'Thoughts' "Speaking" Author's Notes/ Bijuu Speaking "Telepathic Talking"
=Chapter 5: Cue the Exams!=
It was exam day. Temari, Kankuro, Naruto and the rest of the team had gone somewhere to catch up and train, but mostly to catch up and finalise plans. They all went under transformations to Suna and Kumo ninja, the two allied Kages were acting as if nothing happened and the other nations had arrived.
Over the week, the Suna siblings and Naruto developed some deadly tactics, which hopefully they could try out. The other team-members developed some tactics of their own, with the scarred trees, rocks and landscape to tell tales of it.
The fifteen nin head to the exam room for the first test in small groups, as not to raise suspicion. They were, for the most part, quite early and were pretty bored as they waited for the other nations to arrive.
Some more Suna and Kumo arrived, although slightly curious about some new people wearing their headband that they had never seen before. Soon after that, some minor villages arrived including Taki, one team from Ame and a four-person team from Kusa although none so far payed any attention to them, since being from the minor nations.
Konoha was next to arrive in small groups with the Konoha 9 leading the parade of some other teams but no one cared about the unimportant people. Iwa arrived and then finally, Kiri with some of the Chunin holding different swords marking their power.
The Konoha 10 started questioning Gaara's sibling and the disguised Naruto, who they found out was called Menma. He was relatively tall with black-hair and black arm-gloves as some of his protection.
They started chatting for a bit before they all scattered to their seats, hearing a voice. "Alright Chunins, here's the deal. Your proctor will be here soon so can these people please go to the room next door." The voice read out a bunch of names before half of the room stood up and went out of the room next door.
"Alright, now as a Jonin, you must be able to follow instructions quickly and efficiently, as well as gathering information and such," said the voice, talking to both rooms. "You will be test on your knowledge as a Jonin as well, so now onto the test:
"There are currently an unknown amount of paper scattered across the village of Sunagakure. Each room has a number assigned to it. If you are in the original room, you are Room 1 and so on. Your goal is to find an exam paper across the vast Sunagakure and complete the questions before the time runs out, with only two mistakes allowed. The paper will have your room number on it so no wrong papers otherwise you will be disqualified.
"You get it? If not, too bad. You have forty-five minutes, now start!" The exam room doors opened and the Chunin rushed out of it, but some leapt out of the windows and the two rooms spread out across the village of Sunagakure.
The first Chunins returned a few minutes later to each separate room, being the first to grab the papers scattered across the vast, sandy village. A few more minutes passed with some notable people from Konoha arriving, most specifically the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho with one of them muttering about the exam being 'too troublesome.'
One of the first arriving, Menma, got up from his table before throwing a kunai he had stolen into the corner of the room and hitting the exact intersect. In that moment, a Sunagakure ninja arrived into the room, probably being the proctor of the exam.
"That was quick, however I have not seen you here before... Menma-san. Kazekage-sama has told me a little about you. You must stay in the room and await further instructions, now that I am here." The proctor eyed the rest of the room and the Chunins arriving. "I currently have a clone repeating my exact words next door so let me tell you, my name is Agaka. Your worst friend or best friend."
The now named Agaka threw a kunai at one of the Chunin moved their head back as the kunai hit the centre of their paper. "Chunin, you're disqualified along with your team. If you think you can cheat and get away with it, you've got more than three wrong. What do they teach you in Kiri?"
The Chunin got up before the rest of his teammates followed suite, disappearing off to their rooms.
"Let that be a lesson to the rest of you. Thirty-five minutes remaining."
Menma sat back down before meditating and conversing with a fox and ignoring the people walking in and the pens tapping on the tables. Only a few times did he move his head slightly as to avoid incoming kunai striking people behind him.
'This truly is an interesting one...' thought Agaka as he eyed the black-haired Chunin. "Alright Chunins! You have one minute remaining!"
Menma's eyes snapped open as he observed the room around him. Most of the room was finished and it felt like most of next door was complete as well. Only the stragglers finally putting their pens down as the siren blared.
The proctor once more threw kunai, signalling a few more teams being disqualified before repeating the dreadful words all over again. "A Jonin must have very little mistakes. Even one mistake, no matter how small, could potentially kill you and your team or scar you for life."
The proctor eyed over the room once more. "You guys know the drill. One bonus question at the end. Doesn't matter if you get it wrong, it just gives your Kage an idea about you and your ideals. True or false? Those who abandon the rules are scum but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum. Those who think false, move to the other room but those who think true, come down here."
