First step to Greatness.

[Chae]

Their celebratory laughs and cheers as a new team quickly ended with the arrival of one of Akira's many loyal shinobi - Hutora. Nothing but ten meters away from the freshly formed trio, nothing about her stood out or hinted at anything that she'd have been capable of. In terms of knowing what she could do or how skilled she truly had been, Chae easily considered her to be a ghost. While Akira vanished and left his left hand's in Hotura's care, Ju looked over to Taiga who began to get his little strategy straight away with the positioning of his canine companion. Having taken that detail into deep consideration as he mentally mapped out his next initial move.

"That dog is covering her leftward flank while Su-"

His thoughts paused abruptly as Suzumi rushed forward nervelessly with an obvious body flicker. Having known the dangers of using such a naked body flicker, Chae needed to cover Suzumi with some kind of cover fire and / or distraction. A single seal (.50 seconds) heralded the arrival of two identical clones through a harmless, white cloud. Two, visually perfect copies of Chae now stood 5 meters from Hutora's rear and righter most flank, both of which broke off into their own string of handseals.⁽²⁾

Meanwhile, just as Chae watched his teams plan unfold, a minuscule amount of chakra forced itself down towards his right hand, swelling the networks with raiton chakra.

SPOILER: Click to show

[/b]
[li]Tier 1 - Static Focus: Sealing times for Raiton jutsu are reduced by one tier.

[/li][li]Tier 2 - Positive Encouragement: All Raiton jutsu travel two times as fast.

[/li][li]Tier 3 - Negative Influence: All Raiton jutsu numb limbs when struck, increasing the time it takes to form seals by one tier while also reducing movement speed of the limb/body by 5 meters per second.

• D-Rank jutsu: Quarter of a turn.
  
• C-Rank jutsu: Half a turn.
  
• B-Rank jutsu: One turn.
  
• A-Rank jutsu: One and a half turns.
  
• S-Rank jutsu: Two turns.

[/i][/li][/ul][/li][/ul]

• Raiton Bunshin no Jutsu (Shocking Clone Technique)
  Rank: C - C - C [150]
  Type: Supplementary.
  Range: See special!
  Handseals: 3. --> 1
  Chakra: Mid.
  Special: Up to one clone can be made at a time, plus one more each time retrained. Being elementally based, this clone can use any c-ranked or lower Raiton techniques the user knows. Can be relearned up to 4 times for a maximum of 5 clones created.
  Description: With this technique, the Raiton user is able to call upon aid from a perfect copy of themselves. Comprised purely of lightning, this clone retains the user's movement speed and strength. While easily capable of being use for offensive means, the Raiton Bunshin also makes for an equally solid defense due to its ability to harness Raiton-based techniques.
  Domain: Raiton. Karai Shin 'C'.
  
  
• Clone [Rear of Hutora] - 1_____
  
• Clone#2
  - 1_____
  
• Chae [end of post] - 1_____ (charging)
  

[/spoiler] [/center] [/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]

[Nujabes]

The moments that followed the Mizukage's departure and the stirring of his Left Hand were preceded by a single hand seal. Nothing occurred; not even a wisp of wind rolled from the garbed woman's body. Instead, her arms simply fell back down to their respective sides before slinking back around to the small of her back and interlocking.

The owl mask defining her face tilted to the side as the girl unsheathed her weapon, pointing it with obvious finesse. The other, more primal genin, seemed eager as well. Then, it happened!

!

Suzumi charged forward, recklessly even, clearly hoping that the shunshin no jutsu would aid her. Unfortunately, as he teammate knew all too well (from his quick reaction and disposition), using the body flicker without some force of a distraction was nothing more than running straight at your target. While this could have proven to be rather fatal in a real fight, a training exercise did not warrant any real threats.

Before the girl was even a quarter of the way into her charge, a small black sphere dropped from the HYDRA operative's palm. Masked by her body (though not hidden from the clothes, albeit somewhat difficult to see in the mist; more than likely impossible), there would be nothing to warn the members what occurred next. Suzumi was no more than five feet from her when. . .

Boom! A wave of pitch black erupted from behind Hutora, swallowing her entirely. The thick, choking smog easily reached beyond the distance defining Suzumi's position from her. Even if the young girl came to a sudden stop, it would have done nothing to hinder the several moments of blinding darkness that would've followed (only increased via the natural mist). However, that would prove more unfortunate for Suzumi than any of them would have come to realize.

