"Who are you"? Maurlon's worried voice broke through the suddenly dominant silence that took over not too long after Meiko and Kiyomi revealed themselves and knocked out Meiko's target. The blacksmith straightened her body out and began walking onwards approaching Maurlon.

The Aburame raised her hands up defensively but her unique breed of parasitic insects was rendered virtually useless by the poison of Faqsadid's puppet and she was effectively left defenseless. Several meters aside Tolkre Guren – Maurlon's teammate was picking himself back up and getting on his feet, just trying to acquaintance himself with the situation transpiring around him.

After Meiko got dangerously close to Maurlon the Aburame just stared at the Konoha kunoichi angrily as if trying to stare her down into submission. Meiko's arms shot downwards faster than the Aburame could've responded to, aiming to grip firmly onto the wrists that held the Aburame from underground and pull onto them firmly and pull out the little puppet user from his underground hiding place. A buzzing sound alerted Meiko from behind.

As Squlra attempted to prevent Meiko from removing her teammate from underground the girl got covered in a crystal pillar similar in size and density to that which enveloped Mana. Jekleifer also leapt into action, finally recovered and somewhat capable of attacking, as bone tissue wrapped around his fist creating a makeshift spear-like shape, which Jekleifer thrust at the crystal pillar crushing it into little bits and knocking the female blade-wielder out in the process. After Squlra got knocked down and out of the crystal prison Jekleifer just nodded at his crystal ninjutsu using teammate as a sign of successful cooperation.

Meanwhile, while the attempt to attack her distracted Meiko, she noticed that the small wrists that restrained Maurlon's feet from underground had disappeared once she turned back. Only at that moment did Maurlon realize that the redhead was trying to free her and pull Faqsadid out.

Kiyomi looked at the unconscious Squlra before nodding at her with her chin and turning at Jekleifer.

"Is she out"? The Yamanaka asked it straight and strict.

"Her augmentations prevented her from getting impaled, that being said, she is out of the competition", Jekleifer confirmed with a grumpy and tired tone, the pain and weariness he had experienced in this battle were all reflected in the way he replied to Kiyomi's question.

"Well, I assume that beetle guy was your target, thank you guys for an assisting hand, we'll be going on ahead then"! Tolkre cheerfully attempted to slip away from confronting Team Hokage and answering all of their questions. Oddly enough it wasn't just Kiyomi's voice that stopped the Guren clansman from leaving the battlefield, it was that of Jekleifer as well.

"You incased our friend in crystal. Free her"! Kiyomi demanded first, before the Kaguya could reiterate what it was exactly that he said. It was a social play, a display that she considered what she had to say as being more important than whatever it was the Kaguya wanted to say.

Jekleifer looked back at Mana who stood incapacitated and completely incased in crystal, almost like she was frozen in time at the exact moment she figured out that the Iwagakure trio had snuck up on her. Distress and anger went through Jekleifer's face once he realized the relation between Mana and the team that just revealed themselves. It was likely that he expected a problem during the time when he could've used some time to rest and recover from the pain and fatigue he had caused himself.

"Look", he tried to reason with Team Hokage before, much to his shock, Tolkre leaped up to the pillar and punched it with great force shattering the crystal to pieces. Fortunately enough, Mana's unconscious frame fell down freed from the prison instead of being shattered together with it.

"You dick!" Meiko charged at Tolkre blasting out flares from her boots and looking to absolutely wreck his entire face. Her fist only stopped a hair away from Maurlon's face when she jumped in to shield her teammate. It was only because Meiko had observed the battle and knew that the Aburame girl was completely defenseless that she stopped her fist in motion. The self-sacrificial drive to protect her team while being completely powerless oneself was something that Meiko couldn't help but respect.

"What are you so fussy about? That's the only way to free her from the restraints", Tolkre teased the blacksmith who only growled through her teeth at the smug Guren clansman. "You should feel lucky my crystal hasn't come in contact with Earth Release and turned into Emerald Release – then it'd have been really tough getting your friend out".

