Neji's POV (Trial of Janus - Land of Iron)
With Naruto shocking him by defeating him and the harsh training Kakashi had prepared for them, Neji figured the exams would be more problematic. He supposed it was the luck of the draw, but his team was nearly perfect for such an exam. Even Kiba had found a clue in a painting by accident. Sakura was so observant that he thought she could even have a secret Byakugan. Temari had proven to be shrewd and intelligent.
Meanwhile, Nara seemed to be a genius in his own right. It was helpful undeniably, but it was also humbling. He supposed that when they called him a genius, they meant a genius of combat, not one of intellect. They had proceeded quickly through the rooms, seemingly having no trouble finding clues. Even less so since they had a mental map guiding them. Thanks to the enigmatic Shikamaru. The last room was easy enough. The structure was one of nine rooms. Based on the cognitive map of Shikamaru, they were wrapped back around, and the door across was correct.
"We could send someone as a risk to make sure of it." Temari had offered quickly, being glared down for the suggestion.
"Treehuggers." She snorted as she walked through the doors. As they did, they were now outside. Several samurai standing in a crowd. Stables were erected as well, all before a medium-sized shack outfitted with comfortable furniture for both Kage.
"Congratulations, I guess, I don't know, that intro seems dull." A voice added. The five Genin turn and see a dark-skinned man wrapped in a coat with blonde hair facing them. "My name is Darui, and I am the proctor of the second test. This is dubbed "The Trial of Nio." Rest for now; the test won't begin for a while. Even once the last team finishes, you all will be given an hour to rest." He explained as he walked away from the group following. Darui led them to a large tent containing padded resting places. A campfire inside with a hole at the top to let the smoke escape. "Rest here. You'll need it." He said simply. Walking away from the group to another tent holding Jounin inside of it.
Neji supposed he had beaten the others here… Naruto would not be allowed to forget this.
Ashira's POV (Eastern Streets of Leaf - Hidden Leaf Village)
When you lived as long as Ashira, you learned a thing or two about battles between groups. When sent on assassination like he had been, it was due to the risk of his life being superseded by the benefits of someone else's demise. When he read the target, he could hardly refuse. Kushina Uzumaki was hated by him. The ties to the Leaf had been planned to be their saving grace. An alliance with one of the great five would provide them protection. They had been wrong, luckily so. Considering the sinners they are. But seeing the woman brought his fury to the front. In many ways, she was the last loyal Uzumaki. Oh, her half-breed would be dealt with in due time. But she had been a gift from his accursed children. All traces of their clan must be destroyed. Ikam had sent him due to his mastery over Fuinjutsu. Such a skill was invaluable against jinchuriki.
Yet he must admit the woman gave him little chance to initiate such a tactic. She yelled as she sheathed her blade and she flew towards him. Well, while she was open…..
"Water Style: Pressure Cutter!" He screamed as a pressurized beam of water flew towards her.
"Uzumaki Style: Scarlet Crescent Wave!" Kushina called as she drew it from her hip. A vertical line of red chakra flew into the water beam, slicing through it easily. The beam continued towards Ashira, who merely shifted back as he drew his blade.
"Uzumaki Style: Deflecting Draw!" He said as he drew his blade, a red blur that quickly slashed through Kushina's attack. "Your speed and power are impressive but not much better than Jounin. You seem to have substantially weak control of the Kyuubi. Your Uzumaki Kenjutsu is impressive, and your mastery is worthy of our heritage. But considering our heritage is trash, and you are weaker than I." Ashira appeared from behind Kushina, drawing his blade and pointing towards Kushina. "It matters little. Die! Uzumaki Style: Eroding Thrust!" He suddenly flew towards Kushina, thrusting his blade absurdly quickly. Kushina replicated the stance of Ashira earlier.
"Uzumaki Style: Deflecting Draw!" She called, smacking the sword away and ending the technique. She smirked as she spun. "I made the Uzumaki style my own! Uzumaki Style: Flowing Counter!" Ashira's eyes widened as he realized it was a technique he didn't recognize. She sliced Ashira horizontally, being left open. The blade slammed into his torso with a spark. Kushina flew back, shocked by the incredible force.
"You may be decent in most customs of the Uzumaki. But you're lacking in the most notable one. A true Uzumaki would've known of that seal. Worry not; your death will interrupt the shame! Uzumaki Style-"
"Eight Layered Explosion Seal!" Kushina called, interrupting the man. As soon as she finished her words, an explosion went off on Ashira, shrouding him in smoke. 'She must've put it on me during the sword slash. She is considerably stronger than we thought.' A second one booms, a third one, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh, and the eighth one goes off with a final horrendous boom. The aftermath of such an explosion had leveled several nearby buildings. Coating the whole block in dust. "May not be a master, but I'm no rookie, ya know?"
"I don't." Ashira sat above Kushina on the wall. His arm was minorly burnt, and half his torso was as well, showing that he had not escaped unharmed. "Prepare yourself; I won't be holding back now."
"Uzumaki Style: Red Flash!" Kushina shouted as she fired off a red slash towards Ashira. He sighed; the slash hit but dispersed against his skin with no damage.
