[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Left in the fuckin' dust. If they weren't in dead last, then they were close enough to it. Sadako worked her jaw, her irritation clear on her face, but she kept her thoughts to herself. It was frustrating, but honestly, even if she didn't have the kid with her, it wasn't like she'd be moving any faster. All the dumbasses taking off at top speed would just tire out faster, she reasoned; they'd burn up all their energy at the start, get sloppy later on. Once you got sloppy, you'd get caught. They were doing fine. Probably. But their path stopped at the shrine, splitting off into a few different options. Sadako paused, squinting as she tried to evaluate their options. She didn't have a good way to conceal herself along the higher path, and the jagged mountainous path forward looked no more appealing than the right mountain path had from the start. Breaking her neck would be such a lame way to go. "Let's take the way closer to the plains," Yuie suggested, and Sadako nodded. "Just keep an eye out for the people who took the left plains path to start with," she said. "Killing's off the table, but people are gonna fuck with each other to try to get ahead." Not that there was anyone left to try to get ahead of them. Sadako would, as Junichi suggested, pick up the pace. She kept her head on a constant rotation, gaze sweeping side to side and checking over her shoulder periodically to make sure they weren't being followed by other contestants, or that there wasn't a patrol coming. Turning into a goat with Henge still wasn't far from her mind, but she also pulled out a flash bomb, holding it with one finger through its ring so she could pull it at a moment's notice. If a patrol came by, she could use the flash bomb to distract or blind them long enough for her to transform, and for Junichi to hide. She wondered, briefly, if knocking the guards out would be a viable option, or if that counted as getting spotted. As long as there wasn't intent to kill, right? Something to keep in her back pocket.

ROUND 1 - ROTATION 2 -- 371
tl;dr: Sadako follows Junichi's suggestion of keeping closer to the left plains and picking up the pace. She has a flash bomb prepared; if a patrol comes by, she'll throw it to give herself and Junichi enough time to hide.

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Henge no Jutsu [Transformation Technique]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:
After performing the necessary hand seals, the user transforms their appearance to become that of another person, animal or even an inanimate object. This is considered one of the most advanced academy techniques, as it requires a constant emission of chakra as well as constant mental focus to maintain the transformation. Shinobi are limited to transforming into objects roughly their own size, preventing them from turning into a fly while being able to carry items far greater than their transformed state.

[Natsuo Jokyū]

Natsuo felt a little underprepared at the moment, he followed Azarea's lead. Heading for the road path of the left plains route, Natsuo mentally prepared himself for what Azarea was about to do, staying within hands reach of her. He felt her grab his arm before they slipped through the ground. He held his breath for a minute, but it was more out of habit than anything else. Thanks to Azarea, they didn't have to stop to avoid being seen. Suzaku was how they would know if it was safe to come back up. Natsuo felt like he had nothing, or very little to contribute to the team. At least when it came to the sneaking around part.

Natsuo kept up with Azarea as best he could, but he was quickly realizing just how much less air there was below the ground. He was the first that would need her air tank. He just wasn't used to having to do any of this. The Chuunin exams had just started, and his shortcomings were already becoming so obvious. He needed something that he could do well, not this sneaking around stuff. Hopefully, there'd be something he could do sooner rather than later.

[Kyuumu Suzaku]

The scraggly haired boy had to admit, Azarea's plan was working, or at least the logistics of it were. As the orange haired boy followed the take-charge, crimson haired girl, he was finding that he was indeed able to see everything in the flat fields of the Left Plains Route, let alone his eye in the sky with an aerial view. The young boy was willing to bet that Dō could probably see on forever, or at least it might seem that way. Of course, this meant that they could be seen too if they stuck to the surface the way they were since they weren't making any real effort too hide, but luckily that was where Azarea's skillset came it.

Chances were, Suzaku would see any sentries before they saw them, or at least saw them as more than dots on a horizon in a vast plains. And when the orange haired boy would give the warning, they'd drop into the ground. It was strange being underground, so contrasting with the plains above where it felt like it expanded in every direction for miles. Whereas here, they were confined, Azarea digging forwards, but the tightness of it all still surrounded them, ever present. But he at least didn't have to worry about the darkness in this bleak tunnel, as the special!-eyed boy could see perfectly fine with just minimal light. Not that it really mattered, being able to make out the fine details of all the different rocks wasn't very useful. Personally, the boy couldn't wait until they resurfaced, and he kept an ear out for the signal, however it would come.

Starting too feel the tightness of the walls? The remaining crow cawed softly, still enough too fill the caverns they were in. The boy wasn't appreciating the teasing. First you almost make throw up, now you're trying to make me claustrophobic? Why are you even down here anyways, I figured you'd fly off instead of coming down here! The boy was hissing, no point in screaming and letting people know they were down here, but still he was annoyed. Wouldn't. Miss. This. Surprising the boy, instead of cawing Ja actually responded in a way everyone could understand. Great...

