First step to Greatness.

[Suzumi]

Suzumi did not immediately notice the Chidori, as she was occupied herself. She continued to focus on her chakra system, making sure to listen to Taiga as he spoke. His eyes darted back and forth, and Suzumi understood immediately. “My last attack was a test. This is the real thing.” As if she was flexing her entire body, he muscles pulsed as she opened the first gate. The ache from Hutora's attack was temporarily erased, replaced with the surging pleasure of power. Chae's hikari in one hand and her own rapier in the other, she realized their plan left Chae open to attack. Concerned, she looked back to him.

Then she noticed the Chidori. Her mouth hung open as if she were about to say something, but no words came out.

“Don't get blinded. Stay behind us, but not too far.”

What the hell kind of Genin is this guy?!

Taiga took off, Suzumi easily keeping in tow. As she ran, she felt the potential in her legs. She felt as if she had to strength and speed to lunge into Hutora and land a blow...but that was not going to work. Her role was not in her right hand, but in her left. She squeezed the hikari, holding it tightly. Even if it blinded her, as long as Hutora was blind, Chae would be able to follow through. One other thing was clear to her: Hutora's attack, while quick, was not instantaneous. If she were to attack Taiga, Suzumi would finish Hutora off herself.

Shirohime started the action. While what the dog was actually doing was slightly alarming to Suzumi, she did not allow herself to get thrown off by it. She double checked Hutora, grinning at the tear in her clothing. This is the real one. The dirt below Suzumi flew up as she launched herself off of it. She went sideways and forward, getting a few feet away from Taiga while opening up Hutora's flank. As her feet landed it left ground again, bringing her back to Hutora in a zigzag fashion. With the speed and strength granted by the first gate, the attack was much deadlier than before. Coming almost directly from Hutora's side, she stabbed her rapier at Hutora's ribcage. The ecstasy of attempting such a powerful attack was still not enough to make Suzumi forget her true objective, though. As she jabbed, her left hand was raised to eye level between her and Hutora, the hikari ready to detonate at a moment's notice.

SPOILER: Click to show

[1] Kaimon (Gate of Opening)
Rank: C.
Type: Supplementary.
Range: -
Chakra: Mid to activate and sustain.
Handseals: -
Special: Due to the intense flow of chakra released by opening this gate, the user is capable of immediately disrupting any and all genjutsu of d-rank and lower. This gate grants the user increased feats of strength, roughly x2 that of your average shinobi. Because of this increase in strength, a marginal increase in speed is also obtained (due to the muscles being able to generate more power). Upon deactivating this gate, the user will suffer a "fatigue" duration equivalent to the total time the gate's effects were active.
Description: The first stage of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Opening (開門, Kaimon) is located in the brain, and upon activation, releases the brain's restraints, allowing full power usage of the body's muscles. Unlocking this gate allows the user to use extremely strong techniques, such as the Iron Fist's Frontal Lotus.
Domain: Hachimon.


Driving Thrust
Rank: D | C [75 accumulated XP]
Type: Passive / Specialized Taijutsu / Kendo
Range: 0-5 meters
Chakra: --
Special: Allows the user to increase the accuracy and danger of their thrusting maneuvers, thus resulting in more 'critical hits' - this translates to bonus damage depending on the highest rank known of this jutsu. Made possible by continual work on form and offensive training, this makes up the base of the users attacking capabilities. Highest rank known determines technique strength at which these deadly piercing techniques take place, up to a maximum of 'S' rank damage.
D: +20% critical chance
C: +40%
B: +60%
A: +80%

Description: The basis of any real offensive game for a fencer, this technique determines their ability to thrust. Through long practice of form, strength and speed building as well as analysis of grip and striking mechanics, the user is able to generate much greater forces for their piercing attacks.

[Chae]

Crackling and crepitating with power, Chae's right hand fell to his side as his eyes and sense were wide open. Breathing slowly to slow things down as well as get his aim accurate, he turned towards Hutora as his legs crouched after his feet separated themselves (diagonally from one another) at about shoulder length. With Taiga and Suzumi within his frontal field of vision, he barely made out Suzumi's baffling speed as she moved forward yet away from taiga, which only revealed Hutora's position as the straight center of Chae's cone of vision. Only 5 meters away, watchful eyes did the best that they possibly could have, noticing Taiga's approach and Suzumi's attack.

