[Kyokujitsu Asahi]

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Twists and turns, lefts and rights, would lead the boy through the maze. The words from before about a special door continued to echo in his thoughts and he wondered just what kind of key he was going to need to finally exit the maze. Would it even be a key in the traditional sense or something more metaphysical in nature? Time would only tell, of course, but it'd be smart to go ahead and get the ole synapses firing. Asahi had already spent enough time wandering around this rocky hellscape so being able to quickly figure out how to get out of here would do wonders.

With one last turn and a few steps the young Suna genin would find himself in yet another room, this one much more welcoming than the last yet with no door in immediate sight. An oddly dressed woman welcomed him to the end of the maze, or rather, the beginning of the end. Asahi directed his attention to the pool of water that lay between them. Apparently the exit was down there somewhere? Was that what the clone meant? An underwater door would certainly be out of the ordinary, and having to swim of all things to leave the maze would be par for the course, but that left the question of what the special key would be?

Nothing around the room gave any kind of hint and asking this woman for clues probably wouldn't go as well as the last time. He guessed that she was probably a clone, too, and probably didn't have access to too much information about the maze. Well, the clone before hadn't made mention of there being water before but he also didn't mention that there wouldn't be water so...

"The door is down there? What about the key?" Asahi inquired to the woman. Something didn't feel quite right about this room but he didn't have enough information to just turn tail. This could have been the exit after all.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Five Fun Not in the Sun Asahi wasn't too keen to jump straight into water, but she wasn't in a situation of time. Nor in the position to take advantage of her rank or skills, it was too late in the maze and her presence here had been long. As one of eight clones enduring an equal length of time almost, it'd be far too chakra taxing even to exist. Point to the water the woman would collapse, to her knee's. "Gotta dive to survive~" She'd mutter with a grin, attempting one last line to beckon the boy into the cold. Her form would however vanish in a poof of smoke, a clone dispersing. The pool of water coldly sitting, it was only lit by the torches around the walls. What lied underneath was hidden in darkness, as there wasn't anything real that lighted these tunnels. Only a woman's genjutsu, when she wasn't lost to the maze. Time was ticking, but in the form of chakra drain! What would Asahi do, back to the maze or into the dark water?

[Kyokujitsu Asahi]

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Not long after posing his questions the woman would fall to her knees, muttering something under her breath before disappearing in a poof of smoke. So she was a clone after all. With no way to keep track of time Asahi was unsure of just how long he had been down in the maze, but if it was long enough for clones to start disappearing then it must have been a good minute, and judging from the appearance of the woman the caster didn't seem to be very green behind the ears so if someone like her had to dispel such a simple technique then quite a bit of time had surely elapsed.

This only meant that it was imperative now more than ever for the genin to find the exit. The still pool of water lay before him and peering down into it revealed nothing of interest. The chances of the fabled door being down there seemed slim and it was surely just another distraction meant to stall the entrants. If that were the case then the only option would be to venture back into the maze and take the other path offered by the fork in the road. It wouldn't be difficult to retrace his steps but it would take time that Asahi really didn't have time to waste.

No matter, it was better than getting soaked to the bone in a pool of water that probably didn't lead to the exit. Plan now firmly agreed upon, the Suna genin would make his way back into the maze heading back to the split where he'd take the only other option given. Hopefully that would lead him to the door that the other clone had mentioned, and if he was truly lucky: the exit.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Five Fun Not in the Sun Assuming the worst of this potentially false exit, it'd be Asahi's decision to avoid the watery route out. The dark water wasn't inviting and it's cold water would of been rather annoying. Certainly a cold or something would follow, shinobi or not. Only a few clans really bathed in cold water and came out feeling warm bodied. Snaking back through the turns of the path he'd taken, he'd come back to his last decision. This time proceeding down the other path, it'd be longer than the last choices path. If the sand shinobi was still counting tiles, it'd be fourteen up from the last decision. Then he'd hit a wall, but it'd present him with either left or right to proceed down. Which way now?

