Location:

Land of Lightning
Kumogakure
Daimyo: Raikage

---

Exams:

Exam #1:
Location: Kumogakure Academy Training Grounds
Type: Written

Exam #2: TBA

Exam #3:
Location: Kumogakure Arena
Type: Head-to-head combat; 1 v 1; Preliminaries - Finals

---

Participants: 14 Squads Total


























* means they were accounted for as of 10:00 AM. If your character does not have one, you will be removed from participating in this event.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:04, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

You and your group, also several other squads from other lands have gathered at the training grounds of Kumogakure for your first part of the exams. The first thing you notice it two tarp covered spots. You cannot see inside either of them and begin to wonder what they will be used for. You notice on the tarp is the Land of Lightning's symbol and grow curious, but before you can start thinking about that, you notice familiar faces. Old squad mates. Or to others, every face is brand new and they are your competition.

Land of Fire: You aren't familiar with the faces you see.

Land of Water: You see Riki

Land of Earth: You see Aniki Cho and Aorin Taesane

Land of Lightning: You see Kairos and Kyo

Land of Wind: You see Kotatsu

They all are wearing the Land of Snow headbands and look more mature and more powerful then you last remember them.

You're all surprised by the turn out and cannot believe this day is actually happening. Before either of you can exchange words, the proctor, Fujii Sima, a powerful, honorable, and legendary Jonin, steps forward on a stage to address everybody, behind him is a giant board with another cloth covering on it, with the land of Lightning symbol. Sima's squad is shocked to see their sensei as the proctor of this test.

"We will now begin the Chunin Selection Exam," he starts off after clearing his throat. "Everyone, this is the time to utilize everything you have learned so far!" as he snaps his fingers and the tarps are removed from the two stages they were covering behind you. One has a giant X and another with a giant O painted on. Turning around, the X is on the left and the O is on the right. Many Jonin ninja line up on each side of all the genin students with their arms behind their backs. Turning back, Sima speaks again. "Every team of three will stand on the side they believe is the correct answer. This is the question!" he says as he pulls off the cloth, revealing the large board with writing that states the question:

---

You must decide as a team which answer to choose, whether it is the right answer, or the wrong answer.

Genins' Intel skill required for this exam is 3 or higher. If your character is below the required Intel., you'll post about being a bit clueless to this and mention perhaps your character doesn't read too often or is just dingy. Genins who have the required Intel skill will be the leaders to choosing an answer.

To find your Intel. stat, click your character details!

If you plan on having your character talk to your team, please insert private lines just your team [speech dialog only] to avoid giving your choices away to other players!

Now Begin!
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:13, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Nanami thinks as she looks at her teammates

[Private to Akitoki Sigmund; Yamada Nori: "You think a password would be things not directly associated with one another. As that would be to easy. I think its false.." She looks at Akitoki "Thats my opinion. But you are our team leader, I will go whichever way you two do."]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:21, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

The day of the Chuunin Exams has finally arrived, and Sakuya could not help but feel like a bundle of nerves upon arriving at the familiar training grounds. The young girl has already prepared her gear for whatever the three parts of the exam would throw at her team, but the waiting simply makes it difficult. On top of it all is their third member, Haru Himawari. Sakuya has yet to meet with their teammate, so there are many things that could be left to chance.

It didn't help seeing Kairos and Kyo being part of another village. It seems they have grown a lot, but have grown just as distant. Now with Katsumi and Himawari, Sakuya made it a point they be more familiar with each other before the exams begin.

Sakuya soon realized what sort of written exam this would be. The question beleaguered her - it's not something one learns fresh from the academy! She glanced a hesitant look and a nod to her teammates, a sign they need to handle the written test differently from what they were accustomed to in the academy.

---

Katsumi is unable to provide a post.

Sakuya decides for the team after a bit of deliberation with Himawari and Katsumi at her side, her and her team walk to the answer that marks True.

Entering the training grounds with a nervous demeanor, Isamu's eyes dart from face to face, hastily putting names to the faces he recognises. Surprisingly enough, two of the other graduates from his class stand proud, headbands from the Land of Snow adorning their foreheads?

Strange.

As some of the Genin stared wide-eyed at the proctor, Isamu was already running through possible scenarios in his head. Would it be another written exam, or perhaps an obstacle course to test physical fitness? Concentrating once more on the white-haired Jonin, the genin felt his eyebrows furrow at the nature of the question.

Mulling it over for a moment, he reached over - grabbing his two teammates by the shoulders and wheeling them some distance away from the other squads.

[Private to Sumi Eiko: "This seems too niche to me. What sort of barrier is that for continuation in the Chunin Exams? A single line from a cheesy detective novel? It's gotta be a test of some kind. The password probably has some secret meaning behind it, designed to make you think twice in some way... Maybe... if you listen to the words. They're all wrong. Maybe they're testing our ability to decipher coded information! I say we go with false."]

[Private to Senju Rosuto: "This seems too niche to me. What sort of barrier is that for continuation in the Chunin Exams? A single line from a cheesy detective novel? It's gotta be a test of some kind. The password probably has some secret meaning behind it, designed to make you think twice in some way... Maybe... if you listen to the words. They're all wrong. Maybe they're testing our ability to decipher coded information! I say we go with false."]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:28, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Rosuto stood there thinking. He vaguely remembered reading the books. He turned to his teammates for a moment and whispered to them. [Private to Deiren Isamu; Sumi Eiko: "Honestly. I cant remember. I want to say false but I cannot be sure. The moon is day one is my main concern. It does not fit the others. Do you have any ideas?" ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:29, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Sumi took his place at his seat, choosing to sit near the rest of his squad, since there were no rules against it. He grew a little more tense as the additional Jonin filtered in, glancing over them and looking for what they were prepared for; except just keeping watch and proctoring.

When the question came, he considered trying to obscure his answer, trying to mislead the other groups into not following along. The fact that he'd rather be helpful to his squad came first; after all, none of the other genin even knew him enough to make their decision based on him.

He leaned into his squad after he was lead off, listening as Isamu and Rosuto spoke up, returning some soft words while his eyes scanned about, "[Private to Deiren Isamu; Senju Rosuto: I don't remember that being required reading... and the question is if it matches the text, not if the statement itself is valid. Either way, I agree with False... Moon and Day are opposites, but Flower and Nectar are related... I don't see a correlation between all the pairings.]..."

Eiko got up from his seat and made his way over towards the blue X, the False side, to make his answer.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Rosuto followed Eiko without hesitation. His team were all in agreement about it being false so he was not about to question it.

In reply to Nara Nanami (msg # 3):

   Sigmund took in the entire event. This was the moment. This was the moment he had been waiting for. This would be the time to shine and to express his skills and power through mind, body, and soul. His teammate accompanied him and they watched the turn out with curiosity. The looked upon their competition and they felt confident still. Sigmund agreed to be team leader still and would try to captain them as best as possible.

   When it came time to the question, he drew a blank for a few moments. He reread the board over and over, trying to draw a finger on it. [Private to Nara Nanami; Yamada Nori: "Do you think we are thinking too much on this?" he asked them curiously.] He wasn't too sure of either answers, but neither rang a bell for him.

Nodding with conviction, Isamu jogged to catch up with Rosuto and Eiko, nervousness visible behind his pallid complexion.

[Private to Senju Rosuto; Sumi Eiko: "I don't like this, though. Stay alert - the first stage can't be that easy."]

Crossing his hands over his pants before him, Isamu's eyes darted around the grounds.

Nanami looks at Nori and Sigmund [Private to Akitoki Sigmund; Yamada Nori: "We may be overthinking this a bit. Just pick one, it maybe one of those there isn't a wrong answer. It might be just to show the solidarity of the team. Nori your thoughts?"]

Kanzo was used to clouds and humidity, but he was not a fan of cold winds as they always seemed to cut right through whatever you were wearing, and right to the bone.  The air also felt slightly thinner in the mountainous region.  His attention was stolen away from the cold by noticing one of the other genin wearing a strange headband marking.  After a few moments, he noticed it was Riki, his former team member that had mysteriously disappeared.  Kanzo peered suspiciously over at him and was about to mention something to his team-mates, but was stopped by the appearance of a white haired man who introduced himself as the exam proctor.

