Chapter 15
The Zodiac Clan stood waiting in the room with Ryota and Neji as the minutes slowly ticked by. Nezumi heard a noise that irritated him…it was that music. He walked over to the stereo and clicked off the music. Stopping at the sound of Ryota's voice, he turned to the frightening stare.
Ryota exclaimed quietly as he raised a shuriken to Nezumi's neck, "Turn the music back on…"
Nezumi nodded and clicked the dial back as he silently stepped back, looking at Ryota with disgust and fear as the music ninja sighed and closed his eyes, embracing the perfection of the music…

Kenta still blushed as Hitomi and Risa readied themselves. Tami spun the ninjato, performing the sign of the tiger with her other hand. Kichi and Yori followed suit, Kichi performing the boar seal, Yori the ox. Chakra flowed through Kenta and he became enthralled in Tami's group, stumbling over as if drunk. Tami slid up, running her finger up Kenta's chin, smirking seductively. Kichi and Yori followed suit, making Kenta nearly faint. Hitomi and Risa appeared in front of him, slapping him across the face, kicking and punching him in various places, but Kenta stood calmly, Akimaru hissing, scratching at the temptresses. Kichi smirked, binding Hitomi's hands again, Yori rushing up to strike at both of Hitomi's temples. Risa turned and nearly ran, but stopped at the sight of Tami. Tami grinned and struck Risa across the cheek, speaking as she followed Risa's path.
"You see? …Using this move, we steal the hearts of all the men, and then we beat up the weaker women. Now…you're dead!"
Risa grinned and separated into 15 separate clones, rushing Tami, who spun in a circle, deflecting the illusion and flinging Risa backwards again.
Risa couldn't understand what the key to the ninjutsu was… But then she noticed the strange markings on the ninjato glowing…
Hitomi was still bound by Kichi, who cackled as she rushed forward with her blade, ready to gut the little wench before her. Hitomi's eyes glowed as she tore the string and gripped Kichi's blade, kneeing the blonde in the chin. Kichi shook her head and stumbled up, gasping at Hitomi's power. Hitomi's eyes seemed different now, more hateful than bright, her breathing heavy and forced as she stomped towards Kichi, ripping out three kunai in both hands.
"Time to die, witch!"
"Hitomi, wait!" Risa called out, holding out her hands to stop her leader.
Hitomi stopped, and her eyes returned to normal, but she still held the angry look, "Get out of my way! She took away Kenta from us!"
"No…the weapons…if we can destroy them…the illusion is gone…Kenta will be okay! It's just gonna be hard to get out hands on the weapons…"
Hitomi grinned, holding Kichi's blade in her hands. She snapped it in two, leaving Kichi on the ground, powerless as she called to her sisters.
"Tami, Yori, they're picking on me!"
Looks like she's the spoiled one… Thought Hitomi as she flung the six kunai at Yori, who deflected two of the blades, catching the other four, returning fire. Tami slashed at Risa, Risa managing to keep up with her kunai. The battle was getting fierce and Kenta was still on the ground, drooling and giggling to himself.
The power of Hitomi's attacks didn't seem to frighten Yori as she gently pushed the punches and kicks out of the way as she continued to strike at pressure points, weakening Hitomi's body, but not her mind. Hitomi punched again, but stopped short, slamming her other fist into Yori's left hand, shattering the bones and the shobo. Grasping her right hand, he ripped off the shobo, breaking it as well. Yori joined Kichi, pulling her up as she still cried.
Risa got thrown back by Tami, who simply giggled to herself as she thrust out the ninjato. She spoke to the duo as Kenta's vision began to clear.
"Try to stop me now…" She said as she slowly edged towards Kenta, immediately pointing the blade at his throat, "And I'll kill the boy!"

