Phase 2 - Location 4: Team 1 vs Team 2

[STORY]

Description:
The battleground was a mountaintop forest, its towering trees cloaked in moss and vines, casting dappled sunlight on a mossy floor beneath. A clear stream wound a hundred feet below, offering both cover and strategic advantages. The terrain served as an ally and adversary, with stealthy cover in the towering trees, mossy ground muffling steps, and the stream providing a dual purpose of hindrance and a resource for water-based jutsu. Beyond the stream lay a mysterious cave. It was a dynamic battlefield where nature's elements intertwined with human cunning, creating a challenge not just of strength but also of mastery over the terrain.

Rules:
The rules of this phase are simple yet challenging: the moment a team member is immobilized or hit by a single jutsu, they are immediately disqualified from the exam. However, if a member of the opposing team manages to incapacitate one of their rivals, their own disqualified teammate can be reinstated, much like the rules of dodgeball. This phase aims to assess the genin candidates' adaptability, teamwork, and tactical acumen as they confront unfamiliar situations and opponents. It's a rigorous test designed to ensure they can effectively respond to unexpected challenges on their journey to becoming chunin.

Teams:
Team 1: Satoru, Mellow Tomogui, Natsuo Aburame
Team 2: Soma Chinoike, Ryo, Gen Igarashi

Posting Order:
Satoru --> Mellow Tomogui --> Natsuo Aburame --> Soma Chinoike --> Ryo --> Gen Igarashi

Time Limit:
72 Hours (3 days) Posting Limit

​

 

[Yon]

Satoru Amatō

Awakening from a deep slumber, Satoru slowly rubbed her eyes, dispelling the remnants of sleep. A yawn escaped her lips, and as it faded, her gaze began to sweep her surroundings. Although her vision was still a tad hazy, her mind raced, sharp and precise, embodying the qualities she believed a Chunin should possess. Taking a moment to gather herself, she tried to stand, her legs slightly unsteady.

"So this is a genjutsu after all..." she murmured to herself. "If the others haven't realized it yet, they surely will now."

The landscape around her was a vast contrast to the fiery ruins of the village she had last remembered. It was a refreshing change, the brightness filling her with a sense of hope. Though she had been fond of the dramatic flare of the blazing village, the gloomy setting had become tiresome. With a sudden burst of joy, Satoru allowed herself a little happy dance, grateful for their new environment.

Yet, amongst her acquaintances, only one name came to mind – "Mellow". She didn't intimately know him, but she had heard that was his name, and calling him weird Forrest Boy would be rude...even if Satoru thought it true, and were was that other weird girl who was speaking to him like she knew him? Questions, Questions. Without hesitation, her voice tinged with concern, she called out, "M-mellow? Are you here?"

A thought crossed her mind, "Of course he'd be here. We were in the last arena together, so does that mean we're teammates now?" With that realization, she turned her head in every direction, hoping to spot him amidst the expanse.

 

[Mellow]

Yet a second time, the young boy fell victim to a strange sensation that rendered him unconcious like the others. Eventually, he slowly started to wake up as his senses were greeted by the familiar smells and sounds of nature. The sounds of leaves rustling in the wind, the chirping of the many different birds, and the delightful smell of the tree bark filled his very senses just as his 2-toned red and orange eyes slowly opened. Once his eyes opened and his vision cleared from his nap, the world he was greeted by only confirmed that his senses never failed him when it came to things such as that. He assumed that this mysterious event was the same as the last time which caused him to be put asleep and transported to a random location; With that, it could have been safe to say that this was either due to a sleep genjutsu which would have ended the moment the group awoke, or it was simply a sleeping gas. As such, he had already had in his mind that whatever this test was, the terrain they were in was the perfect environment for his techniques and this is where he also excelled the most in combat.

