

Akio is also charging his moths. >->'

tag: Nōhime Sabishī // notes: You can't speak moth don't try me

★ made by elaina[/di]

[Nōhime Sabishī]

Ultimately, it seemed that they weren't thinking in the long run. She didn't suggest making a bomb trap for the sake of killing everyone. It was about the matter of deciding who would win or pass. Besides, she didn't say he had to make it lethal. "I don't think it's about killing them so much as it is lowering the amount of people who pass Squeakers-San. By stealing or removing someone else's scroll, you guarantee they fail this examination and prevent moving onto the third exam...limiting the competition. I theorize that this examination isn't about simple delivery. It's about delivering while under foreign area stress and enemy assaults." Having made her point clear, she'd listen carefully as her clones progressed at a slow pace, keeping watch.

"Anywho...I'm not too opposed to your plan then. Here you are." She'd return the scroll with little qualm and in addition would sigh at the little amounts of water she had left. How foolish she had been to assume that there would be more. How foolish it was that she assumed that she wouldn't have to conserve it. "I'll take middle formation..." She'd stay close as she'd close her eyes, walking forward, infusing chakra as her hands crossed in the snake seal, focusing her mental energy and entering a form of meditation as she walked. "If possible...conserve your chakra and let's try to have your clone find a fresh source of water too. It'd be worth more than gold right now. If we do find one...let's set up and make camp. I can make shelter for us with Doton and we can replenish."

With her explanations done, she'd not have her clones come forward. There was no need if they were going to try to evade combat as much as possible. "So...now that we're an official team, I believe that we need to know more about each other. So let's talk. I'm Nohime Sabishi, I have a brother named Ouritsu. I like Dango and training...and I'm a certified surgeon. Hrm. Hobbies include foraging and managing my garden at home. I've done three C-Rank missions. How about all of you?" Speaking of her brother, he was a real blockhead. 98% blockhead, one percent lazy, and one percent ninja. Well, maybe she was a bit biased on that opinion, but she was his sister god damn it. "Also...bad question but. I don't take it anyone here knows any Suiton do they? It would help tremendously with our little water fiasco."

[Fujioka Isamu]

I CAN'T FIND

0000 WORDS ■ @tag ■ SUPER SMALL NOTE

MY WAY

"Y’all need to make up your minds…”

The girl would grumble, but not fight what they thought. Isamu didn’t care. She was well aware the plans they were rambling about were far beyond what she could come up with… She was only thankful that no one asked her to be one of the ones to play a part. She wasn’t sure she would remember when and where to give up the scroll. They had a long way to travel anyway. Best to focus on that.

Except… The one wanted to talk. Isamu might not even have minded if it weren’t for who it was. She hadn’t met with the girl on good terms yet. The Squeaking one was eh. And pretty boy was okay. But.. talking might not hurt the others over this long journey? Maybe? Bah… It was all stupid. Just fight through it and they’d succeed.

"Isamu. I was an orphan. I like spicy food and training.”

Short little bits, but all true. Secretive. But also her. She’d continue forward. To a path clear? Or to meet with opposition? Likely depended on if the one in the distance that saw the clone would head South to give chase, or stay put and see them where they came.

deltra of gangnam style

[Han]

He honestly wasn't sure what was going on, there was a lot of arguing if nothing else. The boy would let out a soft sigh, and shake his head. He had to agree with the girl, they needed to make up their minds so that he could go on with his life. Instead they had one million and one ideas. He wasn't going to pipe up, he was just going to keep walking.

He didn't really want to introduce himself to the rest of the group, but he decided it was worth playing along. If everyone was going to be friendly, then he would have to be too. A small sigh left him before he waved his hand.

"Nobohiro, Sato." He chirped. "I like medical practice... I like eating onigiri." The boy would add before folding his arms across his chest. They needed to get to the location. Talking felt like a waste of time. Maybe the enemy would catch up to them faster if they kept on talking, and getting distracted. He hoped not, but he had a feeling that it would happen.. Although there was also a chance of the enemy meeting them towards the end of the road. When they were most exhausted. They needed to be strong and get through it all regardless. He wasn't about to be setback several months or even years by failing this exam.