The boy wasn't just antsy because of him becoming of how much he disliked being underground, but also because they were going slower than he'd initially thought they would. And it was mostly his and Natsuo's fault, their speed showing their rookieness in this regard. He wondered if Takame, his fellow team and clan member was having this much trouble, before looking at the other member of their team, Natsuo. He didn't really know the blonde boy, they were a relatively new team, and hadn't had much time to spend together. Though he wasn't necessarily opposed to them being a team of three individuals instead of some of the more cohesive teams, they were strong enough to do so at least. Though it made him wonder why Azarea was here then, she had no real ties too any of them. What was she hoping to gain out of teaming up. But the boy shook those thoughts away with a sigh of annoyance. She was from Kumo as they were, that was probably enough for her. The surface loving boy took the air filter next, still keeping his ears open for the signal whether caw or tapping, hoping taking the Road route of the Left Plains wouldn't keep them down here much longer.

TL;DR

SPOILER: Click to show

-Suzaku likes being able too see everything with every turn, and wonders what it's like from Dō's position
-Goes the ROAD path of the LEFT PLAINS ROUTE, following Azarea's lead
-If they go underground, he starts finding it very confining and dislikes it, though he can see fine
-Is taunted by his remaining crow who shows he can speak human
-Keeps an ear out for the signal while pondering
-Will relay signal upon reviewing it. Can't wait too leave, and takes a hit to keep him going until then

Abilities and Techniques

SPOILER: Click to show

Familiars: Here

SA:
Kyoukou Kousai
Like all children born in the Kyuumu, Suzaku had his eyes taken out and replaced with crow eyes when he was just a baby. And while this sounds gruesome, the benefits of such an operation that the boy can't even remember are undeniable. His kinetic vision is enhanced to a degree far beyond normal human levels, able to trace movement and speeds that most would have difficulty processing as if they were moving in normal speeds, and with clear enough vision he's able to pick out small details at the same time, even from great distances as he can see far beyond human limits as well. He also effectively has night vision, needing only the bare minimum of light to make out things in great detail, and even make out magnetic fields which allow him to tell the direction of North as long as he can see. However, this enhanced eyesight also means things like artificial lights can give him a headache if he stares at them as he can see their rapid flickering, and if he can't see at all its all moot.

On top of this, like all Kyuumu, the boy is fully capable of understanding all birds and being able to talk with them. He is much more proficient at this then when hes talking too people, feeling much more comfortable talking to birds as it's something he's done his whole life. However, when multiple birds are talking at once it's the equivalent of being surrounded in a crowded street, and the boy can be easily overwhelmed as he's not yet experienced enough too make out the different conversations.

Kinetic Vision
While all Kyuumu have exceptional movement based vision, Suzaku is exceptional even among other Kyuumu, things often managing to appear as if they're moving in slow motion as he is able to process high speeds to such a high degree. This not only let's him pick out details of high speed moving things, but lets him react to them better as well, not because his reflexes are better but simply because they appear slowed to him.

[Yutakako Takara]

Eleventh Chuunin Exams: Round One!

Race in the Shadows!

The most populated route with shinobi traffic would grow partially aware of it's problem. Around a third of the traffic would take the risk and send itself on course to or at least closer to the road. There'd be no question where the road lead, as it had signs clearly labeling the roads destination. Those disguised as people would be stopped and their disguises put to not the most outlandish of tests. Instead though they'd be forced to listen to very descript explanations of where they were and weren't allowed to travel. Every stop went through this process and every individual had to agree to it before moving on.

Those who'd chosen to disguise themselves as deer would struggle to integrate into the roads path. It'd however not be met with studious suspicion instead with the dismay of travelers. The deer weren't welcome to bring their flees and ticks to the public, the lizard attempting to lead them would struggle immensely, as every direction other than the wrong way lead towards more guards. Especially within or near the roads route. However being told a convincing deer act, they'd be allowed to move 'quickly' if mostly in the wrong direction at times. Though the hunter would also be asked, if they'd assist allowing them to possibly keep a momentary deer's pace.

The comedic tone of the road would be a drastic shift in seriousness from the continued left plain travelers. The Iwagakure in their names fashion would cast the first stone, more specifically a flash bang and smoke bomb. This would perhaps unwittingly trigger some of the first spots. If not for the use of body flicker they'd of possibly been at risk too. Guards noting the hearing the noise, then seeing the smoke would call in the strange occurrence. In short fashion one of the hidden chakra signatures would go off in roughly that area. A group of three suna shinobi were in the area and all their badges would react to the strange chakra signature. Only those near the central plains with chakra sensory would be able to note this happening, but as a sensor would they'd be the first to understand the nature of this exams 'sensory'.

Those who'd taken either mountain route would continue to enjoy the pleasure of not seeming to 'worry' about actually being spotted. There'd be no real hidden force of assigned security, at least not this far, but the path no longer existent it probably made sense. Granted it'd make traversing this terrain no easy feat and those willing to trek it were either taking longer or expending resources.

As for the forest dwellers, they'd also find their path relatively 'nice' to traverse. Those traversing the woods wouldn't seem to make note of any woodland disturbances, it didn't seem like the trees rustling would blow anyone out. Granted those who plainly looked like animals had little to worry about other than their own possible limitations. Which in the woods there wasn't much, but this was still a race and those who could push themselves faster could take more an advantage of those that couldn't.