After a few moments of the young warrior observing the area, he heard the voice of the girl who addressed him in the previous area, though even now she still seemed to be concerned by the tone of her voice. While he didn't know her, he felt that her show of concern for him was odd and quite annoying since it wasn't something he really seeked. The first time was fine considering the situation, but now it was no reason for it and he wanted her to not show it as much, at least for him.
​

Mellow: Yea yea I'm here. Worry less on me, you're going to need all that energy of yours to focus on whatever challenges lay ahead. Worrying about others right now when there's no need to do so will only slow you down. Relax.​

He took a short breath, then slowly rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms, feeling the tension in his muscles from his slumber begin to ease. The cool breeze rustled the leaves above him, as he enjoyed the familiar scent of the forest. With an excited look on his face, he tilted his head to one side, and then the other, letting out an audible crack as he loosened up his neck. The satisfying pop of his neck joints reverberated through the serene area, a sound that symbolized his readiness to face the challenges of the day.

 

[Jeriah]

Perched on a towering tree, its branches stretching out like the arms of nature itself, Natsuo Aburame observed his teammates, the Sugar Princess Satoru and the famed Mist Beast, Mellow Tomogui. His back leaned against the tree's edge, and his gaze remained fixed straight ahead as if he had sensed their awakening. A mysterious voice broke the silence, echoing through the tranquil forest, startling his teammates. Natsuo's descent was a blur of incredible speed, disappearing from sight, and then reappearing before Satoru and Mellow.

"You two have finally woken up," he declared. His arms folded, and he observed the two genin, his expression hidden behind shades. His eyes, however, told a different story – they were busy assessing his new teammates. "Impressive," he praised, and for a moment, he paused as if considering something deeply. "If I remember correctly, you were the only genin to face members of the Shadow Realm and live. And they placed me on a team with you two." Natsuo's words were laced with genuine admiration, clearly impressed by the skills of Satoru and Mellow.

During the first exam, Natsuo had stayed hidden, showcasing his mastery of espionage. He had saved countless citizens from a remote location, proving his worth as a shinobi. "It's time," he announced, and with those words, a wave of Kikaichu beetles began to emerge from the depths of his sea-green long jacket. The insects spread out into the surrounding forest, forming a web of their presence. These creatures were both an extension of Natsuo's visual perception and a manifestation of his chakra.

Natsuo unleashed a swarm of Kikaichu, sending them across a wide area. These insects emitted a small amount of the chakra they usually fed on, creating a deceptive cloud of energy in the vicinity. By having the Kikaichu gather in irregular patterns and emit various chakra signals, Natsuo effectively obscured his and his teammates' true location, making it challenging for sensor-type shinobi to pinpoint him. The forest was transformed into a labyrinth of chakra signals, and as the bugs buzzed around, Natsuo prepared his unique team for their mission ahead.

 

[Reigetsu]

Soma jolted upwards from being unconscious, went to sit up and move but noticed she’s in a tree, high up too which even annoyed the girl even further, using a branch by swiping her palm across it to tear open a wound so she can manipulate her blood like a thin whip, slashing and cutting up the tree she is in till the whole thing was reduced to a shredded stump on the ground and a Chinoike princess smiling in content which turned back to a serious frown realizing she wasted her chakra on something she could have jumped down from.

"I sense a small cluster of chakra moving west, best go find my teammates"

Crouches down, channeling chakra into her legs before she burst off the ground which kicked up chunks of dirt, allowing her to fly over a couple acres of forest before landing in a clearing, moss and grass all around, a small waterfall that’s pouring into a river but she detected two chakra signatures across the river onto the other side.

"There you are"

she leaps over the water, landing near the trees and walking over to a boy with dirty blonde hair, dressed in a elegant attire she’s not familiar with but regardless of his clothes she shook the boy rather roughly, clearly not in the mood to be gentle during a exam.