"Enough. There's been a misunderstanding between us. We didn't count on someone standing in our way and we weren't sure about your friend's motivations or abilities. We succeeded on sneaking up to her, she looked like she was occupied somehow with something else so we used the opportunity to imprison her. Tolkre's crystal covers up the entire body, even the inside spaces, like all the way inside her lungs, she is most definitely passed out right now. We're sorry about that" Jekleifer apologized trying to still stitch some semblance of social peace together.

Meiko and Kiyomi went up to Mana checking her condition, judging from their faces they weren't happy. That troubled Jekleifer but his thoughts were more focused on something else entirely.

"As I've said, we apologize for what happened. That being said, this is a competition. Eliminations happen. Our goal now is Faqsadid. His team may be out but he is still my target" Jekleifer spoke up firmly as he was looking on ahead and at the ground beneath his feet.

"Are you kidding me? His team is eliminated, he bit his tail and ran away! He's none of our business now"! Tolkre complained out loud.

"That's right. That being said, we aren't sure that's how the rules work. Technically Faqsadid is still not eliminated, even if his team is out of the exams. Even if he was counted as eliminated, I want to know that I can fulfil my assignment, it's a matter of honor", the Kaguya grumbled out through his injuries.

"She was busy communicating with us on the mental link to watch out behind her", Kiyomi grunted out while gripping her fists together so hard they were shaking. The blonde felt that the Kaguya was right, this was a competition and eliminations like this happened from time to time but this just wasn't fair. As a leader none of these excuses helped the guilt she felt. Her rational mind managed to calm itself but on the inside the Yamanaka was shaken.

Maurlon looked at the distressed Team Hokage. It was tough to say what her exact thoughts were or what her feelings were as her dark shades covered up the girl's eyes but a feeling told that she was actually regretful towards the way things worked out. About how her team ended up eliminating a genin they had no reason to eliminate.

After a brief moment of just looking from aside Maurlon walked up to the two and bowed respectfully before offering some medical supplies.

"It's fine, your leader will need those more." Kiyomi angrily shut the Aburame down.

"What are you doing, Maurlon"? Jekleifer turned back at his teammate enraged and desperate to pursue his target. "We need to move"!

"You're tired and injured. You can't just throw your techniques haphazardly like you did before. You sit down and treat your wounds, then we'll move to look for that guy before we head to the northern gate", Maurlon refused to follow calmly, choosing instead to reason with her team leader, almost pleading him.

"Heh heh, yeah, loser, sit down and rest or else you'll run out of breath and faint like that time during survival drill", Tolkre teased his teammate, after being given a heart-freezing stare the Guren clansman just shrugged. "I mean, chasing after that puppet user now is a waste of time anyways. I'm all with Maurlon here" he made his true position more clear.

"While we sit around here Faqsadid will get eliminated by the staff and removed from the Forest of Death premises, I'll lose my chance to fulfil my assignment", Jekleifer complained before sitting down on a nearby rock. His usually more tidy and restrained golden hair broke out from all restraints and fell chaotically all over his face and exposed naked upper body, covering up his grievous looking flesh wounds and grazes and exposed bone tissue and cartilage patches.

"Mana was a lot like that too. She talked a lot about how little this warrior code meant to her, how she was willing to cut any corners but the idea of being tested and being actually ready, honoring the conditions of the test meant a lot to her. More than she was willing to admit", Meiko smiled looking at the grumpy Kaguya who looked like he was actually forcing himself to sit still and treat his wounds. "She also acted like she could take much more than she was actually able to"

"You've no idea", Kiyomi smiled kindly looking at Mana's peaceful expression. "Don't talk about her as if she was dead though. That shit is creepy"

"That is annoying, isn't it? Especially when you care about your friends. That total persistence that they are alone despite your utmost effort to be by their side and that their problems are theirs alone", Maurlon laughed out before looking at Jekleifer who just glared back at her angrily before once again resuming applying bandages and ointment to his grazed chest, shoulders and arms. Tolkre just settled down further from both of his teammates and pulled out something packed up to eat during the break.

"Say, now that Qarsufly is dealt with, you wouldn't be willing to trade information, would you"? Kiyomi inquired as she still had a target to locate and defeat.