The canal had some of the more interesting contestants, as there'd only be so many shinobi prepared for long travels under water. Despite the Ama's earlier lead, they'd be found by the other canal goers. Seemingly they hadn't a plan for the lock and we're now simply waiting for it to open. In an attempt to scale the lock and distract the guards, Tsuri would unknowingly get herself caught. The smoked guard would call in his location and with her sneaky movements nearby, her badge would be pinged by the soon following triggered chakra signature.

-Optional Routes-

Left Mountain Route: The jagged rock route would eventually lead to a clearing with a slightly less jaunting shifts in rock level. However there'd also be a shinobi surveying this area, it'd seem this spot had a couple 'paths' that were there from created ventilation for a structure built into the mountain. Those who'd stuck to the edge would find the mountain more cleanly coming towards the plain path, as about halfway through this checkpoint there'd be a built in bunker. It would be easy to watch over a road which was built along the left plains route. There'd be a shinobi in this are patrolling too, as there'd more people within the bunker structure too.

Left Plains Route: The route closer to the mountain would in fact turn into a road which lead along the mountain. It was perfectly hidden from the middle of the left plains route, but it was easily watched over from an above mountain plateau. Those above could watch down rather easily unseen. The majority of cover being smaller rocks, that'd likely require some clinging to. About a third through the center of the left plains route, as well as about two thirds through, there'd be guard towers with the regular security. About four people on the top of each tower, there was a patrol of about one person with with a dog. The terrain had slightly more hills than the past plains, as well as some large rocks and the occasional patch of tree's.

Center Road Route: There are even more road blocks down the center road and wall lines roughly half the road this path. So travelling as animals would be impossibly, as there's too many armed guards and ready hunters, the area around this wall and near the road is not only cleared but flattened. The only real cover down this route seems to have a guard in it half the time. Similarly the land closer to the canal is fenced off. It seems the bigger shifts in lock depth happen during this stretch and people are kept from the mechanics of it.

Center Canal Route: The Canal has a large leisure ship with a few guards mounted around it, it moves at a decent rate and seems to be powered by some form of jutsu. It's seemingly shipping people from this stretch of the roads down to the next check point. There's more locks and the level of the water chances vastly, but due to a rather frantic traffic these locks are opening a lot more than the last. There's much more guards moving up and down the canal though, especially watching over the locks.

Right Forest Route: The Forest starts to not only lose it's thick lush greenery, but it seems to have been spreading out this entire time. The tree's are everywhere but more sparce, a few large rocks jut up as well, taking up space to travel and providing little means for cover. Especially as the center of the forest route is not only relatively clear, but there's a guard tower, it has two level of height. One seeming to even be able to peer over the right mountain side. About two thirds through this checkpoint there's a road leading from the canal to the mountain, it has a small camp at the base of the mountain and the Canal has a more watched over peer. An almost clear line of sight from canal to mountain via this road.

Right Mountain Route: The mountain route continued to be a painful route to take, it'd seem for most travelling it was a loss of time, but it wasn't impossible. It'd seem there was mostly no guard, but there was also no route until about halfway through the checkpoint. A couple clear paths start stretching along the mountain side, they'd both feel pretty directly in sight of a tower in the forest. Proceeding down these paths or sticking to the jagged rock cover, there'd be even more path and it'd seem tunnels built into the mountain at about the two thirds point. It'd seem there was a sort of mining operation. It had a mixture of guards and miners patrolling around.

Round One: Checkpoint 2 Results

Everyone will be posting below for each of your characters once. You're to be making a post which describes your characters method for picking a path, then anything special they'll do to either get an edge in the race aspect or keep on top of the stealth aspect of this round. You will not be determining the effectiveness of your decisions, you will not have any actual say over others posts either. You'll even be allowed to edit your post, but if you do so you'll have to make Yoshiko or Meep aware you've done so. Otherwise we might go off of whatever was originally posted if reviewed.

You'll have roughly a week each rotation, with all posts this rotation expected to be done on the 28th (Extended a week due to holiday). I'll reply to your posts on the 29th with the results of the second stretch, as well as give descriptions of what paths will follow. Bare in mind these paths are 'loosely' explained, so know they'll be massive stretches with some space to allow creative liberty. Though you'll usually do better giving a vague plan than ultra descript one. Based on what you reply each person will be assigned a certain number of hours, as well as whether or not they'd been spotted and/or disqualified.