Kanzo listened closely to the instructions given, and examined the board with the question.  He smiled as he read the question and quickly looked around to see everyone's reactions.  He saw as he expected.  A few looked puzzled, a few were thinking intently, and some looked as if they knew they had to just guess and hope for the best.

He turned towards his team-mate, who had just been assigned after Riki had left and whispered to him.

[Private to Fujii Sima: So I’ve read those books but I didn’t memorize them.  The passwords sound familiar but I think I remember that they were supposed to be opposites of each other in some way.  “Moon” is opposite of “Day”, “Mountain” can be seen as the opposite of a valley or a “River”.  While a “Flower” produces “Nectar”, they can’t be seen as opposite.  I may be thinking of a different volume but that’s my best guess.
]

Kai had nervously been with his team, waiting for the exams to begin. They had noticed Kotatsu, their crazy former team mate who went berserk. He was quite shocked to say the least. He couldn't imagine why he would be here, but seeing the Land of Snow headband, made him gulp. Kotatsu has managed to make it here, unstable minded or not. He tried not to pay attention and focused with his team about the situation at hand: exam 1.

The question presented to them threw him off. He deemed it too easy, but perhaps there was more to it. He wasn't entirely sure. He discussed among his team, trying to decide what they needed to choose. They choose to say True.

---

GM EDIT: Kurochi is excused for the time begin. Yuuka never made roll call. Unfortunately she will be excused from Exams after this.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:45, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

In reply to Shinji Kanzo (msg # 12):

Tobi had been newly assigned to this squad when a former member mysteriously disappeared and never returned. Tobi accepted the offer and was happily placed within the group. When it came to the exams, he realized his only purpose was to get his team through this and it was fine by him.

Kanzo discussed what he thought about the question and Tobi listened intently. [Private to Shinji Kanzo: "I honestly did not know there was a volume 5. I must have missed it or something. Without knowledge of that book, we don't stand a chance at this. Think we should just guess and cross our fingers or something? Because I'm smart and all, but you know, without the book in hand, I think we'll fail. The genin here are almost 50-50 on this. What should we do?]

Kanzo felt that being in a squad of 3 may impact their performance in the long run, but for now it would have to do.  From what Tobi had said, and the indicisiveness of the other genin, Kanzo whispered back.

[Private to Fujii Sima: I have a feeling that many true or false questions are based around is this EXACTLY correct, and will usually try and make most of it correct, and change one small thing or it is generally true except in a certain circumstance.  I think we should go with “False” on this
]

GM EDIT: In order to participate in the Exams, you need 3. Otherwise, you couldn't attend. Even though your teammate will not be with you this entire time, she will be written off later so do acknowledge her presence. Just God-mod it a bit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:03, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

This was the beginning of what Nori knew would be an unforgettable experience. She looked around her and saw their competition, but despite not knowing any of them, she knew they had to be good for them to be here. When the proctor came up to the podium and posed the team their question, she looked over the words and carefully read into them. She turned her head and looked at her teammates.

[Private to Akitoki Sigmund; Nara Nanami: "Nanami could be right. There probably isn't one right answer, but there has to be some kind of logic in it. I mean, there has to be a right answer seeing as how it is coming directly from a book. I've heard of the series before, but never bothered to pick it up and read it.  Then again, is there even a volume five to begin with? It's a trick question," she replied.]

Tobi nodded his. [Private to Shinji Kanzo: "All right, boss. Let's do it. Let's hope for the best!"] He was an enthusiast about their choice. He followed behind Kanzo and Chisame, choosing False as their answer for the question. They weren't too entirely certain about their choice, but they let fate decide their destiny today.

Kanzo wasn't fully sure of his reasoning or decision, but even if he was completely wrong, they still had a 50% shot at getting it right.  He led his team up onto the X stage to join a squad of Earth genin, smiling as he did so.  Fake it 'till you make it he thought to himself.  Sometimes confidence was just as important as getting the right answer.

In reply to Yamada Nori (msg # 16):

   He thought it over a bit before giving them an answer. He looked around, noticing other squads had already chosen their answers. Some true, some false. It was 50-50 on the this so seeking the answer from others wasn't a possibility this time. He looked at the girls again, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets and looked at them with much confidence. [Private to Nara Nanami; Yamada Nori: "Well, looking at the others, it's nearly divided. If we choose the wrong answer, half of the competition could be eliminated within round 1. We need to be smart about this. I unfortunately don't read too much, so never have I picked up these books growing up. I spend too much time on training. I think we should go with false."] He still was unsure, but choosing was the best they could do.

Nanami nods [Private to Akitoki Sigmund; Yamada Nori: "I read way to much, and it must be series printed here as I never recall seeing it at the library or shops. So false?" ] She humms happily.

   Sigmund took in a deep breath, glancing around once again and then facing them again. [Private to Nara Nanami; Yamada Nori: "All right, lets go with false. We have nothing to lose. Just be on your toes. Because if we lose this, we may have some kind of weird escort out or something. Just be on your feet, okay? I'm not too confident of this land right now."] He explained and they turned around, picking false, going with their gut. They stood on the platform, among other groups, waiting patiently.

Nanami Follows Sigmund "I have faith in our decision. Right or wrong our training and strength can only go up, regardless of our rank. We will be that much stronger next go around."

In reply to Akitoki Sigmund (msg # 19):

Nori thought over the question again in her head. 'Moon is Day, Mountain is River, Flower is Nectar...' she thought silently before looked away from her teammates and looked at the teams that were taking both sides. One of them had to be the right answer, right? It had to be, but just which one was the right one?
[Private to Akitoki Sigmund; Nara Nanami: "Well, when you think about it, a river can be found between mountains and nectar can be found in a flower, but moon is day doesn't really correlate with anything except for the fact that moon comes out at night when the sun sets, but you can still see the moon during the day. It just isn't as bright at night," she replied and looked over at Sigmund and Nanami. "I get a feeling the answer is true as they all seem to correlate with each other one way or the other, thus making the statements true."]

However, after hearing both Nanami and Sigmund speak, Nori simply nodded and joined her teammates on the platform. It really was a fifty fifty chance, but maybe she was just putting too much logic into her thinking.

The squad did not hesitate nor did they even speak to each other. They just looked at each and nodded, going with false. They made their way and stood there quietly. They were probably the oldest team of genin here as they stood taller compared to the other group.

The Sound squad was very intimating looking, take on masks and cloaks. They seemed more suspicious looking than any other group. Nobody knew what was under their cloaks, but people were sure they jutsus were sound based. However, they did not care. They were only here to wind and they would do anything to accomplish that goal. They chose true without even much speaking.

The remaining squads chose their answers, from true and false. They divided up the answers to 50 and 50 and the turn out was great. You could definitely see who was the smartest in the groups.

Aorin had been placed into the Chunin Exams along with his other two teammates, Cho and Kairos. He had traveled to the Land of Snow to find purpose and to find his redemption after being stripped of his headband in Iwagakure. He now lead Cho and Kairos and was representing the Land of Snow. It was a last minute registration with another Snow Squad, but he didn't care. He was going to prove to be the best, showing the Earth squad who was superior. Aorin had chosen the answer for his squad quickly, going with false.

Kyo lead the other snow squad. It consisted of him, Riki from the water and an unstable minded boy named Kotatsu. Kyo noticed his old squad from lightning, but did not say hi to them. Instead, he listened carefully with his team and they followed Aorin's lead to their answer choice. They prepared themselves for the true answer of this question.

Sima observed every single group, noticing the strongest members of a group to their weakest members of their group. He was impressed with the turn out overall and was shocked to see some struggled with the question at hand. He noticed some were very confused while others chose an answer right away. Some even debated about it. Once all the squads had chosen their answers, he waited a few moments to see if anybody had any seconds thoughts before he addressed them again. He stood up tall, looked at them with amusement. He watched his own squad make their decision towards the end and just smiled for a moment. He hoped their training would pay off.

He cleared his throat. "All right, you've all decided on your answer. The wrong answer is..." he remained silent as he kept all the genin on their toes. Their expressions changed from confident to worried. He was sure their hearts were beating hard in their chest as they anxiously awaited the correct answer. "In other words, those who tense up will fail," was all he said to finish his sentence and their faces were all confused.