"Well, this fight is actually our final one. We're pretty much ready to move on now, I'm surprised you guys are still missing a target. They may have already finished the exam as well at this point", Maurlon shook her head uneasily gesturing that her team had no need for information.

"That's not true, we do need information. We'd be willing to trade whatever we have. After all, the exam is still not over. We'll tell you all about whomever we know in exchange about the abilities of people you know about", Jekleifer suggested as he joined into the conversation shortly after finishing watching over his injuries.

While it was much more difficult to pull off without Mana's aid, Kiyomi and Meiko told Team Corundum everything they knew about the teams they've met along the way and the abilities they possessed. The intelligence trade extended so far ahead that at some point Tolkre got interested and joined in on the whole exchange.

"I see", Jekleifer exclaimed after the briefing was finished. "We have information about Team Kyanite of Iwagakure, Team Hickory of Konoha, Team Pine of Konoha and Team Zumurrud of Sunagakure".

"You've met Team Zumurrud? Do you maybe know of the abilities of their third member? We've obtained intelligence about them from another team but the third one remains a mystery", Kiyomi recalled the long information trade with the alliance of teams they've met earlier.

"I'm sorry, we do not. Despite our utmost push to reveal his abilities, Lazimo didn't use them", Maurlon shook her head.

"Yeah, we would've had them on the ropes but they gave us the slip", Tolkre grinned confidently recalling Team Corundum's experience with the discussed team.

"Did you eliminate any of their members"? Kiyomi raised an eyebrow.

"We did not, as I've said, abilities were as valuable to us as the information of the team's location. Sometimes we pressed on teams with unknown to us abilities to reveal them even if they weren't our targets", Jekleifer elaborated.

"In any case, for reasons we're sure you'll understand we won't reveal about Team Kyanite's abilities. You didn't appear to let out that they are your targets so snitching on people from our own village would be wasteful in such a case" Tolkre teased the Konohagakure duo.

"Fair enough", Kiyomi nodded. "They aren't my target, none of your listed teams are so feel free to give as much info as you feel like sharing".

"You've shared plenty with us, it'd only be fair if I told you everything else we know", Jekleifer sighed, "Team Hickory is comprised of…"

"We've met them recently, you can skip them", Meiko interrupted.

"Very well, I just felt like that would've been useful information. We've found that plenty of teams are seeking Team Hickory for some reason. I must say, Team Hokage also doesn't have the best of reputations, I'd watch out if I was you", the Kaguya noted before resuming his part of the sharing process.

"At this point the warning is way overdue", Kiyomi sighed remembering about the bounty she recently found out about and the team that attacked her and Mana.

"Team Pine is comprised of Aburame Juhi, a girl with a very refined version of the Parasitic Insects Jutsu. She can shape her kikaichu species parasitic insects with much better precision than most Aburame", Jekleifer began briefing the two kunoichi about the ninja he found out about.

"I can attest to that, many Aburame choose to seek for different species than the bland basic kikaichu. But Juhi chose to polish the controlling technique instead", Maurlon added.

"We've eliminated a second member of their team – Tohi Jomya, he was a very unimpressive ninja lacking the ability of chakra control. From what we could gather it was due to abused chakra augmentation early during their career, a rookie mistake. He tried building various gadgets and traps and using weaponry to compensate but without chakra control he wasn't too difficult to take out", Tolkre added the part of the encounter with Team Pine he cared about the most.

"The third member was an odd one. His name was Tanko Shigin. He was able to extend his body and withstand physical blows as if he had no bones or sensitive organs inside his body at all", Jekleifer recalled, "I'd say of the three he is the most dangerous, so far we have not come up with any way to injure him or take him out".

"No bones at all, huh? I don't really even remember Tanko from the Ninja Academy, do you, Meiko?" Kiyomi pondered.

"Nah, doesn't sound like anyone from my class or anyone I've met or heard about. But now that you bring it up, I'd really like to see Jekleifer fight that guy – a guy with an excess of bones against a guy with no bones or organs at all. It just sounds pretty hilarious"! Meiko grinned before breaking out into laughter.