Some Chunin, most notably from Konoha and Suna moved instantly down to the bottom before some more followed. Some left before the two rooms mixed with a multitude more on the 'true' than 'false.'
"Alright, head over to Training Ground 15 before the snake mistress from Konoha castrates you."
=Training Ground 15=
The Chunins flocked to the gates outside of the training ground before snakes hissed and leapt out of the ground, Anko forming as they moulded together.
"Well, well, look what we have here! A nice, promising bunch of Jonin... or not!" She threw a kunai at Menma who grabbed it and threw it back at her. "Cocky brat, who do you think you are?"
"Menma of Sunagakure, Anko-san."
"Cocky brat. Alright Chunin! Listen up, you've got three days in the open desert to gather up clues and find the location of the hidden base, where you will be passed to the next exam! You also have a secondary task. Each time will have this crystal that they have to make sure does not get more than half destroyed- oh?"
"Kazekage-sama?" The snake mistress' face ran through a mixture of emotions before showing a sadistic grin. "Well look at that maggots! Word from Kazekage-sama that a certain demon tanuki has entered the chat- area! Orders to flee on sight if seen and call out its location for Kazekage-sama to restrain it if needs be!
"Now, where was I? Head over to the Jonin in those tents over there-" Anko pointed to the two shacks resting under a tree. "-and assume your teams. The real test starts now!"
=Third Person=
All of the teams reached their respective gates, waiting for the signal to start until the microphones in the area screeched of feedback.
"Testing... testing... 1... 2... 3...!" Anko's tell-tale voice screeched through the mic, making everyone who didn't cover their ears deaf for a slight bit. "Alright, on your marks!"
"3..."
"2..."
"1..." The metal gates creaked open, revealing the open desert, void of life.
"Go!" A roar echoed in the distance and the Chunins rushed in, anxious and ready to fight.
=Menma and Co.=
"Alright, so where should we check for clues first? I mean we could just stumble across the target base but that would be too simple - probably a trap," started Menma after jumping on top of another tree, bored.
"I think we should check that mountain in the distance first and set up camp around there," mentioned Temari as the group continued running to the mountain.
"I think that's a good idea, also let's try to avoid as many cameras as we can. I like the element of surprise and tension 'ttebayo."
The three nodded and continued en route. They spent a few minutes in silence until Menma did a bird call, earning one in response.
"We're near another team of ours, it's a signal we devised to make sure we don't make contact." The two siblings both chuckled at the clever mind of Menma as they very slightly veered of course, unaware of the shifting sand.
Another half-hour was spent rushing to the mountain, earning more bird calls and avoiding cameras. Chakra spiked in the area as Menma sighed.
"Oh you've got to be joking, 'ttebayo. Dodge!" The sand seemingly towered up before forming into the all too familiar Shukaku.
They dashed right, closely avoiding a smashed boulder, courtesy of an angry Tanuki which had seemingly been weakened by something.
"Naruto-sama?" said the Tanuki to Menma privately. "They're here!"
"What? How? You know, never mind that. You know where to go!"
"Why? Why? Why us? Puppet Art: Destruction Blades!" A puppet swung a exploded out of a scroll and sliced all of the raining rocks into pieces.
"Wind Style: Great Task of the Dragon!"
The three sprinted away from the area as fast as they could, not wanting to deal with Shukaku. Not like they couldn't anyways.
...well not like one of them couldn't.
They stopped behind a rock before watching the bijuu seemingly turned into sand and fell into the ground.
For the next hour, they had a few close calls with their own teammates but eventually made it to the mountain where they started peering under rocks for clues.
Suddenly, pineap- a male voice rang out through the air as a group of Kiri-nin appeared round the corner of a boulder. "That team better have a damn clue!" called out one, most likely the leader, who held the famous sword, Nuibari.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!" another one of them called out before mist started spreading around the area and clouding the vision of Team 1.
"Heh, I'm bored, so I'm going to have some fun here," said Menma before flickered away and outside of the spreading mist. "Interesting... Oi, up here!" called out Menma from on top of a tree.
"Die!" called out their leader before throwing the Nuibari with an extremely thin string attached to it, which did not go unnoticed by Menma who moved his head to the side to dodge the attack. "Annoying pest!"
Blood could be seen splattering out of the air as Menma fell lifeless to the ground with the sword sticking through him.
"And that's what you get if you mess with-" Menma poofed away, revealing it was a shadow clone that was merely hit. "-damn you!"
"So, I should at least know your name before you die, right? Menma, here, your executioner."
