A/N: Another hiatus will be held after a few more chapters, to get the tournament portion written and ready to post. I've been quite busy with work and whatnot, so I haven't had as much time to write, but I'll write when I can to provide you all with a story. I hope you enjoy :)

Normally the serene atmosphere provided by Hidden Mist Village would calm Jiyuu, and clear his mind of worry as he focused on what tasks had to be accomplished for the day. The soothing repetition of gentle waves crashing against the land in the far distance coupled with an easy-going, lazy breeze which happened to be flowing nowhere in particular certainly helped to keep down nerves of most, especially when one could inhale deeply and catch the scent of cooked fish and the sea in the air. Yes, it was quite a soothing place to be indeed...if you were not on your way to partake in the Chuunin Exams.

The young Hyuuga swallowed another lump down his throat before it even had time to well up, and he was starting to lose count of how many times his body was creating them. This was it, he thought. This was his chance to move up in the world of shinobi, to further his career and ultimately get closer to making himself known as a great shinobi, not for his eyes, but just for who he was. There was a quivering, trembling, and slightly sickening coil of excitement and nervousness tensing up inside of his stomach, much like a spring being compressed further than it normally should allow. His once-bandaged hand, now marked with a rather distinguishable scar from his battle with Senshoku, lifted up from his side and clutched at his stomach. He felt like he was going to throw up, but at the same time, he felt like he was about to start flying. He narrowed his eyes a little as his gaze went skyward to catch a few seagulls flying overhead in a flock, wondering just what this sensation was.

His hand fell to his side once more, and Jiyuu brought his attention frontward towards the large, moss-covered building that had to be only a mile away. Team One was currently making their way through a rather wide, grassy pathway cleared to make a dirt road through the dense forest surrounding them to the area where the Chuunin Exams were to be held; the cylindrical building was composed entirely of white bricks, all of which were caked with a fine layer of grime and decayed plant life. There were numerous cracks throughout it's exterior, showing that this establishment has done well in it's battle against the wear and tear of time and war. The top of this building was dome-shaped, comprised of faded-blue plates that also seemed to be under the exact same conditions as the rest of the construct, and a proud, large circular emblem with the kanji for 'water' was displayed for all shinobi to view.

Be they newbies just about to face the true trials that all ninja must overcome, or battle-hardened veterans looking to reminisce on times they now considered to be a cakewalk, many would come to recognize this building. This was a place where your fullest potential would be surpassed, or where your greatest efforts would be in vain.

Jiyuu's brow furrowed as he felt yet another lump form in his throat upon inspection of the building, and he hurriedly forced it down with an audible gulp. Damn it! Pull yourself together! You've been waiting months for this thing, months of boring D-rank missions, months of basic C-ranks, so come on! It's not like you're a newbie here, man! Get a grip! The young Hyuuga bit his lip, and his eyes slid over to the side as he nonchalantly observed Tsuyo on his right.

The genjutsu-user had his nose buried in a book, something he usually did when he was trying to keep himself calm. His facial expression, surprisingly, seemed more stoic and reserved than it's usual panic-filled portrayal, and his eyes were more calculating than ever before. Yes, there was no doubt he was completely ready for this test, he must have been studying and training rather hard if he was this calm. But...Jiyuu did arch an eyebrow upwards when he picked up the smallest of movements from his friend, something that, oddly enough, helped Jiyuu to relax as well.

Tsuyo's hand, the one which held the open book with a firm grip, was quivering. Although small, although subtle, although cleverly ignored, it was still there, and very real. Jiyuu released the breath he wasn't aware he held, taking solace in knowing that he wasn't the only one on his team who had his nerves tied in a knot. His eyes now slid to the left before landing on Sakana, only to unexpectedly meet her gaze aimed at him.

She quickly averted her eyes and frowned, most likely embarrassed from being caught staring at the young Hyuuga. Jiyuu was going to start thinking about WHY she was staring at him, but felt a shiver run down his spine. Whatever her reason, it was either too creepy or too pointless to ponder over. He did take notice of the Hoshigaki keeping her arms folded over her chest, something she always did when walking from place to place, but there was something...different about her. Jiyuu couldn't really put his finger on it, but something was off, and not by much, but just enough to the point where one would know that something had changed. He scanned her up and down, not noticing anything really different about her with the exception that she seemed a bit more...hm...how could he explain it...curvy? It wasn't much, she still maintained that toned physique she had as a child, but it certainly couldn't be that (he had asked her about it before, just to start a casual conversation. He got a death glare in response, along with a 'none of your damned business, freak' to go with it, so it was probably safe to assume that the topic was off-limits). He narrowed his eyes a bit as he continued to examine her, and finally realized what was so off about her: she was gripping her arms tighter than usual, much tighter, to the point where her knuckles were somewhat turning white.

Jiyuu couldn't help but smirk knowing that the berserk of the group was feeling the pressure as well, and looked ahead to his destination once more. "So, are you guys ready for this?"

Tsuyo looked up from his book, only to see that the establishment was much closer than it had been when he started reading. Trying to quell the much more intense trembling of his hand, he sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "I think so..."

Sakana, of course, made some sort of irritated sound before whipping her head around and glaring at the young Hyuuga. "What the hell do you think this is, amateur hour? Of course I'm ready, you losers just better not drag me down with you."

Jiyuu looked over his shoulder at her, his friendly grin morphing into one which appeared much more snarky. He always did wonder what it would be like to give her the same kind of attitude that she used, and since Ketsui wasn't around to keep them in line, now seemed like a better time than ever. "Me? Drag you down? Please woman, you'll need TWO swords if you'd ever wanna keep up with me."

The Hoshigaki felt a vein pop out on her forehead, and in the blink of an eye, reached over her shoulder and drew that menacing, five-foot long katana. The cold steel shimmered in the sunlight, and that one serrated side looked awefully dangerous in the position she held the weapon in. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, YOU COCKY LITTLE SHIT?! NOBODY CALLS ME 'WOMAN,' GOT IT?!"

Jiyuu's cocky attitude quickly faded away as his smug demeanor shriveled into one of fear, and his legs switched to auto-pilot as he began running away from the deranged girl who was now chasing him towards the building, him screaming apologies while she screamed profanities. Tsuyo felt himself sweat-drop at the sight before him, as if his teammates were like two children fighting on the playground. Sighing as he usually did, the genjutsu-user pocketed his book and adjusted his glasses with a small push of the bridge, and soon quickened his pace. Well, at least we'll get to the exams faster. If there's anything positive about this, it's that...and the fact that I'm not a target of Sakana's rage for once. Tsuyo winced at the not-so-fond memories of his teammate delivering heavy blows to the side of his head when she caught a glimpse of what he was reading, or when he was 'slacking off' during training. He thanked Kami that he hadn't been speaking out loud to anybody at that point, for he would surely regain his innate stuttering once more.

Regardless of what methods they were using, the three genin were now closing the gap between them and the Chuunin Exams tower, and a new chapter of their shinobi careers would soon unfold.

To say that the inside of the building was filled to the brim with chatter would be an understatement. It would be difficult for one to shout, let alone speak, over the masses of excited young shinobi eagerly awaiting to get started with the Chuunin Exams, to further prove that they were worthy of carrying on the duty of protecting their homelands from whatever threats tomorrow should bring. There had to be thousands of them, each one occupying so much space that there was barely enough room for an individual to slip through from one end of the floor to the other if they needed to move.

They all stood in multiple groups throughout the room, each cluster of young shinobi representing multiple villages. Hidden Mist genin were chatting with genin from the Hidden Leaf, Hidden Stone with the Hidden Cloud, and so on. Many of them were showcasing very small, underpowered versions of techniques they had learned through their training to the people in their clusters, eliciting many excited 'ooh's' and 'ah's' to spring up amongst them. Some of the older genin gathered in their own circles, their demeanors much more reserved and refined than the rookies they would be testing with. No doubt, they were familiar with the whole song and dance that was the Chuunin Exams, and were simply awaiting their chance to right whatever wrongs they may have committed last time, causing them to fail. Rather than flash their techniques which they wished to keep a secret, the veterans of the tests instead shared tales of their missions, what dangers they've come across, sometimes just sharing little facts about their respective villages or debating which of their Kage would win in a one-on-one battle.

Yes, despite the trials that would shortly ensue, there was an air of peace, tranquility and happiness amongst the crowd. Unfortunately, the atmosphere failed to reach the three final genin to enter, especially a particular bespectacled member of the group.

It was now Tsuyo's turn to swallow a lump forming in his throat, and he adjusted his glasses to make sure his bad eyesight wasn't acting up. "Th-There sure are a lot of th-them," he muttered to his teammates, not realizing his infamous stutter had returned.

Jiyuu simply gave a nod of agreement, a small crinkle forming in his brow as his eyes skimmed the crowd before him. It certainly was a large crowd of genin, bigger than he had ever seen gathered together in one spot before, that's for sure.

Sakana snickered, as expected, and allowed a little bit of her killer intent to leak out towards nobody in particular as a twisted grin stretched across her face. "Perfect, more lambs to the slaughter. When do I get to beat down these idiots, hm?"

Tsuyo cleared his throat and turned away from the Hoshigaki, as if not wanting to have people associate him with her. "If everything goes the preferable way, we won't have any confrontations until much later in the exams. The point of these tests is to prove how good of a shinobi you are, not how violent you can be."

The kunoichi gave a hearty laugh and punched Tsuyo on the arm a little harder than necessary before settling her fists on the sides of her waist, her antics gaining the attention of a few nearby genin. "HAH, what are YOU talking about with your 'preferable way' crap? Maybe YOU prefer to play it safe, but I'd rather put all of these sorry bastards in their place!"

Jiyuu felt a small bead of sweat roll down the side of his head, and he darted his eyes towards Sakana, back to the crowd, then back to her. "Are you crazy?! Shut the hell up with sayin' stuff like that!"

The Hoshigaki turned to face the young Hyuuga with a troubling fire dancing in her eye, as if she was wanting to start a scene of some sort. "Awww, what's wrong? You're not scared of having a few angry genin after you during the tests, are you?"

Jiyuu shot her a hard glare. "That's not the point! Didn't you listen to Tsuyo at all? The Chuunin Exams are gonna be hard, super hard, and I really don't want to make things harder than they have to be. What happens if you bite off more than you can chew, huh? We'll end up failing just because you got the wrong people mad!"

Sakana's sly grin never faltered during Jiyuu's reasoning, for his concern only served to fuel her excitement more. "Heh, yeah, you're totally pussin' out."

"...am not."

"Are too."

"Am...not."

"Are...toooooooo."

