Chapter 12- A Daring Rescue Mission: Squad Fourteen Arrives!

"Get back here!" Akira screamed, reaching into his pocket for one of the shuriken he kept on hand. With a precise throw, Akira forced Kensho to turn and deal with the projectile, deflecting the shuriken with an equally accurately thrown shuriken of his own. Rather than continuing to flee, Kensho decided it was best to go on the offensive, dashing through the treetops directly towards Akira. The Leaf Genin pulled back his Katana swinging it wildly in the direction of his adversary. The abrupt attack did indeed catch Kensho by surprise, but merely by raising his right arm was Akira's attack completely nullified.

The melody arm attached to his appendage connected with Akira's sword, sending sparks in every which direction. The clash created a small flash of bright light, momentarily blinding Kensho. With the Byakugan, Akira was completely unaffected by the blast of illumination and he used his free arm to throw a hook to his adversaries left ear. The shinobi fell to the ground, and, just as Akira was about to deal a finishing blow with his katana, Kensho cleverly dropped a smoke bomb, completely catching the young Uzumaki off guard. The Sound Genin used the momentarily lapse in Akira's guard to throw a powerful punch to the Leaf shinobi's midsection. However, with the Byakugan, Akira was able to see through the smoke and block the punch, using his katana to clash once more with the metallic melody arm.

Something went wrong. A high-pitched noise resonated throughout Akira's bones, jarring him to his knees. Abnormal feelings of nausea and discomfort arose as deep as his very soul and Akira couldn't help but to cover his ears to stop the vibrations.

"Cool isn't it?" Kensho shrugged, delivering a kick to Akira's temple that left him lying dazed on the forest floor. "I wonder how your teammates are doing?"

"They're probably on their way to help me take you down!" Akira scoffed, trying to regain his composure.

"Is that what you think?" the boy laughed in response. "I'm surprised with those eyes of yours, you couldn't tell the difference between your own teammate and an impostor. Do you really think I'd try to take you both on without back up? Maybe those eyes aren't as great as you think they are."

Akira flipped to his feet, making sure to firmly grasp the katana in both of his hands. Again, he slashed his sword, planting his right foot so that he might spin in the opposite direction and deliver another attack. Easily sidestepping the first vertical-swipe of the sword, Kensho ducked under the second attack and delivered a startling uppercut with his mechanical fist. The sheer force behind the blow was almost enough to knock Akira out with a single blow. However, Akira flipped back just as the hit was about to connect, softening the blow to that of a light jab. Kensho had no plans of lightening his onslaught and the young Genin rushed forward, planning to finish Akira off before he could get the chance to counter attack.

Akira's feet hit the ground and the young Leaf ninja found himself just an inch away from Kensho's metal appendage. He knew he couldn't avoid the attack, and blocking the blow was out of the question. He couldn't use his arm to soften the blow and a direct punch from the melody arm would surely be enough to break through any of Akira's bones. He had to redirect it, and he knew only one way how. Again, using his foot as a pivot, Akira spun in a clockwise direction, releasing chakra from every tenketsu on his body. The spinning motion, combined with the outward flux of chakra, created a massive shield of pulsating chakra. Normally used to parry projectiles, the Rotation Technique was more than enough to repel Kensho who couldn't stop his forward momentum to avoid the technique. His body was tossed back, throwing him wildly against a tree trunk. Akira had no intention of his attack ending there as he rushed forward to deliver a roundhouse kick to his nemesis. However, Kensho gathered his bearings just in time, blocking the blow with his metal arm and once more unleashing a barrage of sound waves.

Akira had no effective counter to the maneuver. His only method of defense was to cover his ears with his hands, but the thin blanket of flesh proved to be no match for the high frequency that pulsated throughout Akira's body. He flailed about desperately trying to quell the noise to no avail, and again Akira met with a blow to the jaw, from the Otogakure shinobi's free, non-mechanical arm. The Sound Ninja followed up for a second attack, but Akira narrowly managed to deflect the blow with a kunai that he drew from his holster.

'This isn't good...' Akira took a deep breath to think. 'I can't get close to attack!'

'LOOK ABOVE!' a voice roared in Akira's ears. The child looked up, throwing a kunai almost instantaneously, hitting a branch that had been hanging by a thread. It wasn't much, but the impact from the kunai was enough to cut the branch lose and send it tumbling down to the ground below. The falling object caught the Sound Genin off guard, and he was forced to jump to the right to avoid the falling debris. When he trained his eyes back on the Leaf Genin, he found that he was inches away from the sharp blade of a katana.

