Chapter 8: Chunin Exams - The Climb
-3381 words-
[Year 50, Kumogakure]
Team 11 could be seen trekking through the large mountains that are prevalent all throughout the Land of Lightning. Soon, they reached the tall gates of Kumogakure that guarded the front of the village. Two Chunin guards were stationed in front of the gates, similar to what they had back in Suna.
"Halt! State your names and purpose in entering Kumogakure." One of them said as Ishito stepped forward.
"Ishito Kazoku with a Genin team, here to participate in the Chunin Exams." He said as he handed them the proper documents. The guards took a minute to study the forms before nodding their heads.
"You made it just in time. The exams start tomorrow." One of them commented. "Most of the other teams have already arrived yesterday."
Without much hassle, they were given the entry permit and registered as Chunin Exam participants. They were then escorted to their designated residence by another Kumo Shinobi.
Once they reached the rooms they would be staying in, after making sure there were no spies or attempts of sabotage, Ishito sat his students down the hardwood floor.
"Now that we're here, everything is now up to you. Once the exams start, I'll be waiting along with the other Jounin Instructors. You three have grown from the children I met all those years ago, I have faith you'll do well." He stated, gaining soft smiles from his three students. "Remember to look out for each other and don't take unnecessary risks. I'd much rather you fail and live rather than act foolish and die."
Ishito's usual blank expression gave way as a rare smile appeared on his face. A proud look could be seen as he gazed at the Genin he had raised for the last three years. "I know all three of you would grow to do great things, now show the world what it means to be a Sand Shinobi."
The three immediately bowed. "We promise to give our best, sensei. Make sure to keep rooting for us." Souei grinned.
Ishito nodded before they each retired to their beds. Each one eager to tackle the days ahead.
[The next day]
Souei stood in the center with Rasa on his right and Rukia on his left as the trio found themselves underneath one of the large spires located inside the village. The spire itself was massive, reaching the height of the tallest mountains, with the peak almost touching the clouds far above.
Around them, all the participants from various villages milled about as they waited for the exam to start. Souei could see teams belonging to all Five Great Shinobi Villages along with some minor villages like Kusa and Ame.
Looking around, Souei could see some pretty interesting faces. On the Konoha team, he could see a boy around his age that had spiky yellow hair and sharp blue eyes.
"So you noticed him, too?" Rukia whispered to him as they both eyed the particular genin. "He's definitely one of the stronger ones here."
Souei nodded as he put that information on the back of his mind. "Anyone else here that we have to be worried about?"
Rukia closed her eyes in focus as she felt the presence of every participant. "A few, but none as strong as the one from Konoha." She reopened her eyes as she looked at him and Rasa.
She silently signaled to both of them the people that caught her attention. One of them was a dark skinned man with combed blonde locks and a muscular body.
"In any case, I didn't expect this many teams. All the other villages sent more than one team for this year's exams." Rasa mentioned. "We're outnumbered."
"It's fine. After all, that just means more people we have to beat right? Hehehe." Souei grinned in anticipation.
His two teammates just rolled their eyes but also sported confident and eager expressions. They too can't wait to test themselves against other villages best.
After waiting a few more minutes, a flurry of shadows appeared. Kumo Ninja stood in a straight line facing all the contestants. One of them, a Jonin, took a step forward before speaking in a loud voice.
"My name is Jay, and I will be your proctor for the first exam. I will only explain the rules once so pay attention." He said, quickly becoming the focus of every genin in the area.
"The first exam will be a race against each other. At the peak of this rock, we have planted 20 flags in advance. Your job is to get these flags and return them to the foot of the spire on the other side. The first teams to make it to the finish line with the flags will be considered to have passed."
"Just twenty flags, which means that the total number of teams that could pass is also twenty." One of the contestants said with a nervous expression.
'There are more than 50 teams here with over 100 participants. This is definitely gonna prove a little troublesome.' Souei thought.
"However, that's not all…" The proctor continued. He then casually threw a kunai upwards in the direction of the mountain. The moment the kunai touched the rock, the surface exploded, sending dirt and tiny rocks raining down towards the ground.