- # -	Name	Spots	Time	Position
1	Murahira Hana	0	3HR	? ? ?
2	Hono Kojirou	0	6HR	? ? ?
3	Kayahara Urikohime	0	3HR	? ? ?
4	Yamanaka Itsuki	0	5HR	? ? ?
5	Narahashi Koume	0	6HR	? ? ?
6	Tateyama Yakitsukeru	0	4HR	? ? ?
7	Azarea	0	5HR	? ? ?
8	Sesshoku Hizou	0	3HR	? ? ?
9	Uchiha Miroru	0	5HR	? ? ?
10	Kyuumu Takame	0	4HR	? ? ?
11	Kyuumu Suzaku	0	5HR	? ? ?
12	Atagi Uzumaki	0	6HR	? ? ?
13	Fuitchi Sogo	0	3HR	? ? ?
14	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
15	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
16	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
17	Hijikata Saga	0	5HR	? ? ?
18	Chizawa Konsho	0	5HR	? ? ?
19	Furinkazen Jorobu	0	2HR	? ? ?
20	Awa Uta	0	5HR	? ? ?
21	Yuie Junichi	0	5HR	? ? ?
22	Shodo Tsuri	1	4HR	? ? ?
23	Yasuraka Hitsukai	0	4HR	? ? ?
24	Jokyu Natsuo	0	5HR	? ? ?
25	Jokyu Katsuo	0	5HR	? ? ?
26	Utsuki Sayami	0	2HR	? ? ?
27	Ama Kasuka	0	5HR	? ? ?
28	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
29	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
30	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
31	Takeda Sadako	0	5HR	? ? ?
32	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
33	Inunaki Itsuko	0	4HR	? ? ?
34	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
35	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
36	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
37	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
38	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
39	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
40	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
41	Hoshino Kohaku	0	4HR	? ? ?
42	Yamamoto Shosuke	0	3HR	? ? ?
43	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
44	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
45	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
46	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
47	Fukase Narihira	0	5HR	? ? ?
48	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
49	Arakawa Kaida	0	5HR	? ? ?
50	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
51	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
52	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
53	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
54	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
55	Okada Goro	0	3HR	? ? ?
56	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
57	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
58	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
59	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
60	Yamakira Hotarubi	0	4HR	? ? ?
61	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
62	TBD	0	N/A	? ? ?
63	Hatake Shinde	0	2HR	? ? ?
64	Uchiha Tokaku	1	6HR	? ? ?

MADE BY MINNIE OF FTS & GANGNAM STYLE

[Shodo Tsuri]

Tag

Tsuri's badge would glow and the girl would frown at the sight. It wasn't like she had actually been seen, but it seemed that that didn't matter. It was annoying in a fashion that it didn't matter about vision, because she could have been pinged for someone else's plan. Having gotten a headstart on some of the others, Tsuri wouldn't take long to notice the boats from swimming nearly all the way down into the canal, gaining a second plan she would breakdown the pole to a shorter form and regrab Hakugei again. Taking a deep breath inside of the water-breather before waiting for a boat to be moving over her from the depths and pushing her way up and under the keel of that ship. A larger boat would make it much harder to see her as she quietly dug her hooks ever so barely into the hull before attempting to slowly flatten herself to the bottom of the boat using the Tree-Climbing Technique.

'This is risky My Lady... you need to take care here. Perhaps coat yourself to look like a part of the ship? It may be wide, but it is not infallable... you must move forward.' Tsuri would huff as she wrapped her arms inside the hooks while sticking to the boat and use the Transformation Technique to appear as a perfectly natural keel like she was used to on boats. Her knowledge of fishing and boat fishing calling back as she used those memories to recreate her disguise.

- ❤ -

[Yuie Junichi]

As they went along, the mountain path grew ever closer to the plains path, and Junichi almost regretted not taking that path in the first place. Then again, who knew what kind of trouble had been waiting on that path? Sadako and Junichi had had a really easy time of it so far, at least in terms of avoiding being spotted. Maybe taking the mountain path was slightly more tiresome, but they'd been able to preserve a lot of energy as far as chakra usage went. Being a more physically inclined shinobi had also made it easier, though five hours of constant movement would be fatiguing for anyone.

Up ahead, it looked as though the mountain path steered towards a bunker with a shinobi patrol. Junichi scrunched down and began concocting a disguise.

His staff wasn't telescoping, so though he could dull it, he couldn't actually effectively hide it by most means. Thinking quickly, he shrugged off his rain cape and tied it around the end of the staff, like a bindle one would carry on a long trip. He stored his other possessions inside it. While he worked on that, he spoke to Sadako.

"They might stop us and question us when we get close. We should make up a story. Like, uhm..." Kenichi was the more creative one, so he struggled for a second. "We're siblings. I'm Sato Doi. We're on our way to move in with our uncle in Kuwana, because our parents can't afford to take care of us anymore. Does that sound alright?"

If she found the plan agreeable, Junichi would use the transformation technique to try to take on a plain, if somewhat raggedy, appearance.

[Fuitchi Sogo]

get away from me

[get closer to me]

♕

This was an all day everyday kind of activity with Sogo. To a point that it was practically second nature to board anywhere and everywhere. Leaping from cliffs and trying to ride the icy walls that were usually next to impossible to climb using Tree-Climbing to actually push herself around and challenge her skills with her shield. Vibing to an invisible beat in her head she started to work in the more physical fashions she could push past particularly dangerous areas, but she would not leave the most risky route no matter what. This was her turf even if it was stone and not snow. Sure, she likely would have zipped through the forest or looked awesome boarding over the canal but that would have gotten her disqualified.