Among the genin, many questions were asked, specially "What do you mean?" could be heard from many genin. He just smiled and chuckled to himself. "You'll see. Now the answer is," he said as he turned around and used his body flicker to disappear and reappear on top of the board. He placed his hand on the board, making it move and pushed it off, revealing a whole new board that read the answer:

O & X

Many of the students were in complete shock. A few moments passed before all the Jonin had moved around the entire grounds, facing all the genin. That's when the floors below each platform on the answer stages had collapsed, dropping every squad into their respective pits. In each pit, they could see much electricity sparking about towards the very bottom. If you fall all the way, you'll be electrocuted until they say otherwise.

What do you choose to do, students?

Yuuka was shocked when the floor suddenly dropped out from under her.  Thinking quickly, she unfurled her summoning scroll as she fell, biting her thumb to draw blood.  Hastily performing the summoning jutsu as the bottom of the pit rushed towards her, Yuuka finished just in time.  Her ninja manta steed appeared beneath her with a puff of smoke, stopping their descent.  Hovering on a cushion of air, Yuuka looked for her team-mates, to see if either of them needed her help.

The tension in the rather exposed training grounds was immense. Never before had Isamu felt as hypersensitive, as nervous as he did right there. In a few moments, the real reason behind the question would be revealed - presented to them by the Jonin that was to decide their immediate future path. Relaxing his hands, the nervous Genin awaited the big reveal - he was guessing it had something to do with cryptography and ciphers, decoding the hidden message within the--

The board fell, revealing to all the answer of true and false. Circle and cross. Isamu had less than three seconds to comprehend the complete ridiculousness of the first exam before the various Jonin pulled back the floor beneath them.

Shocked for less than a second, he was partially relieved that the exam wasn't something so dreary - or at least, he would've been if not for the thunderous noise coming from below him. A quick glance downwards revealed the maze of crackling electricity, the visibility of which snapping him out of his reverie and straight into action.

Thankful for his earlier positioning of his hands, Isamu runs through handseals with a speed that comes only from extensive practice - simultaneously shouting to his teammates:

"Grab the wall! Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

Overpowering the technique, a gust of rampaging wind shot out from his palms, hitting against the wall opposite them and launching the three Genin backwards - towards the direction of the parallel wall.

Drawing a single Kunai in a fluid motion, Isamu stabs the sharp blade into the soft sandstone hilt-deep, relying on the grip of the instrument to get a hold of the wall and work on a more permanent solution for his - their - current predicament.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Chisame stared nonplussed as she suddenly dropped into a pit.  Huh.  Looking around, she unsheathed the broad-bladed sword she carried on her back.  Channeling chakra through it, she stabbed it into the wall of the pit, arresting her descent.  Hanging by her arms for a moment, she looked around at the other falling students.  I wonder if we're supposed to fall into the electricity?  Maybe it's a test of toughness?  Nah, screw that.

Flipping up to perch on top of the sword embedded in the wall, Chisame waited to see if any of the other students would land in the electricity.  Should be entertaining.

Kurochi watched as the answers were revealed confused on how that worked out. But suddenly the floor gave out letting them fall into a pit. Looking down Kurochi saw the electricity, Kurochi started forming the hand signs needed for the jutsu. Kurochi announced, as he finished,"Wind Style: Great BreakThrough!" aiming towards an empty wall. Kurochi launched towards the wall behind him grabbing 2 Kunai from his pouch, he stuck to the wall hanging.

Looking up he saw Yuuka perfectly safe, although he couldn't see Kai he watched out for him. Grabbing 2 more kunai he swung around and stuck them to the wall for his feet to stand on, just in case if his hold gave out.

Rosuto had stood there worried that they had failed until it was announced that both answers were correct. He was actually just about to let out  sigh of relief when the Jonin changed position and the floor beneath them was gone. Thankful for Isamu's quick thinking Rosuto was able to do a quick jutsu of his own.

'Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!" he said as he slapped the wall they made contact with. A chuck of the wall big enough for the team to stand on swung itself out of the earth and plugged their section of the pit.

   Sigmund had remained quiet as they stood there, contemplating whether he made the right decision or not. Once he saw the proctor come back onto the stage and address them again with a weird riddle, he looked confused. He didn't say anything and watched as the true answer was revealed. The new board revealed that either answer was correct. A lot of confused looks had submerged on everyone's faces and they had little time to process that because in a matter of seconds, Sigmund noticed Jonin dispersed and then the floor under them collapsed.

   Both sides had fallen into pits and he heard a lot of screaming. Among the screaming and shouts, he immediately noticed the electricity at the bottom of the clip. He grew worried and knew he would have to pull through if they were to make it. Quickly thinking, he used his kekkei to make a quick bone sword, stabbing it into the dirt wall and keeping hold. He had grabbed Nori's hand before she got out of his reach, hanging onto her for the time being. He couldn't find Nanami, but he knew she had her own ground. He knew he couldn't stay like this for long though.

Kanzo was kind of let down he hadn't brilliantly deduced the correct answer, but was happy he had passed the first exam.  His calm was shattered when he suddenly found himself falling into a dangerous looking pit full of electricity.  Kanzo thought of a quick plan to escape.  He made his hand seals. "Water Style:  Water Bullet Jutsu". He used the force of launching the projectile to propel him close enough to the wall where he stabbed in his kunai, sliding a few feet before it was caught in the wall.  His heart was pounding at how sudden it was.  He looked around to see who else had made it and was glad to see Chisame had managed to catch herself.  He gave a smile and a little wave.

Kanzo then pulled out another kunai and drove it into the wall as an extra handhold.

Eiko had a moment of the confusion as the answer dropped. The greater lesson was obvious: shinobi can't be paralyzed by fear. He still didn't quite understand how a passage could both be accurate and inaccurate -- but he could check the book later. His focus was too distracting, maybe he was too confident the test was over.

As the ground disappeared under him, Isamu's push back away from the wall arrested the descent enough to understand the situation. Quickly, he grabbed a tag from under his vest and hurled it straight down under the trio and towards the ground. It traveled faster than them, stopping just under their feet before the tag jolted parallel to the floor, "Barrier Seal!"

Rosuto's earth jutsu made his barrier unnecessary, the barrier form under a floor under the three, and under the earth; supporting it at best, and redundant at worst. Rosuto and Isamu had seen Eiko make larger barriers -- but Eiko kept this one just big enough to catch the three. The other Squads would solve the test on their own, or fail the test.

Once the barrier was in place, he it was just a matter of climbing out of the pit the short distance that had fallen, reaching back to offer a hand to his other two teammates to help them.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:18, Sat 30 Jan 2016.

Nanami was waiting for the answer to be revealed. Something to her felt a bit off. Why were they all standing in a specified area. She didn't think much of it at the time. Then the Jonin all backed up and the reveal of either answer was revealed. Suddenly the floor drops out. The dropping feeling which she had felt a hundred times when training with their Sensei in his training area.

The gust of wind as she started to fall. Nanami didn't fluster, she looked quickly spotting Nori and Sigmund. They were safe for the moment. But the blade looked to be slipping out of the wall that held her teammates. She deftly pulled out a kunai that had wire attached and she through it just to the right of her teammates. She then gripped tightly as she swung, hitting the wall. She didn't have the time to put her gloves on so the wires were starting to cut into her hands.

She smiles "Three going up." She announced as she kicked off the wall grabbing both of her teammates "Wind style: Divine wind Jutsu!" Suddenly a small tornado appears under them, and propels them higher then the pits edge by quite a bit. She uses her feet to push Nori and Sigmund towards the safe ground. Nanami then flips and lands near them breathing hard "Here I thought it was going to be boring. You two alright?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:23, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Kai was eager to learn the answer, but when he realized it was practically a trap once the answer was both, he prepared himself for the worse. He perhaps was the only one who was prepared. Once the floors collapsed under them, they fell into a pit and he witnessed the electrical surges. It radiated quickly and it looked as if they electricity was slowly rising so he needed to be quick. He still had his bandages over his eyes, but he wasn't stupid, that's for sure.

