An underground dweller, living beneath multiple layers of the Forest of Death, unearthed itself. It was a foul looking being, eyeless, covered in hair loosely, each one as thick as a thorn on an echidna's back. Its flesh looked as relatively white and fleshy but it was just a matter of deceitful appearances as the being lived well below the rocky layers of underground making its fleshy bits as hard as diamond themselves. Its gapping mouth was covered with round rows of teeth, each fang was the size of a banana and capable of rotating a full 180 if it ever needed to grind something tough or replace a missing row of teeth.
The dweller carefully flipped its exposed upper half around, waggling like a surfaced whale but only because the soft air pressure on the surface felt odd for the eyeless abomination. It waggled for a while more, trying to understand why it wasn't grinding any rocks or encountered trouble moving forward, why it sensed no vibrations on the ground of smaller underground insects or animals as it rarely hunted surface dwellers.
"Idol: Applegate Crescent" an energetic male voice yelled out as a concentrated wave of slicing gusts bent in a crescent shape which appeared highly unnatural considering the angle of turning and an odd direction which the blast was fired from. The pressure of the windblast blew the underground dweller's upper body completely off before the cutting winds tore it to small shreds.
"That was unnecessary", a brown haired boy with blue facial markings, resembling feathers of a peacock remarked. Judging from his face it did not appear like he lamented the death of the grotesque abomination however his tone did suggest distaste for his teammate's actions.
"I think Gentib did us all a favor, I mean look at how ugly that thing is", a red-haired girl remarked pointing at the still tingling lower body that was so rock hard that the upper half being blown off forced it to forcefully expel its inner body like a tube of toothpaste.
"I mean, it could've been dangerous, it looked dangerous", the young man, previously called Gentib, shrugged before stroking his spiky brown hair making them spike up even more than they've already have been. "And it's not ugly, Relta, I'm sure to this creature's mother it was the most beautiful thing in the world. There are no useless things in this world, they all have a purpose and all are beautiful in their own way. I was merely worried it may be dangerous to us".
The third member of Team Scuti sighed as the deceased underground abomination disappeared from their vision completely and got swallowed in darkness. It was inevitable that soon some massive pincer wearing insectoid will snap the remains in half before sucking them dry, that was just how dangerous and cruel this whole forest was. The unholy economy of energy where life was worth only as much as how much energy would one have wasted in extinguishing it.
"Sometimes I am thankful that I was given the burden that I bare and not you, Gentib", the third boy with the facial markings sighed. "One positive of slowly dying with each passing second of combat is that you pick your fights very carefully and weigh every existence against that of your own".
"You know, Gorm, for a guy who is slowly being killed by his fighting style, you really picked the wrong profession", Gentib looked at his friend with some worry in his eyes.
"No one forced me to accept the Sky Gift, I had that stone put inside me because that was the only thing that made me special. I wanted to be a hero, to make my life mean something and, unlike you, I am not some sort of a talent who can master enough techniques for multiple personas or like Relta who has an abnormally large chakra level for her age. Hosting a chunk of radioactive rocks inside my body was the only way I could fight alongside the likes of you", Gorm replied with a pain ridden expression as his teammates sadly looked at each other before looking on ahead.
"Gorm… You know that these stones don't really hurt you that much until you use their chakra. You don't have to overdo it. I messaged Team Hawthorn already, they'll back us up if we need it", Relta tried softly comforting her teammate.
"I am slowly dying with each passing second. I have no time to fail a Chuunin Exam if I want those stones to mean something. You've no idea what my family had to give up so that I could even have those stones put inside me. How many straight days me and my parents had to work in the factory to earn, or rather, buy that right. Forgive me if I think that taking my time isn't really my style." Gorm replied uneasily as he looked on ahead, seeing the larger field in the open covered in fallen trees with the surrounding leafage and vines having taken the place of the fallen, draining the fallen for all there was to drain until nothing but rotten trash remained. Until even the parasitic insects and plants thought themselves above feasting on the fallen and moved on.