With no reason to change any part of her plan other than pushing along the dangerous path as she had been, Sogo would move with as much forward momentum as she could keep on her path to rip her way all the way to Kuwana without taking the easy path. Something about the mountains felt like it was safer to assure being to top of the top, and even if she was supposed to be incognito, she absolutely hadfi to be number one. If you aren't first and all that competitive jargon.

Notes

"Spoken"
[Actual meaning]

temp by ai

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

"Hey Bosss. It ssseemsss that the canal is getting a bit far, are you sure we shouldn't be clossser?" Sune would ask curiously, staring up at his master with some general curiosity. After all, he was here to keep her somewhat close to the path, but as they had moved things were becoming a larger clearing, she would need to hide better than this. "I sssuppossse y' are correct, but that meansss I need t' sssend y' back Sssune-Kun... hehhhhhhhh, I guess that 's my best option still. I'll call y' back 'kay?" Yaki would speak back and open receiving Sune's smile would poof the snake back to his home and perform a few handseals. She had practice moving over long distances from her travel to Bird Country, and unburdened of the larger reptile she could focus purely on moving forward without delays. Avoiding the open areas for the trees all the way to the road, hiding off in the bushes for a moment she would pay attention to the clothing and common look of the travellers staggered on the road before frowning and using the Transformation Jutsu to make herself look like a deer prancing across the road cautiously at first until a traveller came close and Yaki bolted into the deeper forest, playing to what she knew of the does back in Hi no Kuni. Hopefully that would keep her going, but her tools were running thin for this stealth schtick... at least on this route. Perhaps she would be able to move to the road later? TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Deleted]

He'd gotten through with relative ease and continued on his journey. With it working as well as it had, why would he have reason to change anything at all? He hadn't perceived or judged anybody to be in sight of him. Not unless they were doing so and instructed not to let anybody know that they knew - what if they used sensors like Akira had said they used? But then, everybody else would automatically get caught. His dust form would roll around the ideas as he considered the routes to go and what to do. Unless they came to a very direct obstacle that he couldn't get through with brawn, he would have to use his brain and nobody wanted that from Hotarubi. In terms of more literal chakra use, it didn't matter that it had a low chakra cost to him to use as a naturally earthen body - he could feel the sting of use in his chakra supply as he moved. It now had been several hours, and he would need to conserve some form of energy and so the next decision was to consider whether to take a break now or later. He wanted to get as close to the half way point before he did and before the sun was down and his ability to move around was impinged by the light. So he would opt to do the later break - provided he was making a steady progress. It had been... six hours in his dust form? He felt akin to the human equivalent of having done a run - thoroughly warmed up. There were guard towers and ... he couldn't see right there - dogs? Were they special dogs or just dogs? He had no idea, but he valued not being seen over being slow, provided he got through as quickly as he could. He still had to follow the logic of the people and the more defence led to a faster route: not that he knew if that was true or if it was actually a double bluff, Hotarubi wasn't intelligent enough to gather or consider the other elements and carried on his route, close to the floor - trying to not alert the dogs specifically with their keener eyes than that of a human, opting this time to go through the foiliage (which was actually a bigger drain than he would have liked to keep his body 'together') and he wanted to carry on his way. SPOILER: Click to show NAME: Doton: Kojin Kumo [Earth Release: Dust Cloud] RANK: D CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu ELEMENT: Doton HANDSEALS: 0 DESCRIPTION: The user manipulates the composition of their body, turning the entirety or parts of it into dirt while still retaining their consciousness. This dirt has no offensive capabilities whatsoever and is used to slip through places a human body normally can’t or through phase through attacks. They cannot phase through liquid-related attacks nor can they actually attack while in their dirt form. As such, it is more suited for reconnaissance and espionage purposes.

[Hatake Shinde]

Shinde had of course stuck to the jagged rocks, but now, here she was, confronted by her first obstacle. As she lay low, hidden with her cloak along the rocks, she realized that from the vantage he held, in order to advance, she'd need a distraction of some sort. So, the best kinds of distractions, were the ones that were made. Slowly, she brings her hands up in a singular cross handseal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Before her, a perfect duplication of Shinde stood before her, and with it, she eyes herself up and down, before she thinks about all the people that she knew. Before the clone performs a simple technique. "Henge." It calls out, before transforming into another hidden leaf ninja she knew. Hyuuga Asuka. She imagined her dark brown hair, white blank eyes with the striated vein like pattern. She thought. She made the clone look wounded, and badly hurt.

Changing everything from the clothes to a more dark blue, a dark brownish red track jacket, the grey blanket used to obscure their body. The badge number would seemingly change to a random one. Which she decided to make #1 for all intents and purposes. Even if that wasn't the number. Placing an explosive tag on the clone's stomach, the clone is sent outwards. Not super blatantly, but instead, towards the rocky outcrops, As it would stumble towards stones, and create shifts in movement that would get the observer's attention. Perfect. Assuming he was focused on her clone figure, she would slowly make her way, rock to rock with as silent footsteps as she could manage, blending in with her environment, as the clone would proceed to move farther and farther away to lure the observer. 