"SHUT UP, FISH!"

"NO, YOU SHUT UP, FREAK!"

The young Hyuuga whipped around fully to face his kunoichi partner, and butted his forehead against hers like two rams as they exhanged fierce glares with each other, lightning sparking between their eyes.

"DO YOU WANNA START SOMETHING RIGHT NOW, FISH?!"

"YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO SHOW ME, FREAK!"

"OH YEAH?!"

"YEAH!"

"OH YEAH?!"

"YEAH!"

Tsuyo bit his lip as he watched the exchange, and out of the corner of his eye noted that the crowd of genin had temporarily allowed their chatter to die down in order to watch Jiyuu and Sakana, as if they were preforming a comedy routine. Lifting up his hood to conceal the light blush dusting his cheeks, the genjutsu-user scuttled over behind the two and placed a hand on their shoulders as he attempted to sheepishly push them apart. "C-Come on, guys. People are starting to s-stare at us."

"Yes, they are," a familiar somnolent voice stated before giving a rather loud, obnoxious yawn. "I swear, why must the three of you be so boisterous?"

This voice did the trick. Jiyuu and Sakana stopped glaring at each other for a moment before turning their heads and looking past Tsuyo. There he stood, that lanky, lazy jinchuuriki of Shukaku the One-Tail. Sakyu of the sand, standing in a slumped position with a hand buried in his mass-cargo pants while the other scratched at a light itch on his chest, stared at his former allies with that usual weary look in his deep, crimson eyes. Behind him him stood Kyofu, who was smirking wide and giving Team One a small salute, and Jari, who gave a simple wave of the hand along with a warm smile to greet her friends.

Jiyuu quickly recollected his calm demeanor and stood away from Sakana, shoving his hands in his pockets as a friendly smirk brought the corner of his mouth upwards. "Well now, ain't this a surprise? How've you three been since that mission?"

Sakyu merely sighed and gave a shrug, looking up at the flickering florescent lights in the ceiling as he began scratching the back of his head, causing that dark crimson spiked ponytail of his to shake. "We've been alright, I guess you could say. It's just been so tedious after that mission, so much training with Lord Gaara, even more tedious tasks with Kankuro-sensei..." He sighed once more, this time allowing the noise to drag out in as obnoxious of a manner as possible. "Why must things be the way they are? I swear, I must be aging at twice the rate due to all this stress."

Kyofu folded his massive arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. "Ah shaddap, will ya? We haven't been doing THAT much more, just some extra training and an extra mission here and there. You ALWAYS complain about stupid shit, you know that?"

The jinchuuriki gave a tiny, almost unseen smirk. "I may complain, but at least I complain about things I was not responsible for."

The hot-headed genin scrunched up his nose, sneering just a little. "What're you getting at?"

Sakyu placed his free hand in a pocket and turned around to look his friend in the eye. "Should I tell our good friends about that one time we went to the Hidden Cloud Village on a mission? The escort one? With that 'woman'?" A deep blush enveloped the now sheepish-looking Kyofu, eliciting a grin from the jinchuuriki. "Hn, still remember how it all ended? If I recall correctly, all of that commotion was caused by your idiocy alone, and yet you continue to deny that it was the reason you had wound up in such a predicament."

Jari developed a soft frown and placed a hand on her hip, the other hand pointing at Kyofu in an accusing manner. "He's got a point, Kyofu. If you weren't such a perv, it never would have happened."

That remark was...well, it was simply going too far. Kyofu threw his hands up in rage, steam practically shooting from his ears as veins bulged on his forehead. "HEY, I AM NOT A PERVERT, I THOUGHT SHE WAS FLIRTING WITH ME AND WANTED A KISS, THAT'S ALL! BESIDES, HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY A HE?! THE BASTARD LOOKED LIKE A DAMN WOMAN!" He threw his arms back down at his sides, his breathing now heavy as he tried to calm himself down; the rapid twitching of his eye, however, indicated that he wouldn't be relaxed for a while.

All members of Team One stared at Kyofu in complete silence, each one bug-eyed at the revelation. Them, along with a good amount of the genin who had managed to catch an earful from the somnolent jinchuuriki. Sakana was the first one to break the silence, rearing her head back as she bellowed out in laughter. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! How stupid do you have to be to slip up like THAT?!"

Kyofu gritted his teeth, and began shaking his fist in the Hoshigaki's direction. "SHADDAP, DAMN IT!"

Jari sighed quietly and pushed a few of her golden locked behind her ear, now bring her attention to Tsuyo and Jiyuu in hopes of getting back on track. "But, on a serious note, Sakyu's right. You really should be careful with who you start fights with here, the Chuunin Exams are no joke. It could even get you killed if you really don't watch yourself."

Jiyuu arched an eyebrow. "Killed? Why would we get killed? Isn't that illegal or something? I mean, the Five Nations ARE allies, right?"

Sakyu's grin faded instantly as his gaze returned to the young Hyuuga. "Yes, but the Chuunin Exams have nothing to do with that. These tests are all about surviving in the world of shinobi in the worst-case scenario, which means all-out war against fellow nations. Unlike the older days, killing isn't encouraged in any way, but it's certainly still a possibility. But my warning still stands, keep your heads down and don't look for trouble. As much as I hate to admit it, there are genuinely bad people taking these exams every year, and they always look to harm others."

Tsuyo felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of such horrid things, and he unconsciously gripped one of his arms in an attempt to calm himself down. "Th-That's horrible...who would do such a thing, WHY would they do such a thing?"

Jari gave a light shrug, through her saddened expression did match that of the genjutsu-user's. "I'm not sure, but if anything is guaranteed, it's that those same people are few and far apart, and usually end up killing each other during the second portion."

Sakana's eyes lit up with curiosity, and she turned to look at the group. "Second portion? What happens then? How many portions are there?"

Kyofu gave a small 'hmph' as he fought down a growl, though his frown was still quiet prominent. He held up three fingers in front of the Hoshigaki. "Three portions. Written Portion, Survival Portion, and the Tournament Portion. And yeah, they're exactly what they sound like: a written test followed by some survival stuff, all wrapped up with a tournament pitting all the survivors against each other."

Sakyu's brow furrowed as he looked up to see the restless crowd of genin. "Speaking of which, I would really like for the first portion to start soon. I'm not in the mood to just stand here and wait."

At that very moment, a puff of smoke poofed into existence in the very center of the room, causing the genin surrounding it to silence almost instantly as they looked on in curiosity. From the smoke emerged a jounin of the Hidden Mist, who waved the smoke away from his face while fighting off a coughing fit. After he was sure the smoke was cleared, along with him having the undivided attention of the anxious young shinobi around him, the jounin thumbed over his shoulder to a flight of stairs. "All of those still wanting to take the Chuunin Exams, get moving to the top floor. The first portion starts in 10 minutes." He then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, prompting the genin to start moving in a hurried fashion, like ants swarming through an anthill, all the while mumbling nervously to each other.

Jari gave a light chuckle at the sight, and shifted her weight on one leg. "My, speak of the devil, much," she jested as he looked to Sakyu, who replied with a smirk and a grin. "Well, it's been nice seeing you guys again," she began as she looked back to Team One, "but it's finally time to shine." She winked at the three genin, mostly at Tsuyo for some reason, causing the bespectacled boy to blush a little as she flipped them all a peace sign. "Do your best, guys! I want to see you three after all this is over so we can celebrate, 'kay?" With that said, the blonde scythe-user began to scuttle away from the group before looking back and waving for her friends to follow suit.

Kyofu frowned a little and began rubbing his knuckles into the palm of his hand as he followed Jari, the soft grinding of his metal gauntlets helping to ease his nerves. "Why the hell does she always have to take lead..." he grumbled.

Sakyu sighed and gave a final nod to Team One as a way of saying 'farewell,' and took his time walking past them as he caught up with the hot-headed genin. "I swear, why must you continue to bicker about pointless things..."

Jiyuu watched the trio from the Hidden Sand walk up the stairs with the rest of the genin, an unsettling ball of tension rolling around in his gut as if it were a pinball machine. Smiling nervously, he looked to Tsuyo and gave a coy laugh. "He, uh...he didn't MEAN that about people wanting to kill us, did he? He's just joshing us, right?"

Not really sure of an answer to give, the genjutsu-user plastered an obviously fake smile across his face before adjusting his glasses. "C-Certainly! Honestly, genin killing other genin just for the sake of it? It's a-absurd!"

How odd...both seemed to forget that the Hoshigaki kunoichi was present.

Sakana chuckled at her cowardly teammates and folded her arms over her chest, finally putting one of the three in motion as she made her way towards the stairs. "C'mon losers, we don't have all day," she shouted at them from over her shoulder.

Tsuyo let out a small, almost nonexistent whimper of fear as he began to follow without question. Jiyuu took a moment in the midst of all this to breath in slowly, and exhale in the same way. This was it, he was going to do it! The very first step into the Chuunin Exams, and he was here! In all honesty, he still couldn't believe he had made it this far, it all seemed so surreal to him. He very quickly recalled when he was but five years of age, already starting to play with the wooden kunai he still had littering the floor of his room. When he was just a year older, he was already learning about the concepts and practices behind chakra, which Ketsui did not waste time in training him with. At the mere age of seven, he was already doing some mock taijutsu practice and studies with his mother while refining his chakra control with his father, and he was quite eager to continue advancing when most children would prefer to play with toys.

He felt his lips curl into a smirk, and he nodded in approval to nobody in particular. Yes, hard work certainly payed off. Here he finally was at the Chuunin Exams, with a new jutsu in tow as well as a pair of special eyes to boot. As he began to follow his team, that tense ball in his stomach began to dissipate as a warm sensation flooded his insides. This was the day he was waiting for, the day he would finally begin to prove that he wasn't going to be labeled as just some other shinobi, nor would he be allow himself to be placed on a pedestal for just a measly kekkei genkai. No, he would be known as Jiyuu Tamashi of the Hidden Mist, and he would be renowned for being anything but average.

As the young Hyuuga caught up to his team, the three disappeared up the stairs just in time to avoid a pair of white eyes from a different genin team not too far away. Though, these curious eyes did blink a few times in confusion, for she felt as if she had seen someone she was informed about before her departure to the Hidden Mist. What was that boy's name again? Jiba? Jason? Jino? Jiyo? No, no, no...gah, who the hell could remember?! The girl ran a hair through her silky, light-brown hair as she narrowed her soft eyes in concentration, completely forgetting just where she was at the moment. What the hell was it that she had been told before leaving the Hyuuga compound? Why did she always forget when it seemed to matter? Damn it!