"As you can see, the entire mountain is rigged with explosive tags. Don't worry though, they aren't lethal. So if you take the wrong step, you'll just find yourself falling down from a 100m height." Jay, the proctor, grinned at seeing the fearful and stunned expressions of the candidates.
"That's insane!"
"Isn't this a little too difficult?"
Most of the participants gave out their reactions towards the seemingly difficult task. Not only is the mountain itself humongous, but they would also have to maintain focus when climbing it. However, the explosive tags would force them to take careful steps and undoubtedly distract them, keeping their balance on the nearly 90 degree angle of the mountain difficult.
Especially considering the very limited number of teams that could pass, already they could foresee the initial bloodbath that would happen the moment the exam starts.
"Souei?" Rukia called out, seemingly worried.
"Relax. It's a little tough sure, but this shouldn't prove too much trouble for us." Souei said confidently.
"Indeed. Between the three of us, this task should be no issue." Rasa commented from his side, eyes boring into the other participants.
"Now then, each of you must sign this consent form." The proctor continued as the other Kumo Shinobi began distributing them throughout the crowd. "As you may have guessed, this exam would undoubtedly have fatalities in them. Therefore, we will have each of you sign this form to show that Kumogakure will not be responsible for any of your deaths, should they happen."
Everyone immediately gulped and glanced at each other, most teams discussing between them before making their decision.
There were few however, who showed no hesitation by immediately signing their consent forms. The Suna trio, the Konoha team with the yellow haired boy, and the Kumo Genin were among them.
Soon, nearly all the teams opted to join in, with only 3 refusing to sign their forms and dropped out of the exams entirely.
The proctor then started to lead each team towards their starting line. They all began on the ground, all teams standing with equal distance towards the mountain itself.
"You guys know what to do?" Souei asked his teammates, which Rasa answered with an eyeroll.
"You are hardly the one to be asking that question."
Souei just snorted in response. "Tch, asshole."
Rukia just giggled at their expressions before nodding. "We're ready, don't worry."
Souei grinned in anticipation, waiting for the proctor to give them the signal.
"You have three hours to make it to the other side. So get ready, and start!!"
Immediately, most of the shinobi jumped and started running up the mountain. However, most stayed slow and hesitant, acting on guard against the planted explosive tags.
There was one team however, who completely ignored them. For the moment the exam started, a platform made of golden sand appeared between the trio and began carrying them up the mountain with great speeds.
"They're flying!"
Some of the other contestants couldn't hide their shock and amazement. After all, in the Shinobi World, very few could boast to have the ability of flight.
Even the proctors on the ground couldn't help but be amazed. 'So this is the rumored Magnet Release of the Sand.'
Everyone could only watch as Souei and his team continued on, leaving everyone in the dust.
"Stop getting distracted and move!" Ay, the muscular Kumo Genin from before, screamed to his teammates as he ran up the mountain in great strides. Each step carried him for a good amount of distance as he quickly tried to catch up with the Sand trio.
More and more contestants began to run up with urgency, foregoing their cautiousness at the expense of speed.
It didn't take long for battles to start popping up all across the mountain side. Sounds of clashing steel could be heard as kunais and shurikens began flying.
With team 11, they were all sitting comfortably on the sand platform as Rasa controlled it, gradually increasing the amount from the sand in his gourd.
"This feels like cheating." Rukia commented as she took a peek on the edge of the platform, eyeing the other teams below.
"Heheh, I figured it out as soon as I heard that the exam involved climbing up a mountain." Souei commented from his position, eyes closed while laying down on the sand with his hands behind his head. "After all, with mophead over there, we got nothing to be worried about." He said with a grin, jerking his head in Rasa's direction.
"I will drop you Matsuri."
"Hey guys, we have a problem." Rukia said, still looking below.
"Hm?"
Curious, Souei and Rasa peeked together and followed their female teammate's gaze.
On the mountain, a team of Genin were quickly approaching their position. At the forefront was the yellow haired shinobi from before, and flanking him were his two teammates. A black haired girl and brown haired boy respectively.
They were running and jumping across the mountains, expertly dodging all the traps that were placed by the proctors.