"Cocky aren't you? Kuriarare Kiriamaru, wielder of Nuibari. Now let's finish this!" Kiriamaru pulled his sword back before lunging at Menma who disappeared in a flicker and behind the wielder.
"You aren't going to hit me if you're only that fast!" Menma threw a kunai which was easily deflected by the sewing needle sword. Kiriamaru did the hand seals for Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu by relying on a patch of water hidden under a rock.
"Well, I've definitely seen some more skilled users of that jutsu than you," taunted Menma before doing the hand seals for Wind Style: Great Breakthrough and aiming at the incoming dragon head.
The dragon head exploded and left a wide-eyed Kiriamaru before regaining his self and rushing back towards Menma. After a bit of dodging, Menma rushed into battle and punched the boy in the gut and sent him flying backwards, as well as ever so slightly severing the ninja wire attached to the sword.
Our protagonist knelt down and started inspecting the sword before it was yanked back by Kiriamaru who stood back on his feet and started polishing his sword.
"Well, it's actually the real thing. Expected it to be a fake, since I don't think Mizukage-sama would assign yourself the true weapon-" The sword flew at Menma and sliced off a bit of his hair before on instinct, Menma grabbed the ninja wire and broke it in half, severing the connection between wielder and sword.
"Multiple Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" called out Menma, before throwing a kunai and it multiplying a thousand times over and heading straight for Kiriamaru. He managed to jump backwards with some shuriken cutting into his skin.
"You... you bastard!" called out Kiriamaru before engaging in a taijutsu fight over Nuibari, lying on the ground.
"Then I must be looking in a mirror," said Menma, after blocking a punch with his voice turning dark. His eyes flashed red before releasing killer intent on the Kiri-nin.
"You... monster!" called out Kiriamaru before backing off from Menma. 'This guy... is this the power of something worse than Mizukage-sama throwing a tantrum? The rumours... it can't be true... it's not possible!'
Kiriamaru visibly gulped in fear as he looked up, seeing a silhouette of a large turtle, three tails swinging behind it and large spikes covering the body. The ninja gulped in fear as the being roared, although nothing was actually happening in real life.
Kiriamaru passed out as Menma lay the Nuibari beside him.
"I have no need for this sword. Kiriamaru's teammates, you may take your leader and leave or face a punishment." The Kiri-nin gulped before slowly backing off and rushing away from the scene, never to be seen in the exam again.
From the battle, a few holes had been revealed under rocks until Menma reached into one and pulled out a scroll with 'Clue' written on top. He opened it and started reading it as his two teammates sat beside him to think about it.
Only what the Suna-nin didn't see for a bit were the Konoha-9, who had just watched everything that had happened.
"Hey Shikamaru, I feel bad for you. If that's who you're planning to marry, then you're pretty screwed if you mess up," Kiba said, awed at the fight. Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Troublesome exams."
"Let's go. We might be their next victims if we do-"
"Wait. Continue masking our chakra, we might be able to find out a clue of where we need to go, think for once forehead."
"Alright, pig, let's watch and see if we get wrecked by them!"
"That Multiple Shadow Shuriken Jutsu... I feel like I've seen it before. Why? Because my bugs think so and I remember someone from the Orange Fla-"
"Hold up, what?!" The rest of the group responded in shock at the Aburame's statement.
"I believe it was the leader. We'd encountered them before on a mission Lord Danzo sent us to get rid of some bandits."
"Oh yeah, I felt an odd, yet similar feeling when I used my Byakugan to watch the fight."
"So that's why Akamaru got restless when he saw that jutsu!"
The rest of the group looked at him in confusion before Kiba launched into an explanation that happened a few weeks prior to the exams.
*Ninja Art: Flashback no Jutsu!*
Team 8 were out on a mission to get rid of some bandits attacking a small town. They were about two days away from their location until they decided to rest near a small river.
It was a nice day but then they heard the tell-tale signs of a summoning jutsu. They hadn't sensed someone so they were confused by this. They decided to investigate where the sound came from and when they got to said location, they were quite shocked.
They saw multiple chakra signatures fade away into the distance, leaving two lone figures. They decided to lay low and watch what would happen. They saw one of the figures pull down their cloak revealing black hair. The other figure stayed under their hood, and they exchanged a bit of small talk until they distanced from each other and then charged at each other.
Their first attack created large shockwaves through the area, through plain chakra-enhanced taijutsu.