"Is everything alright, Ai?"

The sound of her teammate's voice surprised her, and she whipped around before letting out a tiny 'eep' in surprise. She paused once she caught a glimpse of those incredibly bushy eyebrows, those impossibly narrowed, yet unclosed eyes and drooping mouth, that unmistakable long, thin braided ponytail draping from the back of his head. And that jumpsuit...oh Kami, that terrifying, terrifying green form-fitting spandex body suit, with those horrifyingly bright leg and arm warmers to...well, not exactly match, but most likely just to distract curious onlookers. As strange as a sight as he was, this genin was certainly not one to be judged by mere appearances; Ai had made that mistake once, but never again. The academy students had also made that mistake, though the faded red forehead protector he sported as a belt proved to them that anybody could be a shinobi, regardless of how impossibly magnificent their eyebrows could be.

The Hyuuga girl felt a small ting of red burn within her cheeks from the embarrassment of being caught off guard, and gave a small nod once she relaxed. "Everything is fine, Shu. I was just thinking, that's all."

Shu's brow, which seemed to be permanently crinkled for no apparent reason, scrunched up a little more before he gave a nod. "Very well, if you say so."

Ai felt herself sweat-drop in disbelief. Wow, that was certainly fast. No, no! Never mind me, WU SHU! Nothing like an 'are you sure' or 'I don't believe you' to probe deeper and find out what's bothering me? FINE! Screw you, you friggin' caterpillar-eyebrow'd, squinty-eyed, uptight moron!

Shu's large eyebrows lowered as he began to hold his chin, like he were examining her. "Are you sure that everything is fine? You are giving me quite the frown right now, and I am unsure if I have done anything wrong on the way here."

Ai blinked a few times and shook her head violently, looking away as she sighed. There she went again, doing things without realizing. "No, no, I just don't know what's going on with me today," she mumbled coyly as she shifted from foot to foot.

Ai was, as you may have guessed, not your typical Hyuuga. No no, she was much too absent-minded and clumsy to be considered 'normal' within her clan, though this had gone unnoticed by her Byakugan-toting brethren due to her remarkable ability to pull off a facade, hiding her true self from all those within the compound. Her hair was perfectly straight, light brown, and evenly parted across her forehead as both halves slipped behind her ears and draped down the small of her back, her Caged Bird Seal clear for all to see. Around her neck, she wore the forehead protector of the Hidden Leaf Village, the cloth's color swapped from the usual deep, dull blue to a shade of brown similar to her hair. On the top, she wore a tanned, form-fitting combat jacket stripped of all it's exterior padding in favor of the lightweight mesh armor shirt she wore underneath, which could be seen due to the sleeves of her jacket being rolled up to the crooks of her elbows. Her wrists were heavily wrapped in bandages, though for a taijutsu-user, her hands were surprisingly free of any forms of physical damage, indicating that she either lacked any real talent in hand-to-hand combat, or that she had been skipping out on training. She wore a dark brown, sash-like belt around her waist, the Hyuuga's symbol adorned in the very center. She wore black shinobi pants, each thigh donning a holster which could hold three individual kunai, and sported typical black shinobi sandals.

They both heard scurrying footsteps quickly approached the two genin from the Hidden Leaf, and the owner of said footsteps stopped right between them as he doubled over and attempted to catch his breath. "-pant-...Geez guys...-pant-...can't you...-pant-...hear me screaming...-pant-...for you to...-pant-...wait up?!"

The final member of the trio stood up straight, though now he was lifting his chin up high as he continued to pant like a man who just finished an impossible marathon. This individual's messy, almost feral-looking brown hair seemed to shine in the florescent lighting of the room, indicating how greasy it was from a lack of being washed. His eyes were sharp and narrow, yet held a calming yellow color within them that helped to warm the hearts of those he was close to. On his left cheek, the kanji for 'beast' was tattooed on in a manner which made it appear to be scratched on in black ink, and it was positioned right next to his singular, hard-to-miss fang protruding from beneath his upper lip. His attire made it clear that he was ready for most battles, the upper body clothing consisting of a pale green, tight, buttoned-up combat hoodie with armor plating guarding his upper and lowers arms. His hood was down and flat against his back, and the front of the hoodie contained four horizontal zippers around the mid-section. For bottoms, he sported faded red shinobi pants that were just a little too large for someone of his stature, a problem he easily fixed by tying a black leather belt around his waist while tucking the bottoms of the legs into his black shinobi combat boots.

Yes, he certainly looked the part of a shinobi...but it was a shame he lacked the stamina of one.

Shu rose both his eyebrows in honest surprise as he looked to his teammate. "You were calling to us? I apologize Kemono, I did not hear you out there."

The one called Kemono finally regained his breath, and stood up as he placed a hand in his greasy mop of hair. His sharp eyes narrowed a little in aggravation, and he used his free hand to point an accusing finger at the jumpsuit-clad genin. "Of course not! You were too busy shouting 'YOSH' while you made a mad dash for this place! All I had to say was that there were going to be a few strong people here, and you took off like I said there was free food in the building!"

Shu maintained a tight, unfazed demeanor from the words, though he did allow a gentle smirk to ease the tension the 'Beast' was giving off. "It is not my fault that you refuse to harness your inner flames of youth. I do believe that Lee-sensei has shown us on more than one occasion what the power of youth can truly do, yet you refuse to take his words into account. Now, how can you honestly blame me for your lack of endurance when you cheat during our 500 lap run around the village on our hands?"

Ai cringed a little at the reminder of the training exercise, and instinctively reached to her lips as she felt for dirt or grass that may have been trapped inside after face-planting into the ground. She frowned a little when she felt nothing, upset that her teammate was bringing up bad memories without realizing what he was doing.

Kemono rolled his eyes at the mention of him cheating during training, and folded his arms. "So what? I just can't be bothered to do something as ridiculous as that when I should spend more time on my jutsu."

Ai sighed loud enough to gain the attention of her team, the sudden attention bringing a slight tinge of red to her pale cheeks. She began to lightly shuffle her feet without realizing, something she always did when she was put in the spotlight. "Um...shouldn't we be going up? I think we may be a little late..."

Shu glanced up at a clock on the wall; five minutes left until everything started. Without saying a word, he made a quick dash for the stairs and disappeared without a trace. Kemono gave a blank stare at the path he needed to traverse, only for his lip to stiffen into a thin line as he begrudgingly headed towards yet even more steps to climb.

Ai followed behind, but stopped just before she reached the stairway, and looked behind her at the now empty, quiet room. Arching her eyebrows upwards in confusion, she began to lightly tap her cheek with a finger. Hmmm...that's odd...I feel like I'm forgetting something important. Like I'm supposed to meet someone? No, no, I have to FIND someone! Yeah, that was it...but who? I think his name started with a 'J'...I think...

"Hurry up, Ai!"

The 'Beast's' call snapped the girl out of her thoughts, causing her to stumble as she started bounding up the stairs.

"Move, move, out of the way, beat it, move, get lost, take a hike pal, shove off, moooove."

Sakana was pushing and shoving her way through the thick crowd of mumbling, nervous genin as she made her way closer and closer to the blue, locked double doors of the test room. She growled a little under her breath in aggravation, a part of her wishing she could just pull out her weapon and start cutting down the incompetent fools in front of her as if she were cutting through a jungle. Close behind her was Jiyuu, constantly apologizing to people for the kunoichi's behavior as he occasionally spat out her name in petty attempts to gain her attention. And, of course, Tsuyo stuck close behind as he kept his head bowed, a light blush coloring his cheeks in embarrassment.

Once the Hoshigaki reached the doors, she snarled and began banging against their worn, wood surface loud enough for the impacts of her fist to echo through the room, effectively silencing all chatter that may have been taking place. "HEY, OPEN UP AREADY! WE'RE ALL WAITING TO TAKE THIS STUPID THING, SO LETS GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD!"

Jiyuu swooped in and grabbed her from behind not too long after, pulling her away while feeding her a frown. "Are you nuts?! If we have to wait, we wait! What's the big rush?!"

Sakana whipped her head around to stare at her ally, a glint of malice in her beady yellow eye. "I just wanna get to the fun part as soon as possible..." she whispered over her shoulder, sending a small chill down the young Hyuuga's spine. It was quite obvious what she meant by 'fun part,' and Jiyuu only hoped he could somehow subdue her bloodlust by then.

Steeling himself, he tightened his grip on her forearm and fought to develop a deeper frown. "You'll have to wait regardless, right?"

The Hoshigaki snarled a little and turned fully to face him, now prying herself free from his grip as she folded her arms. "Not if this damned test proctor takes their time," she growled before looking over her shoulder at the doors. "YOU HEAR ME?! GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GET THIS THING STARTED!"

A heavy silence fell upon those in the room as curious and impatient eyes slowly transferred their gazes from Sakana to the doors, wondering if her words had any affect. Surprisingly enough, a clicking sound could be heard from behind them as they began to slowly creak open, revealing a well-lit classroom of sorts with a multitude of seats. A tall, white-haired, long-bearded man stood at the front of the classroom with both his hands resting on the hilts of the two swords strapped to his hips, the odd-looking blades helping to give off an air of unease amongst the genin. The shinobi appeared quite old, his frowning face full of wrinkles and liver spots, though his somewhat broad body seemed to be in peak physical condition for someone who's been around for so long. Though most wouldn't recognize the attire he wore, it was very easy for those of the Hidden Mist Village to recognize the trademark sleeveless black shirt (with his forehead protector plate sown over the region where his heart was) with matching pants, the waist guard with also acted as a sort of hilt for his weapons, and the traditional Hidden Mist striped arm and leg warmers along with the bandages wrapped loosely around his neck.

The young shinobi remained in the doorway, unsure if they should approach the dangerous-looking man. Noticing a lack of movement due to their uncertainty, the old man narrowed his ice-blue eyes before lifting his chin. "I will close the door if none of you wish to become Chuunin," he stated bluntly. His words didn't have an affect right away, but eventually the students started filing in at an easy rate, Team One being in the front.

Sakana stared wide-eyed at the elder swordsman as she slowly got closer and closer to him, disbelief flooding her system as she began to perspire from anticipation. "Oh...my...gosh..." she uttered quiet enough for just her team to hear.

Both boys looked at her before sliding into their row of seats, but only Jiyuu continued to stare at her long enough to see her yellow eyes sparkling with admiration, which caused him to raise a brow. "Uhh...what?"

She snapped her head in his direction, and seemed quite livid for something he just did not get. "What kid of special idiot are you?!" Her insult hit him quite hard (only because he didn't expect it), and she thumbed towards the bearded man before continuing. "That's Furui of the Seven Swordsmen! Wielder of the thunder blades, Kiba! Do you live under a rock or something?!"