---

Nobohiro Sato FC| Mikatakujira Tetsuya

[Mikatakujira Tetsuya]

So he was set as the decoy while the rest were out ahead of him waiting to intercept the other team before they got to their destination. In hindsight he thought he should have gone with them. It was a lie that he was a real puppet master, all he had was some doll with a heart attuned for water in his arms as he stared out into the dunes. He wasn't much of a fighter himself but the fact that he could hide his secret better this way was the better option to him personally. If he did have to intercept a few members of the enemy then he might as well go all out on them.

Perhaps even take something from them to make him stronger.

He pushed that thought out of his head as the sand kicked against his ankles. THere was no way he could just kill people, that wasn't him. Either way he was about to put that strength of will to the test as he saw a solitary person coming his way, definitely part of the enemy team. Why they were alone was not a concern to him as he gave chase to them to get close enough to toss his doll their way as it sprang to life and let loose a clump of tentacles to ensnare their legs to keep them from running any further.

---

Oki the Doll

99 genin on the wall.

LAIKA OF GS!

[TAKEDA SANOSUKE™]

So far everything was going pretty well in terms of how the group communicated with one another. Much better than they did in the first part of the exams. So far the plan was for the sickly boy to stay back and to hold off anyone that managed to come across his path on their way to the final destination. The boy looked weak, and in some ways he looked as though he was not even human, but for him to be in these exams meant he had something to bring to the table. The Takeda wished he could have stayed behind with the boy to see, but perhaps if things were to work out to their favor he might get the chance to fight him himself.

After that part was established it was the blonde haired guys turn to speak again. After providing his own assessment of the situation he'd call out to him specifically. That had to be a positive sign right? If anything they were the main cause for the divide that existed between the group in the chambers so it was nice to see that he was making the best of this situation by trying to work things through rather than them both being stuck in their own ways. Although, he was sure having a bit more time to discuss things definitely played a factor in this. "Yep, Thats me.." A Simple nod to the head as he listened in on what the guy has to say.

It was apparent that the guy wanted him to use his Byakugan to the best of his abilities to give them an advantage in terms of being able to scout out the enemy when they got within reach of them. From too far of a distance he was certain his eyes 'might' have a hard time spotting them, but during the night period he was sure there was little room for anyone to be able to escape his eye sight. Chakra was extremely visible during that time so hopefully if they were to catch up he'd be able to spot them during that time period as the strong sunlight in the desert might only decrease his Byakugans range in terms of spotting the enemies chakra.

"No problem at all. I intended to use them as such."

A simple thumbs up would hopefully suffice for the blonde as he didn't want to say anymore than he had to. For not until they reached the destination his job was to be the type of ninja that once made his mother one of the greatest sensors in the history of Amegakure. Although, now that he knew her secret he was sure her eyes played a big role in being able to achieve such a title. Afterward he'd bring up the other guy in the groups black sand. Something he briefly took notice of, but still had no idea as to what it could really do. Perhaps the blonde haired guy had a better idea of its capabilities than everyone else here.

Hopefully the man would cooperate. For the time being he remained extremely silent, not really providing any information while also not denying any of their ideas either. He seemed to be very cooperative with the girl so as long as he was around hopefully he'd make sure to pull his weight just like everyone else.

Afterward it'd be the girls turn to talk again. She'd start off by mentioning that she had some smoke bombs on hand with her. Something of which he could definitely use to his advantage as the smoke screen would have zero effect over his eye sight. "That sounds like something I could do with relative ease based on our opponent." He responded with a simple nod. His entire fighting style was based around his close range fighting abilities, and unless there were people here that dedicated more time to it than he did himself he was certain that there wouldn't be many others out here who could stop him.