"I think you might want to change your clothes, we could use some of your undefeated persona's might here", Relta smiled at Gentib who nodded and separated from Team Scuti.
Relta and Gorm, meanwhile landed in the open, joining a circle of other teams that continued to stand in a circle and observe each other. It appeared that no one was yet fighting anyone, meaning either the very unlikely possibility that there were no more hunter-target combinations left in this forest or that the countdown still hasn't taken place.
"Introduce yourselves"! A darker skinned young lady with a patched up nose, vibrant azure colored short hair and leather work clothes that reminded of clothes that richer blacksmiths wore, wearing a Sungakure headband tied around her rolled up right sleeve.
"It's only good manners for people requesting introductions to do so first themselves", Gorm looked down in cold irritation. He did not feel too good about the prospect of fighting of this scale, then again, given his life choices, such attitude towards unnecessary violence was not hard to understand.
"Fair enough, my name is Bukhande, this is Alemyat and Daseaut. We are Team Shahryar from Sunagakure", the strong of body female nodded before proceeding to introduce her teammates and herself. "I assume you'd have known some of us, at least, if one of us was your target", she then smiled.
"Or he is just messing around to shake off your attention, like a true ninja would", the one teammate of Bukhande's she referred to as Daseaut noted following up on Gorm's cold and irritated attitude by locking his hands around his chest. Daseaut was a taller and slimmer kind of athletic shinobi with dark curly hair and tanned skin, wearing a standard martial artist's gi that appeared to have been made from shreds of many other different colored gi.
"Very well, my name is Relta Ginn, this is Gorm Cleiti, we're Team Scuti of Hoshigakure", Relta politely introduced her team feeling a little bit ashamed by her teammate's cold attitude towards the others. For a young man who did not like violence and only fought when absolutely necessary he didn't appear to trust or like people too much.
"What the fuck? Did you guys strangle Gentib in your sleep or something, of all you lot I'd have expected to see him eliminated the least. He still owes me a good brawl"! A longer grey haired young man in a yellow jumpsuit exclaimed waving his hands erratically in a manner not at all different from that of a crazy person, yet due to past familiarity with the genin in question Team Scuti didn't take it too seriously.
"Calm yourself, Faeras. Gentib will be here once he changes into his Tankobaji persona", Relta calmly explained, smiling confidently as she knew the effect that this revelation would cause to the entirety of Faeras' Team Cephei – a fellow Hoshigakure team and the only other Hoshigakure team to survive this long as both other teams: Team Westerlund and Team Sagitarii got eliminated already.
"Oh, it appears he's taking this very seriously. I'm very curious to know just who he is expecting to see here", a dark brown haired young lady in classical maroon colored gomaido style chest and shoulder armor smiled politely at Team Scuti, feeling a bit ashamed of her brutish teammate who just took a couple of steps back waving his palms.
"Hey, hey… Now I feel like this shit's gonna get really interesting"! Faeras wheezed out before reaching for a large weapon on his back, wrapped in cloth and silk and tied together. After the ties were unbound and the cloth and the silk slipped off most graciously, what was left exposed was a wonder of engineering – a chainsaw sword, which took a very physically powerful individual to wield properly.
"If the rest of the teams present wouldn't mind, we'd appreciate if they all introduced themselves to us as well. It'll help us pass the little bit of time it'll take for Gentib to get into his Tankobaji persona. It shouldn't be too long until we're ready, please understand", Relta bowed her head respectfully as the other teams rustled in conversation between themselves, both in calm and heated manner.
"I'd advise for it, we can start right after this, whether "Tankobaji" is here or not. It'll serve as a nice last stretch that'll allow the late teams to show up", the third member Team Cephei, a seemingly composed and modest individual, nodded in agreement before expressing his thoughts out loud. "Just to show good manners and faith, my name is Bennow Vingcro, this is my team: Rosanna Senju and Faeras Gabscrue, we are Team Cephei of Hoshigakure".
