an:/ I love you guys. 'nuff said.
"Alright, let's explain the rules for your second test."
The silence fell over the crowd as they waited from Anko to start. She put up her hands as a sign of waiting. The silence was broken with a echoing roar that was heard from inside the forest. Anko let out a malevolent grin.
"Fluffy's hungry..."
Yoki inwardly chuckled as the rest of the genin tensed up.
"Alright, now onto the rules. It's quite simple, actually. Set up, throughout the forest, are 22 warehouses labeled with their numbers. You will receive a map, but it won't show where the warehouses are, just the geography. In each warehouse, there is exactly one scroll. You need two scrolls, one earth and one heaven. Now remember, DO NOT OPEN THE SCROLLS UNTIL YOU'RE AT THE CENTER! Open them earlier and I'll personally kill you"
Anko held up two scrolls, one was blue with the Kanji "Heaven" and one green with the Kanji "earth". The genin all focused hard on the scrolls, memorizing it's specific color and the pattern of the cloth around it, in order to counter any genjutsu. A female genin called out.
"If there are only 22 warehouses, does that mean that only 11 teams will pass?"
"Correct, little girl! Only 11 of your poor excuses called teams will pass. And have I mentioned that, getting them from a warehouse isn't the only option, taking them from other teams is a possibility. You will have exactly three days to complete this test."
Anko smirked as the genin started to shift around. The Akimichi heir, Chouji called out.
"If we are staying there for three days, what do we do for food?"
"Ha! There are plenty of creepy crawlies in this forest that are possible food...or your end."
Anko chuckled and turned around as the genin started murmuring among themselves.
"Anymore questions?...Good. Alright, there is a tent on your left that will hand out your map. Send out one person per team to acquire your map and other materials. You will also be given a gate number. Meet up with your team and walk over to your gate until further instruction."
Yoki looked at his group.
"I-I'll get the scroll. M-meet you later."
Yoki partially skipped away towards the tent, leaving the other three to talk among themselves.
"Hn, that Yoki guy is sketchy"
"Ha, tell me about it. He seems nice and all, but I feel like his timing is just too suspicious. I've never seen him at the academy or under any team. We can't really trust him."
"Guys! He's our teammate! Naruto-sensei introduced us to him, so there's nothing to be sketchy about. He might've been under an apprenticeship."
"Yeah, but he's got only academy graduate skills, and average on top of it. Why is he suddenly taking the chuunin exams? If he was under an apprenticeship, wouldn't it have shown up on his card? Wouldn't he be better?"
"Hn. The card may not have shown everything. But what I found odd was how he burned the card of Naruto-sensei before we could read his jutsus."
Sasuke was disappointed. If he was to get stronger, he would have to increase his jutsu arsenal. What better example to copy than the prodigy of Konoha, the Yondaime's son? Sakura interrupted his thoughts.
"Maybe because he's just loyal friend to Naruto-sensei."
"Che- maybe we're just over thinking."
"Yeah, guys. Calm down, nothing to worry about."
Yoki was listening in to his genin's conversation. He either really sucked at espionage or maybe it's just because the genins knew everyone in Konoha. Either way, he'd have to work better on his acting skills. What did he do wrong to have a bunch of genins catch his cover? Yoki sighed and left for the tent.
Yoki met up with his team and gave them the number for their gate. As they made their way around the field to Gate 45, Yoki looked at the other teams. A majority of them looked menacing but Yoki knew that they were probably all bark and no bite. A few of them, however, were definitely ones to look out for. One Kusagakure kunoichi caught his eye but he decided to brush it off. As Yoki turned his head to catch up with his team, the kunoichi twisted her neck in an almost inhuman way and looked at his team and and gave a psychotic grin.
Each gate was guarded by a chuunin that informed the genin what their next instructions. A bang would announce their entrance and at that point they would continue their test. They were left with thirty minutes to plan. Yoki took this to his advantage and called his team to a circle.
"U-Uh guys. We should plan this out."
The three genin looked at him like he grew a second head. It was almost as if Yoki declared himself team leader. It only aroused the same suspicions Sasuke and Konohamaru had earlier.
"Sure, Yoki"
"Hn."
"Alright, Yoki-kun."
The three genin walked up to Yoki and they all crouched down. Yoki started.
"N-Naruto-sensei taught me a bit of fuuinjutsu. When we get the scrolls, we can seal them into scrolls so the byakugan or any other doujutsu can't see them. It will limit the amount of attacks we have."
Konohamaru narrowed his eyes. Did Yoki think they were gonna let him have their scroll?
"-Sure, Yoki-kun. Sounds like a great idea!"
Konohamaru inwardly grimaced. How can Sakura trust him so easily?
"A-and uh, I know you guys may not trust me, b-but I assure you, I mean no harm!"
Yoki squeaked a bit, it wasn't really the affect he was hoping for but the effects were immediate.
"Aw, Yoki. Don't think that way! You're our nakama!"
"Hn. Sure, I guess. Though the real question is, why now? Why have you chosen to join our team now?"
Yoki's eyes narrowed. He felt a bit weird being 'interrogated' by his genin. He had to quickly think of a story before it was too late.