Akira planned to make this attack the last.

"Wait... can you play that again?" Shikamaru asked, squinting. He was pretty sure he saw something unusual on the tape, but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Of course, they were looking for oddities and Shikamaru didn't want to miss anything or to imagine something that wasn't there.

Guy rewound the tape, playing it from the beginning once more. He, along with Shikamaru Nara, Mika Sarutoki, Rock Lee, Choji Akimichi, Shino Aburame, Genma Shiranui, and the man known only as Yamato, watched the video for a second time. Under the Hokage's instructions they were supposed to keep a close eye on one of the children near the back of the room. He didn't seem anything special- short, black hair, and rather slim in stature. Shikamaru assumed it was because of the Rock Village insignia on his headband that they were told to keep an eye on him.

This year, the Chunin exams weren't just simple tests of strength to acknowledge a young Genin's power. The Tsuchikage turned this year's string of tests into a competition between countries to assert their dominance. With Iwagakure only sending one team to partake in the exams, the Rokudaime Hokage was assured that they were going to be the strongest Genin that the village had to offer. It had almost always been against the rules to tape the first round of the exams, but the honorable Sixth Hokage, felt that this year offered some special circumstances. Immediately after the conclusion of the first exams, Kakashi confiscated the tapes and watched the entire hour exam from start to finish.

The tape begins rather normally. Kiba gave the string of rules that are inherent of all written tests administered in the Chunin Exams, and then the test was passed out. Those students who were skillful in reconnaissance began scanning the room with their various talents. The Jonin watched as Katsu activated her Sharingan, copying Akira's every move. Other students used an elaborate collection of mirrors or, in the case of a few of the Inuzuka taking the exam, they used their ninken to harmlessly scan overtop the crowd of shinobi for correct answers. Even other ninja panicked at their inability to answer a single question, showing genuine fear and nervousness. Kiyoshi was among these students.

Then there was this one child, the one with the Rock Village headband. For thirty-two straight minutes, the child sat in absolute silence; never moving to even scratch his nose. After the thirty-third minute, something strange, almost unsettling, flashed for just a mere moment and the child began to work. This time, it wasn't only Shikamaru who noticed. Shino's and Choji's eyes grew wide just as the moment passed.

"Was that..." Choji began to stammer, but Shikamaru had Guy rewind it once more, this time to the thirty-minute mark.

The Sixth Hokage had reentered the room, this time taking Guy's place and pausing the video at the exact moment in question. He had watched the tapes countless time, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating. He had hoped somewhere that some other student had activated a Genjutsu of some sorts, making things appear as though they were not. However, the Hokage, even after watching the full video seven times, could not find any source of foul play.

For just a small moment in time, the child's eyes were no longer their dull, green color. In that small flash of time, the child's eyes were as red as freshly spilled blood, and decorating the inside were three tomoe. There was no way to get around this; the boy definitely possessed the Sharingan.

"Theories," Kakashi demanded. It was more of a statement and not a question. He wanted to know how this child could be in possession of the Sharingan. He was clearly older than Katsu so, in order for there to be a natural born Uchiha with the Sharingan, he had to have been Sasuke's eldest child. However, there was no record of Sasuke ever stepping forth in the Rock Village during the brief period before Katsu's birth.

"It has to be a trick," Mika frowned, stepping closer to the screen. She was far too young to remember Sasuke very well, but even she knew the power of the Sharingan through legend and various stories passed down throughout Leaf Village lore. "Isn't this impossible?"

"...it's not," Shikamaru rebutted, closing his eyes. "Geeze, what a drag. I said it back then that this was going to come back and bite us in the hand one day."

"Spit it out," Kakashi spurned, taking a step forward. For the first moment in a long while, Kakashi was visibly worried.

"Obito's laboratory. After Sasuke told us the whereabouts of the fortress, we never were able to locate the many Sharingan he had stored there," Shikamaru shrugged, folding his arms to show his contempt. "Maybe Sasuke knew this the entire time. Maybe the idiots pulling the strings over in Iwagakure in exchange for a few of those magical eyes."

Kakashi pulled down his mask to reveal his Sharingan eye, allowing everyone to get a deep look at its bright red color. It had been there for almost forty years, helping him in battle and making him the ninja that he was today. He had so much to thank Obito for. However, he also had so much to hate Obito for.

