Yoko's Story

It was a bright and sunny morning, and the village was just beginning to stir from their beds and prepare for the big day. It was the day of the first of the Final Rounds of the Chuunin Exam, and leaders from all over the continent would travel to Konoha to watch the young Chunin hopefuls fight and show off all of their skills to their village's Kage. The stage was set, now all that needed to be done was to bring the people in.

The stadium designated for the exams was located near the northern edge of the village. It was a building that stood out, especially from a distance. Built after Pain's invasion and painted with standard Konoha colors, when it wasn't used for the Chuunin exams, it was often used as a center for entertainment, whether it was from a travelling circus troupe or an inspirational speaker, the villagers were always entertained in one way or another. But today, the stadium grounds had been cleaned out, and the bottom of the stadium was simply dirt, grass and the occasional rock or tree. Surrounding the battlegrounds in all 360 degrees were the spectator's stands. The first row was located roughly 30 feet above the battleground, mainly for safety reasons, but the area designated for the Kage and Daimyo stuck out the most. It was a large booth that took up a significant amount of room, and had chairs with Kanji symbols of the elements carved into them, representing where each Kage would sit.

The first person to arrive was the examiner, a Konoha shinobi in his mid thirties who's task was to announce the battles, and to stop when when they got too far. He began to walk around the battle area, making sure no one would be cheating in today's round of fights.



A young woman approached the gates of Konoha, wearing next to nothing - a pink and purple scarf, a black and red bra, a pair of beige khaki shorts and a white belt. She wore a pair of pink boots that matched the color of her scarf, and from under the yellow and white Kage hat that signified her position, hints of her pink hair could be seen. It was none other than Yoko, otherwise known as Raikage Y, the daughter of the Fifth, and the granddaughter of the Fourth. The woman had gained the nickname 'Thunder Princess' due to her loud, thunderous lightning techniques.

She walked into the village, removing her Kage hat and holding it in her left hand as she took a good look at the village. A skull ornament could now be seen in her hair, as well as a golden pin that seemed to hold her ponytail in place. The girl looked to be no older than her mid twenties, and she certainly didn't look like true Raikage material, but the truth of the matter was that Yoko could probably take on people much bigger than her with relative ease, possessing an abnormally large amount of raw physical strength and power that didn't mesh with her tiny figure.

Kantar Utsui & Kavic Toth
"Well this should be fun. I always enjoy observing the progress of our youth, their futures stretching out ahead of them. The fierce spirit of competition and the desire to prove themselves. I do hope we have a strong showing this year." Kantar, the Sixth Tsuchikage spoke in a cheerful, whimsical voice. As if he was remembering his own youth.

"Whatever. I just hope our genin don't make the Hidden Stone a source of ridicule...again. Besides, why does this have to be in the the Hidden Leaf? The Hokage is a worthless snake. We could just do our own exams like we used to, it would be better." Kavic was less than cheerful. Much less, he walked beside the Tsuchikage, displeasure radiating off of him. Scorn for the Hidden Leaf dripping from his words. Kantar did not bother to respond, he had already explained numerous times that the exams had to be collaborative to help maintain the balance of power. It also allowed the villages a chance to scope out each other in a mostly peaceful setting. And it was just the Hidden Leaf's turn to host, nothing to be done there. Indeed, Kantar knew Kavic was just being unpleasant. He always got that way when the Hidden Leaf was involved. The two were clad rather indiscreetly, wearing dark cloaks, Kantar's a lighter brown and Kavic's a black. Neither one of them wore the headbands of their Village, Kage's and their assistants typically refrained from headbands. Toyoka Shigemitsu was also accompanying them, clad if not indiscreetly, at least not in Hidden Stone garb. He often wondered what he did to get stuck with the both of them. A man who hated women, a women who hated men. He supposed the universe was just funny that way. Kantar was wearing his Kage hat, even though the thing was rather large and bulky. He had since grown accustomed to it and did not it as much as he used to.

When the small group from the Hidden Stone reached the gate to the Hidden Leaf Kantar turned to Kavic and said in a serious voice, "Don't cause trouble today. We don't need an incident. Not now." And to Toyoka, "That goes for you as well." For his friendly demeanor and cheerful attitude, Kantar knew that some wounds ran to deep for any healing, especially emotional wounds. It was rather cruel, if effective, the tactic employed by the Leaf shinobi to get Kavic off guard. And despite outward appearances, Kantar had certainly not forgotten the incident. He no did not trust the leaf, especially now with their ambitious Hokage. He would be on his guard, they all would. He took on a more resigned tone, "And please don't quarrel with each other too much, it was bad enough listening to you both all the way here, try and enjoy the exams, or at focus on something other than your mutual dislike for each other."