Realizing that the two both rushed in with close range attacks coupled with having faced a Hyuuga during his own solo campaign to slay the Tsuchikage under the rule of Suzaku, he knew just what Hyuuga were capable of.

Presuming that his early inference proved to be correct.

Nevertheless, going on as if he'd been correct, within fractions of seconds, Chae's mind factored in the possibility of an imminent rotation, one of which he'd pierce easily if it actually activated. If not, some kind of reaction would've been warranted, especially considering the light bomb that Suzumi held out confidently in front of Hutora's face.

It was that reaction that Chae looked for, that bodily signal that -presuming everything went without interruption- would cause him to react. . .

Hopefully with promising rewards

SPOILER: Click to show

• Chidori (A) [Active]
  

[Nujabes]

Excellent.

They were finally demonstrating the teamwork that the Mizukage, and his top subordinate, Hutora, were wanting to see. Rather than attacking one at a time, they'd developed a strategy and executed it; attack simultaneously, to a degree, and force your enemy into a choke-hold. Naturally, the effectiveness of this scaled with how capable your opponent was, but-- it was the general foundation for any and all advanced tactics. They were picking up on the small things quick...

... but it wasn't enough.

As impressive as Shirohime's urinating capabilities were, landing such a technique on a Hyuuga was infinitely more difficult than any other shinobi in the world. Regardless of the mist, Hutora's vision was not hindered in the slightest; she could see everything occurring before her and with effortless movements, easily evaded the thin spray. In no way were this maneuvers an opening though (perhaps bait?), and with the Taijutsu-orientated member taking the lead with the sudden rush of strength flooding through her body, everything quickly fell into order.

Rather than focus her efforts into ninjutsu or genjutsu, Hutora, like Suzumi, was focused primarily on taijutsu. Coupled with the unnatural clarity of her eye condition, she was, quite literally, what many would call the "perfect fighter." The marginal speed increase from unshackling her body from the first gate wasn't enough to alarm the Jounin. If anything, it only urged her to move with even more mechanical precision-- even greater efficiency that would simply make things more difficult for the rag-tag trio in the long run.

The light bomb in the Hoshigake's hand wouldn't be nearly as deterring as she'd hoped for. Hutora didn't seem to show any hesitation in effortlessly side-stepping rather blunt thrust, wrapping her hand around the armed wrist. Extending the girl's figure slightly, using the momentum of her charge against her, she'd effectively "meat-shield" her for a second or two (presuming the grab occurred). Simultaneously with this restraint, after passing over Suzumi's waist, a tunnel of wind would rip from the palm of Hutora's now-free-hand, aimed straight for the girl's utterly exposed rib cage. While definitely not carrying the same amount of power that the water drill had, it would be more than enough to send her barreling several meters off into the distance - aimed directly at Taiga.

---

¹ Byakugan (Active).
² 64-Palms of the Hand.
³ Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu.
⁴ Suigadan.
⁵ Hakke Kuushou.

[Suzumi]

Hutora was too fast to predict, but not too fast to completely shut Suzumi down. Knowing that Hutora's sidestep had made it impossible for Suzumi to land her attack, she welcomed the grabbing of her wrist. As Hutora grabbed it, she discarded her rapier, letting it drop to the ground. This was not a fencing match. She did not need her weapon. This was a team battle. She simply needed Taiga and Chae. If her own individual strength would not suffice, then it would be spent to complement the strength of her teammates.

Her right hand formed a seal as her left reached back to hover in front of Hutora's face. Having put no focus into her jab, Suzumi's mind was free to focus on her left hand despite being flung around. She looked away as the hikari between her thumb and forefinger detonated in a flash of light. Even with her head turned and eyes closed, Suzumi's vision went completely white. Having focused completely on the hikari and not at all on defending herself, the tunnel of wind was extremely effective. It landed exactly as Hutora wanted it to, launching her towards Taiga. Completely unaware that such an attack was even possible, Suzumi yelled out in painful surprise. Faintly, she managed to turn the scream into a single word.