"A transplanted Sharingan eye cannot be turned off and turned on at will," Kakashi reminded Shikamaru, trying to check off useless theories.

"Yeah," Shikamaru argued back. "Like someone can't be transplanted with a Kekkei Genkai or can't live forever by stealing the bodies of helpless victims."

"Now that you mention it," Yamato agreed, noting his own strange talents through the various experiments and tests run on him as a child. "This doesn't sound like Sasuke; he's too proud of his lineage to just hand out Sharingan for favors. Who but that snake Orochimaru could make such an abomination."

"So, who's pulling the strings over at the Hidden Rock Village?" Lee finally perked up. "Orochimaru or Sasuke?"

"We'll deal with that as it comes along," Kakashi shook his head, pressing the play button so that video could continue. "The boy's name is Shin Oyama, and, if he truly does possess the Sharingan, we need a plan for one of our Genin to defeat him. We cannot allow Iwagakure previal."

Shikamaru again posed the greatest plan of action, suggesting that the Jonin should rig the tournament, allowing the strongest Leaf Ninja to take on the foe with the strange Kekkei Genkai that he shouldn't have. Choji immediately pointed to the morality of rigging the tournament, but Shikamaru had an answer to that as well, pointing to the fact that they had already taped the first round of exams, clearly indicating that they weren't above bending a few rules. The only question was, who would fight such a strong opponent?

"Kiyoshi," Guy suggested, his voice unusually calm. Of course, the circumstances called for a calm and level head, but for Might Guy to make such an outrageous suggestion seemed to call for an equally copious amount of confidence to protrude from his voice. Shikamaru was once again going to play the voice of reason, suggesting that Katsu, or perhaps one of the more experienced Genin, would be better suited against such a powerful enemy, but Guy wouldn't give him the chance to speak. "I've spent my entire life thinking of strategies to best the Sharingan. Over the course of the past month, I bequeathed every ounce of knowledge I had on the subject to little Kiyoshi so that he could take Katsu out in the finals no problem. He's the best suited and you all know it."

No one argued. After making such a short, yet compelling defense for his claim, Shikamaru was satisfied that Guy was most likely right. Fighting an opponent with such a specialized set of advantages required an individual with specialized training to take them down. They would set things up so that Kiyoshi would fight the boy first and, if he were to fail, Katsu's own sharingan would make her the most likely of opponents for the Rock Ninja. The duo had the best chance to bring victory for the Leaf Village.

With satisfaction, the shinobi continued to scan the video for any other abnormalities, making sure to pay close attention to the other two Rock Village ninja. With their concentration completely immersed into the screen, Shino Aburame easily managed to fade into the darkness. With what information he had just procured, Shino had much to share with his team.

"Can you take one more?" Kensho questioned, throwing Akira's unconscious body to the forest floor.

Another Sound Ninja crouched just a few meters away, his hand flat on Katsu's forehead. She had a blank stare painted across her face as she stared dully at her captives. The second Otogakure Shinobi placed his free hand on Akira's forehead as well so the jutsu could activate. The Mind Daze Jutsu was a simple technique, using a high-pitched frequency that disrupted an opponent's cognitive thought. However, the sound waves were very short, requiring physical contact between the user and the victim. As long as he held his hands on their foreheads, the two Leaf Genin would remain completely docile. It was the perfect time to search them for their scroll. However, something was wrong.

"Where's Rei?" the second of the two ninja asked, looking up at the other.

"She'll be on her way shortly, Bito," Kensho responded.

There was a reason Bito didn't participate in combat. He was scrawny and dreadfully short, clocking in a few inches short of Kiyoshi. He didn't find himself physically fit for combat, nor did he particularly have the stomach for it. While Kensho and Rei had no qualms over bloodshed, Bito preferred to stand on the sidelines to look over captives. It was just so much simpler. Like his teammates, Bito wore a standard Otogakure Melody Arm, however his face was not shrouded in a hood. Instead, he was clothed in a gray, turtleneck shirt with long black sleeves and gray pants that were slightly too long and dragged on the ground.

Kensho knelt down, taking a good, hard look at Akira. He normally took such delight in watching the blank stares of his brother's victims, but Akira's eyes didn't allow offer such satisfaction. The Byakugan forced a perpetual soulless appearance painted across the boy's face. It was momentarily unsettling, but Kensho found it best to press on, reaching into the boy's jacket pocket in search of their scroll. When he couldn't find the coveted treasure on the boy, he then began to search Katsu, the Uchiha with the giant attitude. For someone who was part of the fabled Uchiha Clan, Kensho felt that she was defeated far too quickly. Unable to decipher the tricks behind their jutsu with her Sharingan, Katsu became quickly frustrated. Her anger was her downfall.