"Speaking of the devil I have plenty of explosive tags with me. Perhaps once we get within range of our destination I could set up some traps? I also have a flashlight too. Perhaps I could use that as a decoy when setting on the traps... Misdirection maybe...." The later of his words stretching as though he was in deep thought. Which he was as he tried to think like his overly critical thinking teammate Mika. "I could use the light as a decoy... One that they more than likely would catch on to if they have an intelligent thinker in the group... With that misdirection i could lead them to take a path that would put them in a position to take a hit from the tags I set up.."

[Yutakako Ryuu]

You'll never get away

when you're running

from the past

Ryuu's mind was in a spin as the group continued on towards their destination. The boy they'd left behind was also weighing on his mind but it was something that needed to be done if their plan was to even have the slightest chance of working. He shook the thought from his head for a moment as he continued to focus on trying to build a plan that would allow them to not only gain the advantage, but also maintain it once the fighting began. He shifted slightly under the weight of his jacket but aside from that he tried his best to ignore it. Looking at all three of his teammates he nodded slowly as he listened to each one. "Smoke bombs can be quite useful, especially when we have Sanosuke's sight. While I know he's suited for close combat as well, we could use it to help direct those of us who can't see in the smoke if we wanted to. Aside from that, the explosive tags are also something that could help us funnel them where we want them.



He sighed as he continued to think and add things up in his head."I know I also have three of them on me as well. If we take what we have as a group we could set up a sort of perimeter. We could even go as far as setting up a choke point where they'll only really have one route to take to avoid the possibility of more bombs. Thus leading them right where we want them... Who knows, the first bomb they come across could even take one of them out of the fight for a bit, which would be quite favorable for us. Even still... The flashlight might be useful but I'd want to see what we have to work with once we get there. Once again the young Yutakako was sounding like he was trying to take charge. Granted, he had that habit, but in this case he was mostly spit balling and letting his tactical mind run. He would continue to speak, but also listen to what the others had to say. He was fine with adjusting his plan on the fly based on what they each had to say.



"I also have a few smoke and flash bombs on me. If used correctly I'm sure we could really put them on the back foot. Granted, all of this depends on what our destination looks like. We will need to find the best place to set up as well as be aware that we may not have a lot of time to set up. So the sooner we come to a consensus on the plan, the better chance we will have in this ambush succeeding." Ryuu would fall silent once more as he continued to move with the pack. He had said his part for the time being and would wait to hear what the others would say or add. The boy with the black sand, the Suna shinobi, had remained oddly silent and that was starting to bother Ryuu. He didn't like it, but for the most part he would try to push it out of his head. For now, he needed to stay focused. He knew what needed to be done and he would do his best to make sure his team had the best chance of winning.

YUTAKAKO

RYUU

template by SKYE at CAUTION 2.0

[Masahiro Kaiya]

With Life There Is Always Another Chance

In The Light There Is Always Darkness

Travel would have been well underway. The four of them talking and leaving the other behind… They had so far to go in such a little time. Plans were suggested, equipment noted, and everyone spoke. The blond boy spoke most of all, trying to gain authority and attention. That was fine, at least for Kaiya. She could lead, but could also follow. Listening carefully, weighing what he said. There wasn’t a lot of issue in how he might work out his plan. Or… at least she thought. It sounded like it might work well enough.

"We can act on your perimeter and choke then. Make sure they come to us. Make judgements when we get more information.”

Whether that information was in the heat of battle or once they arrived, she didn’t know. But it couldn’t be helped. They’d set up quickly and be ready for a team. Perhaps switch off scouting times to look for the enemy so they could be rested after their plan was laid in place. Who knew how long the deliverers might take… She could only hope they beat them there.

Guess they would find out soon enough. The outpost village would come into sight before too long. A long journey… with so much more to come. They had arrived. Now the next leg would begin.

SPOILER: Click to show

Sanosuke's Byakugan only works within a couple meters. I'm not sure if he's bluffing to look cool or not, but he can't see chakra too far ahead of himself.