“Now!”

SPOILER: Click to show

hikari detonated
first gate open

[Taiga Hozuki]

Hutora reacted well.

Truthfully, Taiga had no reason not to expect such a outcome. She was one of the Mizukages most trusted weapons, so defeating her was no simple task. The chance of a lifetime to go up against such a prestigious shinobi was a great honor, so'd the young genin would give it all he had to reciprocate his feelings to Hutora. She'd see just how much guts the Inuzuka kid had. Though Shirohime had missed, she did just what Taiga wanted her to do. He smiled whilst closing the gap with great speed.

Everything was happening so fast, the short scuffle between Suzumi and Hutora ended in a flash of white; however, Taiga had already seen Suzumi being thrown back before the bang happened. He wanted to cushion Suzumi's fall but doing so would put her actions in vain. He'd have to commit. "Shirohime!" He called to her in the moment it all happened Taiga on all fours maneuvered out the the way easily upon fours, but Suzumi would be met with Shiorhime's body.

She'd land a couple of meters away safely atop Shiriohime who'd softened the fall. Blinded, Taiga's eyes scrunched together in pain. He had no way of seeing, but he was quite confident his sense of smell was far superior than Hutora's and with blood on her body he could easily pinpoint her. Upon all four legs, the field of vision in his mind black, except for the space that was blood red. Thats where she lay. In tandem while moving quickly his body would be coated in a visceral energy.

"Oraaaaa!"

Taiga's body twisted as he spun midair, launching himself at Hutora's position He attempt to collide with her body from an airborne position, the carving winds that surrounded him rapidly increased. This tsuuga he performed was special, even if the first attempt failed he ensured that he'd have a chance at a second one; however, he could only pray their plan would bear fruitful results.

---

Shikyaku no Jutsu^(c-rank)
Tsuuga^(c-rank)
Satsubastsu Kaiten ^(b-rank)
[1?]

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Chae]

Fast! Everything had been happening so fast, but even so, with insurmountable levels of concentration, Chae's eyes and body managed to keep up. Hutora, as expected, countered Suzumi's predictable thrust with a clean sidestep. All the while, Chae's attention fell heavily upon the hikari in which he gave Suzumi moments ago, the very hikari that Suzumi moved up towards Hutora's face to detonate. Using that as his signal, Chae's eyes hid behind closed for only a second. The flash hadn't been anything that lingered as it did just what its name implied - flash. The quick second flash of light blossomed over a 10 meter radius, affecting everything that hadn't expected its occurrence.

Shielded from the flash, Chae's eyes opened and regained a clear sighting on the after math of said flash. Hutora still managed to counter Suzumi -evident by the apparent knock-back towards taiga- but at that particular moment, Chae had been unable to fully tell if Hutora had been affected by the lights or not. Regardless if she did or did, his opening preceded before Taiga's relentless spinning attack, but just as he launched up and over Suzumi for an aerial position.

Teeming with power, Chae's chidiori charged even further as his right arm reached over to the left side of his waist. Thereafter, the aforementioned hand swung towards Hutora's waist, however, during its path, just before it passed the woman's waist, the Chidori elongated (20m) in a spear like fashion, aimed to cut across her waist. Considering Chae's mastery over the lightning arts, the double speed that accompanied his techniques hoped to have taken Hutora be surprise.

Even if just a little.

The momentum undoubtedly carried his arm in the direction of his teammates, however, considering that Suzumi had been knock to the ground and Taiga took to the air, the thin blade of raiton chakra would've simply passed in-between the two, leaving them out of harms way.

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]

Chidori (One Thousand Birds)
Rank: A
Type: Offensive.
Range: -
Handseals: 3.
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'.