Minoru spoke to Bunjiro, ripping out a large four-pronged shuriken behind him, "Let them go…"
Smirking, Bunjiro clashed blade with shuriken and replied, "Why should I…I've got the advantage… We could kill those bitches any time we wanted…"
Minoru glared and his Taigan Left flashed brighter as he flipped backwards, performing his hand seals, releasing several shuriken. Bunjiro simply knocked the knives out of the way, but stopped at the chakra lines that surrounded him.
What? He…attached them to the lines, readying himself to counterattack whenever he pleased… This can't be! Bunjiro cried out as the daggers lodged themselves into his arms. He collapsed, dropping the katana. Minoru picked up the bloody blade, observing it, swinging it a few times for practice. He turned and faced Aoshi and Jinei as Natsumi and Shige smiled encouragingly at their leader, much stronger than they were.
Minoru called out to them, still staring blankly, "Give up, you two. I'm not going to save you every time. Get yourself out of this…"
Natsumi gasped and dropped some of her seeds, unknown to Jinei, who grinned and slowly increased the pressure of her grip. Shige simply tried to wrench out of Aoshi's grip, still clueless as to what Minoru's plan was. She focused chakra in her feet and burst free, leaving Aoshi emptyhanded. Natsumi's seeds exploded, freeing the timid ninja from Jinei's grip. Minoru appeared from behind a tree as his clone faded and smiled.
They finally got it... That wasn't the real me at all. Just giving them a morale boost. Teamwork…hmph… Just a little more courage…
Bunjiro stood up and saw Minoru out of the corner of his eye.
This isn't over yet…punk… Grasping a second katana from under his cloak, he grinned and stepped behind Minoru, plunging the katana down.
Natsumi heard a scream, much like Minoru's. She stopped and turned to face Jinei, still looking around for the disturbance. Shige stopped as well, unleashing her Rage Burst, but also looking for Minoru.
Bunjiro was impressed. This kid wasn't any amateur. He dodged his surprise attack and countered well, but now both of the warriors were at a disadvantage. Bunjiro's katana was angled at Minoru's throat, while Minoru held two kunai directly at Bunjiro's eyes. Bunjiro blinked and flung his hand across, knocking the kunai away and also the katana, leaving this battle up to taijutsu. But Bunjiro was more proficient in ninjutsu. He performed the necessary seals and released a burst of lighting. Minoru narrowly dodged, throwing three shuriken towards Bunjiro, the tempest ninja knocking them away. Minoru thought to himself about the state of his opponent.
He's wounded all over. But he's still fighting… Why? Unless…there's a three-stage attack in this team…
Throwing out two more shuriken, Bunjiro knocked them away, finding one of them was an illusion. The other flew away, lodging itself into a tree. Bunjiro laughed again, unleashing his lightning burst attack again. He stopped at the pain in his arm. He look and saw that over half of his arm was missing, a bloody kunai lodged in the muscles.
"A double move, eh? You distracted me with the illusion kunai and then waited for me to let my guard down. But I'm still ready to fight. We're all still ready to fight."
Natsumi and Jinei crashed down from below, stopping at the sight of Minoru and Bunjiro at a stalemate. Jinei stopped and began to create something of a cloud of smoke as she continued Bunjiro's speech.
"Prepare to face our ultimate attack…"
Shige and Aoshi clashed from different sides of the forest and stopped as well, Aoshi concluding
"The Hurricane Assault…"

Chapter 16
It had been nearly a day and Basho's team had found no one to fight them. It was like their area was entirely dead. They knew that there could only be about two teams to fight the, but they were also sure that their friends were nearly ready to pass the second exam, while they still had only one scroll. Suddenly, Jotaro and Kyoji screamed at the sound behind them. Basho stepped through, still tired from running. They had all managed to survive any dangers, thanks to Jotaro and Kyoji's survival skills. Basho really didn't care, but grinned at the sounds he heard to the west.
"Guys…I think we've finally found our team." Looking through the bushes, he sighed their mark. Three guys, all about their age, held a large scroll, observing what appeared to be a map. Basho made sure that it was by checking with Mental Chakra. He gasped at what the scroll really was.
A forbidden jutsu…Art of the Doppelganger…and Art of the Double Snake Assassination…Not a good combo. They couldn't have made much progress; even with the length of time they've had it… Just have to think a bit… Scratching the back of his head, he began his own habit, forming something of a concave curve in his fingers, linking them in the spaces between and then creating a tight bond. Supporting his chin on the bond, he thought. Fifteen minutes passed and he finally had it. He motioned to Jotaro and Kyoji, whispering in their ears, pointing to the target areas, the two dunces nodding hesitantly.
The group of boys still laughed at their luck. After three years of failing, the scroll gave them the power to pass. It even gave them the courage to survive the first trial. Now, they just had to find a team and the third exam was theirs. Finding the kinjutsu was a stroke of luck for them, and they had abandoned their old names, now taking on more orderly names. The oldest, black hair hanging down to his waist was called Daichi. His counterpart, bald and much less built, was called Sho. The leader, brown hair spiking up like a tower, grinned and snapped the scroll shut as he heard Jotaro and Kyoji talking.
"No…not now, you moron!"
"But I'm hungry!"
"Just wait until we kick those three ninjas' butts over there. Then we can eat…Fair enough?"
"…Okay…But I won't like it…"
"Well, Taro, " Daichi spoke out as he propped his chin on his hand, "Do you think we should ambush them?"
"It would be a waste…just let Sho get them…then we can steal their scroll…Sho, you know your place…get them…"
Kyoji stood up and pointed behind Jotaro as the demon child slowly turned and saw the terrible sight before him. It was so scary…so…bright?
Opening his eyes, he saw a sextet of bald heads shining in the sunlight.
"Oh, this is great… Looks like we have to get him a few more toupees, huh…"
Sho growled and rushed forward, all five of the shadow clones following him. Kyoji readied himself, blocking the first attack from the real Sho and crying out as the second Sho struck him in his side.
"Forgot to tell you, "Sho said as he continued to pummel both Jotaro and Kyoji with his solid clones, "all six of me are real…Say your prayers…"