Regardless of the girl's actions, the brief moment of surprise (or the time it might've taken her to possibly desire a redirect of trajectory) would've been more than enough time for the HYDRA operative to launch her riposte. Immediately following the smoke's eruption, Suzumi would feel two taps against her sword-wielding wrist; faint, barely audible taps, yet the pain they wrought would be indescribable as her tenketsu were forcibly closed. Four more followed, rising her up arm while reaching to the other; the strikes continued to multiple until at last sixty-four had riddled her torso, leaving her flat on her back, all but immobilized.

The smoke would clear, and presuming none had entered (not that it would've mattered due to the Hutora's unhampered vision), revealing Suzumi against the floor. . . yet her aggressor no where in sight.

---

¹ Hidden.
² Hidden.

[Taiga Hozuki]

This was no child's game. Suzumi had charged in recklessly. Taiga had a bad feeling that sat stone heavy in the pit of his stomach. Shirohime could sense it as well, but there was nothing Taiga could do to stop the spearhead that was Suzumi from flying head first. Taiga's eyes opened wide as he saw the item being dropped, releasing a thick cloud of smoke that served as a cover for Hutora's action. "Suzumi!" Crying out for her, he took a step forward, but stopped. Though he could still smell both of the people within the black smog, he could not see.

"Shit.... what do I do...?"

The single question reverberated throughout his temple several times quickly, but before he could answer, the boys ears perked noticing the dull of a body hitting the ground. Taking into consideration the sound it made, the amount of force the impact had was akin to Suzumi's size he quickly surmised. "Chae, Suzumi's down. Watch your left she's on the move!" As if reading his mind Shirohime took off, bolting to their downed comrade, the smoke would clear and his assumptions had been proved correct.

Taiga knew he needed to see to Suzumi quickly, but leaving Chae open wasn't the ideal situation. Seeing as this was nothing more than a mere exercise, he'd treat as such, thinking she wouldn't be assaulted any longer. He had to be calm. Think clearly, and respond not as a infant would, but a shinobi. There were two clones produced close to where Suzumi lay, perfect to cover himself when he'd get the chance to patch her up; however, until then though he would have to first establish the enemies position.

Since Hutora had moved further away it was hard to distinguish between the various others smells that loomed in their background. Keeping his eyes moving about the field of battle he knew of the general location she'd escaped to. He'd have to allow Chae a clean shot at her. He'd play decoy and attempt to bait her out. It'd require Chae Yoon to be quite attentive though if it were to succeed. Taiga would rush over to Suzumi, sliding to his knees he began funneling chakra to his hands. Taiga had no idea what transpired between Suzumi and Hutora, but to properly treat her he'd need her to be in a state to answer.

"What happened?"

Healing energies would baptize Suzumi's body in a vivid glow. His chakra would began alleviating her pain and soon, restore her to how she once was. Shirohime was on the look out, ready to bark when she'd sense the opponent attempt to get back within range to strike.

---

Shousen no Jutsu
healing process has begun

[Suzumi]

Having a dual aspiration of becoming a powerful shinobi and a master of kendo had some skill sets that overlapped, making the other easier. Unfortunately for Suzumi there was one glaring difference: Suzumi had never sparred with someone else on her team. The anxiety this brought clouded her judgment. Even worse was that her fault did not stop with her haphazard attack. She lacked focus. A skill gap had been anticipated, but the sheer chasm between her and Hutora was shocking. Without even an understanding of what had happened, Suzumi's wrist suddenly seemed to catch fire.

Despite having no feeling in her hand, Suzumi knew that she had dropped her rapier. An ultimate act of failure, few had ever made the blade leave her hand. A true kendo master has no blade, only an extension of the arm. Suzumi reacted as quickly as she could, her left hand bolting out beneath her right and finding the handle of the rapier. As four new spots began to burn like a fire from hell, she swung up and across her body with the rapier, spinning away. While with her weak hand, the attack was still a firm one. As the fire spread across her other arm, the rapier clattered onto the ground once more.

And then she was looking up at Taiga. What just happened to me? She realized she was on her back, blinded by the green glow emitting from Taiga's hands. That feels nice...Perhaps I'll just lay here a second... In her pain was a certain tranquility. She was no longer in combat. She was dead and being birthed again, oblivious to all.