• Chidori Eisou (Thousand Birds Sharp Spear)
  Rank: A
  Type: Offensive.
  Range: See special!
  Handseals: -
  Chakra: High.
  Special: Range and speed of chidori blade's deliverance is equal to the user's maximum 'Karai Shin' level. On top of this, it, retains all Chidori cutting properties, and paralysis the victim as long as they are being stabbed by the chidori spear. The user must first cast chidori in order to use this technique.
  Description: The second variation of Chidori involves a similar extension of the original charge, but this time, in a more concentrated, linear fashion. On a whim the user is able to shape their Raiton Chakra to form an extending spear of pure lightning, aiming to pierce whatever it is they are aiming at. The best part? This spear takes on Chidori's characteristics, including it's ability to cut through anything which stands in its path, allowing the lightning sword to strike its target with ease. Finally, this variation is similar to Chidori Nagashi in that it causes the target to go numb from the excessive electrical charge.
  Domain: Chidori.
  ssive electrical charge.
  Domain: Chidori.

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

[Nujabes]

There was a reason that Hutora hadn't slowed down, even though she knew that the light bomb was set in place. The benefit of being a Hyuuga went well beyond the fact that their range and degree of sight was dramatically greater than your average human; it was that they could "see" with their alternated vision even with their 'true eyes' closed.

The brightness of the light bomb was nothing more than a faint glow of white against the 'grey' of Hutora's heightened visual prowess, not hindering her abilities in the slightest. She saw all of their attacks, while impressive, come almost as if choreographed.

The chidori-- which was rather impressive for a Genin to have learned --came in first, sweeping near her waist. With a simple, fluid extension of the left leg and bend of the right, rolling her torso forward, Hutora elegantly dipped beneath the electric blade in its swipe. The sheer momentum of his strike ensured that he wouldn't be able to immediately double-back, allowing her to effectively deal with the second wave.

No more than a second later after her "duck," the extended left leg retracted while the right, bent at the knee, extended. Yet, this newly outstretched appendage hastily slid back in, sweeping as it did so, in order to produce the necessary momentum to initiate yet another of her clan's infamous techniques. A maelstrom of turbulent winds and raw chakra enveloped the HYDRA operative, no sooner than the young Inuzuka would've crashed into her body.

The result would be ferocious, causing the young boy to be harmlessly thrown off, several feet, into the distance. The mist dispersed with a heavy release of mist, Hutora's eyes focused. . . and a single-seal formed with her hand.

"The battle is over." Her voice was smooth. "If you look on Suzumi's side, you'll notice a kunai that I placed: I can detonate it at any time and kill her."

SPOILER: Click to show

Extending the girl's figure slightly, using the momentum of her charge against her, she'd effectively "meat-shield" her for a second or two (presuming the grab occurred). Simultaneously with this restraint, after passing over Suzumi's waist, a tunnel of wind would rip from the palm of Hutora's now-free-hand, aimed straight for the girl's utterly exposed rib cage.

"You're improving, though. Alarmingly fast, I admit. The Mizukage knew you wouldn't be able to outright defeat me-- not at this level, anyway." With her free hand she reached into her utility pouch and retrieved a scroll. With a nonchalant toss, she passed it to Suzumi. "But, he wanted me to make sure that you at least possessed the qualities he thought you did. He was right."

The seal was released, and with a plume of smoke, Hutora vanished.

[Taiga Hozuki]

Taiga blinked an it all ended.

Seeing her effortlessly dodge Chae's chidori she unleashed a force that rivaled his own rotation power. The sickening gust of wind both collided, but she'd be the victor of the small skirmish as his small body would be sent back some few meters. With a shallow 'thud' Taiga land harshly on his side, head slapping the ground once, his vision flickering before his eyes would re-adjust. They'd lost, the feeling of defeat didn't last long though as Hutora praised their combined efforts. Taiga knew this wasn't meant to be taken as an ego blow, but as a lesson from the experienced to the inexperienced.

Watching her reach into her utility pouch she tossed the item they needed to continue before in a plume of smoke vanishing from sight. Sucking his teeth, it seemed the young boy had missed his chance to ask her a question, but he could maybe in the future when he'd became a more powerful shinobi. Rocking over to his feet he winced and held his side, noticing the long cut from a branch that'd cut him. Making his way to Suzumi who no doubt felt the same way he did at that moment he called out to her.

"Welp... that was hard wasn't it? That scroll, whats on it Suzumi?"