"I-I'm actually a refugee from the L-Land of Iron. My town was d-destroyed so I moved here around a month ago. I was able to learn some ninjutsu but I-I normally specialize in kenjutsu. My kenjutsu is excellent so I-I was able to get a special request with the hokage to take the chuunin exams."
"You're card said nothing about kenjutsu!"
"T-That's because the Hokage didn't have time to register me properly as a ninja so he checked off the b-bare minimum to be a genin. W-which brings me to my next topic. That Kabuto guy, he shouldn't have a-any of those information since they are village official information that only a select few can see them. H-He's a bit suspicious and we should be on the lookout."
"See guys? There was nothing to be suspicious of!"
Yoki inwardly chastised. Oh yes, there is and you're not even aware of it.
"Hn. I have to admit, that Kabuto character is a bit off. What do you guys suggest we do?"
"Kick his ass, that's what."
"That's not really a suggestion, Konohamaru-kun."
"S-Sakura's right. I-I think this w-whole test is just fishy."
Yoki thought that if there was an issue with this test, at least his genin should know about it.
"What do you mean, Yoki-kun?"
"T-There are some suspicious people that call themselves genin. W-we should stay on our toes."
"Alright, you four, get ready, you're time is up."
The chuunin walked up to the four and placed his hands on Yoki and Konohamaru's shoulders.
"Good luck, you guys. Show how kickass Konohagakure's genin are, even if you're a refugee.-"
The chuunin winked at Yoki, then smiled at the four genin.
"But most of all, make us proud. Are you ready?"
The four genin nodded and smiled back. They walked up to the gate. The gate was chainlink and had barbed wire at the top. There was a waiting box, a door metal door on the outside and another on the other side. The chuunin walked into the box with them and locked the door behind him. A flare appeared at the top of the training grounds then a large bang. The chuunin unlocked the doors and the four genin sprang out, leaving the chuunin in the dust of their speed.
The chuunin smiled, then put his hands to a seal, undoing a jutsu. The chuunin poofed from existence and was replaced with the Yondaime Hokage. He smiled, wishing his son and his team all the luck.
His face dropped though a few seconds later, turning into a hardened expression. If what his son was saying was correct, Konoha had a snake to exterminate along with an assistant and army.
Yoki sprang off with the rest of his team, smiling. How could he not recognize the chakra of the 'chuunin'? Twelve years around that old dog has bound to get some recognition. The four genins halted in the tree tops and circled around. Konohamaru took out the map and rolled it out.
"Alright guys, we need to find a warehouse, and we need to find it fast. If we don't get the scrolls in three days, we're out of the game. What's gonna be our game plan, Sakura."
"Alright, if there are 22 warehouses, they should be spread out evenly throughout the grounds. My guess is that they are within a mile radius of each other and the border. If my calculations are correct, we should be within three fourth's of a mile to at least one."
"I-I can pinpoint one if you'd like."
"Alright, Yoki. Do your thing."
Yoki went through several hand seals. He had learn this jutsu on his trip when he ran into a few Iwa nins. He was spying on them and when they went though these seals, they were able to sense where he was like a sonar. He would've been frozen in awe if it wasn't for the Iwa nin attacking him, thinking he was his father.
Douton: Chikyuu no Hansha, Hankyouteii!
Yoki sent out a pulse of chakra around his surroundings. The wave bounced off and returned to him.
"2 o'clock, 1 klick away."
The genin nodded then jumped in the direction Yoki pointed out. As they approached twenty feet away, they looked behind the branches at the now visible warehouse.
It was a rather plain building, but modern compared to the rest of Konoha. The warehouse was cubic, completely made out of cement. In bold white, the number 13 was etched across the wall. There was a steel door next to the number. Konohamaru looked at Yoki and signed to him to use the jutsu again. Yoki made the same hand seals and whispered out the jutsu again.
Douton: Chikyuu no Hansha, Hankyouteii!
Yoki let the information come back to him and his eyes snapped open. He signed to the other genin.
"Three other teams headed this way, wait and watch"
As Yoki said, several seconds later, a team of Kumo genin entered the clearing. One had light blue hair with a face that looked punched in. The other had a light blond greasy hair that came down to his shoulder. The last one was a red haired girl that had sharp green eyes. The blue haired genin shouted.
"Well whaddaya know! This is a piece of cake! There's no one here!"
"It seems Konoha has gotten soft with their exams. If it were Kumo, a huge summon would have eaten us by now." The red headed added.
"Heh, comes to show how much better Kumo is to this dump." The blonde sneered.
Konohamaru's fists tightened and Yoki placed his hand on Konohamaru's shoulder and squeezed. Konohamaru relaxed a bit but didn't keep his eyes off the Kumo nin. The watched as the three in the clearing walked up casually to the warehouse. The blue haired grabbed the handle of the door and yanked.
"Man! They bolted the damn thing shut! How the hell are we suppose to get it open?"