"They're fast." Souei commented, somewhat amazed at the speed they were moving.
Rasa narrowed his eyes as he willed the sand to move faster than before.
"Just leave them be for now. Our focus is to get those flags as quickly as we can. Besides, we're still in the lead. There's no use in initiating a fight as of yet."
Souei said as the other two nodded. It seems like the Konoha team came to the same conclusion, as they moved at their own pace and didn't do any aggressive moves against them.
Soon enough they reached the peak of the mountain. Looking forward, they could see a flat ground with 20 flags on poles that stood on the rocky floor. The flags themselves were red in color as they flayed in the wind.
Souei grinned as he was hit by a sudden thought of brilliance. Holding out his arms, strings immediately extended from his fingers as each connected with a flag. With a jerk of his hands, 10 flags flew towards him as he set them all down on the sand platform. He looked back to the mountain only to see the wide eyes of the Konoha team who had just managed to reach the top.
"With this, we'll manage to cut down our competition by quite a lot." Souei commented as he glanced at the flags.
Without further prompting, Rasa immediately angled his sand to fly downwards to reach the foot of the mountain on the other side as fast as he could. Aided by gravity, the speeds they flew were much faster than the one they did on their climb.
Rukia looked up with her eyes widened. Souei was about to question what was wrong when she suddenly jumped into the air.
*Clash*
Rukia had her weapons out, enhanced by wind chakra, locked against the fist of the muscular Kumo Genin, his hand sparking with electricity.
At the same time, two other Kumo shinobi appeared from their other side and attacked Souei and Rasa. Souei immediately swiped his hand towards one of them, strings extended from his fingers in his effort to cut him into pieces.
The ninja, apparently a swordsman, managed to raise his sword just in time to block the strings. But the power was apparently too much as he was sent flying back towards the mountain.
The other ninja however, went for Rasa, who managed to defend himself by forming a golden tendrils of Sand, but he couldn't manage to prevent the Kumo-nin from grabbing a flag and leaping away.
With Rukia, she and Ay both grunted with effort as they battled for dominance, before they were both forced back from their clash.
Rukia was about to fall out of the air before strings latched onto her and pulled her back towards the sand platform.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. That guy was physically stronger than me. I only managed to push him back due to an elemental advantage." Rukia said. Souei looked back to the mountain to see Ay narrowing his eyes towards them.
Souei smirked back at him. "Is that so? These exams are turning out to be really interesting."
"How did they even get here faster than us?" Rasa questioned. Aside from the Konoha team, they didn't run into anyone else on their climb after all.
"They probably went around the mountain instead of up." Souei theorized. "They knew that they couldn't catch up so they deliberately waited on the other side to ambush the teams that already had flags."
"Then I guess it's a good thing you took spares, huh?" Rukia chuckled.
"It is a viable strategy." Rasa admitted. "We're lucky that you managed to sense them coming." He said to Rukia.
The rest of the flight was spent in silence, as they all remained on guard just in case of any other threats.
— Marionette of Suna —
"Well well, if it ain't Ishito!"
A voice came through that forced Ishito out of his thoughts. Ishito, along with the other Jonin Senseis, were waiting on the finish line of the first exam. That was when a tall white haired man approached him.
"Jiraiya."
Ishito replied back with an emotionless tone, not even turning around to acknowledge the man that called out.
"As stoic as ever." Jiraiya shook his head good naturedly. "It's been a while since I've seen you. I never expected you to be a teacher type. Your students must be pretty impressive if they had you as a teacher!"
Ishito could only sigh as he forced himself to socialize. He and Jiraiya have met several times in the past, may it be during combat or even to talk about their mutual interests. Specifically, peace. Jiraiya is among the few who knows of his dream and even shares it to an extent. That alone allowed them to gain a somewhat mutual respect for one another.
"I admit it was a rather abrupt development. But I can't say that I didn't enjoy it."
"HAHAHA, you can say that again. Taking care of the future generation, seeing them grow, there's a special kind of satisfaction to it you wouldn't find anywhere else." Jiraiya said with a fond smile.