The young Hyuuga narrowed his eyes. "Sorry that I'm not invested into the same stuff that you are. How the hell would I know?"

Sakana shook her head, her glare sharpening. "You're a citizen of the Hidden Mist Village, that's how, idiot! You didn't know about the Kyofu Clan, you've got no clue who the members of the Seven Swordsmen are, I bet you don't even know who our second jinchuuriki is!"

"...we have a second one?"

The Hoshigaki face-palmed. "You...you're just unbelievable."

Jiyuu would have retorted, but he felt a warm pair of arms wrap around his shoulders from behind, causing a light blush to across his face. He felt a soft pair of lips brush across his ear, which whispered a quiet greeting for only him to hear before moving down further and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned to see the radiant smile of Tenshi just a few inches away from him, which caused her to giggle when she took note of the sheepish expression he wore. "How do you feel," she asked as she developed her own soft blush.

The young Hyuuga gave a coy laugh. "Well, I'm just a bit nervous, I guess. I bet you don't feel stressed at all, huh?"

Her smile faltered as she looked to her feet, one of her few nervous habits. "A-Actually, I am just a little...well...very nervous. I'm not sure if I'll pass this portion, I hear it's quite difficult."

"Hn," he replied before pulling her in and giving her a light peck on her freckled cheek, the contact making both her blush intensify and his smile wider. "You'll do great, I know you will."

Although nobody noticed, Sakana's eyelids were drooping at hearing such gushy words. Though, oddly enough, she didn't go about her usual routine and boisterously shout at Jiyuu for him to quit speaking. No, for some reason she found herself now leaning back in her wooden chair with folded legs, brushing some hair behind her ear as she listened in on the conversation. It was strange...something that used to always piss her off about a month ago now just seemed...interesting. Not interesting in a manner where she would want to try something similar, hell no; there was only one thing in her life she would feel that much affection for, and unfortunately, her sword didn't really do hugs. But she did find it interesting, much like how scientists find observing wildlife behind glass to be interesting, like she were gaining some form of knowledge from tuning in.

The orange-haired girl felt her nerves become slightly more tranquil as her heart began to beat faster, and gave a nod before removing herself from Jiyuu and walking down the row of seats to a chair behind Tsuyo. After sitting down, she playfully tapped the top of his head and gave him a quirky smile. "Hey there, Tsuyo! Are you feeling confident about this part?"

The bespectacled ninja had been too focused on drowning out the talk between his best friend and his ex-crush, and became startled at the sudden physical contact, causing him to whip around unexpectedly fast and surprise her. Eyes wide at first, his shock quickly receded as he adjusted his glasses and gave a small sigh as his gaze became downtrodden. "I-I don't feel so confident right now, to be honest. What if I fail?" Bowing his head in shame, his falling chin was swiftly intercepted and lifted up by Tenshi's fingers, bringing them face-to-face once more. She still wore that angelic smile, and Tsuyo couldn't help the blush he developed as he thought about how nicely that smile fit her.

"Oh Tsuyo, don't be like that...this is just a written test, and you're the smartest person I've ever known, and probably ever will know. If anybody will get a perfect grade on this portion, it WILL be you."

Tsuyo practically melted in her hand with those beautiful words; he especially liked the part where she said that he was smarter than anybody she would ever know, which included Jiyuu. Though, he did well in keeping himself calm on the outside, simply smiling as he grasped her hand briefly. He nodded in thanks, which she happily returned, and turned back around to face the front of the classroom.

The angelic girl looked down at the passive Hoshigaki, her gentle face stiffening into something more stoic before taking up a more proper sitting position in her own chair. "Good luck, Sakana." She got no reaction at all. Typical, she thought. She had expected as much from someone coming from a brutish clan such as the Hoshigaki, and she wouldn't be lying if she said that she had disliked the blue-skinned girl. But, she still didn't hate her...hate was such a strong word, after all. If Tsuyo was now able to be around her and, surprisingly, not stutter as much, then Sakana MUST have been a bit nicer to those she knew. Tenshi narrowed her eyes a little at the thought of Sakana and Jiyuu also getting to be a little more talkative; it was evident in how smug Jiyuu could be when he crossed paths with Mendona, Sakana's personality was rubbing off on him a little. She gave a light shake of the head to remove the thoughts from her psyche, now waiting for her team to follow her in since they had decided to have a bit of a chat before entering. She didn't want to be Sakana's friend, but it would be nice if the two didn't come close to trading blows every time they crossed paths.

Almost right after Tenshi had finished speaking to Tsuyo, Mendona and Tanken leisurely waltzed into the classroom along with a few other late classes, some strange kid in green spandex walking behind them with his own team. The two males of Team Two sat beside Tenshi, Mendona plopping himself right beside the angelic girl before looking at her with his usual smug grin. "Ready to ace this thing, Shi," he asked as if this was just going to be a walk in the park.

Tanken bowed his head in response to the words, a small 'hn' escaping his lips. "Do not think it will be so easy, Mendona. This exam has a 95% failure rate, and most who pass this portion do not live through the second," he stated in a stoic manner, causing some concerned whispers from others around him. "But, you already knew that."

Mendona's eye twitched as he whipped his head towards the lanky shinobi, a small snarl curling on his lips. "How the hell could I NOT know with you constantly bringing it up?! Look man, we'll pull through if we stick together and use our heads like we always do, alright?"

Jiyuu smirked to himself after hearing that. Mendona? Think? There may be some thinking coming from Tenshi and that other guy, but I think you're kinda slacking off in the area of 'thinking', jin-chuu-ri-ki...

Tanken didn't flinch from his ally's retort. "I do not understand why you are so insistent on throwing your overheated bravado around in an attempt to keep our team's moral high. I am quite calm, and Tenshi can certainly handle herself. You must be the most nervous out of all three of us, as it is usually the uncomfortable one who attempts to quell the nonexistent stress of his fellow piers."

Mendona folded his arms over his chest, and leaned back in his chair as he kicked his feet up on the desk. "HAH, me? Are you serious?! I'm super chill, man!"

Tenshi grew a gentle smile and leaned towards Mendona so that her lips were near his ear. "Then why is your hand is trembling so badly," she whispered.

The jinchuuriki of Isobu widened his eyes as he glanced down his quivering hand, and attempted to shove it further underneath his folded arm as his brow became knitted. "It's not," he spat before looking ahead at the board.

Tenshi giggled a little and returned to a more comfortable sitting position. "It totally was."

"...I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Suuuuure."

Mendona merely grumbled in response, and felt his whole body tense up as the doors to the rear of the classroom were slammed shut, bringing silence to all who sat inside. Furui of the Seven Swordsmen slowly scanned the genin in the room before he folded his rather burly arms behind his back. "So," he began in a booming, yet raspy and tired voice, "are we all comfortable and sitting by ones we trust?"

Almost everybody in the class nodded.

"Good. Now, let's get introductions out of the way. "I'm Furui of the Hidden Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the elite team of kenjutsu-masters renowned throughout the Five Nations for their prowess with the ancient blades passed down through the generations. I will be your proctor for the first portion of the Chuunin Exams, and I will do everything in my power to weed out the scum who don't deserve to become chuunin."

His tone was cold, harsh, and carried no hints of sympathy or understanding. Some genin found themselves shifting in their seats, realizing that this test would be everything or nothing for their career as shinobi. The elder swordsman, although not displaying it, felt a bit of a sadistic pleasure in watching them squirm like helpless prey. He just enjoyed watching the fresh recruits get slapped in the face with such cold, troubling news that most people his age were used to. It reminded him of his younger days, when he was in his prime and expected to kill his fellow classmates only to survive and kill others around his age from distant lands. It was a time he never was happy to live through, but if he was happy about anything, it was that he lived through it all, lived to see Mei Terumi take over as the Mizukage and wash the stains of blood from his village's name. And if he was capable of doing anything, it was helping steel the will of the newer generations as they came around, just in the event that they would also have to suffer the fate he had.

"The first portion will consist of a written test. There are a total of ten questions, eight of which must be answered correctly if you wish to pass. Any less, and you fail." He paused to hear the sounds of a few genin gulping in fear. "The scores of you and your teammates will be combined in the end to determine how you did as a whole. If one of you failed to at least meet the requirement stated earlier, your whole team fails."

Some genin had lost their ability to breath at that point, their eyes bulging as they waited with bated breath to hear something about the test that was in their favor.

They would be severely disappointed.

Furui, in a motion that nobody caught, swung his arms around from his back to his chest before making a few hand signs and forming eight water clones, four lining either side of the classroom. "These clones will be keeping an eye on all of you as the test goes on, and make no mistake, they will know if you are cheating. Getting caught cheating five times will cause you to fail. Aiding the person next to you will cause both you and your little 'friend' to fail. Not following my demands as I had said them will cause you to fail. Any brash actions taken against me..."

He paused before gripping one of his swords by the handle, moving it a little so the florescent lights overhead gleamed against it's shining surface.

"...well...something a little worse than failing may happen to you." With his point clearly being made, which he could tell by the nervous breakdowns half of the 'tough guys' sitting in the room, he folded his arms and continued. "You are allowed only one bathroom break, there will be no food breaks, no speaking to anybody at any time, you are not to look at your test until I say so, and you are to flip your papers over once you have finished. Are there any questions?"

Mendona looked over at Tanken, who remained as firm and unmoved as a rock. The jinchuuriki looked like he wanted to bring something up, but knitted his brow and looked back at the elder as he erased any doubts in his mind. If his friend didn't want to bring up 'that,' then it probably wasn't going to be an issue.

Soon, Furui reached behind him and walked down the center of the room, handing out the test papers to all the genin before returning back to the front. A clone had already caught one genin peeking at the test, and walked over to the poor boy before throwing him out through the back doors and returning to his position. As one could imagine, this did not do much in terms of calming the other genin, for this meant that the test truly was no joke; a mistake would be very costly.

"You have one hour to complete the test. Once I say begin, you may flip your papers and start. There will be no extension of time, nor will there be a curve. How you did will be reflected in your score. And, if you believe you can't go through with this test, you may forfeit at any time if you wish to save your teammates from failing because of your blunders."

Once he stopped talking, the room fell silent as all eyes fell on the clock hanging on the wall behind the elder swordsman. The ticking seemed to grow louder, and louder, and louder, almost to the point where one would start to fall into a daze from it's repetitious sound. Hearts began to pound at the same speed as the thoughts racing through their heads, thoughts like them being the one to make their allies and friends fail. Hands became moist and clammy, sweat began to fall from the tops of their heads, and some even felt as if they may pass out as a small chill filled the room; no doubt killing intent being radiated from the proctor in an attempt to psyche them out even more.