"Alright, we may as well tune in", an elegant and pompously dressed male shinobi with a handful of scrolls sewn into his exquisite purple and white jacket stepped forward. "My name is Trest Bregger, this is my team – Gurker Gliesse and Gyllfa Ellidani. We are Team Kyanite from Iwagakure"
An awkward silence dominated the field as the three teams realized that with that last introduction all the formal matters except one were out of the question – all the teams have already introduced themselves. Given how much time had passed since the meeting was supposed to take place, it was highly unlikely that anyone was still out there, and if they were – it was their bad.
A fire pillar so intense that it lit up the entire area and so searingly hot that it actually emitted a loud roaring shriek scorched the deceitful silence as the pillar of flames bent over and torching everything in its way arced right at the general location of the gathering. As the arcing searing flame smashed into the battlefield center the flames splashed off like waves of water before quickly dying out as a single completely unfazed young man kneeled demonstratively in the center of the fiery blitz.
"Tankobaji… Such a showoff, as usual", Rosanna Senju rubbed her temples with a smile identifying the different persona of the young man from her village, known as Gentib de Vitt but one adopting different persona suiting the occasion and mood of the young man as he fought.
Gentib now adored a white haori over a red kimono, hand guards and wooden sandals, as well as intricate white and red face paint and crimson red wig of lengthy and spiky hair tied in a ponytail with two long strands flowing freely over his chest. His right hand was extended forward whereas his left one held a long iron staff with clunky steel rings attached to it that clinked and tolled every time the staff was moved creating an almost demonic jingle. Tankobaji just gave Rosanna an angry glare with pouted lips and raised nose yet he offered no words. Mainly because the Tankobaji persona did not speak except for the names of his techniques to aid his concentration.
"That was very showy, thanks for that, my friend", Daseaut of Team Shahryar, Sunagakure, was first of the non-Hoshigakure teams to speak up. "That being said, the purpose of this meeting is to fight it out between the last teams left. It'd be easier if teams with targets present would identify themselves".
Tankobaji once again angrily turned his head in a degree that surely flexed and made Gentib's neck hurt, a moment later the oddly behaving persona jumped up making Tankobaji's body catch up to his angry glare and turn with his full body at Daseaut of Team Shahryar.
Without uttering so much as a word or an angry grunt, Tankobaji fired off the ground like a man launched from a cannon, blazing at Daseaut at lightning fast speeds and making the Team Shahryar genin try and take defensive measures, winding his palm backwards as if preparing it for a defensive jutsu. Before Daseaut could execute it, however, Tankobaji's clinging ring staff dug into the ground right by the foot of the Sungakure ninja before the inhuman-like Tankobaji flipped over his staff and then bounced the completely different direction – instead aiming to slam his staff right at Gurker Gliesse's of Team Kyanite head.
Gurker revealed the hand placed inside his jacket and holding a one handed seal in place as water gurgled in his lungs before shooting out in large quantities defensively.
"Water Style: Cucumber Farm"! he wheezed out after the mass of water clashed with Tankobaji's advances and sent the almost demonic acting young man flying back, only to recover in mid-air and land right on his feet before resuming his demonstrative and showy posing.
"So… Gurker is your target, weirdo", Trest, Gurker's teammate, sighed looking greatly annoyed at the unfortunate meeting.
"It just so happens that Bennow Vingcro is my target" Alemyat, a dark red haired young man of a well-trained and tanned by the Wind Country's desert body and a teammate of Daseaut and Bukhande noted, "We are willing to aid fending that fiery weirdo off if you'd be willing to give us a hand. Senju is a troublesome bloodline and his teammates will undoubtedly defend Bennow".
"Well, you're not wrong. With the two of us being the last Hoshigakure teams remaining, we'll sure as hell fight together"! Rosanna raised her fist up with a brave grin.