Masahiro Kaiya

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Mikazuki Aikawa]

[googlefont="Playfair Display"][googlefont="Alice"]

I really can't remember if I'm insane or insomniac

It was so... touching, really. It warmed Squeakers' frozen heart just a bit to hear the moth boy say he refused to betray Squeakers if all options went awry. He was willing to die staying loyal to the team, rather than tell the truth if captured and betray Squeakers. Truly, such loyalty was admirable, and it did shock Squeakers a little bit to hear such courageous words. But, well, it was unnecessary in his eyes. If the group of enemies was a group of genin, other contestants in the chuunin exams and not elite shinobi sent to merely test the group... then who was to say they'd have the guts to kill someone who helped them?
    If Akio truly did tell them that Squeakers had the real scroll, they probably would let him live. If they were all elite jounin? Perhaps not. Since, after all, once you no longer have any use to them, it's better to kill all enemy shinobi once you've extracted the needed information. But these were genin. There was no saying any of them would behave so callously. Even Squeakers, who normally would behave in such a way for a mission, wouldn't do it in these exams unless he felt the absolute need to.
    But still, it was sweet that, if he were to die, Moth Boy wanted to die with some honor.
    "That's so... sweet of you, I'm truly moved," Squeakers said a bit emotionally. "But, really, you don't need to fret over it. If your life is genuinely in danger, and telling the truth would preserve your life, please do so. It won't be a real betrayal if it's part of the plan. I assure you, Akiyo, if it were as a last resort, I would not consider you to be a traitor, and would still regard you as a trusted ally during this journey." He had a trick or two up his sleeve. They weren't foolproof, but no plan truly was. But, if worse came to worst, all the other plans failed, both of the other scrolls were revealed to be fake, and someone's life was in risk if they didn't tell the truth, Squeakers was prepared to handle the situation if it were revealed that he had the real scroll. He had a trick up his sleeve, and could probably wriggle his way out if even that went wrong.
    So, truly, it wouldn't be a real act of betrayal.
    "But you do bring up a good point, though, about it being too obvious if we give up without a fight. So, it's final, then. We'll approach the target destination. Sato will still be in the middle since he still has a scroll, and with us all around him it'll seem like we're protecting him. We will fight any enemies we come across, though if you can spare life that would be preferable since this is just a test and not a full-fledged mission. If Sato does get the scroll taken from him, we'll just have to pretend and act as though it was the real thing and try to retrieve it in combat," Squeakers confirmed. "But if the other team somehow magically figures out that it's not real... then most likely we will have to treat your--Akio's--scroll as though it were the actual one. Since you transformed its appearance, it looks a lot more legit anyways so there shouldn't be any real questioning it." Frankly, with all of these different plans, there was a good chance they'd be able to defeat the group, escape, or accomplish their goal before the backup plan even had to commence. Not to mention there was a chance the enemy team might be unable to even get Sato's scroll to begin with. "But, like I said before, if you absolutely must tell the truth because you're in grave danger, I can be the last resort. It won't be a genuine betrayal. I'd rather it be revealed that I have the scroll than to have any of you killed for loyalty. Though honestly there'll probably not even be a need for the third plan. It's just in case everything else goes wrong. So, is everyone clear on that? After discussing, I think it's a good course of action that we've been able to come up with, working out its flaws so that it's to the best of its potential. We'll try to protect Sato and his scroll as a decoy, but if that goes wrong then we have a backup plan and a last-resort as well."