"She should've been back by now," Kensho frowned, unable to locate the scroll. He recalled seeing the other Leaf Shinobi, Kiyoshi, with it in his possession, but, like all things in the ninja world, Kensho wasn't overlooking the possibility that the scroll he saw was merely an illusion. For all he knew, the other two could've possessed fake scrolls meant to confuse attackers. He should've known that those three didn't practice much in terms of foresight. "I'm going to look for her. The plan was for her to take that kid out as quickly as possible... she must've me with some resistance."

"Well, you could say that," a voice rang from the treetops.

Three shinobi descended from the forest floor, sending a gust of wind towards Kensho and his teammate. Bito, in a moment of shock, almost removed his hands from the foreheads of Akira and Katsu, potentially severing his control over their minds. He couldn't move, lest the numbers would shift dangerously into favor of their opponents. He was just going to have to trust that Kensho would be able to deal with the newest threat... yet there was something unsettling about the meeting. The largest of the three intruders was carrying an unconscious Rei over his shoulder. Without care or hesitation, he flipped her body onto the cold forest floor.

Kensho felt it was in his best interest to remain calm.

"And who might you three be?" he asked, never raising a fist. A one on three altercation was not a certainty in his favor, and he wasn't above negotiating his teammate's safety in return for their scroll.

"Squad Fourteen of the Hidden Leaf Village," Shikawa answered matter-of-factly, laying another body on the ground. However, unlike Choya's handling of Rei, Shikawa made sure to treat Kiyoshi's unconscious heap with care. "Inoki, continue taking care of Kiyoshi. Choya and I can handle these two."

"Right," the kunoichi muttered. Inoki dropped to her knees, focusing most of her chakra into the palms of her hand, creating a mystical green glow. Placing her hands over Kiyoshi's chest, she hoped to slow down whatever poison was crawling around his veins. By activating the Second Gate, the Gate of Healing, Kiyoshi had managed to push back most of the foreign agent, however, it had merely postponed the inevitable. Inoki was able to use the basic Healing Jutsu, better known as the Mystical Palm Jutsu. However, she wasn't knowledgeable on the parameters surrounding the Poison Extraction Technique. They needed to find a real medical ninja and soon.

Kensho smiled, realizing that the odds were slightly better then he had previously imagined. Like Bito, the kunoichi had to remain in direct contact with Kiyoshi at all times. Otherwise, it was likely that the boy would perish from Rei's poisons. As it stood, Kensho felt rather confident in a one on two confrontation. He cracked his knuckles and let out a small smirk.

He didn't take the time to make an oral rebuttal. Instead, the Sound Shinobi rushed forward and leapt high into the air, thrusting his fist on to the forest floor. The sheer force of his punch, coupled with the emitting sound waves, created a powerful shockwave, strong enough to toss Shikawa and Choya back a few meters. However, the technique proved rather fruitless, as the boy couldn't follow up with another attack. Kensho was aware that he had to remain between the Leaf Shinobi and his teammate. If they were to separate Bito from Katsu and Akira... He had to make sure Choya and Shikawa kept their distance.

Choya was the first to attack, charging forward with his arm pulled back to deliver a single decisive blow. Kensho used the sluggishness of Choya's attacks to his advantage, easily managing to avoid the blow and delivering a punch of his own to the Akimichi's midsection. However, Choya took the punch on the chin and grabbed Kensho by his shirt collar, using his massive strength to lift the Sand Shinobi his over his head. Before Choya could toss the ninja headfirst into the ground, the Otogakure Shinobi released another volley of sound waves from his Melody Arm, using the Vibrating Echo Drill to unbalance his opponent. Choya oddly felt his strength draining and could no longer support Kensho's weight, immediately losing his balance and almost tripping. The lapse in concentration allowed Kensho to slip from Choya's grasp, and the Sound Ninja was able to deliver another punch to his adversary's midsection.