SPOILER: Click to show

Exquisite Counter
Rank: D | C [75 accumulated XP]
Type: Passive / Specialized Taijutsu / Kendo
Range: 0-5 Meters
Chakra: N/A
Special: Allows the user to increase the accuracy and speed of his countering maneuvers. Made possible by continual work on form and reflexive training, this makes up the base of the users defensive capabilities. Each rank earned allows stronger, faster and much more game changing counter techniques to take place.
D: Whole Turn countering capabilities
C: 3/4 th of a Turn
B: Half a Turn
A: 1/4 [supth[/sup of a Turn
S: Near-Instant

[Chae]

Smoke, it had spread quickly over a 10 meter area, shrouding and obstructing the vision of everything within its reach, everything except for Hutora. Unable to visually pierce the cloud of smoke with the mental link of is clones or his own eyes, Chae knew that things would've easily gone south depending upon what occurred during the duration of the harmless bomb. Before long, Taiga spoke out to Chae, expressing that his canine-like senses picked up that Suzumi had been downed.

"Just that fast?!"

By the time the smoke actually covered the area, the clones -whose handseals had long been completed- shaped their raiton-based chakra into a single lightning javelin within the palm of their right hand. Frantically, they looked around in an attempt to find their opponent through the smoke, but unfortunately, the effort yielded no results. Heeding Taiga's call to cover his leftward flank, Chae himself became more alert than he ever possibly could, still charging and storing that swell of raiton chakra into his right hand - saving it. Suddenly, taiga rushed over to Suzumi just as the smoke cleared, revealing that she'd been severely damaged and required some kind of medical attention.

Hutora had been gone, for now, leaving the newly formed trio alone and paranoid. Chae's left hand quickly dove into one of his few hip-packs and retrieved a single kunai before he wrapped its handle with an explosive note. The twin clones -who'd been much closer to taiga and suzumi- moved in position, covering (facing away) their front and rear ( 2 meters away) while periodically looking to their sides to cover their sideward flanks.

"I can't be over, nah, not yet. She's still around here, somewhere."

[Nujabes]

Before the Vanish: Hutora was, admittedly, surprised at the girl's resilience. The fact that she'd even managed to retrieve her rapier with the other hand, and even more so at the fact she actually produced an somewhat effective counter. Their close proximity had paid off, for both parties, though clearly more in favor of the HYDRA operative.

Even as emersed in her sixty-four palm as she was, Hutora easily evaded the majority of the swipe. The clarity offered by the condition of her eyes (Byakugan revealed), and the simple prowess of her taijutsu expertise allowed a simple shift of weight to bring her torso glided out and away from the strike, while her closest arm continued to tap-dance along the girl's tenketsu.

Yet, were they to look at the rapier now laying on the floor, they would see a small notch of white fabric clinging to its tip with a small, faint droplet of blood on it.

---

Three handseals had been performed in the peaceful moments that followed the dissipation of the smoke, flawlessly in tempo with the Inuzuka's healing and Chae Yoon's tactical formation. That peace, however, was suddenly shattered with their aggressor's reappearance.

Entirely unscathed, the figure that appeared to Chae Yoon's left flank charged with a tanto in hand (2m). Given their distances, the long-ranged fighter would be on his own for the time being. How would he defend, when the strike came? Or, would he take the initiative and attempt to stop the encroaching target before she shrank the distance too considerably?

---

¹ Byakugan: Active.
² 64-Palms of the Hand.
³___

[Taiga Hozuki]

The tension was so high.

Trying to devote himself to healing his teammate Taiga attempted to calm his own nerves. He couldn't let his hands shake and he couldn't allow his focus to waver. The thought of looming danger was so distracting though, he though as sweat formed and rolled down his brow. The salted taste of its bitterness awaking him from his worries. There was a smell, a peculiar one he hadn't noticed in his rush to help Suzumi.

Eyes shifting about for it they fell upon her rapier which had a small stain of blood upon a piece of torn. It wasn't there before or to be more accurate why would she have had something like that on the tip of her sword? Then, it hit him suddenly. She had no visible wounds upon her, meaning she'd at the very least hit Hutora. Meaning he could track her more effectively through the strong scent that blood had.