He reached into his pouch, pulling out his chain and knife. He stabbed it into the dirt as deep as he could as he wrapped the chain around his arm. He braced himself for some pain in his arm as he fell and then suddenly stopped in mid fall. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and arm, and he noticed the knife had almost popped out, but still stayed. He held onto the chain tightly and just dangled there. He looked around, looking for Kurochi and Yuuka. He would no be able to take his pain much longer. He noticed some students had already made it up, using team work while mainly other used lone wolf.

In reply to Nara Nanami (msg # 38):

   Sigmund had noticed Nanami using her wind jutsu, and he knew right away she would rescue them and take them up safely. Nori had been lifted first and then him and just before they left his part of the wall, he took his sword out and let it drop below them, witnessing the interesting spark of electricity. They were all carried up and over the pit, out of harm's way and they landed safely on the ground. His feet touched the ground as did the others. They weren't the only ones who escaped safely. About half of the competition had been eliminated though and could hear the cries down below. "I wouldn't say these exams would have been boring, but that certainly was interesting," he commented as he let the adrenaline pass.

Noticing Kai was farther down the pit than he was Kurochi went after him. Picking up the 2 Kunai he was holding, then dropping down to the ones he had used for his feet, continuing down. Slowly making it towards Kai, Kurochi said,"You ok Kai?" holding out his hand, while Kurochi made sure that the 4 kunais he had used for his holding would hold them both up if needed.

Kurochi was determined to make it to the top no matter what, tolerating Kai was a little downside but Kurochi dealt with it. Kurochi looked up seeing that multiple people made it up all the way, making Kurochi more determined to get up.

As she looked around, Yuuka saw that both of her team-mates had managed to catch themselves by digging blades into the wall.  She breathed a sigh of relief.  Noticing that Kai's position seemed somewhat precarious, she maneuvered herself under him so that Sunasakana could help support his weight.

She knew that the ninja manta would have difficulty lifting them all, but she thought that she should be able to use her own wind chakra to supplement his in order to lift them out of the pit.  "Hold on," she warned her team-mates.

Placing her hands on Sunasakana's back, she channeled her own chakra through his body into the cushion of air that supported them.  "Cutting Whirlwind Technique!"

Propelled upwards by their combined gale, Yuuka launched herself and her team-mates out of the pit.

Water Release: Binding Water Chains

Sakuya quickly invoked the jutsu, creating chains of water that wrapped around her and her teammates as well as securing for whatever support structure is present overhead to pull them up. She had learned from training how to use her jutsu for unusual occasions, but never thought she would have to use it so soon on herself and her team. With their fall arrested, Sakuya then willed the water chains to pull them up to where they managed to secure themselves and get back to stable ground.

Nori waited patiently as they waited for the answer to be revealed and when it was revealed, she was a little baffled and confused, but then again, who said it couldn't be both true and false? It was then that she saw the Jonins came up from behind the boards and wondered just why it was they did that. A rumbling was heard and it caused Nori to look down below her feet. What was going on? The ground suddenly caved in beneath their feet and she found herself beginning to fall. She looked around her as she heard the other Genin start to scream. Her eyes casted down to see there was electricity at the bottom of the pit. Nori got one of her kunai and took it out so she could stick it in the wall, but then she felt her hand grabbed. She looked up and saw that it was Sigmund. She wrapped her fingers around his hand and held onto it as he drew out a bone sword and stuck it in the wall to slow down the rate of which they were falling. She was thankful that he was there because she was a little bit too far from a wall to stick her kunai into.

Nori turned her head and looked over to see if she could find Nanami. She found her, but she wasn't able to grab hold of her as she had the kunai in her hand. Damn. How was she going to do this? It was then, though, that she saw her female teammate grab hold of her and fling them upward with her wind jutsu. They all propelled upwards and over the edge of the pit to land safely on their feet on the ground. She was going to help pull Nanami up onto the ground with them, but then she saw her flip and land beside them. "Yeah. I'm alright. How are you?" she said before she looked down at Nanami's hands. They were bleeding from when she was holding onto her wire. "You're bleeding. Take this." Nori put her kunai away and let go of Sigmund's hand that she was still holding onto before she unraveled one of her wraps from around her hand and began to dress her friend's wounded palm.

Nanami smiled and looked down at her hands "I have had worse." When nori took her hands to dres her wounds she blushed slightly. She was used to taking care of others, not being taken care of. But she gave in and sat down "Thank you Nori." She smiles and shoulder bumps the girl "I was a bit surprised by the trap, but it wasn't much worse then some of the pitfalls in Sensei's training area. Which we all fell for more then a few times. But managed to overcome it. I kind of think of these exams like that. Just another day of training. So I will support you and Sigmund however I can, and complete the training."

She smiles and leans against Nori "Even if I have to fight either of you. Something that has been on my mind. Beating either of you will be difficult. I don't like coming up with tactics to hurt the people I care about. I guess its my nature." She gives Nori a kind smile..

Nori looked up to Nanami and smiled. "You're welcome. Anything for a friend," she said and lightly bumped her shoulder back. She finished dressing her friend's wounds and tied a knot to hold the wrap together so it wouldn't fall from around her hands. Once she was done, she knelt down beside her and folded her arms across her knee. "I don't think Sigmund and I would have made it out of there if it wasn't for you, Nanami. Thank you for getting us out." She smiled a little brighter. Nori never really had a friend like Nanami before that cared so much about her, so it felt...nice. She glanced back at Sigmund. They used to defend and protect each other once upon a time. In a way...they still did. Her mind flashed back to when he caught her hand and stopped her from falling moments ago.

"And thank you, Sigmund. If you hadn't caught hold of my hand, I probably would have kept falling. Well, at least until I caught my grip," Nori said with a smirk before she looked back down to Nanami. "I will put my best efforts in moving forward and make you guys proud. I promise. I won't let you guys down."

Katsumi had followed the judgement that Sakuya provided him and their new teammate. They had gone to stand on the platform marked true and waited for the rest of the genin to make their choices. He had watched on knowing that the answer would surely be right as his faith was entirely in his teammate. Then his Sensei walked back onto the platform and informed them that both answers were right. Katsumi stood a little shocked at first not understanding what he meant, but then it dawned on him to never underestimate his Sensei. There was something else at play and they had to figure it out. However, just then the floors fell out from under them. Katsumi heard the familiar buzzing of electricity below and and began to move quickly, but was stopped by a sudden jerk. Sakuya had already secured them and before he knew it they were back on safe ground. He smiled in her direction and looked to find his Sensei.

Chisame grinned back at Kanzo before returning her attention to the bottom of the pit.  I wonder what electrocuted genin smells like?  Chisame watched with anticipation as some of the other genin failed to save themselves from falling into the electricity, only to pout with disappointment when she realised that it wasn't actually strong enough to cook them.

Looks like the others are getting out of here.  I guess that's what we're supposed to do then?  One of the things Miss Miyamoto had made her practice while refining her chakra control was the trick of walking on water by manipulating chakra through the soles of her feet - next to that, walls were easy.  Focusing her chakra, Chisame planted her feet on the side of the pit, before wrenching her sword out of it and replacing it on her back.  Keeping an eye on the rising electricity, Chisame clambered back up out of the pit.

Now that he was close enough to the wall, Kanzo pressed his feet against the wall and sent chakra through the soles of his feet.  He then withdrew his kunai from the wall and walked up to the top where the others were waiting.  He had the ability to use chakra to walk up simple surfaces, but had trouble with more complex ones.  Thankfully this was a simple one.  Once he was back on solid ground, he put the kunai back into their pouch and walked over to Chisame.  "Well that was a fun little surprise they had waiting for us wasn't it?" . At this point, Kanzo didn't believe there would be another trick like that until the next exam but remained alert regardless.

Chisame seemed to consider Kanzo's question for a moment before responding.  "Hmm.  I'm hungry."  Looking around nobody else seemed to be doing anything.  "Is that it?  Was that the first test?"  Chisame shrugged.  She wasn't really sure what was going on, but Kanzo was smart.  If anything else happened she figured she'd just follow his lead.  In the meantime...  Pulling some sushi out of her pouch, she sniffed it before starting eating.  "Oo wan' shum?" she asked with her mouth full, offering some of the slightly squished snacks to Kanzo.