"In my day, they never had anything quite like this," Ashira commented. "Useful when disposing of trash. Shoddy craftsmanship on the seal. Two seconds before each explosion? Laughable. Now, a good seal, well, one example is my own creation. Uzumaki Reflect Array. Tattooed over my own body, and is incredibly painful to activate. But once it is on, no Uzumaki can harm me."
Kushina activated her second-tailed form as her eyes turned red and her teeth elongated. "Let's see about that." She said, her voice now deeper. She seemed to teleport in front of Ashira. Who could merely widen his eyes as her fist smashed into his face? But to the shock of the mother, he didn't fly. Before she could ponder this much longer, she flew back, being sparked again. She growled as she continued this pattern. Her speed was immense; she attacked from all sides randomly, each one being blocked by an invisible force and her being shocked by the trouble after one last powerful kick. She flew back from the backlash as Ashira chuckled cruelly.
"You lot truly bring the worst out of me. I can live in peace with anyone else. But the foolish clan I created deserves what comes! FOR THEY HAVE… AAAAAAH!" Ashira suddenly cried as he collapsed. Two spots on his body smoking as a small amount of Kyuubi chakra seemed to burn the man. It burnt into the skin and muscle with a hiss.
"Jinchuriki have unique chakra. It has corrosive abilities for one reason or another as such. Anyone who is the victim of our attacks will suffer for it." Kushina lectured with a smirk.
"It matters little, trash. You cannot maintain that level of offense while suffering damage." Ashira taunted with a smile.
"Wanna bet?" Kushina said with a dark smile as a third tail emerged from her cloak. "Cause I'm a mom, ya know?"
Sasuke's POV (Trial of Janus - Land of Iron)
His team was relatively useless. The odd Sand shinobi Kankuro was sharp, helping him as they went with tips. And Hinata helped convince the others to listen to them. The other two were purely useless. They reminded him of various idiots he had met in his life. The redheaded, dark-skinned cloud kunoichi named Karui was particularly annoying. She was loud, brash, and impulsive. In the first room, she had attempted to tear down the room. Then, tear through a painting in the second. Her teammate Omoi was slightly better, But only to a more minor degree. He seemed to overanalyze everything he encountered. To the man, every single item in the room was a clue not to be overlooked. Luckily, Sasuke saw the pattern on the roof in the second room. At first, he dismissed it, but once activating his Sharingan, he realized it was a maze. Kankuro's use of a chakra string allowed him to easily traverse it. The group easily bypassed the rooms using the labyrinth. But it was to be expected; he needed to rise the ranks. How else would he redeem the Uchiha?
In the seventh room, they ran into trouble again.
"Alright, explain yourself!" Karui demanded angrily. Omoi stood beside her nervously as they blocked the door Sasuke and Kankuro had determined was the next safe room.
Sasuke grunted in annoyance. "Explain what Karui-sama?" Hinata asked politely.
"Why does dark hair over here think he can tell us what to do? A real Cloud shinobi would never follow around the Leaf!" She yelled at Sasuke as she got into his face.
"No, a real Cloud shinobi would already be under my feet," Sasuke stated simply. Fed up with the grating woman.
"N-now, guys!" Hinata interrupted as she stood between the two. Neji mostly had gotten rid of her stutter as she grew in training. But when she was very nervous, it returned with a vengeance. "W-W-We shouldn't fight like this."
"Well, this little tree hugger doesn't know his place," Karui said darkly as she drew a blade.
"Of course I do. Above the riff-raff like you." Sasuke countered as he drew his own.
"Oh lord. They're gonna kill each other, then we'll fail. The Unruly A will run us out of our village for that failure. Then we'll live a life of poverty and misfortune!" Omoi complained as he seemed to panic.
"Enough." Kankuro interrupted as both Sasuke and Karui were suddenly surrounded by various wires. "We're not allowed to fight, and I'm not failing due to an ego problem between you."
"Yes! Thank you Kankuro-san!" Hinata called. Kankuro merely shook his head in shock.
"Hn," Sasuke answered simply as he approached the door.
Karui growled in response but followed suit. "Just know if I'm ever allowed to kick your ass, your dead meat."
"You would need your entire team," Sasuke replied simply.
"Well, we better hope they refresh the teams or something. Ours seems to be broken." Kankuro complained to himself as he and Omoi followed.
Hinata sat behind them as they did. She had spent the day playing peacekeeper between the two, which had been exhausting thus far. She sighed as she followed. She wished she had more agreeable teammates.
As they filed out, they saw they exited the building with a man approaching clipboard in hand.
"Woohoo… You pas-"
"Of course, I'm a Uchiha," Sasuke said as he stomped to one of the large tents.
"Don't worry, Darui, I'll kick his ass when I get the chance!" Karui roared as she stomped by as well. Omoi scurried after her.
Kankuro merely laughed earnestly at the man. While Hinata bowed and muttered apologies as she walked by.
"Well, at least that isn't dull. That's two full teams. Perhaps this year will be interesting." He pondered out loud. "I would be interested to hear if one of them had made contact with a Uchiha."