Ishito nodded in agreement as he continued to stare at the mountain ahead of him, anticipating the arrival of his students.
"Oh, are you waiting for your team? Well you better be ready! Cause the squad coming in first place is definitely gonna be mine!" Jiraiya said boisterously as he jabbed a thumb towards his chest. "My kids are gonna win this! Despite being Genin, they're all capable shinobi. Especially Minato! I'm telling you, I've never seen a brighter genius than him in all my life. And that includes Orochimaru!"
Ishito only had a slight smirk before it quickly disappeared. "We'll see."
'Minato, hm? Looks like Souei and the rest might have some competition in these exams.'
After all, despite Jiraiya's eccentricness, he's not one to boast false claims.
It didn't take long for the first teams to finally arrive. A quickly growing shadow was forming beneath them that made all the present Jonin to look up.
A golden platform of sand was quickly approaching them. It slowed down its descent until the three Genin riding it jumped down and landed. The sand that made up the platform was quickly absorbed back towards the gourd of the auburn haired one.
"As expected. Well done you three."
Ishito congratulated them as he approached his students. The other Jonin eyed the team that managed to get first place for the first exam.
"So it's the Sand team, eh?"
"Looks like Suna brought a pretty good crop this year…"
Everyone said in slight amazement. After all, it's only been an hour since the exam started and they already managed to arrive.
"Ishito sensei!" The three genin themselves were shocked to see their sensei in the finish line. They approached him while carrying all 9 flags they have in their possession.
"Oi oi, what's with that amount of flags?!"
"Did they take more than one? Is that even allowed?"
Some Chunin did a double take as they took in the amount of flags the Suna team has taken.
"Course it is! After all, a Shinobi has to be crafty!" Jiraiya cackled. "So this is your team, huh Ishito? You definitely taught them well, that's for sure."
Jiraiya took a step towards Souei and the rest as he took in their appearance. He was originally surprised, and even a little worried, when he saw that Minato didn't take first place. But he quickly calmed himself down after thinking things through. 'The world's a big place. Thinking Minato would just steamroll the exams was a mistake. I have faith he'll still pass, but this loss would definitely be good for them.'
"Indeed. Kids, this is Jiraiya. A Jonin from Konoha." Ishito introduced Jiraiya to his team.
"It's nice to meet you!" Jiraiya said with a big grin.
"You as well, Jiraiya-san." Souei replied. Rukia smiled at the seemingly nice man while Rasa just nodded.
That was when shadows flickered towards the ground ahead of them. One by one each of them was revealed to be the other participants of the exams, most of them have cuts and injuries with their clothes stained with blood.
"Minato, Mikoto, Teuchi!"
Ishito eyed Jiraiya, who was approaching a trio of Genin from Konoha. He specifically eyed the one named Minato, who was the yellow haired Ninja.
"Souei, do you know him?"
"Hm?" Souei followed his teacher's gaze before nodding. "Yeah, that's one of the contestants that caught our attention. He's fast. Really fast. He managed to keep up with us when climbing the mountain." Souei then looked at Ishito, curious. "Why?"
"Nothing. Just curious is all." Ishito continued to study Minato. After all, he seemed absolutely fine compared to the other participants. Being completely unruffled and not a hair out of place despite the circumstances.
'Looks like this year's Chunin Exams are going to be more interesting than I thought..'
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Hey folks!
Some canon characters have finally made their appearance! Minato and Ay being the rivals towards Souei have always been the plan. I wanna eventually make them end up like a famous trio of rivals like Luffy, Law, and Kid from One Piece.
Ay is also supposedly 17 but I aged him down a bit to be a little closer in age to the other two.
Jiraiya is also introduced here. Remember that the whole Sannin thing happened during the Second War which hasn't happened yet. So at this point, he's still just a regular dude to most people.
For advanced chapters, Head on to my pat_reon page! Depending on the tier, you could get between 4 or 10 chapters ahead along with a few other benefits.
P_atr_eon.com/TeemVizzle
(Remove the spaces)
Anyways, that's all for today.
Cheers!
Trivia: Which are you? A beach person or a mountain person?
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