If they were further or long gone, she'd take the opportunity to advance swiftly past them, and would even use the Shunshin no Jutsu to vastly accelerate her speed. Shinde had a hypothesis that the observer needed to identify their badge number to be truly considered "spotted", and that without any solid validified identity, tricks like this might be acceptable. Though, Iruhi was rather cautious. The clone would look to advance farther and farther towards the clearer paths, whilst Iruhi gained further distance to ditch the Shinobi in the dirt, as far as possible without being caught up to, before then the clone suddenly gets a spark along its stomach. A bright flash, before it's promptly blown up. A relatively low power note, as to not harm anyone, but enough certainly to spook or obscure the observer in the smoke and debris. 

"Why do I get all the bad jobs?..." The clone says before detonation. The sharp whistling sound, as Iruhi continues her path. Depending on how far she got, she'd have a rough idea of where she was relative to the observer, and would keep herself sharp as she further traversed her path to the next checkpoint. Mindful though now that she was definitely potentially being watched, she keeps herself sharply aware of where she is, and of her environment, as she hides herself amongst whatever cover and foliage there now was amidst the area going forward. Keeping up her pace, momentarily hydrating herself and dashing through this hellish place, she hoped she was getting closer to her objective.

SPOILER: Click to show

- Summary: 

Iruhi uses the Shadow Clone jutsu to create a duplication that henges into another person she knew, but with completely altered details of the badge identification number. Though to be careful, they obscure the badge number from sight with a grey cloak, as the clone makes a distraction, looking to lure the observer inwards. The henge makes the clone look wounded, bandaged, and bloodied. Having taken seemingly severe wounds, of which the proctor or observer might interfere and investigate. As the clone lures the proctor further away from his post. 

- The clone once far enough, utilizes the explosive tag resting on its stomach to detonate in a flash, creating a small cloud of risen dust and stone debris from the weak note, obscuring vision, and creating a potential shock of surprise.

- During this frame of time, Iruhi moves her way along, and once the proctor is thoroughly distracted, if he is, she utilizes the Shunshin [Body Flicker Technique], to rapidly move past this area and out of sight and mind as she travels the rough outline to potentially reach the next checkpoint. Taking awareness of her surroundings, now that she for sure knows there's patrols and that she may potentially be watched, she treads cautiously and carefully, paying attention to where she is. 


Techniques Used:

NAME: Shunshin no Jutsu [Body Flicker Technique]

RANK: D

CHAKRA USAGE: Low

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]

ELEMENT: None

HANDSEALS: 1

DESCRIPTION:

By invigorating one's entire body with chakra, a shinobi can seemingly disappear and reappear in another location faster than most people can see. Often times one's movements are disguised with the use of an extra element, be it a smoke bomb, leaves, water, sand, etc. in order to hide the user's trajectory from those with skilled eyes. Though it mimics teleportation, it is important to remember this jutsu merely boosts the agility of its user. As useful as this technique is, it can only be used 4 times in a battle thread, compounding in exertion and difficulty each time. with any more usages beyond that result in muscle tears in the legs from overexertion. The hand seal for this technique must be held until the shinobi reaches their destination, making it impossible to utilize other techniques regardless of any preparation.

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NAME: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu [Shadow Clone Technique]

RANK: B

CHAKRA USAGE: Medium

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]

ELEMENT: None

HANDSEALS: 1

DESCRIPTION:

The Kage Bunshin technique evenly distributes your chakra between one or more clones with form and substance.



The clones created by this technique are able to utilize any jutsu the original ninja knows, has all of their special abilities, as well as their kekkei genkai. Typically a clone's equipment doesn't retain any special abilities and the clone itself is dispersed when hit with a single attack or incapacitated, although the clone can also choose to disperse itself or be dispersed by the user.



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.

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NAME: Henge no Jutsu [Transformation Technique]

RANK: E

CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low [Continuous]

CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]

ELEMENT: None

HANDSEALS: 3

DESCRIPTION:

After performing the necessary hand seals, the user transforms their appearance to become that of another person, animal or even an inanimate object. This is considered one of the most advanced academy techniques, as it requires a constant emission of chakra as well as constant mental focus to maintain the transformation. Shinobi are limited to transforming into objects roughly their own size, preventing them from turning into a fly while being able to carry items far greater than their transformed state.


OOC Note: Assuming all equipment loses their special equipment/abilities, I presume the  badge's chakra signature sensing ability is also lost on the clone. 

[Kayahara Urikohime]

Uriko journeyed easily through the forest, her familiarity with the forests around and within Konoha serving her rather usefully. It felt pleasant to know that her consideration on what path to take seemed so far to be the most profitable for her, and she had so far managed to keep close to the canal while avoiding patrols by climbing higher into the trees and making use of the trees as a Konohagakure forest ninja would know how. Things were moving so smoothly now...

…or not. There was this anecdotal belief that if one noted how lucky they were, their luck was sure to change. It seemed that, despite the inability of one to rationally explain this phenomenon, it was true. Uriko almost cried out in frustration as she realized that the lighting of the forest was getting better. That could only mean that the forest was slowly but surely thinning. While this was particularly annoying, it did offer a little advantage: she could move further from the canal without getting lost, since the land was becoming more open. Now she was forced to run along the ground, as the trees were getting too spread out to allow for easy jumping among them. And that was when she saw it.