Regaining his bearings, Isamu sighed with relief when the barrier and earthen platform sprouted out from beneath him. He'd been watching other teams with some degree of fascination, making note of their various ways of escaping what would be a painful end to their run of the Exams. Heaving the now dull kunai from the wall, he looks to his team with a shy smile.

"Sorry for being so... pushy there. Just acted as I could. Shall we go?"

Looking up at the sun filtering through the entrance of the pit, Isamu felt relieved that he and his team had passed the first stage of the exams. Now they were ever closer to becoming fully realized Chunin. The smooth stone that made up the wall reminded him of the game they often played in the Academy, an exercise in chakra control disguised as a fun activity to inspire some competition between the students. Even the lazier ones joined in.

The object of the game was to ascend a nearby cliff without using hands, extra appendages, bloodlines or jutsu. At first the soon-to-be Genin were confused, but within weeks many had mastered the art of stone walking. Setting his right foot against the wall, Isamu began to take measured steps up the vertical edge - reminiscing about the antics of his fellow academy students that seemed so long ago.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 13:39, Sat 30 Jan 2016.

Eiko stood up at the edge once his teammates proved their own way to get up from the hole. He turned back around to view the rest of the squads that had passed the first stage, at least, trying to recollect all the jutsu he saw fly in the two pits. It was a moment of instinct for most of them, and it was a bit of insight to see their first reaction to the plummet.

He shook off, both his head and a hand, Isamu's concern for his first reaction. He didn't even vocalize a retort, as if it was such a non-issue that it didn't warrant one. He gestured to Isamu's kunai while they waited, "Do you have more, or need a replacement?"

Dusting himself off, Isamu walks over the crest of the pit. Before him are a plethora of teams, some in a sufficiently ruffled state and others who looked as if the fall had been nothing but a minor inconvenience. Turning to Eiko as he spoke, he gave the other Genin a wide grin.

"I should be okay. My kekkei genkai involves a lot of shape manipulation, so I know how to do this..."

Raising his Kunai in front of him, Isamu channels wind chakra across the blade, sharpening it until the wind forms a cutting edge of its own. As the wind becomes more and more dense, the Kunai grows ever slightly smaller, shavings of metal flying off the blade until the point is as fine as it has ever been.

In reply to Yamada Nori (msg # 46):

   He had dusted himself off, trying to remove all traces of dirt from his clothes. The adrenaline rush had subsided and he looked around. Villages from the Land of Snow were still around, as was the Sound and Forests. Even the great shinobi land squads were around still too. He was proud they got passed this part. That was one exam down. They still had one more to go. That's when he heard Nori thank him and he just glanced back at her for a second before turning back to the crowd of Genin. He really didn't have anything to say. Truthfully, he only did it because he needed a team of three to advance.

In reply to Tsukino Yuuka (msg # 42):

Kai had been dangling for what felt like forever. His arm was turning red and the pain increased. That's when Kurochi asked him if he was okay and extended his hand out. Just before he was about to grab his hand, that's when Yuuka came to the rescue. She had managed to summon her pal and he was impressed to say the least. She was quite handy at that. When she came around, he was able to at least use his feet to stand on Sunasakana for a bit as he was able to release his chain from his arm and pull out his knife by tugging on the chain and it came down. That's when she used one of her wind Jutsus and he wasn't too prepared yet but it managed to burst them out of the pit and safely on the ground.

Once they made it back to the academy grounds, he was exhausted. They had a tricky question and then a trap all in one day? Well hot damn. "Thanks, Yuuka. I don't know how you managed that, but that was awesome," he praised her and gave her a thumbs up. "Is everybody okay?" he asked as he shook his arm to get feeling back.

In reply to Senju Katsumi (msg # 47):

Sima watched as squads managed to make it up out of the pits. He was impressed, but not even. Most Genin chose to either help only themselves or simply used kunai knives. Only a few had actually put effort into saving their group. One particular group actually surprised him by using a summoning jutsu. The girl had managed to summon as she fell and saved her and her teammates using a wind Jutsu. He had smiled and was quite amused. He also noticed the two squads from the Land of Snow had immediately been the first two squads to have made it out of the pits in a matter of seconds. He was very interested how they managed to do that but it happened in seconds where he missed it. None the less, he was impressed. Half the competition was already eliminated and among the squads, he saw his squad had managed to get out quickly. He knew Sakuya would use her binding chains. He expected quick reflexes from his squad. Once he noticed everybody was practically up here, Sima simply nodded his head and the rest of the Jonin in the grounds had released the Jutsu as did Sima. The electricity stopped in the pits and the Jonin had assisted getting everyone else out. He faced all of them now.

"Half of the competition has been eliminated. If you were one of the unfortunate ones to have felt my jutsu, you are to remove yourself from these grounds immediately " he said sternly. "If one of your team members fell into the pit and you only saved yourself, you are also eliminated. A squad of three is what you need to continue advancement," he continued on. Several other squads walked away angrily. "Those who are remaining...well, congratulate yourself. You have officially passed Exam 1 of the Chunin Selection Exams. You all will gather here tomorrow for Exam 2 at the same time. And if I were you, I would get all the rest you needed," he said and began to laugh lightly as he got down and some squads had already began leaving, heading to their inns.

In reply to Suzuki Kai (msg # 55):

Kurochi was surprised, at the least, when Yuuka appeared with her summoning creature and helped Kai and himself out of the pit. After flying out of the pit and landed on solid ground, Kurochi was a little shaken up but fine at the least, after the ride.

"Thanks, Yuuka. I don't know how you managed that, but that was awesome,"Kai had said. Kurochi agreed and spoke,"As Kai had said thanks, that was great Yuuka." giving her a smile of appreciation. What else are these exams gonna give out.. he thought as he looked around at everyone else.

When Kai asked,"Is everybody okay?". Kurochi replied,"Ya, I'm fine but a little shaken that's all" nodding to Kai to confirm that he was fine. "If that was Exam 1, then we better be prepared for Exam 2 and 3. But so far this is really fun." Kurochi said smiling at his squad.

After seeing every single team make it through the tunnels, some squads had been eliminated along the way. Many reasons being they couldn't handle the shocks, they killed the man they interrogated, they were getting hypothermia, and some nearly drowned. Sima had ensured that every team was given food and drinks, medical attention if needed, and a quick break. They all awaited for the Raikage to show up to introduce the next exam. Sima didn't interact with his squad at this time for he already did and had to take his place back on that stage.

[Squads are to gather here in this thread now with their Jonin please. Jonin are to interact with their group for one last speech of encouragement before they head into battle.]
This message was last updated by the GM at 19:51, Tue 01 Mar 2016.

Katsumi quickly made his way to the clearing with his group. He saw many of the others crowding around their Jonin, but he had a feeling that they wouldn't get to have that treatment. He took a deep breath in. If their Sensei wasn't going to be there to give them quick words of courage then he would do his best to do so. He had already let his group down as a leader once and he wasn't prepared to do it again.

Akuma quickly saw the doorway open and his students revealed. He was honestly a little disappointed with the performance that they had given in the tunnels. However, he knew that they were strong enough to take on the next portion of this test. So he walked over to them and gave them a casual smile. "So how do you guys think you did in there and are you ready for the next part of the exams."

In reply to Senju Katsumi (msg # 59):

Jhinsokyo approached his former captain of the squad, put his hand on his shoulder and simply whispered to him "This is time for our actions, not words Katsumi."

Sakuya looked around, noting that only a handful of teams have remained after the second exam. She also noticed that other participants are older than her, something that made her feel a bit of unease. She mentally reminded herself that their sensei have trained them thoroughly, especially in the matter of combat.

If it were not for her forehead protector presently worn around her neck, Sakuya would have been mistaken for an Academy-level ninja. Despite having just graduated several weeks ago the memory felt distant, now mostly filled with the time spent training.

In reply to Kenji Akuma (msg # 60):

   Sigmund bowed his head as they were approached by their sensei. He felt a bit of shame, but was not going to deny what happened in there. "We failed as a squad in there and I am very angry we came in dead last," he explained. "However, these battles will not stop me from succeeding. They're one-on-one, meaning I don't have to rely on any team, just myself and my own strength. Hopefully my own teammates can hold their ground without me," he added and shook his head. "I am ashamed to be apart of this team and I can promise you I won't let this happen again," he promised, hopefully he would keep that promise.