    Squeakers did look at the medic as she spoke, though. However, what she was saying didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. He knew the point of the test wasn't to kill anyone--that was why he'd spent so much time before talking about how he didn't want any casualties if they could manage it. And an explosion in such a close range... although there was a chance it wouldn't kill anyone, there was also a good chance that it would. And immediately trying to kill off people when they might be able to handle it more peacefully wasn't something Squeakers wanted. Especially since he knew killing the other group wasn't part of the mission. It was pretty obvious that the whole objective of the mission was to transport information under trying situations.
    But, if there was any need for an explosion, Squeakers was still giving Sabishi that opportunity. Previously, he'd sealed a single paper bomb into one of her clones as she'd suggested, and he'd make no attempt to remove it. Whether she used it or not was up to her, but he didn't mind keeping it there just in case they did end up needing a sacrificial explosion.
    He looked at her, head cocked to the side, when she told him that his clone should keep a lookout for water. That wasn't the purpose of the clone. They already had been informed that there would be no sources of water, and from what he could tell, that information was correct. They'd just have to use what they had. But having his clone waste time looking for water when it was supposed to be scouting and gathering information was... silly. He wouldn't speak on it, but he wouldn't act on it, either.
    Sabishi also suggested that they share a bit about themselves.
    Squeakers shrugged.
    He looked at the others as they spoke a bit about themselves, though. Sabishi spoke the most. She had a brother. Cute. She shared things she liked, an interesting fact, her hobbies, as well as her experience. Then she turned the attention to the others.
    Squeakers rubbed the base of his neck with one hand. Well, I go on missions all the time. I love to train. I don't really have too many actual hobbies--sure, some little things, but not any actual... real interests... I'm Amegakure's jinchuriki. So that's something interesting, I guess. He glanced at Isamu as she spoke up. He was a bit surprised that she was actually willing to indulge in the bonding activity. Even Squeakers didn't really want to. An orphan, eh? Well, used to be? So, she must have gotten adopted... a twinge of jealousy in his heart. I'm happy for her. Then again, I don't really need any real family. I mean, my teachers took me in and even if we weren't really family, I guess it's all I really needed anyway, right? Family is overrated.
    Sato shared a bit about himself, as well. Another medic of sorts? That was good. Seemed like there were at least three people on the team who had some form of medical knowledge. Squeakers had a little bit, Sato seemed to know a bit, and Sabishi was a full-fledged surgeon and a medical shinobi. She probably was still the most useful one when it came to medical skill, but still it was nice to know that there were others.
    "Er... um... I'm Kosuke Kobayashi... but... I prefer to go by 'Squeakers'... um... I'm an orphan, and... um..." I have a son, technically. Should I mention that? That might be too characteristic... which if I'm found out, that could put Sora into danger... "Um... I also like masks." Probably an obvious statement. "'Cause I think they're pretty cool."
    He'd stop suddenly, would lean forward slightly, and huff.
    "Oof..." he mumbled. "Yeah. Okay." Taking his canteen, he'd down a bit more of his water as his body suddenly received the fatigue of his shadow clone. Once he was done, he'd screw back on the cap and put it away. "Gotcha. Okay. So there's one shinobi ahead. Puppet user, of sorts. Not like most puppets I've seen, before. Had a lot of strings that would shoot out and could grab you. If we come across him, keep your distance. Probably long-ranged with versatile attacks. We could probably go around and avoid him completely, then go to the location with no problem, but..."
    Then there was a chance that shark-face would come upon them from behind. Catch up if they went around.
    "Up to you guys. With only one of him around, we'd easily be able to overtake him. But even one of my clones would probably be able to handle him if we wanted to avoid him entirely and just leave someone behind to deal with him," he stated. Squeakers was fast, and his clones likewise could move at a much quicker speed than the other kid could. Not to mention, Squeakers and his clones would have a sword.
    Which was good for cutting threads.