The bane of all Genin of the 11th Chuunin Exams. A guard tower. As if it wasn't bad enough, the bugger was double-storied. And she had to pass by it. Trying to take a wide berth would lead her closer to the mountain, which from the distance, seemed as well to have some sort of camp there, so going there was a no-no. Taking a pause, Uriko quickly decided on a course of action. She would approach the tower, so that she would at least be able to see what direction the guards therein were facing. Hopefully she would be far enough that it would be difficult to easily discover her if she was peeking out from behind a tree trunk or standing rock. Then she would attempt to use Shunshin no jutsu to cover the space between one tree or large rock, and the next. If that wouldn't be enough, she would try to make as quick a dash as she could to cover up the rest of the distance. But her greatest trick lay in an extremely simple fact: she was not going to attempt to misdirect the guards or draw attention away from herself, since doing so would unwittingly reveal that she was in the area. Still, as a last resort, she held a kunai at the ready. If a guard seemed to be turning in her direction, she would let it fly, and use Fūton: Kaiten Shuriken so that it would change direction and land in a place that someone coming from her direction wouldn't be able to throw.

SPOILER: Click to show

TL;DR: On seeing the guard tower, Uriko stays reasonably far, but close enough to see what direction the guards are facing. When they are turned away, she attempts to move intermittently from cover to cover, using Body Flicker to assist her movement, so as to have as little movement as possible in the open.
The most important thing to note is that Uriko will not try to throw a flash bomb or perform any other act that will draw attention to herself, because if she does, even if the guards don't know where she is, they will know she is around. If they don't know she isn't around, they may be less alert. Hopefully.
Just in case she might be caught in the open, she is prepared to rely on distraction by using Fūton: Kaiten Shuriken to draw their eyes to misleading positions.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

This was fucking stupid. Might as well have just gone along the plains path to begin with, honestly, since they basically had one foot in each road at this point. But the plains route was stuffed with genin and sentries, and shifting over would take more time and effort than they had available to them. Better to just stick to what they had, and be sensible about it. She crouched down alongside Junichi when the bunker came into view, watching flatly as he bagged his things up on his little stick. Sadako didn’t have much herself—just a few shinobi tools in her pockets; the flashbang, unused, that she stuffed away. Her training weights, and like hell was she taking those off in the middle of fuckoff nowhere in Tsuchi no Kuni. "Dead parents,” Sadako said, her mouth a thin, flat line. "Not broke, but don’t say anything unless they ask—all they need to know is our names and our business. Sato Yua. Uncle’s name is Haru. I’m sixteen, looking for better work ‘cause my old boss cut my hours and I gotta feed your scrawny ass. Coming from, uh.” She wracked her brain, trying to remember information that she hadn’t honestly been listening to all that closely, as pissed off as she’d been when they’d been dragged out of their dorms. "Gai…koku?” That sounded right. "Lies work better when they’re like half true, and you don’t give too much information.” A couple of handseals, and Sadako would use the transformation technique—turning into a girl that looked like an odd hybrid of herself, and the plain-looking disguise that Junichi was using. Close enough to him that they looked related, but without being too far from her own appearance that her movements would seem unnatural. She made sure that her shinobi tools were all well-hidden, then nodded at Junichi, and led the way along their chosen path.

ROUND 1 - ROTATION 3 -- 315
tl;dr: Sadako fleshes out Junichi's suggestion for their cover story, then uses Henge to disguise herself to look like Junichi's disguise's older sister. Then she leads the way down the road.

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Henge no Jutsu [Transformation Technique]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:
After performing the necessary hand seals, the user transforms their appearance to become that of another person, animal or even an inanimate object. This is considered one of the most advanced academy techniques, as it requires a constant emission of chakra as well as constant mental focus to maintain the transformation. Shinobi are limited to transforming into objects roughly their own size, preventing them from turning into a fly while being able to carry items far greater than their transformed state.

[Awa Uta]

a Noble or an Idol

N/A Road Block 210

Uta had figured that there was no need to fix a strategy that had yet to be broken. No one had questioned her too much as of yet, and while being asked constant questions about who she was and being told where she could and couldn’t go was getting quite tedious, it didn’t actually seem to be causing her any problems as of yet. So she’d maintain her transformation and keep moving forward, quickening up her pace as much as she could without getting into a sprint.  This clearly wasn’t the fastest route to her destination, but that wasn’t going to worry her now. This was a race, but she didn’t have to win it outright. Coming in last would be bad, but with how twisting and dangerous the other paths can be out of that mountain she felt confident that this route would get her there with time to spare. And if the worst came to pass, she could bank on other people getting caught and eliminated. There were a lot of skilled shinobi here, but she couldn’t be the only one that struggled to identify who was tracking them, and she certainly wasn’t the only one who lacked meaningful stealth skills.

made by eden @ gs and thq

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Genin

Yamanaka Itsuki | 411 | notes

Miroru was delighted, truth be told- they'd made up some excellent time since the first run, and, by some very rough calculations, had actually left a few people behind, if the figures she'd seen putzing around on the cliffs during her dips above the forest were contestants. To boot, their methods were very safe and reliable, and if they could keep this up, their pace would leave them finishing at or just past half the allotted day's travel- less if they found a way to move even faster without being caught.