As he reared his arm back for another blow, Shikawa leapt into the fray, swinging a large fuma shuriken. Kensho narrowly blocked the oversized shuriken with his melody arm, but it left his other side completely open and susceptible to the fuma shuriken in Shikawa's other hand. With little hesitation, Kensho shot a perfectly aimed blast of concentrated sound waves directly at the oncoming weapon, knocking the shuriken from Shikawa's grasp and into the grassy flooring. Shikawa wasn't going to let up, however, delivering a heel kick to Kensho's ribcage. Before he could catch his breath, Choya rushed the Sound Ninja, taking his legs out from underneath him and flipping Kensho high over Choya's head. He hit the ground with a remarkably loud thud.

"It seems we have some sort of... misunderstanding," Kensho coughed, struggling to stand to his feet..

"Oh?" Shikawa said in return, never changing the indifferent look on his face.

"Just give us their scroll and you can have these two back," he smiled, waving his arms in an "I surrender" fashion. "Seems like a fair trade doesn't it?"

"Not precisely," Shikawa remarked, drawing a kunai from a pouch tied around his right thigh. He made his way back to Rei and crouched down, pressing the weapon tightly against the kunoichi's neck. "You see in negotiations, the ones with the most potent advantages make the terms. We out number you."

"But we have more hostages," Kensho returned, painting a smug look across his brow. "And we have the cure to the poison that's circulating through your friend."

"You're overlooking a single important detail that hinders your point," Shikawa shook his head, standing to his full height. "With our numbers, we would have no problem crushing you and taking what we want. As it stands-"

Kensho rushed forward. He had no intention of discussing terms of surrender and the boy jumped high into the air with the intent of delivering a powerful aerial straight to separate his foe from Rei's unconscious body. However, again Choya intervened, jumping in front of Shikawa to tank the blow. Holding his hands up, Choya managed to use his forearms to shirk off the punch, again using his massive strength to grab Kensho and toss him back quite a few meters.

"Leaf Style Taijutsu: Expansion Jutsu!" Choya exclaimed, increasing his midsection to an alarming size so that the shinobi took on a spherical shape. Like a strange machine, Choya's appendages retracted into his clothes so that he literally appeared as some sort of ball. Emitting chakra from the openings of his clothing, Choya was able to generate enough force to spin his body at an immense rate, sending him careening towards Kensho. "Human Boulder!"

Before the Sound Ninja could leap out of the way, Choya bounced, throwing his big ball of mass high into the air with the intent to crush his foe underneath his weight. However, just as Kensho was about to throw himself out of the way of the bouncing shinobi, he found his body completely unresponsive. Glancing down, the shinobi was made aware of the outstretched shadow that was entangled with his very own shadow, trapping him in place.

"The shadow possession jutsu was a success. Go Choya!" Shikawa shouted.

A single kunai caught the Nara by surprise, forcing him to disband the control he possessed over Kensho's shadow. Just as Choya was about to land the finishing blow with his Bouncing Human Boulder, Bito intercepted the attack, using the Melody Arm to create another sound wave. With Choya's increased size, the blast of energy created a ripple effect; increasing the strength of the maneuver ten fold. Choya was tossed back at an alarming speed, hitting the tree behind him like a ton of bricks. All of a sudden, the tides had shifted and the battle became one-on-two. However, even that small victory at the hands of the Sound Shinobi was short lived. They knew that it was only a matter of time before Akira and Katsu regained consciousness. Then the two would again be outmanned. They had to win this quickly and decisively.

"What were you blabbering on about?" Kensho mocked, shrugging his shoulders. "Something about having a numbers advantage? Though it was impressive that you were able to formulate a rather decent strategy without speaking a word."

"Psychic link," Shikawa answered, poking his temple a few times to show emphasis. He didn't see the shame in informing them the secret of their teamwork, as it would've make much of a difference. Victory was already in his back pocket. "My teammates and I know what each other are thinking at all times. For instance, I now know I've already won this battle."

"Hmph," Kensho scoffed. "So confident aren't we?"

He didn't get the chance to speak again, receiving a powerful knee to the back of the head. The boy hit the ground hard and Katsu pounced on top of him, delivering another punch directly to the boys nose. He tried to push her off, but Katsu held fast, delivering one final punch to the side of the boy's skull, knocking him unconscious. Bito tried to jump to his aid, but a thin rope of blue chakra surrounded him, clasping his hands and arms tightly up against his sides. After a moment of struggling, his body no longer responded, and it wasn't long until Choya's enlarged hands closed tightly on the boys sides, ensuring his capture.

"Ino-Shika-Cho formation!" Shikawa said calmly, allowing for an uncharacteristic smile to creep across his face.