"That's a powerful attack from just chakra-enhanced hand," Hinata commented, turning on her Byakugan to observe all of the scene. She looked at her chakra and her teammate's chakra and they seemed just fine, this definitely wasn't a genjutsu.
The hooded figure ducked under a leg sweep and quickly returned a punch, only to be blocked and pushed slightly backwards. The black haired person only smirked while charging back at the hooded figure.
"You still can't beat me in taijutsu Leader-sama," the black-haired boy said, bringing out a kunai, throwing it and calling: "Multiple Shadow Kunai Jutsu!"
Team 8 was shocked to hear this revelation, the leader of the Orange Flames - the most well known rogue ninja group, in front of them and another member, no less.
They were even more shocked when they saw the leader throw a shuriken and call out: "Multiple Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" Each shuriken countered the incoming kunai, rendering all useless.
*Ninja Art: Flashback Jutsu - Release!*
"So you think that idiot over there," Sakura gestured at Menma who was idly chatting with Temari and Kankuro about their next move, "Is the leader of the Orange Flames?"
"Well... maybe it's someone else who uses the same jutsu, I mean from what I just saw, both Menma and the leader have large chakra reser- I rest my case," Kiba replied, scratching his chin and trying to listen to Menma's conversation.
"Yosh!" The Konoha 9 perked up at once and leaned in to listen to the conversation. "That leaves out the mountain and now we ha- itai!"
"Shut up or others might here us."
"There are already others here Temari," said Menma, bored and twirling a kunai around his finger before staring into the bushes.
"What do you mean? There's no one around here and I can't sense any signatures!"
"Yeah, I have to agree with sis on this one, there's no one around here."
"Look, right there in those bushes." He gestured to where the Konoha 9 were hiding. "Come out now before I have to get you myself."
"Impossible, there's no way he could've sensed us. What do we do Shikamaru?" whispered Choji to the lazy genius.
"Maybe we were talking too loud? Too troublesome to think abo-" Shikamaru promptly got slapped in the head, making him continue. "Maybe from our talk but then the other two should've sensed us."
"Who is it Menma? Are they a threat? Are they strong? Are they-"
"Your boyfriend and his friends? Yes. Are they a threat? No. Are they strong? No." Kankuro fell back laughing while Temari blushed to Hinata levels.
"Fang Over Fang! I'm strong you wimp!" The other Konoha-nin facepalmed at Kiba's superiority complex.
"Wind Style: Air Defensive Palm." Menma held up his hand and a solid wind wall formed around the palm, shielding Menma from Kiba's attack. "Hello again, Konoha."
"Oi Menma. Stop bothering them, let's go already, I'm pretty sure sis has had enough of her boyfriend for one day."
"See you later people! We've got a base to find, oh and if you want, there's a team from Iwa a bit sout-" He was cut off by all-too-familiar 'Chaa!' from a certain pinkie, who tore the ground apart.
"You're going to tell us what that clue says or you'll get it. There's 9 of us and 3 of you so this should be quick. Come on you lot." A wave of people jumped out of the bushes and rushed to the site.
"YOUTH!" Lee jumped straight to the field got his stance ready.
Menma brushed the feeling of excitement off and faced his opponents. 'Sakura-chan, Lee, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji. Looks like I'll finally get to witness how much you've learnt without being under a hood.'
=Kage Lounge=
"So Kazekage, it's my top Chunins against your so-called best? It's a three on one so I think you'll be losing this time."
"I'd think twice about that Hokage, they're not the top Chunins for nothing."
"Well, well, you're thinking high Kazekage-dono. I think your young age is getting ahead of you, they may have defeated those Kiri-nin but I doubt they stand a chance against the Hokage-dono's top Chunins."
'They're actually half right, Naruto can't go at his full power right now otherwise everyone would start getting suspicious plus any rash moves would start the war early...'
=Konoha and Suna Showdown=
'I need to make sure I don't get my mind seen by Ino otherwise they'll know who I am instantly and I can't go full power... what a predicament. Wait... I know!' "Furball! You know what to do!"
"Annoying brat. Don't bother me for the next half a day got it?"
"Alright."
"Reinforcements are coming!" He said way too happily for the Konoha 9.
"Mind Transf-"
"Wind Style: Cast Net!"
"Puppet Art: Revolving Blade Heavenly Drill!"
"Hey! Why are you attacking me?"
"We know your jutsu and we can't let you control us so..." Menma smiled sheepishly. "Anyways, Multiple Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"
"Choji!"
"Super Expansion Jutsu!" Choji expanded in time to block the incoming barrage of shuriken from Menma.