Chisame smiled as she strolled into the meeting place.  Looking around, she saw that there were fewer teams than before and wondered what had happened to them.  I wonder what we're going to be doing next?  Humming to herself, she waited to see what would happen.

Ebi rubbed at her shoulders to try and shake off the nerves making her muscles tense up, before her fingers came to her eyes, her main eyes, and wiped a little water away that had built up from the rather quick change in light. Cursing her still lack of full control over her dojutsu, she moved herself out of the way of the other land groups and went about locating her respective Earth Jonin.

Yuuka looked around nervously as she entered the meeting area with the other students.  Despite their initial failure, they had managed to come back to complete the remainder of the course, but it was probably only going to get harder from here.  No matter what happened now though, she hadn’t let her team down.  She just needed to keep going no matter what.

Now that Kanzo was warm and dry, and had managed to have some food and rest, he was feeling much better.  No longer being threatened with drowning or hypothermia tends to improve your mood a bit.  He entered the meeting area and noticed there were quite a few less teams than they had started with and was genuinely curious which challenges in the tunnel they had failed at.

Kanzo moved over to where Chisame was strolling around.  "How's the recovery going?  I'm guessing we may have a fight coming up, seeing as we've done everything else so far"

Walks up to Akuma "Yeah we had some difficulties acting like a team. We did what we could with what there was." Nanami was not happy with the outcome. But she was not going to speak badly about her teammates. Hearing Sigmund say that brought a small smile to her face "To be honest Sigmund-kun. There are some advantages to appearing to be the lowest. They won't realize we are the power house team."

Nanami looks at Sigmund "Good luck Sigmund-kun. I hope to see you in the finals." Regardless of how he felt, she shoulder bumps him and moves to talk to Akuma again "We won't let you down in the battles. The first round will probably be the only easy round. Since nobody knows what to expect from us."

Mitsu strolled behind Kanzo, pulling on her half-sleeved jacket, its pockets now re-packed heavy with her gear. She reached behind her head, pulling her loose, dark curls tight and squeezing the rest of the dampness out of her hair.

"We should be able to hold our own from this point on I'd think, though considering how quickly we seemed to blow through those last few challenges, it makes me wonder if they'll do something weird if we're actually going to get our fights set up."

She patted Kanzo on the shoulder. "Good work on dominating that last challenge, by the way. I was so cold, I forgot to thank you." She passed him and crouched beside Chisame as they waited. "Maybe we can feed Chisa-chan one of our opponents soon."

Opening a pocket, she again took out her small book, lips pursed as she sought the place she'd left off prior, simultaneously reading and absorbing everything else going on around her via osmosis.

“Hi!”  Chisame waved to Kanzo and Mitsu when they appeared.  “I’m fine!”   She stopped for a moment, staring at Kanzo when he announced his prediction of what was coming up.

“Really?”   Chisame leaned towards Kanzo excitedly, grabbing his shirt.  “You think we’re going to get to fight?”   A dreamy expression appeared on her face.

Kurochi walked up to Yuuka, glad that they were out of the tunnels. Looking around he saw the other students that were trying to become a chunins well. "Either were doing a group exam or were gonna be fighting," he pointed out as he looked around.

Getting lost in thought, Kurochi thought how he would pay Yuuka and Kai back for his mistakes one way or another, even if it took him forever. He was determined to pass this next exam making sure to prove himself to everyone else. Everything running through his mind currently was what was gonna be their next exam.

Kai wrapped the blanket tightly around him as he walked up to his group members. He wasn't happy of the turn out, but hearing the word 'battles' made him grow eager. Others were whispering battles as to what was next and that was what made him ready. He didn't have time to worry or reflect on their experience in the tunnels, but he thought as their leader, he might as well give them some words of encouragement since their sensei was no where to be found. He faced his mates. "Talk has it that it's battles so prepare yourself. I can't say what we will encounter, but it will be dangerous and not just sparing perhaps. Just be careful and give it your all. Whether we make Chunin or not, doesn't matter. What matters is representing our village," he explained. "Now get warm as fast as possible," he added, shivering a bit.

Raikage Darui had made his way to the open area where he scheduled the Chunin Exams to take place. The spot was only temporary for the first two exams. He had plans to move the final exam to an arena within the huge village. He was escorted by several ANBU members and other Jonin, which included Sima Fujii among them. He took his place upon the stage, waited for the young genin to settle down and give him his undivided attention. Once they did, he began to speak.

"I am very proud of those who have come to represent their village with pride. I am proud to see this turnout after the first two exams, but if you believe that was the hard part then you're in for a real treat," he began to explain. "It's a custome where balance is preserved by fighting and removing life. This is the friendship of the Shinobi World. The third exam is a fight for life with the pride of the village and one's own dream on the line," he paused as he allowed the genin to take in the new challenge.

"Now then, this is where I'd like to explain the third exam. But actually, I am here to explain that there will be preliminary rounds. Too many of you survived the second exam even though many squads were eliminated already. These preliminary rounds will determine who goes to the real fights," he explained and smirked. "Those who wish to drop out, speak up now," he remained silent as one student raised her hand and excused herself. She appeared in terrible condition and Darui did not expect much from her anyways.

With her departure, that left enough to evenly match others together. Once she escorted herself away from them and regrouped with her Jonin, Darui began speaking again. "Preliminary rounds will begin immediately. Winners will be determined with one-on-one sudden death battles. This is not an exercise so battles will be taken seriously. There are exactly 26 of you remaining so we will conduct 13 battles. The surviving canidates will advance to the final exam. As for the rules, you will fight until someone dies, collapses, or admits defeat," he further explained.

"And please...admit defeat right away if you don't wish to die otherwise the fight will continue. Our proctor, Fujii, will be the official judge of every battle. He will intervene if he witnesses a hopeless fight. We certainly don't want to have to deal with too many bodies for clean up," and with those last words, it shook some genin. Many had swallowed hard and were growing anxious.

"What holds the key to your destinies is..." he turns around and looks up at the old board. "Reveal the true panel!" he commanded and the center of the board opened up, revealing a computer screen. He turned back towards the group. "The names of each opponent will be randomly selected and displayed on this electronic signboard. Now then, let's get right down to it and announce the two names for the first battle," he finished and the board began shuffling many names of the remaining genin. It matched two opponents together and the Raikage announced each opponent. The first match was Deiren VS Kotatsu and that battles lasted only minutes. Kotatsu left no mercy to Deiren. Using some sort of advanced Dark Release techniques, Deiren didn't stand a chance. Kotatsu took victory after minutes of ruthless torture and he quickly escorted himself away from the area to stand with his Jonin. Deiren was immediately sent to the infirmary for immediate medical attention. It certainly set an example to the rest of the genin.

---

---

Dice Rolling System:

Taijutsu: 1d20 + speed + strength + Taijutsu    Defense: 1d20 + speed + strength +  Taijutsu/Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu: 1d20 + Ninjutsu + Handseals + Stamina   Defense: 1d20 + Ninjutsu + speed + Stamina

Genjutsu: Unless they have the Kai: Release technique there isn't a roll. If they do have the Release technique the rolls are: 1d20 + Genjutsu + Intelligence for both caster, and target.

NOTE: ONLY TWO PLAYERS IN THIS WHOLE GAME HAVE THE KAI RELEASE AND I KNOW WHO THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE. IF I SEE ANY OTHER PLAYERS QUICKLY UPDATING THEIR CHARACTER DESCRIPTION OR ACTING LIKE THEY DO HAVE THE KAI RELEASE, YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED IMMEDIATELY.

---

Thread is now closed. Wait for your appropriate thread to show up and open. Allow the Proctor to speak first before posting about getting matched ect.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:06, Thu 03 Mar 2016.