"Almost done Suzumi, hang in there"

Speaking while tending to her with the gentle glow of healing chakra, the sound of footsteps became prominent. She was on the move! As if things weren't already dire, he was just thrown into another dilemma. "Shirohime!" Taiga barked to his sister who immediately began going towards Chae. She'd howl, attempting to warn Taiga's comrade as the figure would appear from where Taiga had said, but the weird thing was he didn't smell the peculiar scent blood let off from Hutora

He was almost done healing Suzumi, but he couldn't move so he'd have to allow Chae to operate alongside Shirohime, who was flanking Hutora from behind. She would be approaching fast, only a few meters from Hutora who was quickly closing in on Chae's position. With the glow of energy fading, he was done. Though it wasn't the best he learned a valuable thing from this experience. Healing during real-time situations was far more hard and stress inducing.

"Come on Suzumi we gotta move now!"

He was sure she would still be groggy, and her limbs would no doubt feel heavy; however, with her healed she couldn't lie idle. Doing so in an actual fight would most certainly mean death. Taiga couldn't put his finger on it, but he was sure normally he would had been the one targeted, but maybe she sought Chae simply because it was something less expected. Thoughts were rampant through his mind, it was certainly more things that he'd learn form this fight an take to heart.

---

Shousen no Jutsu
healing process can be considered done for you on your post Suzumi.

[Suzumi]

I hit her.

It was not a known fact, but rather wishful thinking. Suzumi looked up at Taiga. She saw everything. She saw focus and determination. She saw the sweat of anxiety. She saw his eyes move just for a moment towards her rapier. As Taiga considered it for a moment, she smiled.

Yeah. I hit her.

She stirred on the ground, yet found it remarkably difficult to move. For a moment she thought Taiga might have been putting all of his weight on her, but that was not it. What did she hit me with? In a one on one fight, Suzumi would have already lost. The Mizukage had placed a certain importance on Taiga, yet Suzumi just then began to realize how understated that importance was. She was just beginning to stand when she saw Hutora rushing at Chae. Trying to hold in her panic, Suzumi grabbed her rapier and began to turn to help. Instantly she knew that she was too late.

But it looked like it did not matter. There were three of Chae and one of Hutora, and two of them were holding spears of lightning. Suzumi's view of Chae shifted drastically in that moment. He was not a disrespectful overaged Genin, but rather a capable fighter. His choice to make replicas of himself was an idea that quickly took in Suzumi's mind. The ability he was displaying was not the end of it. He exhibited a certain poise as well.

The Mizukage knew he was capable...Which means that Hutora knows that he is capable. Still she chose to attack him during a moment of weakness. It was not only the target of attack that threw Suzumi off. Whatever she hit me with had nothing to do with that tanto. The only person that could handle that attack was Chae. Taiga was supposed to be the priority. Suzumi was confident that Hutora had not drawn a blade on her during her attack.

And then there was the clothing.

Unscathed.

“Taiga stay down, it's a clone!”

Suzumi jumped in between Chae and Taiga, putting a meter between her and the medic. With her back to Chae, she raised her rapier in the direction of Taiga. Chae could handle the visible attack. It was the invisible one that demanded attention. With her position, Hutora would be unable to approach Taiga without Suzumi seeing it first.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kowai Shiryoku (Frightening Eyesight)
Rank: D | C [75 accumulated XP]
Type: Passive / Special Bloodline Technique / Taijutsu
Range: Self
Handseals: No
Chakra: --
Special: Allows the user to have naturally enhanced eyesight in both the day and the night. As with all forms of enhanced senses, they are also more susceptible to their perspective weaknesses. Cannot be used to sense chakra. Rank determines range of enhanced vision.

D: 10 meters
C: 20 meters
B: 30 meters
A: 40 meters
S: 50 meters

Description: Sharks have amazing eyesight. Since they often swim the depths of the ocean, where it is dark and what little light that comes through the water is distorted, their ability to perceive minor changes is particularly excellent. Members of the clan learn to mimic these enhanced perceptions, able to peer through the darkest of night as if it were noon and the ability to notice subtle changes like the fluttering of a specific leaf in the wind.

[Chae]

Previously heeding Taiga's call regarding the covering of his leftward flank, Chae it'd been safe to say that Chae had that area covered which allowed him to see and perceive Hutora's approach through the faded smoke that masked her movements and made it appear as though she magically arrived at that particular distance. She was clever, but she lacked one thing that Chae had - a team.