Shortly after exchanging information Team Corundum left towards the northern gate, still arguing about possibly trying to locate and eliminate Faqsadid themselves once more. Their departure left Kiyomi and Meiko to their own. While that concluded a part of their exam trials, it also opened up a new question – what to do with the unconscious body of their friend.

"We should probably bring her to the southern gate. She's offered so much for us, it'd only be fair that we go out of our way to safely bring her there ourselves, just feels more honorable that way", Meiko angrily grunted, it was clear that she didn't take it too well that Mana needed to be eliminated at all. The feeling was, very obviously, shared by Kiyomi as well.

"Hmmm. While I do agree but… We're running out of time. We need to find information about my target, find them and take them out", the blonde complained trying to come up with a solution. She did want to properly honor her friend's performance and with this whole Forest of Death stage of the Exams being a simulation of a real-life mission situation it was the equivalent of burying one's friend.

"Yeah but… It's Mana. She really worked hard and…", words simply stuck in Meiko's mouth.

"I hear you, that Tala dickbag surrendered his teammate himself. No way we're being bigger dicks than him", Kiyomi shrugged empathizing with her teammate's state of mind. Even she had to agree that where usually Mana never was on the same page with her team, always looking out for her own ideals and inner feelings over the mission objective, this time was different. There was this feeling like she took these Exams seriously, like to her it was an all or nothing affair which only made this failed effort more painful for all of them.

"Earth Release: Practice Brick Jutsu!", a loud chant alerted Kiyomi and Meiko forcing them to look up and into the trees for their assailant as four tall walls of solid, rough ground rose in the air cornering them and shutting them inside the ground walls.

"Break this wall, now!" Kiyomi yelled out an order as Meiko angrily tackled one of the walls with her shoulder and grabbed Kiyomi by her shoulder and tried dragging her away from the cornered quarter. A black blur and a little twin red flash inspired great fear as well as great rage in Kiyomi's heart, the blonde would've told those red orbs from any other eyes in existence. Seeing how one of Meiko's hands was occupied with dragging Kiyomi further away from the battlefield she got overwhelmed by a flurry of punches and kicks and sent crashing back into the cornered area.

"Human Bullet Tank"! a loud cheerful voice made Meiko look up and realize she'd just be too late to dodge a slamming giant taijutsu attack that converted the user's own body into a massive human sized ball that body slammed right into the area surrounded by walls of dirt that were raised before.

Knowing that dodging in time was out of the question Meiko rolled on top of Kiyomi and braced herself to take most of the impact. As the rolling human boulder slammed on top of the two kunoichi it broke through the weak and filtered ground itself sending Meiko and Kiyomi tumbling down into a deep dark hole underground. The cave system of the Forest of Death full of supermassive insects and other creatures that couldn't fit to survive on the surface or needed a different stage of competition to better thrive.

It seemed like Meiko and Kiyomi were falling for a whole eternity, nothing but total darkness with brief rays of light overhead that now seemed like solar objects compared to all-encompassing darkness that surrounded the two girls. Meiko could her a string reeling sound followed by a loud clang of steel cutting into rock, someone grabbed her collar firmly and stopped her fall before the girl slammed into the rocky wall but it was nothing compared to falling all the way down and smashing into the bottom of wherever this plummet went.

"Still alive, Kiyomi-chan?" a loud yell came from way up, Kiyomi's eyes filled with hatred and burning rage could tell those infernal red eyes staring down the hole straight at her.

"Fucking Lithia, I'll murder her stupid face…" the Yamanaka just kept on repeating to herself. A tearing sound signaled that the Uchiha girl from above managed to sever Kiyomi's last string that held her clinging to the wall by her side and sent her plummeting all the way down instead. As the blonde kept on diving further and further down all she could hear was the cocky laughter of the arrogant classmate she once knew in the Academy – Lithia Uchiha. The source of all of her hatred for that cocky overrated clan. The sole reason why the Yamanaka will recover, climb her way out of this stupid hole and kick her shit all the way up until it is thrown up from her arrogant elitist mouth.