The preliminary battle winners are:

• Akitoki Sigmund
• Nanami
• Yamada Nori
• Hikawa Chisame
• Hagane Jhinsokyo
• Senju Katsumi
• Kazoro Kurochi
• Kotatsu
• Kyo
• Aorin

---

Battle after battle, win and loss for some. The battles had been interesting and intense and for some, completely one sided. Some ninja sustained terrible injuries, while others only came out with minor scratches and bruises. Sima intervened in some battles that he deemed fair enough while he allowed others to stretch and have them exhaust themselves. Once the final preliminary battle had finished, he stepped forward one last time to address everybody in the arena. "Today was a glorious day for some. While others, it will forever be a nightmare. Some villages will be officially represented by the chosen genin from today for tomorrow's finals. My words of advice for the those who lost," he paused for a moment. "Never give up on your dreams. Today's loss does not effect your skills as a ninja. Take this as a lesson to redeem yourself. Take this to your next training. Work your ass off. Hard work and dedication is what makes you a great shinobi," he encouraged all the genin who lost.

He cleared his throat, ready to announce the next instructions. "The finals will take place tomorrow in the main arena in the middle of the village. The Raikage will match the next battles personally. Remember, you will be representing your own nation and everyone within the village will be watching, including the five great Kages. Rest up and prepare. Tomorrow is the start of some of your dreams," and with that, he disappeared, leaving the winners to chat among themselves, get treated for their injuries if necessary, and regroup with their fellow mates if they won.

the Raikage had given the list to Sima the next day for the match ups, where they were announced the next morning on a projector screen for all to see. Kyo and Aorin are first to match. They both come from the Land of Snow and as such, they put up a deadly and ruthless fight. It was life or death between them. Kyo executed some foreign family jutsus to try to deal heavy and deadly blows to Aorin, but Aorin's Swift Release had been perfected enough for him to be too fast for Kyo. Aorin struck with simple kunai knives, using his speed to an advantage. He was able to deal a massive puncture to Kyo's chest, leaving him almost dead. By the time the proctor could get medical attention for Kyo, he was pronounced dead. The Kages were impressed, however they were shocked a young genin had the capacity to kill their own teammate. The crowd had been impressed and yearned for more action. The next battles were going to be tough.

---

---

---

---

---

New threads will be posted up shortly and combatants will be grouped appropriately. Please stand by. In the meantime, match ups post in here among yourselves. Get at least one or two posts in each and then threads will finally open.

Dice Roller System is still the same.

Genjutsu has been modified with a duration chart. Meaning, depending on what you roll will determine how long the genjutsu lasts. Remember, I know who does and doesn't have the Kai Release for simple genjutsus, so be warned. However, this becomes a problem because that means whomever gets caught up in a genjutsu cast, cannot defend themselves. So there will be rules for this as well. The first attack after the genjutsu is cast, becomes an auto hit. However, you cannot attack after that until the duration is over. This makes the fight fair instead of winning by simply trapping somebody in an genjutsu for an easy win. Secondly, the auto hit cannot be a finishing blow to end the match. That makes for an easy win. This is not allowed. If something like this attempted, you will be immediately disqualified. Lastly, you cannot cast two genjutsu attacks in a row. This also becomes problematic because it makes for an unfair fight and it will just become not fun and unfair. Punishment will be a penalty and/or disqualification.

The Duration Chart is below:
1-5  = 1 post
6-10 = 2 posts
11-15= 3 posts
16+  = 4 posts

If you happen to roll a small number for your Genjutsu, please describe how weak your cast was. If you roll high, then of course describe how strong it becomes.

---

I will still be monitoring the dice log chart. Secrets rolls will result in penalty immediately [this included forgetting to label it. If you forget to label what you're rolling, simply don't worry about it. As long as you state what it is in your post, you'll be okay. Otherwise, you will be punished.] Re-rolling will result in either a penalty and/or disqualification. At this point, everybody is familiar with the system and there should be no problems. If you screw up your dice equation [by forgetting a number mod, then you will use what you rolled. It is your job to make sure everything is correct before you roll those die.] If you roll giving yourself an edge [i.e. adding the wrong mod, or giving yourself extra mods towards your roll, you will be immediately penalized!] If there so happens to be a problem or concern, bring it to my attention right away so it can be resolved as soon as possible. If I see the battle is becoming one-sided at a certain point, I will intervene and declare a winner right away. Try to resolve issues by yourself before coming to me if you are unsure how to deal with it.

Please stand by.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:22, Mon 28 Mar 2016.

   Sigmund was thrilled when he got to move on to the finals to represent Konoha. He also found out that his teammates, Nori and Nanami had advanced too. He wasn't too surprised Nanami won because she had her whole Genjutsu going for her, so he felt bad for the poor sap who got caught in her Genjutsu. However in Nori's case, he witnessed that entire fight and was shocked that the other girl gave in. Nori had completely lost that match and for whatever reason, she managed to win. Luck was truly on her side.

   They were able to take a rest for a day. He didn't speak to either of him teammates tough because he didn't want to be distracted. Once the next afternoon came, all the contenders were escorted to a different arena. It was more like a stadium. Nothing but an enclosed circular stadium with rows and rows of seats from above. The ground within the stadium was rock hard dirt. Several large boulders were scattered around, about the size of small shacks like in the village. The sky was completely grey, a small mountain breeze blowing in.

   They were all gathered down below as people all over began filling those seats, and eventually, he noticed a small "VIP" area where all the kages were to gather. He also noticed there were six seats, instead of the original five seats. He wondered who that last Daimyo was. He didn't look too familiar though. He didn't worry about it though. He waited patiently for them to be assigned their match ups and eventually the battles began.

   The first battle was between two Land of Snow mates and they versed each other. Unfortunately, the battle turned gruesome and one actually killed the other. Sigmund was in utter shock. It was a bit extreme for teammates to kill each other just to win the rank of Chunin, but Sigmund figured that was more of rivalry than anything. He kept cautious because he wasn't sure what his fellow opponents could be capable of, but he was sure he was able to kill someone for this title as well.

Nanami would walk into the medical area. One of the medical ninja dropped her clipboard. Nanami was covered in her own blood, and had clear bruising all over the place. Yet she almost danced in there like she didn't feel any pain. This came from her mothers intense physical training. While not strong, she was more durable then most.

Several medical ninja rushed to her making sure she was okay. When it was clear that she was, they went to work healing her cuts and bruises. The cuts on her arms from the arrows she had them stitch up as reminders. These were to remind her of the future she would have. She stayed overnight and until the next morning. Everything seemed healed and Nanami was as ready as she could be. In the morning she went through her usual warm-ups and archery practice. She knew she had to be ready for her next opponent.

Nanami found out who her next opponent would be. She watched the first match as most of the finalists did. She was happy both Nori and Sigmund had made it, and looked forward to facing them if there was another round. As she watched, there was clear brutality showing from both the snow ninja. She took mental notes of everything she could. Seeing one of them kill the other was unexpected. Then she looked at her match-up, she was against the other snow ninja. Nanami realized she may end up fighting for her life against him.

Nanami would look for Nori to congratulate her. When she looked around for Sigmund he seemed to have vanished after the match ended. She would smile and say "Congratulations Sigmund." Just hoping he would hear it. Nanami knew they weren't on good terms, she hoped that aspect could be repaired..
This message was last edited by the player at 02:30, Fri 25 Mar 2016.

After the battle was over with Harusame, Nori was taken to the medical area where the genin were being treated for any injuries sustained in their fights. She didn't remember much as after she was taken there, she blacked out from blood loss. They ended being able to stop the bleeding and stitched her up before giving her a blood transfusion and treated her minor wounds. She woke up some time later and was told that she could go for the rest of the day, but would have to come back tomorrow for the final exam. Nori knew that she had to get plenty of rest and relax, but first thing in the morning, she was going to dedicate herself to training a little before the finals took place. She couldn't let what happened today happen again. She didn't know who she was going to be facing and she didn't know whether or not it would be her own teammates, but she wasn't going to let her determination to be a chunin waver. She had to give it her best. She was just lucky that she didn't bleed out.

The next morning came and Nori woke up. Today was the day. After showering and getting dressed, Nori made her way out of the room she was staying in and went to do some training. She hadn't seen Sigmund or Nanami to congratulate them on their wins, but she knew she would see them eventually. After she got to the stadium, she found out who she would be facing. Jhinsokyo Hagane. Her fists curled at her sides. She was going to do this. She had to do this. Her eyes soon wondered down to the first pair of fighters from the land of snow and watched as the battle began. There was sheer brutality between the two and it was hard to watch, but the risks in these exams could lead to certain...casualties and it did. One teammate killed the other in a way that had somehow sent chills down her spine.