She came in hot and fast, and as she did, Chae's free right hand seized his moderately sized sake bottle and gave it a quick toss a couple meters above his head whilst looking into Hutora's mask. Immediately after releasing the bottle from the grip of his right hand, his fingers twisted into a single seal¹, one that would have brought his explosive plan into fruition as Hutora continued to approach.

"C'mon! I'll end us both!"

He said quickly with uncontested ferocity. Meanwhile, the clones remained by Taiga's and Suzumi's side, ready to protect and serve.

SPOILER: Click to show

1_____

[Nujabes]

Perceptive, Hutora mused from her bird's nest (distance irrelevant). Though the scrap she'd recieved was nothing close to being serious or even a hindrance, it had left a very minor clue that the taijutsu expert had managed to gather. Unfortunately, it would do little to stop what was about to transpire.

Five seals blurred as the clone continued to close its distance between itself and Chae Yoon, easily occurring in the time it would've taken the man to reach and toss his gourd. The clone, clearly unphased by the threat (knowing it was nothing more than a bluff, regardless), did not waver.

Suddenly, it fell apart. The clone came undone in an instant, distorting into a column of water that carried an even more ferocious momentum behind it. The water drill, at this range, would, without a doubt, crash squarely into Chae Yoon's chest. The force behind the blow, while dampened (at the mercy of Hutora) would still manage to shattered a handful of ribs while pushing him several meters back, off his feet, and slamming him hard into a tree.

Not dead - not even unconscious. But hindered, definitely.

"Having a team is only a benefit if you use it properly," a voice rolled out from the mist. "Otherwise, your enemy will turn your numbers against you. The cunning hunter doesn't kill members of the pack outright; he maims them, one by one, dividing their attention. For instance, how can you mount an effective offense when you're constantly worrying about keeping one of your three teammates up on their feet? Eventually, Taiga will run out of chakra from healing the both of you because of your petty mistakes. . .

. . . and at that time, he's nothing more than dead-weight. Easy for the picking."

A ruffle of bushes.

"Your first mistake was allowing me to decide the flow of the battle. You presumed that because you had had more numbers than I that the battle would naturally flow into your grasp." Silence. "No matter if you're by yourself, or accompanied by an army of fifty thousand, you must always fight for control of the battle. You must never get complacent. Don't even think that you're more patient than your enemy, or that they're afraid to die. We are ninja -- death will come for us all, at one point or another."

With her monologue finished, Hutora reached into the utilty pouch at the small of her back. Two augmented kunai were gripped, and held.

"Do you understand?"

---

¹ Byakugan (Active).
² 64-Palms of the Hand.
³ Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.
⁴ Suigadan.

[Taiga Hozuki]

So navie. All of them.

Suzumi went on the look out; however, Taiga wasn't concerned with her popping out. If that was the case, he was sure she wouldn't had sent a clone after Chae. He was helpless to do anything, and could only watch as the clone broke down and shifted into a torrential torpedo like cone that slammed with a sickening impact into Chae Yoon's chest. With his senses augmented the sound of bones cracking from the intense pressure was easily discernible amongst the sound of rushing water. There was no doubt he had suffered great damage and that several of his ribs now sat fractured and broken within his chest cavity.

Shirohime would keep going as Chae was sent hurdling back, meanwhile Taiga was already sprinting towards his downed friend with haste. The sound of thunder resonated throughout the land and drops of rain descended from the heavens. The air grew could as Taiga now sat over Chae who breaths were heavy. The pain was clearly etched onto his face, it was an expression Taiga had not yet been exposed to. To say it wouldn't be something he'd never forget was an understatement. "Are we this outclassed?" Mumbling to Chae he had already began healing the man, hands submerged in the sustaining, life giving aura he'd conjured up.

In tandem with his thoughts, Hutora's voice echoed to them. Intently he listened, while still providing care. Her words shed great insight, the truths she spoke were lessons for them to learn, live, breath, and make their own. Amongst her words, he heard a shifting noise in the brush nearby. His sister had her eyes locked on its position. He couldn't stop the healing process now. The problems could become worse for Chae the longer he remained in his state. But Hutora was right, playing healer for too long was not how the Mizukage invisioned them.

That, Taiga was sure of.

"Suzumi. Regroup now."

Yelling to her, Taiga howled orders and though there was no leader amongst the three of them, they needed unity and separating themselves as they were was not the ideal way to go about defeating her. The way they fought wasn't as a single unit, but moreso as if they were going in one by on. They had the numbers and through her words Taiga now knew why'd they'd been so ineffective. Chae's coverage of Suzumi was late and didn't provide anything effective, while Suzumi's daring charge was too obvious and instantly read.