The blonde banged on the door, waiting a few moments. The Redhead took out a sword. Yoki could see she wasn't adept at it by the amateur way she held the katana. She swiped at the door but the Katana was deflected off the steel door, leaving a spark at the contact. The blue stuck an explosive tag at the door and the three darted away. The huge explosion was followed by a large thunk which was presumably the door. The smoke began to dissipate and the Kumo nin walked up.
"That did the job."
They took a step forward before several things darted out of the warehouse. When everything settled, there was a giant shuriken lodged in the chest of the blonde genin and seven figures lined up outside the warehouse entrance. The figures stood up straight, revealing identical konoha nin dressed in chuunin outfits. Yoki signalled to the rest of his teammates.
"Puppets."
The other two Kumo nin got into stance. The blue haired took out a kunai while the Redhead posed her sword. The two genin engaged with the seven figures but were immediately taken down. No matter how many stabs and slices the Kumo got on the enemy, the figures wouldn't falter which only proved Yoki's theory. Yoki held his hands up again, then signed.
"We have to get in there quick, another team closing in .75 klicks."
The other four genin nodded, swallowing hard at the sight of the dead Kumo genin. Yoki summoned a Tanto, swiping behind a few of the figures, watching them fall to the grown in a heap of wood and clothes. The other three did the same, taking out the last three. Sasuke paused at the door and held his hand up to the rest of the group. Sasuke walked into the warehouse followed by Konohamaru. Yoki and Sakura stayed outside for lookout.
Sasuke and Konohamaru entered the warehouse and came in contact with a chuunin. He nodded at them and walked over to a table and handed them an earth scroll. The chuunin shunshined away, causing the lifeless puppets to disappear as well. The two walked out of the warehouse to find Yoki and Sakura.
When they came out, they saw Sakura and Yoki engaged with three Kiri genin. At that moment, Yoki slashed at one of them, successfully taking him out.
"We want your scroll! Give it to us!"
Yoki swiped at him too but the Kiri nin dodged. Sakura was engaged in a taijutsu match with the other Kiri kunoichi. They exchanged blows but Sakura couldn't keep up. Sakura shot out a wheel kick but the kunoichi ducked under and tried to a sweeping kick. Sakura jumped up and prepared an ax kick that was then blocked and shoved off. As Sakura backflipped away, the Kunoichi pulled out a kunai and did a downward diagonal strike as Sakura landed only for Sakura to dodge and roundhouse kick the girl away. This gave enough time for Yoki to yell out switch. Sasuke and Konohamaru quickly engaged Yoki's previous opponent as Yoki appeared in front of the Kiri kunoichi and delivered a flying thrust kick the girls face. She was launched into the tree a few meters away and she slumped to the floor, motionless. Yoki turned around Sakura and smiled. Yoki left to inspect both Kiri nin he took down for the scroll. He smirked as he pulled out a Heaven scroll from the Kunoichi's back pocket.
"Look what we've got here, guys. Team Naruto, let's move out!"
The Kiri nin Sasuke and Konohamaru was previously engaged with let out a string of curses, charging at Yoki with full intent to kill. Yoki straightened up and looked at the boy and narrowed his eyes. As the boy closed in, right as the boy cocked back his kunai back, ready to strike at Yoki's throat, he paused. He started straight into Yoki's eyes with his own wide ones. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth as his eyes slowly dropped to his chest. The boy let out a cough filled with blood. Yoki traced his eyesight down to where the boy was looking. Yoki had his Tanto dug hilt deep into the cavity of his chest, piercing through his lungs and heart. The boy's eyes rolled back as Yoki drew back a little and shoved the boy off his Tanto. Yoki looked at his blade, then flicked the blood off his blade with a flick of the wrist. He sheathed the blade then looked at his clothes. The Yoki looked unfazed at the amount of blood splattered on him, smearing a little on his mask as he pushed his glasses up. His fellow teammates looked at him, shocked beyond words. Yoki looked at them and said in stoically.
"After you see war, you're never the same. Let's go."
Yoki sealed the scrolls into another scroll of his own and sealed it into a seal on his skin. The genin remained quiet, letting the sound of Yoki move echoed through the clearing. The boy shuffled and pointed in the direction they had to go and moved out. The genin silently followed.
The rest of the time, the whole trip had been silent. Yoki lead the group to the center where the rendezvous was. Sasuke's eyes were narrowed, but was mostly unbothered by the earlier display. What made that Yoki kid that indifferent to killing? Konohamaru was thinking along the same lines, but he also questioned whether he would be as emotionless as well. Sakura was on the verge of tears from just the event herself. She was so stuck at the event she couldn't question anything. The three genin's thoughts came to a halt as Yoki stopped, holding his hand out for the rest to follow. They all landed next to Yoki on the branch. The looked up in time to see Yoki's eyes widen into panic.
"G-Guys, RUN!"
after researching, I've realized that clicks are actually spelled klicks, whoops.
NEXT CHAP IS ALREADY OUT
Douton: Chikyuu no Hansha, Hankyouteii!-earth style: Earth's reflection, echolocation
-
an:/ ya'll thought I'll just leave you with one chapter after an entire weekend off? Haha, I'm not that bad. Just gave a fake cliffhanger.