[Kyokujitsu Asahi]

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Continuing down the newly chosen path would take a bit longer than expected, perhaps this was the path that would lead him to the exit. Unfortunately the young shinobi would be met with yet another fork in the road, which at this point he honestly should have expected. Left or right would be the options and like every other time there was next to nothing in the form of help. Would it have killed them to drop a hint at these splits so the contestants could make their way through? Asahi was sure the people in the crowd didn't travel all this way to see genin not be able to find their way out of the maze. No, they surely wanted fist-flying action and a spectacle; but at this rate all they'd be getting is a subpar adventure flick.

But there was no time to worry about what others were thinking, Asahi had to focus on getting himself out of the maze if he even wanted to dream about being promoted to chunin, and that surely wouldn't happen if the boy couldn't figure out a glorified puzzle. That then begged the question of which direction the boy was going to take? As before, since there were only two options being able to take the other should one not pan out would be simple, but this was a race after all so picking the correct option the first time was imperative. Picking right last time had taken him to the room with the false exit and Asahi had only been able to discern that much because of no visible door, if he came across another room that actually had a door would he be so sure of himself?

That was part of being a shinobi, having to make those decisions at times and overthinking would surely lead to disaster. With that said Asahi would take the left path, hoping for the best.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Five Fun Not in the Sun Choosing to go left instead of right, Asahi would find himself traveling down twelve tiles before reaching a new turn. There'd be a choice to go right and a choice to go straight, but there was something different about the choice to go right. A clear light like doorway could be seen, it seemed there was a lit room down that path. By process of elimination it'd be the last of four rooms, so the other path might not be too inviting in return. However maybe Asahi would assume this path too obvious and choose to go straight instead. Though straight hadn't been the right answer once throughout the maze. He'd verified it for just about every line of choices given prior.

[Kyokujitsu Asahi]

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Asahi was thankful for the lack of twists and turns on the path he had chosen considering if he had to go back it wouldn't be a winding endeavor, but he hoped that would no longer be the case and he'd finally come across the exit... or at least the door that needed that special key. Traversing the maze since finding out that information had yielded nothing in the form of a hint to what that key would be, or if it was even a key in the traditional sense (which it probably wasn't) so it seemed that the Suna genin was going to have one final hurdle to overcome before he could get out of here.

In time another split make itself known with the option to either continue straight or take a right into what looked like a lit room. Could that have been the room with the door? Had he finally found the exit? Well, judging from his last encounter a room with a light didn't always equate to helpful as the female clone tried her damndest to get Asahi to jump into that frigid pool of water, so there was definitely a need to be cautious. However, there could only be so many possibilities left considering how much walking he had done so chances were this was the room he was looking for. If not, then the other path wouldn't be too hard to find. With that the genin would make his way towards the source of the light hoping it would lead him to a way out.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Five Fun Not in the Sun Asahi would choose the path that was more apparent, it wasn't a bad decision especially based on the information gathered. Caution wasn't a bad thing to have when proceeding, but luckily for the sunagakure genin there'd be no immediate trap. Entering the room Asahi would find himself in a significantly nicer looking room than the ones before it. Marble floors, a large ornate chandelier and a huge door on the other side of the room. The door didn't appear to have a nob, handle or even a key slot though. Instead it had this strange red gem in the center binding both doors, a line coming from the gem down the crease of the door. It'd hit the floor then in a line on the ground lead to a mat on the floor. Upon the door was an image of two samurai, on per door and both facing each other and committing the act of hara-kiri. Besides the door and mat would be a pedestal in the middle of the room. On top of it would be a small sword the type one would typically used for the ritual diplayed upon the door. Not only was there a weapon upon the pedestal, attached to it's side was also a plaque with an image on it. It'd appear to be an image of the maze, a map of sorts.