Katsu didn't revel in the victory and neither did Akira when he finally came to. The duo rushed to their teammates side, falling to their knees when they saw what kind of condition he was in. By this time, Inoki had returned her Chakra Rope back into her own body as she was confident that the Shadow Possession Jutsu and Choya's strength would be enough to keep their captive from escaping.

"What happened?" Akira asked, angry with himself for leaving Kiyoshi on his own.

They took a good look at his unconscious body, quickly scanning him for signs of bruising or any lethal wounds. With an exception of a few rips of his clothing and wounds that appeared to be made from senbon, Kiyoshi looked to be in perfect health. Immediately, Katsu put her hand on his face; it was cold to the touch.

"Poison," Inoki answered, never taking her concentration off of Kiyoshi. "He should be dead by now. Does he know any healing jutsu?"

Katsu shook her head. As far as she knew, Kiyoshi's only jutsu were the Clone Technique, the Substitution Jutsu, and the Summoning Jutsu. Besides that, she couldn't think of anything he could've done to defend himself from a poisonous substance. He wasn't a medical ninja like his mother or Inoki. Unless...

"The Gate of Healing," she replied, making her epiphany heard. "He can open the first one; how hard can it be to open the second?"

Inoki didn't respond. Instead, she continued to pump chakra into the boy in front of her. She didn't want to alarm them, but her chakra was running low. Luckily her Chakra Rope Technique hadn't been severed or there would've been no way she could've kept the Healing Jutsu up with such a steady flow of chakra. However, there was another problem, one that Kiyoshi's teammates had to be aware of.

"I'm keeping the poison at bay, but it has already seeped into the nervous center of his brain, activating every pain receptor in his body. If it goes on for too long..." she began, but was cut off.

"He'll die from the pain he's in. Wake up Kiyoshi!" Akira responded, slammed his fists into the ground. He closed his eyes as he braced himself for the unimaginable. He didn't plan to just allow Kiyoshi die in that terrible forest. He was going to get him out of there. "There must be something you can do to help him with the pain."

"I can use my chakra to induce a coma... but I'm not sure if he would wake up after it," Inoki responded truthfully. "I-I've never tried it before, but-"

"If we do nothing his fate is sealed," Shikawa interrupted, making his way over with Choya. During the short time, Shikawa had managed to interrogate their captive, learning that there was no cure to the poison that flowed within Kiyoshi. When he was sure that Bito was telling the truth, he had Choya knock him unconscious, allowing for the duo to search him for the Earth Scroll in his pocket. It wasn't useful to Squad Twelve who already possessed an Earth Scroll of their own, but it was a perfect match to Squad Twelve's Heaven Scroll.

"Forget it," Katsu panicked, standing up. She suddenly became far too emotional, throwing her arms up in the air out of frustration. "I'm not going to let you-"

"Do it," Akira frowned, grabbing Katsu's arm to calm her down. Akira stood with the intent to explain his reasoning, but Katsu didn't plan on listening. Instead, she swung a right hook, punching Akira square in the jaw. Akira took the punch, but refused to budge. Instead, he continued to gaze at her with his cold, hard eyes. Katsu could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes as the possibility of losing her childhood friend grew with every passing second, but she did her best to keep her sentiments at bay. Eventually she gave in, allowing for a good, long cry into Akira's chest. No one said anything for a long while, allowing Katsu to compose herself before making a decision. If anyone was to decide Kiyoshi's fate, it had to be Katsu. Even Akira had no intentions of trying to overstep that boundary.

"Is there anyway we can give him a better chance of survival?" she said through her last bit of tears.

"Theoretically, Inoki could join her consciousness with Kiyoshi's. Perhaps with their two wills conjoined they could wake Kiyoshi after the poison has been safely removed," Shikawa responded, looking at Inoki.

"Or it could kill us both," Inoki responded taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. She normally didn't get emotional, but Shikawa was right. In this instance, using the Mind Transfer Jutsu to inhabit Kiyoshi's psyche could potentially increase his chances for survival. However, in the event that Kiyoshi didn't wake up from the comma, there was no way for Inoki to perform the Release Seal to allow her consciousness to flow back into her own mind. Even for a comrade of the Hidden Leaf, she wasn't sure if she was willing to put her life on the line. Without waiting for group consensus, Inoki made an executive decision.

All at once, Inoki shot about half of her chakra straight into Kiyoshi's brain, assured that it wouldn't kill him, but would instead put him into the desired trance state.