Looming over her shoulder he crouched before inspecting Suzumi's condition without permission. It seemed she was fine so he slide his sister up and tended to her bruised paw while awaiting Chae to come to where they were. Shirohime licked her paw and Taiga's face several times before the process was done, ending with a white bandage tied around it until he could properly see to it later. "Everything hurts!" Taiga would exclaim while scratching the flat of his head. The dull pain of all his bruises felt enhanced with the adrenaline dying down. This must have been how his father felt during the war he thought while waiting...

[Suzumi]

Suzumi tumbled across the ground, feeling no pain due to the first gate being open. She did feel hurt mentally when Hutora revealed her trump card. Not believing it, Suzumi looked down at her hip. How did that happen?! Realizing it was herself that had been the focus of defeat, Suzumi's eyes fell to the ground. Still, she managed to see the scroll coming and caught it. As Hutora disappeared, Suzumi opened the scroll with one hand, the other peeling off the tag and discarding it on the ground.

“It's a map with a circle drawn on it. Must be where Mizukage-sama is.” She sat on the ground slowly. While she did not experience the pain of Hutora's blow, Suzumi knew it would come back to bite her. “We shouldn't keep him waiting, but if he has another challenge then we should be ready...I might need you here, Taiga.” Like pulling off a band-aid, Suzumi quickly deactivated the first gate. All at once her entire body seemed to explode. Her muscles felt like they were ripping apart and being put back together, only to be ripped once more. The area where Hutora hit was painful enough to make her yell, but she did not succumb that far. Grimacing and clenching her teeth, Suzumi refused to show just how badly she had been beaten.

After a few minutes of letting Taiga tend to her wounds and letting Taiga himself recuperate, Suzumi got up. “Alright, I'll lead the way. It isn't far.” With that she was off into the trees, dashing from branch to branch.

[Chae]

Missed. Chae's sword like chidori attack failed against Hutora's all seeing white eyes and her ability to move faster than the average ninja. Grunting in disappointment, the Chidori spear retracted where Hutora explained their defeat with the modified kunai that she planted upon Suzumi's waist. Her skill was unbelievable, going from planning what could've easily been Suzumi's death to thwarting off Taiga's spiraling aerial attack with ease. One against three hadn't been enough, nor did their teamwork suffice. Fortunately, with all the time to come, the newly formed trio were granted more than enough time to become acclimated with their teammates behaviors and abilities and soon use them as strengths than weaknesses.

"This woman aint no joke. Everything we threw at her she had a counter for it. We've gotta eliminate our weaknesses and openings."

More so lecturing himself, the chirping lightning dispersed and faded into mere sparks as Chae's chakra settled and stabilized. Acknowledging their marginal increase as a single unit, Hutora praised the trio with words of tough encouragement. Thereafter, in a plume of smoke, Hutora vanished, leaving the three defeated with their injuries and a scroll as their own personal souvenirs.

"Tch."

Rubbing his chest, Chae slowly made his way over to Suzumi and Taiga, curious about the contents of the scroll. Regrouped, the scroll turned out to be nothing more than a map with Akira's known location specifically mark, and once ready, Chae merely followed Suzumi once ready.

[Nujabes]

The destination that had been marked for the trio was quite a way's out. Located in the northern reaches of Mizu no Kuni, they would find their winding path coming to a end at the Halls of Water. Here, the Kages were honored for their efforts in furthering Mizu no Kuni's goals.

The entire establishment was carved into a mountain's side. Outside, there were four massive statues-- each spanning over a fifty meters tall --which resembled each of the Water Shadows. The center, and undoubtedly the largest, was of the Sdodaime.

---

Entering the dark, damp, cavernous chambers revealed a single room. In the center was a large, circular pool; behind it, Akira. Standing with his arms crossed, he analyzed the team-- smirking, knowing the beating they'd received.

"Welcome." Akira gestured toward the room they were in with an open hand. "These are the Halls of Water-- where all Kages of Kirigakure are initiated into office." Pointing toward the pool, he smirked. "Please, remove all of your items and clothing. All of it."

[Taiga Hozuki]

After properly healing Suzumi the group was on the move, their movements sluggish and sloppy as they made their way towards the spot marked on the scroll they earned from Hutora. After a long travel they'd come to a slow stop, exasperated breaths leaving Taiga's parted lips as he gazed up at the the enormous mountainside that had within its surfaced etched the greatest shinobi to have ever been a part of Kirigakure.