"I suppose it's settled then", Gurker fixed his jacket before placing his hands forward in a position prepared to weave hand seals, implying he was a ninja relying heavily on ninjutsu or genjutsu instead of a more close-range, physical approach. "I kind of liked your weird gimmick, Gentib, that being said, you made a mistake by attacking me". The young man calmly stated before his hands began firing off hand seals rapidly.
"Water Style: Cucumber Spring"! he yelled out as the remaining water still soaking Tankobaji's clothes suddenly puffed up and expanded into bubble-like spheres that hardened and became more gel-like in consistency instead of being liquid water.
Tankobaji's eyes widened out before he began stumbling forward and back. His mouth opened wide for a wild and loud roar of pain but it was so dry that it did not appear like he could even breathe. Air itself could not make it down his throat, as the humidity in the air was painful for the intensely dried out mouth and palate of the young man.
"Wood Style: Surfing Dragon Jet"! Rosanna yelled out after weaving four hand seals and jumping in the air and clapping with her sandals. A wooden rod emerged from underground catching her and quickly rushing her onwards at Gurker who kept on draining the humidity out of Tankobaji's body with his odd combination technique. Something that did not quite look lethal but was quite an inconvenience and painful enough to restrain one of the most unpredictable and most promising young ninja of Hoshigakure.
Gurker leaned aside, avoiding the wooden rod that kept on extending before rotting away almost instantly, once the Senju girl hopped off of it and threw a jumping roundhouse kick at Gurker's chest. Old and long fingers unexpectedly wrapped around Rosanna's leg before Gyllfa – Gurker's teammate and the old wrestler lady whom Mana met shortly before entering the Forest of Death caught it firmly and swung the Senju around in a spinning toss.
The old lady was surely mighty as Rosanna, underestimating the old lady's strength, flew back far away, crashing through multiple trees and creating a widespread line of destruction. It appeared that the Senju girl got temporarily removed from the battlefield just due to the length of the distance she slid through the ground after landing down and the messy aftereffects of the throw.
"Summoning Jutsu: Murder"! Bennow, Rosanna's teammate, yelled out after biting his thumb and weaving a bunch of hand seals before driving his palm into the ground, summoning a murder of crows with blood red glowing eyes and ivory bright beaks.
The wild murder of birds darted off at the old lady Gyllfa's general direction, right before the wild old crone prepared to fight the onslaught off by giving a chop and a slap for each wild bloody crow, the birds darted up high in a coordinated manner. It looked like the strain of moving so quickly and changing directions so erratically and unnaturally caused significant strain for the bodies of the crows themselves as quite a handful of feathers fell from Murder's, the murder of crows', wings and bodies in their mad ascension.
"Genjutsu: Murder"! Bennow clapped his hands wildly before repositioning them in a hand seal and setting off the genjutsu channeled through the fallen feathers of Murder.
The old lady wriggled uncomfortably as even her experienced eyes were horrified by the sight of the still falling crow feathers turning into rusty knives and piercing her skin, her body feeling numb and paralyzed and completely unable to resist. Meanwhile, the feathers that have already fallen turning into black leech-like parasites that wriggled and bit their way inside her flesh and roamed her body with grotesque looking skin bumps showing their burrowing journey off in the most terrible way possible.
Before Bennow could grin confidently, feeling glad about his successful attack, the granny poofed in a cloud of smoke leaving only a rotten piece of Rosanna Senju's wood pillar she used to move around on previously. It appeared that the old wrestler had replaced herself well before falling victim for the genjutsu, or maybe once it already affected her, either way - she used the safety of the Substitution Jutsu to dispel the genjutsu while the substituted wood provided the transformed illusion that the old woman was caught in the grotesque genjutsu.
As Bennow's crows, collectively known as Murder, the murder of crows, settled way high in the trees. The battlefield appeared to have frozen as each ninja waited for even the slightest twitch of the enemy betray their further maneuvers so that they could exploit that telegraphed attack with their own appropriate response. It appeared that round two of this wild battle would not be held up for too long…