Then, just as Shikawa put up his arms to stop her, she used the Yamanaka's Hidden

technique, allowing her consciousness and Kiyoshi's to merge into one.

"Done!" Genko shouted, rushing through the doors of the large structure. He was completely out of breath, but he was ecstatic to discover the implication of his actions.

Genko was the eldest of Sonzai's team, and, perhaps fittingly, the tallest. His dark brown hair, which wrapped around the sides of his face with a strange tuff of hair that fell down in between his eyes, contrasted quite nicely with his teal colored eyes. He wore a short sleeved, red shirt, with a brown vest over the top. His pants, which were also brown, fell to his mid-calf, ending just where the top of his boots began. He often wore a pair of fingerless, leather gloves to protect his hands from the various weapons he used in combat. After all, the Magnet Release was his specialty.

The other, unnamed member of Sonzai's team was Suzume, Genko's younger twin sister. While also possessing brown hair that fell to her waist and bright, teal eyes, Suzume was known as the Wind's Prodigy, boasted excellent control over the all sorts of Wind Release Techniques. Despite her proficiency, she had never learned to utilize one of the iconic, Sand Village Fans that Temari had used, but she made due without one. She wore a black, tightly fit tank top and an equally tight pair of red pants so that her Wind Jutsu wouldn't blow her clothes around. Like most ninja, she wore a kunai holder around her right leg and a pouch of smoke bombs on her hip.

There was a single Chunin on the inside of the room, holding a timer around his hip just in case anyone was brave enough to try and break the current record time for the second round of the Chunin Exams. As it had stood, Sonzai's father and the current Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, Gaara, possessed the record, clocking in at just over one hour and thirty-seven minutes. It was only natural that Sonzai would want to prove her superiority to her father. After all, she was generally regarded as a strongly defiant individual.

"What's our time?" Sonzai asked, her eyes wide with anticipation and excitement. She held up both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll to prove that their arrival at the center tower was completely legitimate.

"One hour and twenty-four minutes," the Chunin responded, giving them a surprised, but strong look of approval.

"Really?" Suzume said, taken back slightly with surprise as well. She was sure they had lost some time when the boy with the Earth Scroll had tried to flee. It didn't take long to track him down and take him out, but with such a small window of error, she was sure that they hadn't been quick enough.

"Really," the Chunin answered, giving them a slight nod. "That makes you the second fastest time in history of the Leaf Chunin Exams. You kids are fast this year."

"S-second?" Sonzai stammered, unable to believe the words she just heard.

The Leaf Chunin said no more, motioning for the trio to step through a door behind him. They did as they were told and, as they had been instructed, they planned to open both of the scrolls once they got inside. However, when they were in the room and the door had closed behind them, Sonzai couldn't bring herself to open the parchment.

For on the other side of the door was a trio of shinobi. Sonzai had never met them before, but Gaara had warned the trio to beware their strength and to defeat them at all costs. Clocking in at one hour and two minutes was the prodigal Mist Village Team, composed of the Swordsman in Training, Isao and his teammates.

"What took you so long?" Isao asked, shaking his head out of amusement.

It was going to be a long five days.

"Now what?" Katsu asked, propping up Kiyoshi's unconscious body so that he wouldn't have to lie on the harsh ground.

"We have two options," Akira responded, analyzing their situation.

The first was to continue on as a team, attempting to uncover one more Heaven Scroll so that each team would have a complete set and could press on to the next round. As it stood, with two indisposed teammates, each team would be severely disadvantaged in a fight. The extra numbers would make it possible for one individual to protect Kiyoshi and Inoki, while the other three did battle.

The other option was much more viable. Every second that passed hurt Kiyoshi's chances of survival. Each moment that passed pushed him deeper and deeper into the depths. For Kiyoshi and Inoki to survive, the poison that surged through his veins needed to be dealt with swiftly. His best bet was for one team to take both Kiyoshi and Inoki to the tower to have him receive the medical attention he needed. However, whatever team stayed behind would be completely disadvantaged for the unfair challenges that surely awaited.

The question was: how would they decide which team went and which team stayed?

"We're taking the two of them," Shikawa nodded, without a second thought. He motioned for Choya to lift Kiyoshi while he lifted Inoki into his arms.

"Who made you captain of this ship?" Katsu argued, clenching her fists.