Most notable was of course Kouketsu Uchiha himself, but the Nidaime-Masumi was a great leader as well; however, the third was but a disappointment and his reign was short.

Last but not least was the Yondaime-Akira who was accomplishing great things. It was a proud, prosperous time within the village thanks to him. Making their way into the damp caverns Taiga's eyes slowly adjusted before he'd see the Mizukage standing in a single room at the end, a large pool sitting squarely in the center. "whats going on?" Asking himself he looked to his teammates for a brief moment before back at Akira who bore a fox like smirk.

"Huh?"

Confused Taiga merely stared at Akira with open eyes before realizing how serious the Mizukage was. For a second he hesitated. It was one thing to get naked in front of Chae and Akira, but Suzumi too? In his entire lifetime, which in itself was quite short he'd only been seen totally naked by two woman. His sister and mother.

Bashfully stepping forward Taiga started removing his clothing. First he pulled his shirt over his head, followed by removing his arm-guards and the face mask, revealing his entire face, which was smooth an childlike. Letting it drop to the cold ground below, he'd hop on one leg removing his footwear as well as his pants.

He didn't dare turn around while in the process to look at his other comrades, he could not even imagine how Suzumi herself felt about it. Finally, Taiga removed his boxers- the last bit of clothing left. Now he stood stark naked, his bruised, pale body revealed to everyone in the caverns. He couldn't help but blush a little as he held both hands in front of his kingdom as his body started to shake from the cold. All he could do now was wait until Akira gave them further orders.

[Suzumi]

Suzumi wanted to talk to her team while they traveled, truly. The exhaustion from their last bout kept her from doing this, though. Her mouth hung open, gasping for breath, yet still managed to open just a little wider upon arriving at the Halls of Water. Having only heard of the place, Suzumi was amazed by all of it. She remembered just who she was going to see. She was not going to meet any standard man. The man she was going to meet had a statue so tall it strained Suzumi's neck to see the top.

Whether it was out of formality or shock, Suzumi did not say a word as she entered. While she did not know much of the Mizukage, something about his smile seemed troubling. When the Mizukage pointed at the pool, Suzumi smiled. Anything involving water instantly made her feel more comfortable.

Unless that something made her more uncomfortable than she had ever known.

“I-uh-um-I-eh...” Barely voicing her concerns, Suzumi's mind had kicked into overdrive. Some of the Mizukage's words rattled around in her head, absurd notions filling her thoughts.

”...you three have the most potential to suit my needs...”

“I have big plans for you...”

“I can also promise you tightly knit unit of shinobi...”

Luckily Suzumi's train of thought was broken by Taiga stepping forward and stripping. She quickly realized that this was her one real chance to avoid eyes. She was not fond of the idea of getting naked, but who was she to deny the Mizukage? Hoping that his point would be worth it, she first removed the belt holding her rapier. She stepped back as she did so, setting it down as gently as possible. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling as she hurried to peel off her clothing. Not even stopping at her undergarments, Suzumi's head ached from her discomfort. Being moderately attractive, it was not self-esteem that made it so difficult. It was the thought of seeing the other two the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. Begrudgingly, she complied. The whole while Suzumi made sure that if Chae or Taiga tried to sneak a peek they would see a mouth full of sharp teeth grinding back and forth. Otherwise perfectly still, Suzumi waited for what seemed like an eternity.

[Chae]

Leading the way to their destination which had apparently been marked on the map provided by both Hutora and Akira, Suzumi seemed rather anxious to get there. Trailing only a handful of meters south-east of her position while moving parallel with Taiga. Before long, the trio traveled swiftly through Mizu no kuni's country side until they reached what could've only been described as the Mizukage memorial site. Throughout his years of living, Chae, admittedly, never really visited that particular area unless it had been demanded of him. Fortunately, he managed to uphold some form of respect, namely by acknowledging each Mizukage with a Chae's trademark nod and smirk.