[Kyokujitsu Asahi]

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Stepping into the light would reveal a room unlike any Asahi had encountered before in the maze. Gone were the tiles of stone, now replaced with a beautiful marble. There were no torches lining the walls to provide light, only a large, elaborate chandelier which to be honest seemed a tad out of place. There was a small pillar sitting in the middle of the room that looked to have something pinned to the top of it and beyond that... the door. Its size and fancy design left no doubt that this was the one that the clone had been talking about. Beyond that door lie the exit to this maze.

Making his way further into the room the genin would first set his sights on the pillar and as he approached noticed the short sword resting upon it and also what looked to be a.. map? If he didn't know any better the boy would have thought that it was a layout of the maze he had just traversed. Surely they wouldn't have just given away the map to the exam if this wasn't the end which was just extra confirmation icing on the cake. Picking up the weapon, Asahi would then make his way in front of the door to see what he'd have to do to get it open. The clone had mentioned needing a special key to open it and indeed that looked to be the case as there was no knob or handle in sight and he doubted that it was one of the push/pull types.

The story being displayed on the door depicted two warriors killing themselves with a weapon that looked eerily similar to the one Asahi was holding in his hand. A moment or two would pass before the realization set in: they wanted him to stab himself! No, surely that couldn't be it. Why even send them through the maze in the first place if the end goal was to just commit hara-kiri? Why even hold the exams in the first place? Dropping the sword, the genin would take a few steps away from the door as he attempted to regain his bearings. He wasn't going to perform that act but it looked like some sort of sacrifice was necessary to open the door, and he'd come too far and fought too many wild pigs to give up now.

Maybe just a little cut on the arm or leg would suffice? But if one didn't work would he have to keep slicing? How many would it take? No! He wasn't going to do that. Asahi would rub his temples as the options continued to narrow. What kind of people would make a door that could only be opened via a blood sacrifice? What kind of door even worked like that? Something like that seemed unreal...

Unreal...

What if the special key was so special because it didn't exist? And a door that needed a key that didn't exist couldn't have been real itself, right? What if none of this was real? Genjutsu, maybe? Asahi didn't have the requisite technique to break free of one of his own accord but he learned during his time both in the academy and as a genin that all illusions had a trigger. Something that would effect the senses to place a target under the technique. Looking around, only one thing seemed to be truly out of place in the room: the chandelier. It was big, bright and had definitely caught the boy's eye when he first stepped into the room. Could that have been the trigger? Well, there was only one way to find out...

A set of seals would be performed followed by a brief inhale and a large stream of fire leaving the boy's mouth aimed at the light fixture. His plan was to either burn the chandelier to a crisp or melt the chain it was hanging from to send it crashing to the ground; whichever came first. He hoped that would break the genjutsu because if it didn't then, well, perhaps he'd have to consider picking up that weapon to do the unthinkable.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Shakuton: Kasaiha [Scorch Release: Conflagration Wave]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Shakuton
DESCRIPTION:
Fire Release and Wind Release chakra are both saturated in the lungs as the user inhales. The user will then exhale a powerful flamethrower-like stream from their mouth, igniting targets in a sudden wildfire. This fire may not be as destructive as most Fire Release techniques, nor does it cut or buffet its targets as expected of Wind Release techniques, but its true strength lies in its incredible speed; the Wind Release chakra simultaneously fans and expands the fire as it’s exhaled, resulting in the creation of a rushing stream of fire that can reach its targets almost immediately after being released.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Five Fun Not in the Sun Asahi decided this could of been a genjutsu, he'd deduce that attacking the chandelier would in fact end it too. However as he'd turn his chakra and attention to the ornate decoration, he'd see no effect from his jutsu at all. The brightly lit room wouldn't lose it's light source, as the technique seemed to pass by it without melting, burning or in anyway destroy the object. Though this would serve a dual purpose, as though it didn't prove to be the source of a genjutsu, the room was likely effected by a genjutsu as the room was totally untouched by the attack. The genjutsu wasn't a particularly high level, so it lacked true complexity. Those things it made appear real weren't changeable, they'd either be released or they'd persist. This all depended on if the sand shinobi knew how to escape a genjutsu, it was a relatively important ability stepping out into a more dangerous world on ones own. Though genjutsu was still a talent considered rather rare, so maybe he'd truly not known that genjutsu had two releases. Kai and pain. If he couldn't use kai to escape the genjutsu, then the knife on the pedestal would be ever present. It was in fact a real feature of the room. The door truly wasn't there, but appearing in the mind of victim as so, it'd be impossible to simply walk past for Asahi. How would the genin handle this situation? A subtle tactility remained present within even this decision. It however had a lot more rational thought to be applied than the lefts and rights of the maze.