Ten seconds were left on the clock, and Jiyuu looked down at his paper with the intent to succeed shimmering in his eye. He balled and unballed his fist much like a gunslinger awaiting his chance to draw, and he began to count the ticks of the clock as they came closer to zero time.

5...

Furui grinned a little underneath his bushy beard and formed a hand sign.

4...

The elder focused just enough chakra into his hands to account for all the genin in the room. He knew he had the right amount, for he had been counting them all over and over just to make sure this final shock would throw them for a loop.

3...

The man narrowed his eyes as he gave the class a final scan, determining who should suffer the most.

2...

Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he pulsed his chakra through his body and towards the genin, though none of them would see it coming.

1...

As Jiyuu went to reach for his paper, everything around him became ensnared by a thick white cloud of smoke. Not ready for such a surprise, his nose took in a rather large amount of the cloud, causing him along with half of the classroom to start coughing and hacking as he began waving away at the haze obscuring his vision. Once the cloud was halfway dissipated, his eyes widened in fear as he realized that he was no longer seated where he originally was. No, in fact, he was now seated far from his teammates, far from Tenshi, far from anybody he knew, as he was now in the back of the class. He quickly glanced to his right to see some bewildered boy with very thin, squinting eyes looking around with a baffled expression plastered over his face, and looked to the right to see that he was seated at the very end of the row...with a clone of Furui glaring at him.

"Begin!"

There. It was at that very instant that the young Hyuuga of the Hidden Mist Village had felt his blood run cold. It was as if ice water had filled his veins, and beads of sweat began to form on his head as his gaze lowered to the still right-side down paper before him. He could see out of his peripheral vision that the spandex-clad genin had already flipped his test, but much like the rest of the genin, he was merely staring at the paper as if it were a dead, rotting fish. Gulping audibly, Jiyuu hovered a now-quivering hand over the side of his paper, and flipped it over in one swift motion as he began reading the first question.

"You are alone with your squad in a dense forest. The humidity is unbearable, and you only have half a canteen of water left to survive. You are all on the brink of falling unconscious due to dehydration, yet you see your target in the distance. Your intel suggests that your target is only weak against water, and nobody on your squad is capable of utilizing water-style techniques. Judging by the distance between you and the target, which is heavily guarded, what is most logical choice of action to take? You are required to hydrate your team, take down the target, yet maintain some water for the trip back, as well as remain undetected by the enemy throughout the process."

...

What is this?! They cant be serious, I have no clue what to do, that's something a jounin should know, and I'm not even sure an actual jounin WOULD know the answer!

Jiyuu's eyes began to tremble as he lifted the paper off his desk, grasping it between his hands as he stared more intently at the question, as if boring into it with his gaze would make the problem seem simpler. Of course, it did nothing but make him even more nervous. Sighing a little to himself, he placed the paper down and scrunched up his brow.

Maybe the other questions would be easier...after all, I only need to get eight correct, right?

He skimmed through the other questions at an easy pace, the end of each one feeling like just another punch to the gut as he felt himself no longer breathing. His stomach was beginning to twist and turn in ways that he never felt before. He didn't know why he wasn't expecting it, possibly because he was so uneasy right now that he couldn't think rationally, but he did indeed see that every single question was exactly the same, if not harder. There were ones discussing the angles and longitude of thrown projectiles, how to decipher a message in less than one minute, coming up with new jutsu in the midst of battle, and many other unorthodox, risky tactics to pull from one's rear when neck-deep in trouble. He looked around the classroom slowly for his teammates, wondering if they were faring any better than he was.

He did manage to find a head full of some short, scruffy, dirty-blond hair, which seemed to be bowed down as the owner attacked his paper with an onslaught of what were probably correct answers, no doubt obtained through the genjutsu-user's book smarts. Tsuyo seemed completely ignorant of the tension that hung in the air, clinging to every living thing like a parasite sucking the very confidence a genin needed to be anything in the world of shinobi. In fact, from what Jiyuu could tell based off of the occasional glance Tsuyo gave to the people sitting to either side of him, the bespectacled ninja seemed to be enjoying having the upper hand in this situation.

The young Hyuuga looked to the side to find Sakana sitting not too far from him. The distance may have not been great, but they were positioned at an angle which just about kept them from sharing their knowledge with each other, the realization causing Jiyuu to develop a light frown. Damn, even the Hoshigaki seemed to be slowly jotting down answers, and she didn't seem to be trembling at all...but there was something a little odd about the way she kept her free arm positioned. What was even more unusual was the fact that this arm was going underneath the desk, and the genin seated next to her seemed as stiff as stone.

Jiyuu narrowed his eyes as he skimmed the room. There had to be something amiss, things simply did not add up. Thinking back to what Sakyu had said earlier, the young Hyuuga couldn't help but groan. The jinchuuriki had certainly been right, this wasn't easy in the slightest, and it was easy to see why most genin never passed. The requirements for failing towered over what was needed to pass, practically putting all the odds in the favor of whomever the proctor was. There was no way anybody who hasn't been hitting the books as long as Tsuyo would ever know the answers to questions like these, especially not genin. So what would he do? What COULD he do? His goal was to become someone notable not for his eyes, but for his skill. He didn't wish to be just another Hyuuga, nor would he be just another shinobi, and he'd rather hang up his forehead protector than be just another genin who failed the Chuunin Exams just because of a few questions. So, if he were to pass, then the only way going about it would be to...

The silence which hung in the air filled Jiyuu's ears as the cold, hard reality of the situation slammed into him like a train, and he felt his spine shiver one it set in.

He would have to cheat.

The boy audibly gulped, and wiped his forehead with an arm before looking back down at the paper. He was one that usually preferred to follow protocol, play by the rules as long as it meant achieving the objectives faster. A smooth success was a quick success, after all, and usually one which most desired. There were just so many things going against him if he were to cheat, and who knew how easy it would be to-

"Seat 32, you fail."

Jiyuu, along with most of the genin in the room, looked towards the 32nd seat to see a petrified girl shaking uncontrollably in her chair. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wha-?"

In that instance, she poofed into a cloud of smoke as soon as Furui made a hand sign. She didn't even get the chance to explain herself...judgement, it seemed, would be swift and without mercy. Furui looked around the room quickly, his hardened gaze causing a few more genin to shake. "Seats 64, 29, 10, 22 and 43, you fail," he stated before preforming the same techniques to them, dismissing them from any chance of passing the exam.

Now, the young Hyuuga was having second thoughts more than ever. You didn't even get a warning if you were caught cheating five times, you were simply kicked out.

...wait a minute...five times?

Jiyuu's body stiffened as that number floated around in his head. Five chances. Five chances to cheat before being dismissed from the test. So, he COULD cheat, right? He just had to make sure he did it in a way that none would expect, or in a way that none could really spot. If he could do that, then maybe he would have a shot of passing this thing! He would have smirked, but feeling the newfound pressure of cheating on something so important was keeping his lips in a thin line.

...I'm not sure why I didn't think of that sooner. What better way to cheat then to look at another paper? And what better way to do that and not get caught than with a Byakugan? I can easily copy Tsuyo's paper from here...but those veins that bulge out will be a dead giveaway. Maybe I could...yeah...yeah, that would work perfectly.

The young Hyuuga took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally as he felt one of the black bangs framing his face. It was chin length, and just about an inch thick. It would be perfect. He bowed his head just enough until he felt the bangs brush against the temples of his head, and closed his eyes. He felt that wondrous sensation overtake his ocular veins as they began to protrude from underneath his flesh, the tensing of his eyeballs as a singular glowing dot formed in the pupil, it's light concealed by the eyelid hiding it's form. The world became visible once more; it was an inverted black and white world, but was visible nonetheless, and what he could now see was truly amazing. He could see his friends from the Hidden Sand all using their own little tactics to gain answers, as well as the members of Team Two and his own teammates.

Sakana's arm had been positioned so oddly because she was holding a kunai underneath the table, and it's tip was just barely touching the...'irreplaceables'...of the boy next to her. No wonder she was having such an easy time, she let someone else do all the work and simply took her time copying.

Tsuyo didn't appear to be using any tactics to cheat at all, though he was masking himself with genjutsu and looking over the papers of those next to him, most likely checking to see if his answers were correct.

Sakyu had nearly invisible trails of sand hovering around his pencil, which he acted like he was holding when, in reality, he was letting the sand write for him. Flowing out of the many pockets on the lower sections of his pant legs, he had a small pool of sand fathered around his feet, and veins of the grainy substance were snaking their way towards other students, and seemed to be coating the pencils of other unaware genin. The incredible part was that the layer of sand was so thin, so practically nonexistent that nobody would have been any wiser. He was most likely using his sand to imitate the movements of someone else's pencil.

Kyofu seemed to be constantly looking at his gauntlet, and Jiyuu was unsure of why at first, but he soon realized that Jari was sitting not too far away from him (only about two rows back), and had her scythe propped up next to her, which held a reflection of her own paper in the blade. For some reason, there was a large amount of chakra coating Jari, though it was invisible to others, and the most odd thing about it was that Jari wasn't forming any sort of hand signs to cause this. Her hands were together in, what Jiyuu could only assume was, prayer. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be whispering silently, and there was a faint trickle of blood coming from one of her wrists, which she would then ingest with a subtle lick before opening her eyes and writing something down. And it was only after she had put down a new answer that Kyofu would write down one of his own.

Tenshi looked to be in an intense state of concentration, her hands underneath the desk grasping at her shinobi pants. There seemed to be a thin beam of chakra steaming from her eyes to the florescent, flickering light above her, and only after focusing his vision a bit more did Jiyuu see that all the light filtering down onto the students around her carried small amounts of her chakra with it. She was taking her time in writing down answers, as the chakra within the light would shift from paper to paper within it' range. The young Hyuuga smirked at his girlfriend's craftiness, and was quite impressed that Tenshi would have already come so far in utilizing her clan's kekkei genkai, Light Release, to this extent. It appeared than anything within the light was also within her range of vision, though it was only limited to the light she sat in. Regardless of it's limitations, it was quite an impressive feat.

Tanken would tap his pencil on the table on occasion, but there seemed to be no chakra coming from the boy at all. And, oddly enough, he would begin to write down his answers without looking anywhere but his paper. This genin was either much smarter than he would allow others to believe, or he had some kind of trick that even the Byakugan couldn't see...and that small possibility made Jiyuu feel a little uneasy.