He couldn't help but think how others viewed Suzaku as a failure and disappointment. While his reign had been undoubtedly short, to Chae, he died as a mist shinobi and family - a Kushinada. After him, another one of Chae's cousin's who he respected infinitely despite his more 'serious' attitude and view on things. Nevertheless, Chae's speed gait came to a near immediate stop just as they reached the entrance while looking to both Taiga and Suzumi in slight confusion.

"Wonder what could possibly be going on in here. Akira was definitely a strange one in my eyes."

Silently brooding, Chae followed Taiga and Suzumi to the narrow pathway that lead to a small opening, a fairly large room with a built in pool, one of which Akira himself stood behind. Greet with a toothy grin, Chae had been damn sure that he knew of their defeat by the time he arrived.

No time to inquire about their presence in that particualr place, Akira demanded that the trio strip completely naked from head to toe. The hell is he thinking?! Momentarily unclear about his motives, Chae stepped forward just as Taiga had done and started removing the upper parts to his robe before moving down to his waist. It'd been during that moment that it clicked into Chae's head - he figured it out, at least he thought he did.

"This is one weird way to become one as a team."

Laughing, his pants flew down to reveal what looked to be a third leg?! Regardless, a blunt movement turned Chae's head over his shoulder and back at Suzumi.

"Blue boobs, pink nipples. I've seen it all now."

Thinking to himself, he glanced over Taiga who, admittedly, had a promising figure, presuming he kept himself in shape. Finally, he looked back to Akira with a look of seriousness, interested in what he had to say.

[Nujabes]

Akira watched with an uninterested expression on his face, eyes dull and his the rest of his features stoic. Even Chae's crass comment didn't stir so much as a blink from the Mizukage. Instead, he stepped forward, closer to the pool, and crouched down.

"Unlike the rest of you, I was raised somewhat different. As my cousin here will confirm, I was raised by the wolves that make these mountains their home. I didn't even know what clothes were until my tenth year." Unarmored fingers dipped into the pool, filled with a dark, amassed liquid. "Clothes are simply boundaries we are brought up with; social barriers, to be exact. Nothing more than walls to cage in the animal that lies within all of us."

Letting his fingers swim, his eyes moved to Taiga. "Your family is perhaps the closest to what I can consider relatives. From the moment of your birth, you are paired with a canine companion. They are, quite literally, your brother and sister. Yet, it is not simply this fact that drives you to protect and love her. The relationship you two share was created without boundaries -- both of you were ushered into this world completely nude, devoid of any shields or walls, when your bond was formed."

Next, his attention slid to Suzumi. "Your family carry the ferocity and lust of the shark. How do you think that happened, Suzumi? Simple evolution? Of course not. Your ancestors, somewhere along the way, broke the boundaries between those species. A symbiotic relationship was formed between the two, and as a result, your kind was ushered into the world. Do you think that something so profound could happen with structures set up in place against it?"

Finally, his eyes settled on Chae. "You know very well the customs of our people, Chae Yoon. Due to our. . . unique abilities, how often were clothes apart of our regiment, anyway? We progressed due to the lack of boundaries we possessed. Despite us lacking the genetic trait, the fact remains:

Boundaries are how you and your teammates die." Removing his fingers from the pool, the thick coat of red on each pad began to drizzle down. "Do you know why HYDRA are Kirigakure's elite shinobi force? Because they have no boundaries. No subject, situation, or circumstance is taboo. They do not look at their fellow shinobi as individuals -- they are a single, living, breathing organism."

"Today, the three of you will become the same. The awkwardness of the moment will pass - but the bond will remain. Knowing your partners better than they know themselves is the key to a successful team. How will Taiga feel awkward healing a wound on, say, your breasts, Suzumi, if he has already seen all that you are? Likewise, how will you feel awkward, Suzumi, for grabbing your teammates where you may need to effectively help them evade sudden dangers if you, too, have seen all that they are?" Palming the starchy substance, he stood. "This pool is filled with the blood of all those that have opposed Kirigakure, dating back to the first shinobi war. It is a ritual for all those being initiated into the office of Mizukage to enter the pool and submerge themselves in it entirely. As my left hand, you shall now be privileged with that same rite."

Akira's tone was flat. "Enter together, dive together, and exit together. That is your mission."