---

The clone watched the shark-looking boy toss a doll at him, and it wasn't difficult for the highly-mobile clone to get out of range, considering he hadn't been close to the other shinobi to begin with. He hadn't expected the various threads to shoot out of the toy that had been tossed at him, however, but, with his superior speed, it still wouldn't be difficult for him to evade the simplistic attack. However, for the sake of curiosity, and not to show his true capability, the clone would allow his legs to be ensnared by the sudden, though basic, attack. Not even a real jutsu, from what he could tell.
    Falling to the ground, the clone would let out an "Oof-!" No actual damage taken, though. The clone was unsure if the shark boy would command the strings to wrap around him entirely and squeeze him to death, or merely keep him immobilized there. But, regardless, this was important information that he wanted to transfer. However, quickly forming a hand seal, two more clones would appear before him and would take off--one running to the distance, and one staying behind.
    Shadow Clone #1, who had been ensnared, then vanished in a puff of smoke. It had deactivated itself, allowing all of its knowledge and unused chakra to be passed back to its creator.
    Shadow Clone #2, who had stayed behind, drew his katana. "That's a cute little toy you got there," he said a bit cheerfully. He got into a fighting stance. "But with my speed, and my scary katana, I wonder how well your strings will stand against me? Are you sure you want to fight me? I mean, you are only one person." Was he really the only opposition they were going to have? Clone #2 wondered how capable of an opponent he would be. Surely, this couldn't be it, could it? And if he wasn't the only person... why had he been left behind?? "I go by Pip Squeak. What's your name?" he'd ask, trying to keep it civil. For now.
    Shadow Clone #3, who had run ahead, would keep running toward the targetted destination. He'd begin to approach the rest of the group... hopefully they were ready!!
    Though, Clone #3, only being his one self... would not be all that intimidating by the other group. He had nobody else with him.
    However, if Sanosuke were able to use his byakugan to observe the approaching clone... even though, by nature, the clone only had a fraction of Squeakers' full chakra, being a split of the original, Sanosuke would be able to see that the person still had an enormous amount of chakra inside of him. Although he looked simple, and a bit harmless, even, Sanosuke alone would be able to see the sheer amounts of chakra that the clone possessed, even when only a third.
    Clone #3, though, did not seem hostile. No weapons were yet drawn, and it was approaching at a light jog. Whether the clone would be caught in any traps or not was yet to be seen, but, for now, the clone did not seem to want to fight anyone.

SPOILER: Click to show

Items Used:

* 2/4 Canteen of Water

---

Shadow Clone Used:

NAME: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu [Shadow Clone Technique]
x2
RANK: B

CHAKRA USAGE: Medium

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]

ELEMENT: None

DESCRIPTION:

Kage Bunshin is a Jounin level Ninjutsu technique. The normal Bunshin technique creates a copy of the ninja that lacks any substance. The Kage Bunshin distributes the ninja's chakra evenly among the clones and creates a real copy with form and substance. The clone itself can also utilize any jutsu the original ninja knows, as well as their kekkei genkai. When the clone finally disperses, any new knowledge it has gained along with it's remaining chakra are passed back to the original ninja and any additional clones. This makes Kage Bunshin an excellent training method if the ninja has the chakra capacity and stamina to maintain the Kage Bunshins for an extended period of time. This allows the ninja to essentially reduce the time it takes to train and learn with each clone added. This is especially true when used with Tajuu Kage Bunshin.

Traits/Information Potentially Discovered Via Byakugan:

* Shadow Clone has 1/3 of bolded:
Jinchuuriki
After the sealing of Gyūki, Mikazuki's body took on many physical changes.

    One of which, was a change of her natural chakra. It took on a monstrous form, rising to levels that exceed any other normal shinobi of even elite rank. The girl no longer has as amazing control on this new, horrendous amount of chakra as she used to, being unfamiliar with it.

    The second alteration is Mikazuki's physical strength. Gyūki is considered to be the strongest Bijuu out of the nine (the exception being when the Gobi uses its special abilities), and this incredible strength has been transferred over to his jinchuriki. Mikazuki's strength has multiplied, making her far stronger than she ever used to be--even on a day to day basis, her assault prowess and overall strength has been increased greatly for her rank.

    The third change is that Mikazuki now also has access to the tree of Ink Techniques, a style of jutsu that is unique to Gyūki.