"Hey boy! Wake up!"​

 

[LucianRedgrave]

Gen's groan was audible in its efforts; he was beginning to grow frustrated with the constant cycle of slumber and awakening. The cycle almost seemed endless in a roundabout way, but once he came to with a firm grasp on the air that needed to fill his lungs in all of their glory, he was almost immediately on his feet. His chest bellowed, and his nostrils flared, taking in the latent scents in the air. However, just the same, the air felt dead; there was something amiss, just like the round before. He hadn’t gone far, that much he was certain of. He had come to just soon enough to see what he could only assume to be his teammate darting off without much hesitation or forethought, as far as he was concerned. Things like this always amazed Gen. He was beginning to think his teammates never paid attention during the announcement of the rules. They were children, but there was truly something frustrating about being a shinobi with no grasp on how important strategic and tactical acumen was.

He sat and watched for a moment as their appearance diminished with each stride of their own. Gen let out a heavy sigh before swinging his legs over to hang over the limb of the branch he rested upon. He gave his own figure a once-over, checking to see if he was still wearing everything he came into the exams with, only to find everything was intact. His form, despite being well-kept in another situation, felt off-kilter. The exams were more of a tongue-in-cheek situation for the young Igarashi, and as things began to unfold, his alignment with the world seemed to fall into place like dominoes. Gen popped to his feet without a moment of hesitation once the ball got rolling. He didn’t need any means of sensory input to understand that this portion of the exam was different. It was likely going to be filled with a difficult road ahead as things began to unfold, and from the looks of it, his teammate wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. It didn’t take long before he was moving about his way without a moment of hesitation or even doubt within his veins for his own skill.​

 

[Yon]

Satoru Amatō
________________________________________________________________________________________

Satoru's eyes blazed with a fierce intensity, her voice quivering with a mixture of anger and indignation. "CHALLENGES!? YOU DARE SPEAK OF CHALLENGES WHEN THE TRUE NATUREOF OUR SITUATION IS UNCLEAR TELLING ME TO RELAX?... WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!" Taking a deep breath, she managed to quell the storm inside her, pinching the bridge of her nose as a sign of her effort.

She shot a sharp glance at Mellow, her voice filled with a mix of contempt and reliance. "The only reason I even address you is necessity. Don't misunderstand." Even as the words left her mouth, she felt a pang of guilt — a subtle hint that her words belied her true feelings.

Suddenly, her gaze shifted upwards, catching the figure of the mysterious shinobi perched above. As Natsuo recounted their previous challenges, memories of the "Masked Woman" and the ominous dark creatures flashed in her mind, causing her to momentarily close her eyes in pain. The thought of her earlier actions, the memory of her temptation to join the malevolent kunoichi, was like a wound that refused to heal.

Looking back at Natsuo, Satoru's voice took on a softer, yet curious tone. "And you... who are you exactly?" As she asked, her arms instinctively crossed, body leaning slightly away — a clear reflection of her guarded nature.

 

[Mellow]

Mellow rolled his eyes and let out a short sound that was a mixture of both laughter and a scoff at the words being spoken by Satoru, the girl only further proved his point in regards to her being slowed down and not focusing properly as she went on to ramble about his previous statement to her. At this same time, Mellow picked up on not only the smell of his opponents but the sounds of rustling movement through the terrain. The signatures he picked up were pretty far apart in distance which was the perfect opportunity for him to make his move. As such, Mellow will have opened his mouth only slightly as a particular roar was emitted from his very being. This sound was a piercing cry, and a call of danger that stretches out and can be heard from several miles away akin to how the howling of a wolf can be heard before seeing one for miles. This taking place during the time sounds of trees were being sliced, this sound bounced off the trees as well in order to get the exact positioning of his adversaries, which will ultimately make pinpointing them much easier. After such, he will finally respond to Satoru.
​