Mendona, that damned bastard, looked like he was also in a state of meditation...or he could've fallen asleep, Jiyuu would prefer that over meditation. Why, you ask? Well, then it would mean that the bastard had slept through the test and failed! Unfortunately, the jinchuuriki of Isobu snapped a single eye open and quickly wrote down an answer before folding his arms and shutting that single eye again, reverting back to the meditative state. Jiyuu cringed once he saw the action, for Mendona's eyes looked to be comprised of beet-red, muscle-like tissue with his iris a dark, pale yellow of sorts. The chakra flowing through Mendona's body wasn't what Jiyuu remembered from the graduation test long ago, but was now a strong, potent crimson, no doubt coming from the Three-Tails within. So, the two were working together to find the answers? Jiyuu frowned a little, not wanting to admit it was clever, but didn't want to be hypocritical by thinking that his method of passing was unfair. Damn jinchuuriki, they always have things given to them the easy way, don't they...

Breathing quietly through his nose, Jiyuu decided to get back to the matter at hand, and focused his vision on the paper in front of Tsuyo. They were lengthy, but certainly seemed correct...well, they looked the part, anyways. It took a while to copy down all the answers and reword them, and around 30 or 40 genin in that time alone had been kicked from the room for being caught. Jiyuu smirked as he continued to write, for he could see that none of Furui's clones were even looking his way. Thank Kami for his eyes; they may be the reason he tends to come across danger, but damn, they certainly came with their perks.

After finishing his test, Jiyuu promptly flipped the paper over and laid his pencil over it, though he kept his Byakugan active and his head bowed as he observed the others in the room. He could see the paper of the spandex-clad boy right next to him who, funny enough, had flipped his test over just about the same time that the young Hyuuga had. That guy copied me, hm? He must have some serious speed if he was able to keep up with me, especially if he finished around the same time I had. He saw the genin with bushy eyebrows wipe some sweat from his forehead before sitting straight up in a proper position, nodding to himself for his accomplishment. Jiyuu smirked at this, knowing that he helped somebody else pass this hell-like portion of the exam, even if it was unintentional.

That's when he saw something weird. Something he noticed before, but never really focused on. There were two genin in this room with him, both of which seemed to have heavy concentrations of chakra around their eyes. Chakra...in their eyes. Jiyuu felt something inside his gut start to twist into a wrenching knot, for there was only one logical reason an individual would pump chakra into their eyes. And, it was because of this that he felt himself frown a tad.

To activate a doujutsu.

And, if the fact that Tsuyo had stated about the Rinnegan and Sharingan being damn near impossible to obtain in this day and age was true, then that meant...

Quickly deactivating his doujutsu, Jiyuu slowly rose his head as his eyes opened for the first time in 45 minutes, something he figured out only be looking to the single clock on the room once his eyes adjusted to the light. He immediately looked to the people who he assumed had a doujutsu activated, and felt his heart skip a beat when the male of the two individuals placed his test facedown. The boy quietly laid his pencil down, and gave a barely noticeable turn of the head to gaze over his shoulder...his pupiless, white eyes boring into a pair of innocent black ones with a chilled, piercing gaze.

It was almost as if time froze for the two, and an unseen tension was slowly building up around the Hyuuga from the Hidden Leaf, who began to direct killing intent towards the genin of the Hidden Mist without realizing. Jiyuu flinched slightly at the sudden negative waves slamming into him, yet remained steadfast as he hardened his own gaze to match the genin in a ferocious stare down. Damn Hyuuga, why the hell did he have to come across one during the Chuunin Exams? And if he knew how his luck usually was by now, there was no doubt in Jiyuu's mind that the other individual who had chakra pumping into their eyes was also a member of the clan, and no doubt also felt like butting heads with the Hidden Mist genin.

This genin looked quite serious when it came to intimidating appearances. His impossibly straight, jet-black hair was smoothed back to a ridiculous degree, and the locks were neatly trimmed as they ended just below the small of his back, just long enough to hide the knot keeping the black cloth of his forehead protector on tight. He wore a short-length, sleeveless tanned haori with a black fur collar which seemed to end just below the waist; he kept it open, revealing a bandolier running diagonally across his chest which holstered seven kunai. He donned what were probably really lengthy, dark brown shinobi pants, but the bottoms had been rolled up into cuffs halfway up his calves to help show off his matching shinobi sandals which appeared to have small rubber spikes protruding from the bottom. He sported bandages only around the mid-section of his hands, no doubt covering up the injuries he received through extensive training with the Gentle Fist.

Whoever this guy was, he was the real deal; a prime example of what every Hyuuga genin should look like...what Jiyuu should look like. And maybe, just maybe, it was that exact reason that Jiyuu was feeling just a little off as he continued the stare-down. It was obvious to him that this Hyuuga already knew who he was, there was no other reason for them to be staring at each other. If that were the case, then the bingo book with his information must have reached the Hyuuga Clan...great...that meant they all knew about him.

As the two maintained a steady stream of killer intent towards each other, Jiyuu couldn't help but wonder what he had done to anger the Hyuuga so much. Was having a Black Byakugan truly that bad? If so, then why? Was it because it was seen as something impure in the eyes of that uptight, lousy clan? Maybe they had heard about his doujutsu's next level, and just so happened to be a little jealous of something they couldn't have? Jiyuu unconsciously smirked at the thought of such a thing, which elicited a small scowl from the one he was locking eyes with.

That cocky little fool, thought the Hyuuga. I have no idea what's going on through his head, but I'm most certain he's feeling quite superior to me. Deciding that this staring contest was starting to become far too humdrum, the Hyuuga looked ahead once more to see that there were only five minutes left on the clock. Jiyuu Tamashi? Better than a pure Hyuuga? Please, that's an absurd thought to even have. Even I, a mere Branch member, am fully capable of defeating him in a taijutsu bout. I still don't understand why Lady Hinata is so insistent that Ai and I bring him back to the Hidden Leaf Village after the Chuunin Exams are completed. It may just be for his eyes, but she speaks of him with such high regard, as if he were a trophy that we would hang on our shelves...no doubt the shelves in the Main House.

There were now three minutes remaining, and the Hyuuga shut his eyes before leaning back in his chair, arms falling limp at his sides. I suppose it doesn't really matter in the end. What the Main House wishes shall be the Branch House's command, for that is the order of the Hyuuga Clan. I remember the tales of the one called Neji, how the Branch House swore they could see him becoming the next head of the clan. His death, it still brings tears to those who remember that day. That day when his body was recovered from the battlefield, bloodied and speared like a pincushion. And how convenient that both Lady Hinata and Lord Hiashi would return bruised, dazed, yet unscathed. I do not doubt that one of them played a role in Neji's death, which in turn crushed the hopes that the Branch Family ever had of becoming equals with the Main Family, and not mere servants.

One minute was remaining.

Hn...look at me. I'm lamenting over the death of one I never was old enough to know. I was just an infant around that time, the loss shouldn't mean a thing to me. But all the weight being carried by that one Branch member, all the weight that the Main Family would struggle to carry that he could handle with such ease, was dropped to the ground in an instant. I do hope I can take that position one day, the torch-bearer for the Branch House who helps lead the Hyuuga Clan to equality. Maybe then, I can get rid of this seal on my damn head...

"Your time is up, put down your pencils and flip your papers over now."

Furui's order did not go unheard, and a majority of the class did as instructed, much to their regret. The Elder Swordsman grinned in sadistic satisfaction at the amount of fools who undoubtably failed the first portion. Oh, how he loved rooting out the weeds, and the best part was just about to come. "All of you have done well by making it through the hour," he began as his clones started collecting the test papers, "but there is one final question for this exam, one of great importance." He paused for dramatic effect, mostly so it would kill a few of the genin who were most likely shaking at the knees.

Jiyuu frowned a little at the mention of another question. After all the hell he had gone through mentally during that damn test, there was still more? And to top it all off, this was supposed to be 'of great importance'. What could it be?

"To give you all an idea of how important this final question is, I will explain the worst possible outcome for those who get it wrong," Furui stated as he rested a hand on one of the hilts to Kiba. "If you fail to answer this question correctly, you will be permanently banned from ever participating in the Chuunin Exams for the rest of your life."

A chorus of rebellious shouting erupted the second that he finished speaking, an endless barrage of 'that's not fair' and 'you can't do this' hailing down upon Furui. "SIIIIIIILENCE," he bellowed out over the roars of angered genin, effectively silencing them like a master berating a barking dog. "If none of you wish to take such a chance, then you may leave. You will fail once you have departed from this room, but you will still have the chance to retake the Chuunin Exams next year. It is, in all honesty, the smarter choice to make."

That was all the pushing he needed to do, for a good amount of young shinobi started leaving the room as they began to talk amongst themselves in an irate manner. The massive classroom seemed practically empty now just as the last of the quitters left, the closing of the doors causing a thunderous echo to reverberate against the walls of the place. Jiyuu gave a quick skim of those left, counting 59 genin who were brave enough to stick around; if he included himself, that would make 60, or 20 teams left. He let out a small sigh of relief, seeing that both Tsuyo and Sakana had managed to stand their ground and take a chance. He had to admit, he was just about to start walking along with all the other genin, but stopped himself when he thought about the bigger picture. If he were to quit now and maintain his chances of retaking the exams, what were the odds that he wouldn't do the same thing next year out of caution? In order to accomplish his dreams, the rank of chuunin would certainly help. With that in mind, how could he ever hope to advance if he was too scared to take the first step? He shoved his shaking hands deep into his pockets as he tried to maintain his cool. Hopefully, his first step wouldn't cause him to trip and land flat on his face.

Tsuyo could feel his knees banging together more than a drumstick meets the surface of a drum, this incredibly nervous mannerism of his masked from the waist-up with a calm, almost stoic demeanor. He was about to bolt out of that room, and hell, he would've shoved people out of the way if it meant he could be the first one out...but then he saw Tenshi standing there. She looked so determined, so unfazed by the shattering truth that it filled the genjutsu-user's heart with guilt. Just look at her, he thought. She doesn't look scared at all. She has on that same face she uses when sparring with her clan members, it's just so serious and filled with resolve. It was at that moment that he stopped himself from moving his feet, suddenly remembering his own resolve, his own plans for the future. How could he ever manage to do that if all he did was run with his tail between his legs? He looked over his shoulder to see Jiyuu standing still as well, the same type of look on his face as he looked ahead at Furui with a real shinobi-like attitude. Sighing too quietly for anybody to hear, the bespectacled ninja followed suit and steeled himself. He didn't come this far and attempt to end his stuttering just so he could give up.