Meanwhile Taiga himself was far too busy ready to heal and not acting to support. Hutora was revealing the flaws they'd shown her. Sucking his teeth Taiga's mind was at work, attempiting to funnel ideas towards having their goal. "Watch my back along with Shirohime, Suzumi. I yell the position of the attack you defend until Chae is able!" Directing her on what to do, he could feel the drain of his chakra leaving him as he pumped out more an more, allowing the flow of it to heal his comrade. This fight would be taking a step in a new direction!

---

Shousen no Jutsu

[Suzumi]

Suzumi could not help Chae. Earlier doubt had caused her to make a rash decision, and she refused to make another now. Changing a plan in the middle of it was a sure way of defeat. She had to focus on the next move. Even as Hutora's voice came from the mists, Suzumi kept a watchful eye. Faintly she thought she saw a rustling nearby. Still, with Chae down and Taiga busy, Suzumi could not do anything with that information. This is a training exercise...Identify what she wants us to learn, and then learn it. As Hutora began the second part of her speech, Suzumi spoke quickly and quietly under her breath to Taiga.

“Look, she is clearly waiting to exhaust you before going in. She'll injure me, and while you heal me, she'll attack Chae. Even if you heal both of us, if you get too tired she'll have taken our numbers down one.” She could see fatigue beginning to settle in for Taiga. Something had to change. “She is going to come for me." It was the only move that made sense. Hutora did not concern herself with Taiga while he hunched over one of them. The reason she did not simply dive into Taiga had to be her concern of Suzumi and Chae's ability to counter. She had to keep chipping away before going all in. "When she does, I'll try to hold her up as long as I can. You have to abandon Chae at that moment and retaliate. Have your dog watch over his body. Driving her back is the only way we can buy time. You have some kind of heightened smell, right? Use it to anticipate her movements.”

Suzumi finished as Hutora did. Her plan was beyond risky, but they clearly were not going to accomplish anything by playing Hutora's dangerous game of duck duck goose. Despite speaking during the time, Suzumi still heard and heeded Hutora's words. They had to take control.

“Yes, I believe I understand.”

The point of the rapier swayed slowly back and forth as chakra began to build up in Suzumi's body.

SPOILER: Click to show

charging

[Chae]

Having tossed his small gourd for sake away, his hand came down to form a single seal, however, before said seal completed, the water clone had already collapsed, morphed, and drilled him into chest hard enough to fracture a couple of bones. Swept off his feet, Chae flew back about 5 meters before his back slammed against the bark of a tree. Face cringing in pain, he fell to a single knee and immediately breathed heavily through his nose with a fixed pattern after realizing that several of his ribs had been broken.

Fortunately, before Hutora even began talking, Taiga rushed over to Chae's side and performed the necessary ritual to have begun his medical techniques. The green lights were warm and comfortable, however, pinpointing Hutora's position became Chae's primary concern as her seemingly omnipresent voice spoke out to the group.

They made sense - her words. As Chae sat there repeating her rather long spiel in his head, he grew to appreciate them, yet, his temper continued to grow. Regrouped, the team 'huddled' up so to speak, namely how suzumi whispered to taiga who'd, by now, made his way over to Chae's side. Nevertheless, Chae presented a plan of his own, one of which he needed to share amongst his group if he wanted it to fall through successfully.

"The smoke, somehow she saw through it or sensed us in some way. I'm willing to bet either she is a Hyuuga or carries some sort of unbelievable tracking skill. . .

Regardless of what it is, a well place light bomb."

For a moment Chae paused, reached into his robe, retrieved a small orb like tool, and handed it over to Suzumi.

"You'll be able to get closer than I can. If you can set this off discreetly without her knowing nor blinding yourself, believe me, an opening will force itself open."

Still concsious, even after taking a direct hit to the chest, Chae's mind remained intact which only meant that his duplicates remained as well - 10 meters away from the group, back to back. Having noticed the rustling bush just moments ago, one of the two clones turned, lunged forward and launched their spear of lightning into that exact bush. Sent forth in a speedy gait (twice the norm), the bolt attempted to strike whatever it was that moved.

Meanwhile, feeling well enough to move, Chae lifted himself up to both feet.