"Either we're going or no one goes," Shikawa responded, staring at the other two with his cold expression. It was his mission to win the Chunin Exams for the Leaf, and that was what he planned to do. The faster he completed the mission, the less he had to worry, and he could take his time to rest and heal for whatever challenge awaited ahead of them. He needed to do what was best for his team and, most importantly, what was best for himself.

"Why you little-" Katsu yelled, pulling out a kunai from her holster. Before she could attack, Akira put out his hand to grab onto Katsu's jacket. The kunoichi stopped abruptly, lashing back out at Akira. "You're just gonna let this guy take Kiyoshi and a one way ticket to the final round?!"

"Let it go Katsu," Akira responded. The Uzumaki closed his eyes and shook his head. There was no point in arguing. If they fought Shikawa at that juncture, Kiyoshi wouldn't get the treatment he needed. Katsu and Akira couldn't be selfish. They had to do what was best for their teammate.

Choya tried to argue, but eventually, when he found his pleas falling on deaf ears, he threw Kiyoshi over his shoulder. Despite wanting to assist Akira and Katsu, he didn't want to go against Shikawa. Besides, Choya had his own goals he had to accomplish. He promised himself he would become a Chunin before his mother passed, so that she could see how strong Choya had become.

"At least one of you is smart enough to realize what has to be done," the young Nara shrugged. He turned to leave, but he felt a hand touch his free shoulder.

"If he dies... I'm holding you responsible," Akira seethed, trying to calm himself down.

Shikawa nodded, turning his back on the duo. With Inoki in his arms, Shikawa departed with Choya and Kiyoshi, heading to the center of the compound. With any luck, the two shinobi could travel the ten kilometers within an hour or so. Provided there was a medical ninja on hand, Kiyoshi could have his wounds dealt with before the day was over.

"Why would you let him take Kiyo-chan?" Katsu yelled, clearly aggravated with the entire ordeal. "Between the two of us, the Byakugan and the Sharingan make us the perfect tracking unit! We could easily make it to the tower without running into anyone! We're better suited to protect Kiyoshi than he is!"

"Shikawa's goal is to accomplish the mission," Akira responded, activating his Byakugan. He immediately began scanning the area for any other teams. With the first day almost at an end, they had to find a secluded area to stay for the night. Food would soon become a priority and it wouldn't hurt to find a stream of sorts for water. "As long as he thinks Kiyoshi is helpful to the completion of the mission, he'll protect him with his life. Besides, think of it from his prospective. If it weren't for Inoki, Kiyo wouldn't even survive the trip. She's his second priority. He needs to save him so he can save her."

Katsu wasn't satisfied with the explanation, but it was too late now. With Shikawa long gone, Katsu had to convince herself that Kiyoshi was going to be alright, and she had to start worrying about her own safety. In a few hours the sun would fall, and all the dangers of the forest would be upon them. After all, it was known as the Forest of Death.

Omake:

Katsu: Hey, today we are going to discuss... what are we going to discuss?

Akira: I don't know. To be honest, I'm not in the mood for witty banter or jokes.

Katsu: Then... do you just want to talk?

Akira: Sure what about?

Katsu: I'm not quite sure. We've never quite been alone for any extended period of time. Normally Kiyo-chan is here to bridge the gap. God, I hope he's alright. Maybe we should just call it quits. I don't want to talk anymore.

Akira: No, we owe everyone to be entertaining. If Kiyoshi were here, what would he do?

Katsu: If I were in trouble, he wouldn't waste his time with this useless thing.

Akira: Hmph. I wish he cared about me as much as he cared about you.

Katsu: Trust me, the attention can be stifling sometimes. He doesn't let me make any of my own mistakes, always there to protect me when I fall. Sometimes I just want to be my own person ya' know.

Akira: I'd kill to have a boy pay that much attention to me. Isao is cute, but... it's nice to know you're on someone's mind all the time. Kiyoshi is one of the few people who see me for me.

Katsu: I never thought of it like that. I guess, no matter what happens, Kiyoshi will always care about us.

Akira: More like he'll always care about you.

Katsu: Are-are you jealous Aki-san?

Akira: What?

Katsu: You are aren't you? Dobe, you like Kiyo-chan!

Akira: Teme!

Katsu: You can't even hide it. Your face is getting all red. You were right, I'm glad we did this omake. This is great!

Akira: Stop laughing! You better not tell him!

Katsu: You're going to have to fight me for it! Come on!

Akira: Now's not the time. We can't afford to fool around.

Katsu: Nah, now is the perfect time. Come on, I'll go first. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

Akira: Rotation!