With the path clearing, the need for her to be in flight diminished, and she swung back down towards Itsuki, waiitng for a good place for them to hide before releasing her jutsu and murmuring to him. "I have a plan. It's really simple. All you gotta do is run sorta wiggly so it looks like you're trying to escape... me~"

She repeated Henge, this time forming up as an Ussuri Brown Bear- the local version of a grizzly, with all sorts of forest and mountain habitats- and playfully licked her titan chops before swatting Itsuki's pigbutt with the fuzzy top of her paw.

Time to run.

Itsuki using his jutsu could move at quite a clip- on their own, boars put even the best human runners to the test as their 25 MPH nearly matched the human record of about 28, and all that before jutsus came into play- but bears were notoriously fast runners, pushing 40 miles per hour when they WEREN'T secretly magical ninjas. With both animals being dangerous in their own rights and with plenty of reason to be in the area, she was confident there was no reason that anyone would want to do anything but get out of their way as she chased down the poor piggy in what happened to conveniently be the direct path towards the next checkpoint.

Choo choo, motherfuckers.

SPOILER: Click to show

Itsuki still a boar and using his Step jutsu. Miroru now a big hungry bear local to Japan. Boutta chase that piggy right past the guards- veering around a bit to make it less obvious they're really just travelling and not running for their lives-and/or-dinner, and trust everyone knows enough to stay the fuck away and not ask questions.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

MISSIONS
D - 0 | C - 4c/7i | B - 0 | A - 0 | S - 0

[Uzumaki Atagi]

We can go the distance

The trio of grass nin continue their trek down the mountain route, running along whatever 'paths' there were to run, jumping from rock to rock, and generally risking life and limb with every maneuver. Well-- what was truly a risk and what wasn't always depended on one's abilities, and shinobi more than most would have an easier time of it. Still, nonetheless, it feels like they're proceeding at a slog. Every time Atagi glances up at the sky above, the sun's moved a notch, or a few notches, a fact that's not exactly pleasing, the Uzumaki's competitive center being probed and prodded at by the passage of time and the growing knowledge that they're falling further and further behind everyone else. Still, there's a grin plastered onto his features, except a touch of fierceness has touched it. What was it he had told someone, before? My comfort zone is in coming from behind. We've still got plenty of time to turn it up a few notches. And my amazing friends're behind me, too! I can't be looking bad in front of 'em, or letting them down, either.

When they come across the tunnels, though, Atagi gets a flash of inspiration. Waving a hand over his shoulder, gesturing for his comrades to stop a second and group up, he gives them a brilliantly confident grin, gesticulating animatedly with his hands as he describes the plan. ”Alright, just follow my lead, yeah? We're gonna slip right in.” After a series of handseals, a poof of smoke engulfs him, and he transforms into someone much like himself...but dressed as one of the miners that they've seen going in and out of the tunnels, helmet and all. ”I've read about this sort of ploy in all sorts of stories-- all we gotta do is play it cool and act like we're s'posed to be here.” Of course, he waits for them to follow suit, before proceeding to walk, trot, or sneak on into the mines-- he desperately hopes that nobody harasses them, but if necessary, he's ready to say something or other about being busy and needing to get down into the tunnels for their 'job'.

Then, once they're inside the tunnels, his eyes ping from place to place, shadow to shadow, path to path, until he finds what he's looking for: a vehicle. On the tracks that go deeper into the tunnels, there should've been something-- a handcar, a minecart, some sorta chakra-powered wheeled transportation device, whatever. Excitedly, he gestures over at it to his friends, whispering/quietly talking at them to 'pile on in', leading the way. If it's a cart, they'll have to do something to maybe grease the wheels or get it rolling before hopping in-- and he suggests that they disguise themselves as rocks to seem like it's not as suspicious-- but other options wouldn't require that.

In truth, he partly just wanted to go for a fun ride-- but it'd also likely be faster than them continuing to struggle on the main route, and additionally, going through mountains was likely to be significantly faster than going around or over them.

(Honō Kojirou @yamo)

aeron at thq

Jutsu and Such:

SPOILER: Click to show

TLDR: Team grass continues on their chosen route despite it's growing intensity and the fact that they're obviously among the slowest.

When they reach the mines, they disguise themselves and sneak in, then all hop into a minecart or handcar, proceed down track that seems like it cuts through the mountains the most. Hopefully they're labeled.

NAME: Kinobori no Waza [Act of Tree Climbing]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION:
do i even really need to put the whole paragraph here lemme just save your eyes

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NAME: Henge no Jutsu [Transformation Technique]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:
After performing the necessary hand seals, the user transforms their appearance to become that of another person, animal or even an inanimate object. This is considered one of the most advanced academy techniques, as it requires a constant emission of chakra as well as constant mental focus to maintain the transformation. Shinobi are limited to transforming into objects roughly their own size, preventing them from turning into a fly while being able to carry items far greater than their transformed state.