* Sanosuke will not be able to tell that Squeakers is the jinchuriki necessarily, but he will be able to clearly see the massive amounts of chakra that the clone has, even in 1/3 of it's usual mass (Squeakers made 1 shadow clone, which made 2 shadow clones, but then disappeared, meaning only 3 beings still remain to have the chakra equally distributed among them). I'm fairly sure that he won't be able to see the jinchuriki seal since it's usually invisible even to the naked eye, but since he has the byakugan, if it is possible for him to see seals even as high-ranked as that one, I'll tell you that his jinchuriki seal is on his back. But please confront other staff just to make sure before you write Sanosuke noticing anything since I'm not fully sure what the byakugan can and cannot see. If he can see seals, great, if not, then he'll only see the crazy chakra~ Which intimidating as it may be, doesn't inherently mean that Squeakers is a jinchuriki~

OUTFIT

Yugao Akio

2125

NOTES: notes here

ⒶⓀⒾ of Adoxography and of GS

[Yugao Akio]

I HAVE A FRIEND

a moth named snowflake

VERY BAD THINGS

such horrible things

All Akio cared about was winning the little challenge before them. To him the only chance he and they had was if this Squeakers character brought the scroll to the destination. So lying made more sense than telling the truth, so the idea the others would immediately rat out their ticket to winning instead of lying seemed daft. He didn't state it right, but he didn't have the patience anymore to explain himself. There was a lot of reiterating and he didn't really feel it necessary. It'd also occur that everyone was asked to be more social about themselves, luckily it'd seem that no one took it to the extreme of the start.

So when he was the last one to talk about himself he'd be the shortest. "Akio, I like Genjutsu, Moths and Pocky." The boy replied keeping his attention both to the group and the bounds off to either side. They didn't know where an attack would come from, unless the clone encountered them first. Which thankfully they would. An alarm or at least a message of an opponent ahead, it was the first bit of information he cared to take interest in. Attack strings?

"If we fight him, we waste energy, but almost assuredly win on fair terms. If we go around him, we save energy, but risk being trapped in worst odds down the line. Try to beat him with the clone? If you're just preoccupying enough, then we can go around and hopefully with a goal in mind move quickly through any opposition afterwards." This was as good a judgement as Akio was going to give, he was mostly focused on channeling chakra to his moths and not being jumped. They were still travelling albeit a slower pace, but trouble was definitely over one of these dunes.

He was with much of the group and saving his breath if possible.

SPOILER: Click to show

Akio is also charging his moths. >->'

tag: Nōhime Sabishī // notes: You can't speak moth don't try me

★ made by elaina[/di]

[Nōhime Sabishī]

She had already made five clones. There was nothing else needed to be done. The five clones had stayed slightly spread out in spearhead formation, the explosive clone up in the head as the purple haired medic traveled along the back, one of the safer places to be as she listened to everyone sharing a little about themselves. Alright. That was all well and fine, and at least she got to hear a little bit more about them. As she walked, she wondered for a moment what the overall result was going to be? They were assigned a very simple task, but was there some underlying meaning? As she considered this, she formed the ram seal as she began infusing chakra, focusing, especially when they mentioned there was trouble.

Alright. So then they'd have to assume that there was an enemy up ahead. A puppet user, and they needed long range combatants? "I know two long range ninjutsu and a barrier." She spoke in a hushed tone as her clones drew their blades, progressing a little faster as looked to squeakers. "Disregard the puppet if possible and instead attack the puppeteer. If he's revealed himself, that was a foolish mistake." Remaining mostly silent afterwards, she prepared for their first bout of combat. A rather fascinating little intervention. What was their plan? Stop the team party here and let the others reach up farther ahead? Were they planning some sort of ambush? Was he separated from his group?

All of these were possibilities, and none of them were pleasing whatsoever. No, not at all. All she knew about her team was that one had skills in ninjutsu as well as fuinjutsu. Another was skilled in genjutsu, one was a tough meathead who could break down a wall with her bare hand, and the final one was okay at some basic medical practice. Alright then. That was fine. However, how would they execute those skills? "Assuming we defeat this puppet man and take him down. Then what?" She spoke to herself, mainly asking if they would leave him behind, or if they would bother taking him prisoner. Hrm. While taking a prisoner was the humane thing to do, he might be more trouble than it's worth. Unless of course there was a few sympathizers in his group that would be willing to make an exchange in a hostage situation.