"The time for games. . ."

"Is over!"

He said in tandem with forming a single seal^{(.50 sec.)}-presuming that the process went without interruption- before his right hand charged and literally lit up with powerful, transformation chakra, so much so that it sounded like a thousand birds. Displaying his prowess in the arts of lightning, Chae had been ready for round 2.

SPOILER: Click to show

• Hikari handed over to Suzumi [ 0 / 1 ]

Chidori (One Thousand Birds)

Rank: A
Type: Offensive.
Range: -
Handseals: 3 ---> 1
Chakra: High.
Special: Pierces through barriers 'A' rank and below, and instantly paralyzes the victim's body upon impact for the remainder of the turn it was used, presuming the strike doesn't kill the victim.
Description: One of the rare techniques within the shinobi world involving both shape and nature manipulation, Chidori is a Raiton based ninjutsu developed for the purpose of ensured assassination purposes. Activating the body to focus chakra to the hand, the user's hand become enveloped by an electrical force. This force is their chakra altered in nature to an electrical current. By altering the shape of the force, similar to an electrical discharge, they can decide the power and range of the attack. After concentrating all the chakra into the arm, the user rushes forward in order to use the power of the thrust from the chakra to pierce any object with the extended forearm. Due to the high speed, the force emits a sound like a thousand birds chirping which gave the technique its name.
Domain: Raiton. Karai Shin 'A'.

[Nujabes]

Whatever the ruffling in the bushes had been, it clearly had been unaffected by Chae Yoon's bolt of raiton. The flash of light vanished into the brush, causing neither a sound nor grunt of pain.

Hutora suddenly rounded a tree not too far in the distance (5 meters), arms tucked behind her back as she'd been several minutes before. The small notch of fabric that Suzumi had managed to score off of her was apparent, right along her abdomen, as proof that it was, indeed, her.

"Lets see if you've learned anything, hm?" Again her masked tilted to the side. "You've only got forty minutes left."

She clenched the kunai in her hand, eyes watching the chakra beginning to stack within Suzumi's body.

---

¹ Byakugan (Active).
² 64-Palms of the Hand.
³ Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.
⁴ Suigadan.

[Taiga Hozuki]

Taiga sighed heavily, weary pants leaving his parted lips.

Having finished the healing process on Chae, he felt the adverse effects of utilizing his chakra so much, he'd need to be careful to conserve his energies for any possible trials the Mizukage may have felt like throwing upon the young prospects. Meaning it'd be ideal if he wasn't spent from just this. They needed to end this,a nd the only was for that was for them to stop waiting and hunt like animals.

Like wolves.

Hutora echoed his thoughts aloud and i turn Tiaga stood to his feet, but instead of voicing his idea, he'd pull Suzumi's sleeve. Looking at her his eyes would shift in the direction he could smell the blood form her wound. She'd moved in close and her footsteps were much more discernible. Their weight was undoubtedly human. Although Chae was back up moving too much wouldn't be good, so first thing first was to flush out the shadow hiding among the tree branches.

His fingers danced in a blurred waltz and then he'd claps them together before assuming a more feral position. His back would flex and extend whilst he hunched over upon all fours, ears elongating as did his nails and teeth. A vivid, erratic chakra was being emitted from his body causing his hair to stand on edge. In response his sister was at his side, ready to surround the prey. "Suzumi.. if you get a chance, no matter what use it, I wont miss her. Trust me, even if it affects us all. Got it?"

"Lets go!!"

Whispering in a low tone, he would take off at accelerated speeds, his fingers and toes digging into the earth. (c-rank used) Taiga's sister had panned outwards to cover the left and Suzumi's position was meant to be the right, hopefully he'd make a well enough distraction for Suzumi, but even if that were to fail. They had a back up plan, and if the back up plan failed Taiga would improvise. Into the brush he darted no doubt Suzumi following as he already knew Shirohime was right there with him.

As he closed in on her he mad sure to listen intently for subtle movements, keeping her scent heavily in mind. The game was on now. Within five meters of her she no doubt had seen them coming, but the surprise would come from Shirohime who'd launch herself in the air, spinning whilst releasing a stream of urine directed at Hutora which would seek to push her into Suzumi's radius. Taiga would attempt to go head to head with her, opening up a position for Suzumi to execute.

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Shikyaku no Jutsu ^[C]
Dainamikku Mākingu ^[D]