Sakana never once thought of leaving her spot, not once. She was already regaining that usual malicious grin people knew her for, anxious to see just what was so hard about this last question. Sure, it may have been reckless of her to stick around...stupid, even. BUT, there was no way in hell she was just going to waltz on out of there while the nerd and the freak stayed back! The day she ever let them outdo her in anything would be the day when the Shinigami stopped harvesting souls. And besides, above all else, how could she ever please her father's wishes if she quit now? She wouldn't have another chance like this, that was for sure, and she needed Jiyuu to be with her as it happened. And so she stood there with her best smile stretched across her face, awaiting the final question that she would no doubt get right...she hoped.

Furui skimmed over the remaining genin, looking to see if any of them would break down in this final moment. "This is your last chance. If you wish to save yourselves, say so now."

Nobody spoke. Nobody flinched. Nobody batted an eye.

Nobody was leaving.

...and that's exactly what lead to Furui rearing his head back and unleashing a boisterous, hearty laugh. "Fantastic! You all pass!"

Nobody spoke. Nobody flinched. Nobody batted an eye.

But, Sakana was quite vocal about her confusion after a few seconds of silence. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GOING ON ABOUT, OLD MAN?!"

Furui instantly stopped laughing and shot the Hoshigaki a glare, making the hothead fall silent. "I'm not old, just experienced. And if you wouldn't be so childish, I might actually explain what just occurred."

The kunoichi, albeit unwilling, bit her tongue to keep her rage-filled words in check as she slumped back down into her chair, folding her arms and crossing her legs with a small huff.

"...now, as I was just about to say," the elder continued as he returned his attention to all in the room, "there is no final question at all. It was all a hoax to see who the spineless worms out of all you genin were. Those who stayed right where they were demonstrated a bravery that most genin do not possess, which is quite a valuable trait to have as a shinobi. One must never be afraid of standing their ground when looking a threat in the eye, and one must never leave behind a mission objective simply because it would be the smarter thing to do." He smirked a little. "A genin has the luxury of learning from their mistakes, as well as always being under the watchful eye of a jounin. But once you put on the chuunin vest, you will no longer be gifted with second chances. Your decisions on the field will have to be made quick, but thought out enough to the point where you don't get everyone killed. When you're tasked with a solo mission, there will be nobody around to aid you should things go amiss. Today, you were all together, yet felt isolated from each other, as if you had all been separated from them during a mission you thought you would take on together. That bravery which has kept you all standing before me is that very strength which helped you pass the first portion of the Chuunin Exams, and for that, you have my congratulations."

"The questions on this test were quite difficult, and would no doubt confuse a majority of chuunin along with a few jounin. They were needlessly complicated, and impossible for the average genin to answer...but, you already knew that. So my question is this: what was the true purpose of this portion," a low, monotone voice asked from among the students, which belonged to none other than Tanken.

Furui chuckled and began to stroke his lengthy, snow-white beard. "Hmph, I'm sure you all must know the answer to that already, but I will enlighten you nonetheless. The purpose of this portion was to test your ability to gather intel without being noticed by the enemy, whomever it may be. This is why you were allowed to be caught cheating five times before failing, as opposed to the usual rule of being caught once. In addition to obtaining intel while evading detection in plain sight, you also had to make sure you gained the right information so you would get your questions right. Intel is good for absolutely nothing if it's false, after all. Are there any more questions?"

He heard nobody else speak up, and only felt the scorching determination to press on radiating off each child there. His grin thinned into a straight line, and he formed the tiger sign with his hands. "Then I, Furui of the Seven Swordsmen, Proctor of the Chuunin Exam's first portion, hereby grant you all permission to advance onwards. I will transfer all of you to the entrance of the second portion, where your next proctor will explain how to continue on. May the seas guide you."

And with that, the genin all became enshrouded in a large cloud of smoke, indicating that they had been successfully sent to their next trial. Furui let his arms fall to his sides as he sighed, rolling his head around to loosen up his tense neck. "I'm much too old for this...honestly, I'm not sure why I'm still assigned to the task of being the first proctor."

He looked over his shoulder at the surface of the desk, and stared at the neat stack of test papers placed on it by his clone a few minutes ago. "Of course, we'll still have to see if you little fools got the correct answers. But I feel as if I may have to 'accidentally' let a few of you pass. Your bunch seemed rather spunky compared to the last time we held the Chuunin Exams in the Hidden Mist, and I would love to see what some of you can do during the third portion."

After boring his eyes into the stack for a little while, the elder swordsman strolled around to the other side of the desk before sitting down and pulling a pen out. He grabbed the first sheet of paper and placed it before him, and began fulfilling his final duties as a proctor.

Jiyuu coughed from the unexpected smoke that erupted all around him, and began wheezing a little as he shut his eyes and began wafting it away with his hand. Once he could breath again, he took in a deep inhale of fresh air, and the strong, unmistakable scent of nature got him to quickly open his eyes and inspect his surroundings.

Directly in front of him was a very tall, multi-layered barbed wire fence which seemed to stretch endlessly from side-to-side. There were no trees or bushes of any kind outside of the fence, and after he took a second look, Jiyuu realized that there wasn't much of anything except a small beach behind him. Right over his shoulder, he could look out across the vast ocean of waves and see a thick cloud of mist obscuring the sight of a small mass of buildings and towers, which the genin quickly deduced to be the Hidden Mist Village. Looking frontwards once more, he could see thick shrubbery and wild plant life towering upwards to anywhere around 100 feet in height from behind the thorn-covered fencing, effectively keeping humanity from getting lost within it's ominous darkness...or preventing whatever lurked inside from getting out.

Yes, this absolutely had to be one of the many islands near his home that Ketsui would never take him to, one of those islands that Jiyuu was never 'quite ready yet' to explore. And now he could see why, the place certainly sent chills down his spine, and the subtle hissing noise he could have sworn he just heard from within the confines of the swamp didn't help.

A hard slap on his back caught the genin off guard, causing him to stumbled forward before catching his footing and whipping around to see Sakana placing the slapping hand on her hip. Her malicious grin was wide, beaming brightly, and allowing only a troubling snicker to pass through her saw-like teeth. "Looks like you passed, Freak! And here I thought you would've pussed out like Goggles over there," she said with a snarky tone before thumbing towards Tsuyo, who was making his way towards them both now.

Jiyuu gave the Hoshigaki a smirk of his own, and brushed one of the bangs framing his face with a finger. "Hn, don't take me so lightly, Fish. This ain't amateur hour, y'know, and I'd die before I let you outdo me."

Sakana's twisted smirk lessened into a smaller one, and her eye twitched. "Is that so, Freak? Well tough, you still have a long way to go before you can beat me in anything."

Jiyuu arched a brow. "Really, Fish? I thought by now that you'd have learned a thing or two, but I guess you're as dense as ever. Maybe you'll just have to watch and learn while I show you how things are done."

The Hoshigaki chuckled at that, and folded her arms over her chest. "Heh, in your dreams. If anybody's going to do the watching, it'll be you, Freak."

The young Hyuuga looked into the piercing yellow eyes of the kunoichi, and took a good long look at the kindling flames dancing in them. Flames of determination, he assumed. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, Fish."

Sakana remained silent, her smile flipping into a soft frown as she furrowed her brow. "Who're you calling a fish, Freak?"

"P-Please, don't start with that again," Tsuyo requested as he finally made it over to the two while adjusting his glasses. "It's still so early in the morning, and I don't think it would be wise to draw more attention to us than what we already have."

Jiyuu and Sakana turned to face their bespectacled ally, the former giving a small nod. "Hey man, I'm glad you made it. How'd you find the test?" Obviously he found it easy, since he was writing down those answers like it was nothing to him. Part of me just hopes that he was kinda freaking out a bit like I was.

Tsuyo sighed a little and scratched his cheek with a finger while he averted his eyes. "W-Well, to be completely honest, it's not something I had expected in the slightest. Those questions had little to no room for a correct answer due to how specifically they were worded, and it took a bit more thinking that I thought would be required in order to come up with a logical answer," he stated as he looked back to his friend. "It could have been worse, though. The only reason I passed was because I had knowledge of related things due to all the reading and studying I've done, but I can imagine that everybody else must have been panicking something awful."

Sakana smirked and chuckled. "I sure as hell wasn't. That scrawny bastard next to me looked like he knew what he was doing, so I held a kunai against his nuts and persuaded him to share some answers with me. Easy pass."

Both boys flinched at her method of choice, and seemed to glance down at their own set of family jewels just to make sure she wasn't holding some kind of sharp object near them. The Hoshigaki noticed their actions and hollered out in crude laughter, now armed with a new method for getting her way when it came to an argument with the two...well, she might have already threatened to cut their balls off before, but the reactions she imagined she would see by holding a blade that close to their privates were quite hilarious.

From a distance, a curious pair of gentle, feminine white eyes blinked as Ai looked on at the unlikely trio of genin, her knowledge of their presence only brought about by Sakana's loud voice. She looked at the Hoshigaki and then to Tsuyo, quickly losing interest in both before her eyes landed on Jiyuu. He seemed so familiar to her, as if he resembled someone she had seen once before. She felt as if he was of great importance to her, but couldn't remember why for the life of her. Groaning softly out of annoyance, she began tapping her chin with a finger. "C'moooooon, think. Where have I seen that face before?"

"That is Jiyuu Tamashi, the one which Lady Hinata has requested we seek out and bring back to the Hidden Leaf Village."

A small 'eep' escaped Ai as she whipped around to meet the one using the cold, low voice right behind her. "O-Oda! You passed, too?"

Chilled, pupilless white eyes glared over her shoulder in the direction of the boy being mentioned, and the scrunching up of his nose made it clear that he saw Jiyuu as something...unclean. "Of course, only you would forget such an important face after only a week. It's in your nature, after all." His fierce gaze softened a little as it shifted from the Hyuuga's Black Eye to his fr-...acquaintance. "And yes, I did pass. It was harder than expected, but nothing a Hyuuga couldn't figure out. I'm glad you passed, as well."

She gave a coy smile and averted her eyes. "Ah...well, I'm happy to hear-"

Oda furrowed his brow and looked back to Jiyuu once more. "Don't let my words get to your head so easily," he spat, causing the girl's spirit to deflate.

She let her shoulders sag as a light frown enveloped her gentle features. "Fine, whatever. You uptight prick," she retorted in a venomous tone. Unfortunately, her words fell upon deaf ears as the boy glared at his target from afar.