Kenta still felt woozy after his encounter with temptation, but froze as he saw Tami's blade at his throat. Risa and Hitomi couldn't make a move as Tami grabbed the scroll from Kenta's jacket and rushed off, carrying her fallen team with her. Kenta rubbed his head and walked towards Risa, who promptly slapped him. Rubbing his cheek, he spoke.
"What was that for?"
"For being a pervert!" Risa replied
Hitomi grabbed the feuding children and sighed, pulling them apart as their fists waved.
"We've gotta get that scroll back…And I think I know a way to do it with no risk at all…well…nothing permanent, anyway…"
Risa and Kenta crossed their arms and faced away.

Tami still couldn't believe it. She had done this easier than she thought. Stopping for a break, she set Yori and Kichi down as she sipped the water from the stream, parched from her fight. Picking up her comrades, she turned to see Kenta and Akimaru, who had tracked her well. She grinned and pulled Kichi on her shoulder, holding the ninjato towards Kenta threateningly
"You know what I can do with this. Don't move." Kenta walked towards Tami, completely unaware. Tami then performed the Seduction Art, releasing the chakra beam. But Kenta didn't move an inch as the beam struck him. Tami glared and unleashed the attack again, still no effect. Kenta then stopped, snapping his fingers. Akimaru turned into a rock, which promptly fell to the ground, while Kenta reverted back to his original form, Risa! Tami clenched her teeth and rushed forward, but stopped as Hitomi and Kenta held her ninjato at her throat. She sighed and sat down, handing over the scroll, as well as her own. As Hitomi and the others walked away, Tami grasped the ninjato, performing a final duty, unleashing a new attack on Kenta. Kenta shook his head and looked down. He screamed so loud, even Naruto could hear his son's scream. Grinning, the fox ninja simply returned to his work. Kenta still couldn't believe his eyes. Tami had switched his ninja outfit with a hot pink kimono. Akimaru mewed and purred as Kenta sat on the ground, his face in his hands. Hitomi and Risa laughed as Tami fell over, completely exhausted, her ninjato now cracked and useless.

Minoru, Shige and Natsumi were all confused as the cloud of smoke grew larger. Aoshi began to beat a drum that increased the already impending noises of thunder. Bunjiro performed what little of the symbol he could and completed the trinity, the lightning sparking a true thunderstorm in the midst of the forest. The force of the winds slowly blew Minoru away, while Natsumi squealed as the rain pelted her. Shige was paralyzed by the thunderous sounds of Aoshi's drum. The storm intensified and everything went black.
As Minoru awoke, he saw crumpled branches and various holes in the ground. The storm had certainly done a number on the forest. He heard Bunjiro's laughing as Shige, Natsumi, Aoshi and Jinei's voices all collided.
"Stop it…please…"
"No…can't take the…thunder…no…"
"Hehehehe…looks like you were right, Bunjiro. These two really are storm phobiacs."
"What should we do, now?"
Bunjiro replied, Minoru still growing closer, his Taigan left intensifying as well.
"Simple…we make them break and tell us where their friend is. They probably have him connected somehow…"
Natsumi looked up, speaking with a raspy voice, already that way from screaming "But…Minoru told us…"
Jinei slammed her foot into Natsumi's chest, sending her crashing down again, still crying.
Shige grinned and spoke to Aoshi, "Fine…you want to know? Minoru's right over there, " She said, motioning the exact opposite direction of Minoru's position. Aoshi slowly stepped over and gasped as she saw Minoru, glowing eye and all. She threw a shuriken, which Minoru simply grabbed and threw back double strength, piercing through Aoshi's arm. Aoshi crumpled, doubled over with pain. Jinei looked behind her and threw her own shuriken, which reflected back as well, freeing Natsumi. Bunjiro picked up his katana, still confident that he was going to win.
"I know where you really are, Minoru. Right…here!" He said thrusting the katana at Minoru's feet. Minoru grasped the blade and ran towards Bunjiro, raising the blade and disappearing, the blade falling to the ground. Bunjiro narrowed his eyebrows and looked around him. Facing forward again, he saw the blade at his throat. He grinned and spoke, "This is all another illusion…just like your clones…"
"Perhaps," Minoru replied, "But then again…"
Bunjiro cried out as the sword came through his chest from behind. Minoru released his grip and procured the scroll, motioning to Shige to pick up Natsumi and follow him. Natsumi was afraid again, as Minoru seemed to become more like his enemies every second of the exams.