[Kyokujitsu Asahi]

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Asahi watched as his technique made its way towards the chandelier hoping that it would be destroyed in some way, shape, or form and the illusion be released, but as the stream of fire simply phased through the lighting fixture there was little he could do but stare blankly. The chandelier wasn't real, either. Of course it wasn't. The boy had overthought things and ended up wasting chakra in the process whereas simply throwing a kunai or two would have yielded the same result. His need to be overly thorough with his plans of action often landed him in such predicaments where he ended up exerting too much energy, and he needed to realize that the big, flashy plans weren't always the correct choice; sometimes starting small and working one's way up would be better. However, the time for introspection would need to come after Asahi figured out how to break the genjutsu.

Looking back to the door and the image that resided upon it, the only option seemingly left to him was that of pain. He had no plans of stabbing himself to death but knew that something along those lines was going to be necessary. The genin knew that depending on how strong the genjutsu was it'd require varying amounts of pain to shock oneself out of it, and this large, intricate door didn't really give off the simple vibe; though that could have been a ruse to make them think that it was more menacing than it actually was.

Picking up the short sword from the floor, the young Suna shinobi would drag the blade across his left forearm, not too deep but deep enough to draw blood and cause him to flinch in obvious pain. He hoped this would be enough to break him from the genjutsu without impairing his function too drastically.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Five Fun Not in the Sun Asahi would drag the tanto across his forearm, it'd be the rough edge of moderate pain, but it'd be enough to release the genjutsu at hand. The genjutsu faded in one swift sweep as the cut was finished, the chandelier would vanish. The marble finish of the room suddenly dulling to the stone of the earlier maze, as well as the lighting now being clearly torches around the walls. Similar to all the other earlier rooms and paths in the maze, it'd likely be disappointing in the lack luster. The pedestal, plaque and mat all remaining though seemingly dulling in appearance. The biggest change though would be the door, as it'd completely vanish to reveal a staircase. On the other side would be a man, he'd be waiting with a smile. "Good job seeing through my genjutsu, the next round of the exam is this way. Follow me." He'd explain what happened though Asahi already knew. The direction out of the maze was not only presented, but it'd be lead by the clone of the man. The staircase leading to the outside, as well as where the next round would in fact be happening.

[Kyokujitsu Asahi]

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Gritting his teeth through the pain of the blade cutting across his arm, Asahi would see the room begin to change before his very eyes: the marble flooring returning to the bland stone slates that made up the rest of the maze, the light of the chandelier replaced by torches lining the walls, and the door disappearing into a staircase with a man standing in front of it. He would congratulate the boy for being able to dispel the genjutsu and finally making it to the end of the maze, which made the Suna genin feel both relieved and wary.

This of course could have been another distraction, but considering the words from the clone earlier and just what all he had to do to even get the genjutsu to dispel there was a good chance Asahi had truly found the end of the maze. "Uh.. t-thanks." He replied while holding a hand over his wound to slow down the bleeding. He'd begin to follow the man up the staircase and hopefully out of the maze. This had been... an experience to say the least, one he wouldn't soon forget, yet the exams weren't close to being over so the genin would have to do his best to recollect himself and prepare for what was to come next.

MADE BY VEL OF GS