(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Tenth Chapter Team 15 encounters another enemy squad. What will be the outcome? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
Over in another section of the deadly forest where the second stage of the Chunin exams is being held a group of Leaf Ninja weave in and out of the trees. The dark-skinned, Afro-haired boy and his two female companions are searching for a place where they can rest and recover for the night. The Forest of Lost Souls is filled with poisonous plants and dangerous beasts, not to mention the other competitors, so staying out in the open is not an option.
"Over there," says Rame Tsu, pointing to a hidden opening.
"You two stay here," says Shun, coming to a stop, "I will go check it out." He is sprinting towards the cave when a kunai comes flying at him. He is able to duck down enough so that the kunai passes harmlessly through his Afro.
Naoko instantly reacts and throws her own kunai in the direction of where the other came from.
"Nice aim, you almost killed my friend," says a girl cloaked in white as she towers over Naoko from behind. Her arm comes down intending to stab the brunette Leaf Ninja in the heart.
Rame Tsu unsheathes the large shuriken that she tied to her back and whips it at the attacker. A second Snow Ninja donning a blank white mask appears in front of the target with a large circular shield and blocks the weapon.
As the blade comes down at Naoko, Shun appears behind the female Snow Ninja. His body rotates in the air and he drives his leg through the girl's head. She flies across the area, but is caught by the third member of the Snow Squad who dons a large white coolie hat.
"Sorry, he was faster than I thought," he apologizes as he sets the female down.
"It is fine, we will just move on to plan B," she replies.
"What about him?" asks the boy, pointing to their other teammate.
"He has his shield, he'll be fine," she assures him.
"Okay," shrugs the male before starting to perform hand signs.
Shun brings his heel down in a heavy kick, but it has no effect on the large shield. The boy in the mask pushes back causing Shun to leap off the shield. Naoko comes around the side of the shield and stabs her kunai towards the boy's spine. A sharp white spear tears through the ninja's own coat, causing Naoko to halt her attack and defend herself. The ninja shifts his shield around skillfully in time to block some shuriken thrown by Rame Tsu. In the same motion the boy takes a step towards Naoko and thrusts his spear. She is able to jump back out of range of the blade. Then she begins to slide 6 kunai out of her sleeve.
"Wait a moment," Shun cautions, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Why, is there something wrong?" asks Rame Tsu, appearing next to them.
Shun points over towards the other two Snow Ninja and explains, "He is just distracting us while the other two do something."
A drop of water lands on Naoko's nose and then more as a light rain begins to fall.
The ninja in the mask lifts his shield over his head and comments, "My my, it seems like my lucky day. This rain will just make it easier to kill you."
Rame Tsu starts to shiver, "What does that mean, and when did it get so cold?"
"Damn! Rame Tsu, we need a shuriken, a really big one," yells Shun urgently.
"What? Why?" she questions, confused by the sudden request.
Naoko quickly realizes what Shun figured out and explains, "That guy didn't just put his shield up because he didn't want to get wet, and this cold didn't just come from anywhere. It is all part of their Jutsu!"
"Sorry, but you are too late to do anything about it," yells the boy in the coolie hat as he finishes the seals, "Ice Style: Deadly Hail Jutsu!" The droplets of rain start to freeze and turn into deadly icicles. They rain down from the sky upon Team 15. The trio tries to escape, but the icicles slice through their skin and cut them to pieces.
"That was easier than I thought it would be," mutters the Snow Ninja as he observes their deaths from under the protection of his shield.
But moments later the bodies of Team 15 explode into white smoke.
"What? A shadow clone? But when?" exclaims the girl cloaked in white.
"Before you even launched that first attack. I quickly noticed you were following us after we defeated that other snow squad," explains Shun jumping down from a tree, "I also noticed that while your friend had to protect himself with that impressive shield, you two were perfectly fine over here. That means your Jutsu affects a specific area about 50 meters away from you."
"Damn you!" she replies getting into a defensive stance. A long white object comes hurtling at Shun, its the spear that the shield-bearing boy was wielding earlier. He takes a single step backwards and it zooms right past him.
"Good, now that you came over here it will make it easier to defeat you," states Shun as he watches the enemy join with his two friends, "It would have been a pain to knock you off one by one."
"Even if it was only a clone, you still couldn't get past my shield," the white-masked ninja reminds him, "Plus, it is three on one since I don't notice your team anywhere."
"That is because they are smart enough to stay out of range when I use my Jutsu," replies Shun, "And your shield may be powerful, but it can't block an attack from all directions." Shun quickly makes the seals for his Jutsu before any of the Snow Ninja can react. All the leaves, sticks, and other debris in the area begin to rise and levitate in the air.
The masked ninja shifts his shield in front of him and says, "You are going to beat my shield with leaves and sticks? Not likely, but you are welcome to go ahead and try."
Shun smirks, "Well, you asked for it. Have a taste of my Leaf Tornado Jutsu!" The debris suddenly becomes razor sharp, and then it begins swirling around the Snow Ninja at extreme speeds. They are helpless to defend themselves as they are slashed countless time by the numerous small objects. The blood rains down and soaks into the ground just like the rain.
"Boys," sighs Naoko as she walks out of the forest, "They always have to show off, don't they,"
Rame Tsu follows her out, complaining, "It would have gone a lot faster if we had taken them on as a team, Shun."
"You two needed to recover your chakra from the last time, so it was better for me to fight them alone," responds Shun.
"Whatever," huffs Naoko, dismissing the statement.
"You should take that shield, it was very effective," recommends Shun, pointing to the shield by the corpse of the recently defeated enemy.
Rame Tsu walks over and picks up the shield and moves it around in her hands. "It is kind of heavy for me," she complains, "But it did look pretty impressive. I might as well take it." She takes a scroll out of her pack and unrolls it on the ground and then places the shield on top of it. She pours some of her chakra into the scroll and shouts, "Seal!" The shield turns into white smoke and then new markings appear on the scroll.
Naoko extracts a heaven scroll from the corpse of the female Snow Ninja and asks, "So what are we going to do with this?"
"Burn it," replies Shun, "We don't need it and we don't need any extra ones floating around. Then let's get moving, if we stay here any longer we'll attract more attention."
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Team 15 has defeated the second Snow Squad that was targeting them, but how long will they be able to last if enemies keep coming after them? Will they be able to get out of the Forest alive? Also, what is happening with the other Leaf Ninja? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)