He couldn't help but wonder just what this 'Jiyuu Tamashi' was capable of. Lady Hinata clearly made his transition to the Hyuuga Clan sound more important than passing the Chuunin Exams, something Oda couldn't fathom until he heard about that black Byakugan. How odd, he thought. What method would someone have to use in order to go about making a colored Byakugan, and one with upgrades, no less? He wasn't sure why, but deep down, it made him sick once more much like it had while he exchanged glances with the boy during the first portion. It didn't seem fair at all for someone outside the clan to possess the Hyuuga's kekkei genkai, and enhance it on top of that. Word of his existence spread faster than a forest fire, and the Branch Family of the Hyuuga were once again constantly chattering amongst themselves about a new hope for equality.

How absurd it was, he thought.

If anybody was going to bring about stability between the families, it would be Oda for sure. There was no way in hell that some lousy, smug, impure Hyuuga left out in the wretches of Water Country would ever take that away from him. No, THAT was a matter strictly for a Hyuuga to deal with, a pure Hyuuga, not someone like Jiyuu. So what if he had special eyes? So what if his taijutsu was different? None of that mattered, not to Oda. He snarled a little without realizing as he watched the Black Eyed Hyuuga laugh and give the bespectacled genin next to him a light punch on the arm, with that shark lady snickering between the two.

"Um...did you hear me?"

Oda's tunnel vision widened extensively as he blinked a few times. Finally fading back into reality, he saw Ai standing by his side with a slight look of concern painted on her features. He glanced to her as he softened his expression, and let out a quick breath to steady his psyche. "No, I didn't. What did you say?"

Ai pointed a finger in his face, any concern she had now visibly swapped with mild irritation. "I said that you should get with your team, the proctor will be here any second! Now go, you don't want to be all by yourself when this starts!"

Oda made a 'tch' sound as he narrowed his eyes. "You don't seem to be near your team at all, yet you're standing here and wasting your breath on me." He left her with that little statement before leaving her where she stood, walking through the crowd of genin to find his own teammates. Ai, although desperately wishing to give that arrogant prick a piece of her mind, instead opted to pinch the bridge of her nose before turning around and disappearing into the crowd as well, looking for her own team. Alright, so that kid with the black eyes was called Jiyuu, awesome. He was the one that Lady Hinata kept going on about, cool. Her job was to work with Oda and somehow convince Jiyuu to come back with them to the Hidden Leaf Village after the Chuunin Exams, sounds simple enough. She was absolutely sure that they would accomplish their goal, and even if she and Oda failed at the task, Riri Hyuuga just so happened to be Oda's sensei, and if Ai knew the Hyuuga's Phantom at all, she would no doubt succeed where she and Oda would fail.

It would be a cakewalk, but it would be something that she paid attention to later. Right now, she had other priorities, as did Oda, and they were making it through this portion of the Chuunin Exams completely intact.

"Why's everybody getting so rowdy," Jiyuu asked to nobody in particular as he examined massive flux of genin before him, a brow arched in interest.

Tsuyo reached for his hood and pulled it over his head, the ominous shadow it now cast over his face causing him to look just a tad bit more menacing. "I believe the second proctor is on his way, a jounin may have come by and made an announcement while we weren't paying attention."

Sakana punched into her palm, grinding her knuckles against the soft fleshy spot of her other hand as she chuckled. "It's about damn time! I've been waiting for this part!"

It didn't take long for the second proctor to make his entrance. It wasn't flashy by any means, just a simple burst of smoke right in front of the tall chain link fencing and a single clap of the hands was enough to gain the immediate attention of all the genin present. Once the smoke cleared, the test takers could see that their second proctor had short, tufty black hair which he began scratching as he examined everybody through his circular-rimmed glasses with a small, toothy smile. His Hidden Mist forehead protector was tied around his head sideways, the plate covering the left side of his head as it's longer-than-usual tassels draped onto his right shoulder. He wasn't exactly the largest person (heck, some of the genin looked more muscular in comparison), and him wearing the same attire as Furui didn't help to hide his lanky figure. The most prominent feature on this rather scrawny-looking individual was the holster he wore on his upper back, which held a long, thin sword that looked more like giant needle; the handle looked to have thread wrapped around it.

Jiyuu's eyes slowly transitioned from the proctor, to Tsuyo, and then back to the proctor, and couldn't help but feel a little interested. "Y'know Tsuyo, he kinda looks like an older version of you," he whispered.

The genjutsu-user shrugged in response. "Everybody says that, but I don't see the resemblance," he stated before adjusting his glasses at the same time the proctor did.

Sakana gave Jiyuu a soul-chilling glare. "You can't be serious...you don't know who this guy is, either? That's Ebi, another one of the Seven Swordsmen, wielder of Nuibari."

The young Hyuuga gave her a quick glance, then looked back to the proctor, not bothering to respond to a teammate who would be more than willing to start an argument.

"-ahem- Attention, all you little scrubs! My name is Ebi, and I'll be your proctor for the second portion of the Chuunin Exams," the scrawny swordsman announced louder than one would expect, making the unexpecting genin flinch. He didn't want to be doing this (he hated kids, the filthy little things), and he wasn't sure why he accepted the duty when asked by the Mizukage. Maybe it was that mystifying paycheck that he was pressuring Chojuro to give him. Maybe it was because he now carried one of those 'special swords' that he earned, and the scrawny brat sitting in that Kage office had some trust in the jounin because of that. Or maybe it was because Furui was there at the time, and threatened to inflict bodily harm on him if he turned down the job. Well...actually, now that he thought about it, maybe all three played a factor in his choice. Regardless, he was here now...in front of so many kids...all of which were staring right at him...and only him...

...guh...filthy things...he'd be lucky to make it through half of his lecture before one annoyed him.

"Alright scrubs, LISTEN UP! This portion will focus around survival in a deadly environment, as well as trying to obtain intel from the enemy! Behind me right now is a training ground for only the most elite jounin of the Hidden Mist, called the Swamp of Misery!" Ebi paused and looked over his shoulder at the malicious-looking environment, knowing full and well that this would also get the genin to stare good and hard into it's dark, menacing pathways consisting of canals, thick twisting trees and other obstacles. He could hear a few genin slow their breathing to a point, an indication that he was beginning to scare them a little. This knowledge made him grin a little wider, considering that it meant he was on the right track, as well as the fact that they'd probably stay quiet longer than he thought. "Your objective while inside is simple," he said as he turned to face the young ninja once more. "There are two scrolls you must obtain while in here: an Earth Scroll, and a Heaven Scroll! Each team will be given one scroll, which means that you must initiate any plan of attack you wish in order to take their scroll!"

His smile seemed to fade away, and his soft face seemed to droop as he became visibly saddened. "Now, I don't like having to say this, and I don't really like the fact that I will be telling the truth, but it's going to be better for you all in the end if you know ahead of time, alright scrubs? Death is not only a possibility during this portion, but it is a guarantee. There are all kinds of hazards lurking in the swamp, things like massive creatures to deep waters to poisonous plants. This is why the portion largely depends on survival. Not only will you be fending off the enemy while looking for your own objective, but you will also have to do battle with the environment to an extent."

He could see some genin wobbling as if they were about to faint, and others began glancing to the shinobi around them. Jiyuu swallowed a large lump in his throat, knowing full and well that he would constantly be in danger with Sakana always on the hunt. She was going to be more trouble than he needed during this portion, and if he wanted to make it out alive, he would have to quell her bloodlust.

"To complete this portion, you must bring a Heaven and Earth Scroll to the very center of the Swamp of Misery, where you will find a large, cylindrical building! Once there, you must open whichever type of scroll you started off with, and you will officially pass! You will have only three days to complete the task, your final moments being at midnight on the final day! However, opening the scroll beforehand will cause the whole team to fail, even if only one person's curiosity was the main reason! And trust me, we will know if you open the scroll! People try it every year, and every year they fail right away, so just don't do it! Now, are we all ready, scrubs?"

There were no mutters of protest from the crowd, which was all the confirmation that the scrawny swordsman needed. He made a quick hand sign, and a cloud of smoke burst from between his hands. When it cleared, a small wooden box was visible, and he opened it to reveal small brown scrolls, and similar-sized white scrolls. "Then everybody should line up, we will begin shortly."

The genin didn't wait to comply, already forming a neat line of teams with Team One at the very end. The line was growing small very fast; each team who was given a scroll disappeared in a puff of smoke, being teleported to one of the extreme sides of the swamp's fencing. When our heroes finally got close, Jiyuu held out his hand to have a white scroll placed in it. He looked at it for a moment and ran his finger along it's smooth, paper exterior, wondering if he was really about to be put into a do-or-die situation. The sensation was so surreal, more so than his last experience with these exams was. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and placed the scroll in one of his weapon pouches, nodding to Ebi to show he was ready.

The proctor nodded back, and looked to the Hoshigaki and genjutsu-user to see their reactions. Sakana was already reaching over her shoulder and grabbing the handle of her five foot weapon, that troubling smirk even putting the scrawny swordsman on edge. Tsuyo, although a bit hesitant, gave a light nod as he bit his lip. "Alright then, good luck you three," the proctor told them before making a hand sign, causing the final team to disappear.

"...tch, filthy scrubs. They won't make it past the first day, I bet."

The three puffed into existence on, what they could assume was, the opposite end of the island, the chain-linked fencing giving them a rather serene view of the vast ocean leading away from home. The first thing any of them noticed right away was that the floor was muddy, very muddy. In fact, the mud was so thick that just standing still in it caused the three genin to sink an inch or two into it.

Tsuyo looked at his sandals and felt his spine quiver once the cold substance reached his toes, causing him to immediately shake the mud out. "W-We should get going, I d-don't want to spend the wh-whole three days in here."

Sakana chuckled and drew her blade, the intimidating weapon's cold steel surface gleaming from what little sunlight was now hitting it. "Oh hell yeah...let's get this thing STARTED!"

Jiyuu looked to both of them, and then brought his attention frontwards as he furrowed his brow. "Alright, you two," he said as he closed his eyes. His ocular veins slowly began to protrude from his temples, pulsating as a warm flow of chakra flowed through them and into his eyes. He parted his eyelids to reveal that his irises had tensed up, and a glowing white pupil was now present as his vision expanded, and his senses became heightened to levels that the average Byakugan could never achieve. He could hear better, smell better...feel the environment around him, and he hoped to himself that it would help them fight off the dangers that lurked within the dark reaches of the swamp.

"Let's go get us a scroll."

And with that, the three leapt into the Swamp of Despair, the last remnants of the outside sunlight fading away as they journeyed on deeper and deeper into the dangerous wilderness...and possibly, if they were unlucky enough, towards the ever-patient Shinigami, ready to take them away if they made a mistake.