"Mind Body Transmission!" Ino placed her hand on Shikamaru, letting him see all of his surroundings.
"Gate of Shock! Open!" Pure chakra exploded from Lee, emitting a blue vapour.
"Shadow Possession!" Shikamaru's shadow reached out to control anything and everything.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" A large water dragon came out of a source of water on command from Sakura, roaring and heading towards the Suna-nin.
"Ninja Art: Weapons Barrage!" An insane amount of weapons came out of the three scrolls TenTen threw in the air.
"Human Boulder!" Shikamaru's Shadow Possession got hold of Choji swinging him round, annihilating everything in its path.
"Ninja Art: Man Beast Transformation followed by Fang Over Fang!" Akamaru transformed into Kiba and both of them spun wildly, aiming for the Suna-group.
"Parasitic Beetle Swarm!" Bugs swarmed out of Shino's arms, clouding the area.
"Eight Trigrams Twin Lion Fist!" Two blue lion heads appeared on Hinata's wrists and she charged forward into battle.
Now, most ninja would have been absolutely terrified from these attacks heading towards them. Temari and Kankuro were frightened for their lives - stuck in shock of how strong the Konoha 9 were. Menma stood there smirking and time slowed down for him.
Menma calmly walked to the front of the Sand Siblings and crossed his arms calmly at the incoming attack.
A barely transparent dome formed around Menma as the jutsu turned back into chakra, before their casters could sense them flowing into the black-haired boy's body.
'There's no way.'
'He absorbed our jutsus?!'
"Hey are we late?" A raven haired girl jumped down, followed by a blue haired girl and a blond boy.
"Nope, you're just in time," Menma responded before looking over to see the Konoha 9. "They're the problem, if you want, we can exchange clues to find the base?"
"Sure thing, I believe working in a team isn't prohibited, they are so... Go, Lyu!"
"Lightning Style: Lightning Armour!" Electrical armour covered his body, increasing his power and speed. "Spandex boy and pinky are mine! Lightning Style: Electrical Hammer!"
"Ko, you choose whoever."
"Byakugan girl, you're mine!" The disguised Dog charged at Hinata who dodged immediately, with her Byakugan blazing.
"So... we fight one-on-one again Tenten-san. I'll tell you, the outcome will be the same as last time," said Temari before bringing out her fan once more.
"I've grown Temari-san and don't think that I'll go easy on you again. Triple Rising Dragons: First, Second and Third Scrolls!"
"Heh, so I've got arrogant dog-boy with me. This should be fun! Come forth: Karasu, Kuroari and Sanshouo!"
"Man-Beast Clone! Fang Over Fang!"
Shino and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were left to face off against the raven-haired girl and Menma.
"So Fuu-chan, you got the Aburame?"
"Yeah, Chomei should take care of the bugs for us, rendering him useless unless he has tricks up his sleeves."
"Probably, just in case for situations like this. Try not to show all of your powers, they'll remember you from the exams."
"Alright, don't let your guard down."
"Who are you telling me?"
"I'm Fuu of Takigakure telling Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze to shut up and concentrate on the battle!"
"Used to be of Takigakure-"
"The girl's right kit. Concentrate."
"Go! You two already!"
"Parasitic Beetle Swarm!" Beetles swarmed out of Shino's arms but stopped a few metres away from the couple. "Odd. My beetles won't attack you, why? Because they seem to think your chakra is similar-"
"Never mind that Shino." Shikamaru cut the Aburame off before eyeing down his two opponents. "You've got other attacks as well?"
"I'm skilled in Earth Style Jutsu as well."
"I win the bet!"
"Damn you."
"Alright. Try to incorporate those in our tactics. Formation 2!"
"Mind Destruction Jutsu!" She attempted to take control of Menma but a wave of chakra dispelled the jutsu.
"Shadow Strangle Jutsu!" A shadow started strangling the two protagonists.
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!" A large hand reared back to punch our stuck protagonists.
"Earth Style: Earth and Stone Bamboo Shoots!" Four stone shoots exploded out of the ground and rushed to the two disguised Jinchuriki.
"Chomei!"
"Scale Powder: Blast from the Sky!" A cloud formed around the two, spraying a glittering powder in the area.
"Kurama!"
"Chakra Burst!" The attacks got knocked back once more, annoying the casters.
"Quick!"
"Multiple Shuriken Jutsu!"
"Shadow Sewing Jutsu: Paper Bomb!" The explosion stopped the incoming barrage only for him to look up and see Horse and Menma charging at him.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
"Super Expansion Jutsu!"