Tenten's POV (Trial of Janus - Land of Iron)
Tenten knew she had a life many would consider full of adversity. Orphaned at a young age, she had sought the Leaf, desperate for aid of any kind. She had received it, of course; Hiruzen had even sheltered her for the first few days. Soon, she was given a home until a more permanent solution could be found. Soon, Danzo appeared, offering her everything an orphan could want. Of course, she accepted. Hiruzen, to his credit, had caught a mere year off a hunch. He had come to her to see the damage had already been partially done. Hiruzen had worked with Jiraiya and Kushina to free her of the seal, forcing her silence. With time and patience, they had achieved so. Tenten, holding no loyalty to Danzo, had told them everything. Initially, they planned to free her, but Tenten had a different plan.
She wanted to see if she could help her fellow Root ninja. As such, the decision was made. She had become a spy of the Hokage. A mere seven-year-old girl living a double life. It was hard, undeniably, but she felt it had worked out for the best. Perhaps it was the paranoia all spies developed in the field, but her team was a little concerned. She supposed that" team" was an unfair word for the situation, more of a certain member. The feeling of concern started in the fourth room. The group was an odd one but not the worst. Sen and Yome were sand ninjas, a bit younger but known for their skills. Sen was a tall, beautiful woman. She had blonde hair pulled back into a large ponytail. As well as braided bangs on her face. She was intelligent and sensible, deciphering the clues once discovered. Her teammate was a shorter lady. She had large orange eyes, and her cheeks were consistently blushed. Her brown hair was done in twin tails.
Yome was interesting because her unique, sensitive eyes allowed her to observe deep detail. She had proven valuable in discovering clues. Muno was less helpful but agreeable and endearing. But the last one, Kabuto, made her skin crawl. He felt too perfect… he was competent but never felt like a threat. Agreeable but oddly willing to play devil's advocate. He just simply didn't seem to have a flaw. Everyone had one, Shikamaru was lazy, Hiruzen was idealistic, Sen seemed hung up on some teammate, and even Tenten could admit she was a little weapon crazy. Yet Kabuto's only flaw seemed to be his level of agreeableness.
She could admit, to some degree, that she had trouble trusting others. Even Hiruzen, the man who saved her, seemed to use her in one way or another. Truthfully, she figured it was why she enjoyed Shikamaru and Sai. Shikamaru was blunt and honest; he cared little for lies or complex games. Easy for her to get along with and low pressure. Sai simply was too naive to bother with lying, at least in social situations. Yet her suspicion seemed validated upon the fourth room. They seemed unable to decipher the clues, yet Tenten could've sworn she had sensed an extra chakra source throughout the room. The others assured her it wasn't the case, simply being the barrier in the room. So Tenten had dropped it, knowing team chemistry was delicate yet vital for Shinobi. Yet when Yome suddenly "just discovered" the clue, she knew something was off. The group had deciphered it together and chosen the right door. Ironically, it is the wrong one. Once Muno opened the door, a samurai walked through it, immediately escorting the complaining river ninja with him. The fifth usually went and found the clue, but Kabuto didn't seem to be doing anything odd. In the sixth room, things acted up again. Once again, a chakra flare and Yome found the clue. Yet the door they selected turned out to be the incorrect one. This time, they lost Yome. The remaining three moved silently, all confused and Sen upset at her friend's failing. It started in the final room, but Tenten acted on her suspicion this time.
"Sen. Let's not open the door he chose," Tenten said simply.
"Whatever does that mean?" Kabuto asked innocently.
"Ya, let's just hurry up and pass this damned test," Sen complained as she walked towards the door Kabuto had selected.
"What if Kabuto selected that one to make you fail?" Tenten proposed with a frown as she glared at Kabuto.
"Wanted to make us fail?" Sen asked, annoyance filling her tone.
"Think carefully; the building was a cube designed to be a mini maze. That's why this note has coordinates." Tenten explained. Holding up the note from the first room.
"I gain nothing from losing teammates. Not to mention, you're just assuming in that case. The clues have allowed us to traverse this "trial" thus far." Kabuto countered kindly.
"You mean the genjutsu you've been using to deceive us?" Tenten said sweetly as she walked towards Kabuto. "I find it odd that Yome, with her unique eyes, would make a mistake. Yet alone two, isn't that odd, Sen?"
"It is… You bastard!" Sen said as she drew her fan. She looked murderous before she stopped herself. She growled silently as she walked back to the other door.
"I can understand your suspicion, but if you open that door, you will fail," Kabuto said apologetically.
"Then you open it!" Sen said with fire in her eyes. She and Tenten stared the man down. The two united by their fury.
Kabuto met their stares before he started laughing to himself. "Fair play was just cutting down on the competition." He said with a smirk as he opened the door opposite the one he had initially chosen. He flinched as Tenten was suddenly in front of him.
"Shinobi must achieve their goals regardless of the cost. But to act against one's comrades for purely selfish reasons. You're scum." Tenten growled. "Even my old comrades treated each other fairly. If I encounter you as a foe, I will tear you apart."
Kabuto merely laughed as he bumped past her. "Don't take it so personally; it's merely a game."