Nori didn't know what to expect from her next opponent, but she knew it wasn't going to be easy. He made it to the finals, so he was obviously very skilled. She could already tell that this next battle of her's wasn't going to be like the last. She didn't know what the outcome would be. If she would survive and became a chunin or if she would end up a fatality just like that land of snow genin. Everyone was going to be watching her battle and all the rest of the upcoming battles that were to be taken place. She had to give it her all no matter what.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:33, Sat 26 Mar 2016.

   Sigmund had heard Nanami's words of congratulating him. He was just in the middle of walking away when he heard her. He had stopped in his tracks and had turned around to face his rival. She was not only his rival, but his squad mate as well. He just looked in the eyes, giving her that rival edge between them. The events from exam 2 were still between them. He had no desire to apologize or even talk about that matter right now. All that mattered to him right now was to win, even if it meant life or death between a friend or a teammate.

   He hadn't been injured from his previous fight from yesterday. Some call it luck, but it was more of a one-sided battle and even though he was proud to have won, it wasn't much of a challenge. However, the scent of victory lingered around him. It being one-sided may not have been fun, but knowing he was just too powerful for somebody meant he did belong here and he deserved to take it all.

   The silence grew between them for a moment longer before he opened his mouth to speak softly. "Thanks, you too," he managed to get out before taking in a deep breath. "I can promise you that I will be winning and you better win too so I can beat you. I'm taking this title home, for me, for us, and for Konoha. I didn't come all this way for nothing. It's all or nothing, life or death. And if I have to, I will kill to get what I want," he told her. He wasn't threatening and he wasn't being smug or cocky about it. He was being honest, determined, and courageous as leader should be. These exams may have struck nerves with her and Nori with him, but it made him more wise and more hopeful for a better destiny. He didn't want to kill his team, but if he had to, he wouldn't hesitate to gain the title of Chunin. This was for him alone.

Kurochi was glad that he had won his battle, although he was saddened a bit since Kai and Yuuka didn't make it with him. Having a determined look on his face, he was gonna make sure that he represented his village and teammates in the up coming finals. Listening to the Raikage speak saying that the finals would take place tomorrow, Kurochi decided to go and walk around and plan for the finals, he would need all the chakra and rest for tomorrow. Although he wanted to check on his opponent in the preliminaries, Kurochi decided against it since he doubted she would want to see him especially after burning her book.

The next day Kurochi felt ready and rested, although he felt a bit lonely that his team mates weren't gonna be next to him. Kurochi looked on the projections of the next match-ups, he was ready to take down whoever he needed to.

Watching the battle at hand, he was surprised that they would kill each other just to win the rank Chunin. Although the ruthlessness of the Snow ninja was surprising, Kurochi was gonna make sure to watch his back if he ever battled one. They seemed to fight like it was a kill or be killed, which is often in the ninja world, but he was still shocked that teammates would do that to each other. Waiting for his match to come up Kurochi stood and watched.

Nanami wasn't going to apologize. She knew Sigmund saw her as his rival. She smiled a little, so many thoughts raced through her head. She knew she had the snow ninja as her opponent, and she knew it wasn't going to be easy. Nanami had already drawn up her attack plan for the snow ninja. She listened to what Sigmund said "One of us will be chunin by the weeks end. I do hope I get a shot at fighting you. It will be one for the history books."

Nanami gives him a smile "I heard about your match, it was pretty one sided from what I was told. My match was difficult. I think it was because I took him to lightly. My next opponent is the remaining snow ninja. After watching the previous snow ninja, I know there won't be time for idle chatter. I already have a game plan set for him." She walks up and hugs Sigmund tight, then steps back "Good Luck!" She smiles and turns to go and get dressed for her coming match..

After Nanami changes, she sits there going over her game plan again...

Chisame hadn't sustained any serious injuries during her rather short battle, so the medical ninjas let her go once they had checked her over.  She was disappointed that the proctor had intervened to keep her from killing her opponent - and that the fight had been so short - but it had been nice to actually fight someone for a change.

Having tasted the blood of one opponent put Chisame in a good mood as she arrived at the arena where the next rounds were going to take place.  There were several leaf ninjas already there talking amongst themselves, apparently their village had done well in the preliminaries.

With her own team-mates having been eliminated, Chisame approached one of the other young genin who seemed to be on his own.  "Hello!  My name's Chisame!  Who are you?  Are you excited about the next round?"

Looking around, he noticed that other teams have a the majority of there squad left. Focusing his next upcoming battle, the person he was gonna fight sounded familiar. Thinking, he remembered that it was the person that took down Yuuka. Knowing this now he was gonna make sure that he was gonna win for his teammates. After thinking this he heard a voice speak to him.

Kurochi looked to see who spoke to him, seeing another Genin she introduced herself as Chisame. He started saying,"Hey, I'm Kurochi, as for the next rounds of the tournament, I do feel a bit of excitement." smiling as he said this. "So what about you Chisame? How do you feel about the tournament?" asked Kurochi, wondering where her teammates were not that he didn't mind the company, but he was overall curious if her team made it with her or was she like him and was the only one that made it.

When the fights had concluded he was escorted to have his cuts looked at. None of them were deep enough to require stitching. However, he still had to sit through the annoyance of having them healed by a medical ninja. Once they were done he saw Sakuya come into the infirmary herself. He sat with her whenever he could and tried to keep his mind off the fight for the rest of the night.

Then the next day came and all the previous victors met within the new stadium. It seemed that before the fights began they were to mingle with one another. The first fight started and he watched it with curiosity. Two teammates were squared off against one another. It was an intense battle. Up until the moment one of the genin ruthlessly killed the other. Katsumi looked away quickly when it happened. The death wasn't needed and he deread when it had to happen. If he learned anything from Sakuya it was that these fights should be called before a death occurs. He knew he would call his fight before he let his opponent die. His opponent didn't have to know that however.

As all the thoughts rushed through is head he realized something. He hadn't seen Jhin since the day before. He wanted to catch up and talk about their fights. They never got the opportunity. He quickly put his head on a swivel and looked around.

"It's fun!" Chisame replied, waving her arms in the air excitedly.  "My first fight was kinda short though.  And the proctor guy didn't let me kill her."  She looked enviously at the victorious Snow ninja.  "Do you think it was because it was only the preliminaries?  Are we allowed to kill people now?  Do you think they'd get upset if I ate my opponent?  Even just a small piece?  My dad says people get upset even when you eat bits of other people.  I think that's why the proctor doesn't like me.  Have you ever eaten someone?  Or a cat?  Cats are fast.  I caught one once, but Kanzo wouldn't let me eat it.  Do you think it's because it wasn't cooked?  Meat tastes better when it's fresh.  Unless you have some really yummy sauce or something."  Chisame licked her lips.  "What's your favourite food?"

Kurochi turned to look at Chisame with a shocked expression. Eating your opponent was not something he would expect at the current moment. Now not wanting to provoke Chisame in anyway since he newly learned that she had a strange meat loving habit, he cautiously replied saying,"I don't really have a favorite food, but if I had to choose one it would probably be curry." concentrating on something different to get his mind more focused on the battle.

"So what Village do you come from? I come from the Land of Wind," said Kurochi trying to get off the subject of food. Looking at the girl in a slightly different light, he still wanted to get to know her but was now more cautious.

"I'm from the Land of Water!  Is the Land of Wind windy?  Is that why you're not wearing a hat?  I heard that the Land of Wind is covered in sand, like a really big beach.  Have you ever been to a beach?  I mean a real one with ocean?  Did your team-mates get beaten too or are they just running late?"  Chisame was practically bouncing with excitement as she waited for her turn to fight.

Kurochi smiled at the excitement that Chisame was showing, glad that the subject of food was gone. He thought about the answers to her questions before he replied. Soon Kurochi answered,"Well the Land of Wind is windy but there are some days when it is calm. As for the beach I have been there a couple of times but not often. ANd ya, my teammates didn't make it to hear, but I wish they did." looking a bit saddened. Getting his mind off of the thoughts he asked,"So what is the Land of Water like?" asked Kurochi curious on what other lands were like since he didn't go to them often.

Thread is now closing. Battle threads will open up shortly.