"Shadow Web!"
A large wall formed around the group, waiting for the incoming blast.
"Grab on to me, now's not the time!" The five Suna-nin grabbed onto Menma and they disappeared in a black flash. The Konoha-nin's faces changed from shock and into confusion as they weren't hit at all.
"Oi cowards! Come back here right now!"
"They're long gone Kiba. Their chakras aren't anywhere around us."
"Do you think they're behind the theft a month ago?" Hinata continued looking around the area for any clues of our protagonists.
"We can't be sure."
"Anyone injured?" A chorus of nopes and yeps came from the group and Sakura inwardly sighed. This was gonna be a long day...
"How unyouthful! Retreating like that is unacceptable! I was getting in a good fight as well!"
"We should set up camp for the night, it's getting kind of late."
"I'll take first watch. Too much trouble to try to get to sleep with this information."
The Konoha-nin started getting ready for the night, not noticing a tiny chakra ember in the distance, watching their every move.
=Dragon's Team=
"What on earth? You just pop out of nowhere and now you ask to get ready for an incoming danger?" An angry Dragon stared directly into Menma's eyes, releasing some killer intent.
"Mah mah, you're lucky I didn't go to your seal! At least I went to the kunai I gave you!"
"Naruto. It's them and they're heading this way."
"What? Already? I guess we can take care of them as they're outnumbered."
"Don't get cocky kit. They're definitely similar to father's chakra so don't mess about."
"Mah mah, you're too worried sometimes, we have many crazy powerful people over here so we're gonna be fine."
"Just put up a seal just to be safe, we can't risk me or Chomei to be taken."
"Fine."
"Misguiding Mirage!" A seal pattern spread out around the area of their camp, distracting anyone who dare came near.
"So, you've all got the clues?"
"Yep!" Fuu reached into her pocket and pulled out a scroll. "Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters."
"This thing all things devours: birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays king, ruins town, and beats high mountain down," Dragon read from his scroll.
"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life, kills laughter." Menma looked at his scroll in confusion. "Does anyone actually know what this means?"
"I'll check on the other groups and see what they found." Menma disappeared in a flash, leaving the group hidden behind trees.
"Let's see... Fuu. Your clue." Dragon spoke up. "It's obviously something that isn't alive but it can bite..." The wind picked up around our protagonists.
"This wind's cold... someone create some heat!" Tiger yelled, rubbing his hands.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" called out Dragon as the jutsu landed on the logs they had stacked creating some protection from the biting wind. Dragon continued on with his thinking. "Voiceless it cries..."
"I swear this wind feels like it's saying something to me!" Bird jumped around the fire. "Who keeps on biting me, because that's just weird!"
"Toothless bites..."
A chorus of 'not me!' came from the group, shivering around the fire.
"Who keeps muttering in my ear?"
"It's obviously a ghost." The rest of the group laughed at their antics. The wind started to pick up even more, rushing at our protagonists through the cold night sky.
"Mouthless mutters..."
"Definetely a ghost bro. I hear it too!" The rest of the group started to making 'ghost' sounds, making Kankuro turn slightly pale. The wind started biting at them and slight voices came out of nowhere.
"I've got it!" Dragon yelled in glee! The wind calmed down slightly, swirling around the small campfire, reducing it to an ember. "It's wind!"
The rest of the group stared at him like he was mad. "What?" They all said in unison.
"The first riddle! Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters! The wind!"
"Took you long enough." Menma walked out of the shadows and into the camp area. "Who else would've manipulated the wind like that to give you a clue?"
"So you made us cold and made me scared for no reason?" Kankuro asked, rage gathering behind his eyes.
"Cold? That wasn't me. Scared? Pure you. I'm going to sleep now. Long days tomorrow..." He summoned his tent from his scroll, got a shadow clone to keep watch and went out like a candle in water.
The rest of the group looked at each other, thinking about Naruto before putting the fire out and going into their tents.
In the distance, two figures stood, watching the embers of the fire go out, smirking and working out their plan.
"Kyuubi no Kitsune. Only a piece in our plan..."
How'd I do? Good? Bad? Awful? Trash? Amazing? Tell me!
Yes, I used the riddles from The Hobbit... Gollum part because I really didn't know what to do.
Anyways, as you can guess, Jonin Exams - Day 2 will be the next chapter and I'll try to do more fights!
If you have any suggestions, let me know and I'll incorporate them if I like them!
And that's all for now!
See you later: Ja ne!