Mellow: Be that as it may, addressing and showing too much care are 2 different things. You ran to my aid in the forest when you should have been focusing on saving lives. Here, we just awake and the first person you call on is me. I don't mind you worrying, but don't let it distract you. You're a shinobi afterall, you should know better than to let feelings control you during war. For all you knew I could have been a posing enemy, keep your guard up. Stay focused until this is all over.​

Finally, the voice of their other partner ran through his head, one that spoke of their battle with shadow realm beings and seemingly praising the two for still being alive and well from the encounter. Mellow gave a smile of acceptance to him and nodded his head after he said it was time. The one thing that had seemed off to the young Wendigo was the sudden emergence of beetles leaving the kids jacket. However, in those moments; Mellow pointed in the direction of both adversaries as he was alerted of where the others were.
​

Mellow: Indeed, we did survive and was victorious. But it is time, and I have found their locations. Let's begin heading in their direction, The closest is to our right, she's the one we'll take out first. The other one to our far left, we'll deal with him after she's been taken care of. That is, if it's even neceassary.​

 

[Reigetsu]

Soma sighs upon seeing this boy ain’t waking up, stood back up dusting her hands off like she touched something gross then walks away but stops when she detected another chakra signature back where she was but it’s moving.​

This better be my teammate, if not then I’ll just have deal with them myself.​

Takes off back towards where she was but decided to stay up in the trees as she traverse the forest while tracking down the person she’s locked onto, leaping from tree to tree but kept her guard up while tracking, hopefully to determine if they are friend or foe. As she tracks down this person, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed when she was interrupted during a conversation with Mellow-Kun, one minute, she’s talking to him then the next she’s out cold, the ones running this exam probably snuck up and knock them out before either one could react. Soma shook her head, pulling herself out of the past and kept moving above the boy she’s following until she managed to catch up and land right in front of him, drawing her Katana and stand there looking at the boy.​

Hey, you there! Are you my teammate? Or rather, are you friend or foe?​

As she confronts the boy, she is able to get a good look at him from her view. A boy who looked about her age or older, with light ebony skin, cobalt blue hair, and beautiful gold eyes that she had never seen before, could he be from Kumo or Iwa, maybe Kiri but she was not entirely sure but will figure that out later. As she looks into his appearance more, she notice the boy's attire look entirely different from how her people wear their style of clothing, just who is this boy?

 

[LucianRedgrave]

Gen stopped in his tracks, observing as the young woman desperately caused an upheaval just to reach his location. It was, for all intents and purposes, unnecessary as far as the young Igarashi was concerned. Despite being his teammate, this young woman was likely going to be the reason they were found, and to no one's surprise, that inevitably became the case. The roar echoed throughout the confines of the forest. Perhaps everyone involved could take a page from Gen’s book; the quieter, the better. As this young woman began talking to him, she would likely find his expression less than enthused to be talking to her at all. His head soon found itself upturned with the same look of disinterest upon it before he began to speak.

If you’re going to draw that blade, you better be ready to use it," he said.

His tone was filled with distaste at the idea that clearly everyone else was paying attention during the explanation of the exams up until this point, except for the young lady standing before him with a weapon drawn. He could only think to himself as she continued her line of questioning. He couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle. He couldn’t believe his luck given the circumstances; first the boy from Iwagakure and now her. One an asset and now the other a toss-up between oblivious or useless. Only time would tell. His lips parted once more before he turned his attention to the woods that decorated the landscape just behind her at this point.

“So is making a mess just your thing, or haven’t you figured out that if someone was here to kill you, you’d be dead already? Either step aside or do something useful.”

Despite his young age, the apparent need for structure and leadership came naturally to Gen. His grandfather had spent all these years drilling these kinds of instincts into the young Igarashi. Now, in light of the exams, it was the perfect time for the boy to strut his stuff. This young woman could find that after telling her off, Gen was already on the move again, getting closer to the roar that echoed across the landscape. His body poised and his hand seemingly resting comfortably on one of the blades at his side. Perhaps this young woman would get the hint once the ball truly got rolling.