Looking around, Kavic recognized the Raikage, wearing far less than most of the people around. Hell, she was wearing less than he slept in most times. He felt a deep scorn welling within him. Lana...she looked so much like her. Truth be told though, he saw Lana in every girl, and every Leaf shinobi, if you could call the cowards that, it seemed like too much credit in his eyes. Then some leaf brat calling her self Mia showed up, she was radiating a strange chakra, putting Kavic a little more on edge, this was shortly followed by a lightning bolt touching down, bringing in a Cloud ninja who introduced himself as 'Ano'. "Lord Tsuchikage, the-"

"-I know, I lost my sight, not my perception. I could sense the Raikage from a way off." The two made their way over to the Raikage, and in a cheerful voice Kantar said, "Greetings Lady Yoko." He typically referred to the other kage by their names rather than titles as a sign of equality. "I hope you are doing well. Are you looking forward to the final round?" Not exactly serious discussion, but Kantar wasn't an all-business, no-nonsense person. He was happy to engage in small talk every now and again. He seemed perfectly at ease, regardless of the flashy entrance from the one called Ano. However the girl, Mia... she was radiating chakra in such a way even regular shinobi would pick up on it. With his beyond-exceptional sensory skills, he read far more into the chakra. My, this one certainly was interesting, a jinchuriki right here in front of him.

Yoko looked at Mia for a moment, not sure whether to be annoyed at the girl's blatant disrespect, or to be happy to that she had been approached a Jinchuuriki. Though Yoko wasn't by any means a sensor, she could feel the demonic power radiating from the girl, but restrained herself from letting off a little 'energy' of her own, believing that the little girl only meant well. "Well.. I'm not exactly new to Konoha, nor do I plan to stay here for too long.." She said as she looked the girl in the eyes. "But you're right, I am here to watch the exams." The woman's voice was calm, soothing even.

"Nice to meet you Mia, I'm Yoko." She said to her with a smile. Yoko didn't really care whether or not the girl knew that she was the Raikage, but decided not to tell the girl. Instead, she'd let her find out on her own if she really was that curious. "Are you going to watch the exams as well? I hear there are a lot of strong shinobi this year who are participating. It'll definitely be an event no one wants to miss." She said with a chuckle. She hadn't actually witnessed the other rounds of the exams herself, but reports from the Jounin sensei who had teams participating stated that some of the Kumo gennin made it through to the final battle round while some didn't.

Making up the back of the pack was a woman by the name of Toyoka Shigemitsu. She was most commonly known by the villagers as Lady Toyoka, and by outsiders as The Painted Lady. Toyoka wasn't entirely sure why she had decided to accompany the Tsuchikage on his journey to Konoha. Perhaps it was the desire to witness another round of battles that she had never had the opportunity to participate in, or perhaps she found some sort of benefit to following the group and decided to exploit it to the fullest. In any case, Toyoka stuck out like a flare in the dark of the night, dressed in flowing silk robes with one side dropped slightly to expose a tattooed shoulder. Her hair was styled in its trademark design, while her face had been painted with reds and yellows that matched the design of her robe.

She was smoking from a jade pipe, looking genuinely disinterested until they finally neared the village and the woman made her way from the back of the pack towards the front. "How cynical of you, Kavic." Toyoka commented. She never really liked him, but knew it would be foolish to fight him in a head on battle, as she most likely didn't stand a chance. "Thankfully, not all the Iwa shinobi think like you." She added somewhat cheerfully, though the smile on her face was obviously a fake one.




Yoko giggled softly, turning to Ano. "And I thought I had lost you." She joked, putting an arm around the man's shoulder in a friendly embrace. "But somehow, I had a feeling you'd still be able to track me down." Ano was one of the few people Yoko fully trusted, having known him for such a long time, so it wasn't uncommon that she would bring him along on some diplomatic trip. When the young girl spoke of causing mayhem, Yoko couldn't help but to chuckle softly. Yoko herself had been a troublemaker in her youth, so meeting Mia was quite refreshing.

When the Tsuchikage and his posse arrived, Yoko smiled. "What a surprise bumping into you before the final round, Tsuchikage Kantar!" She said to him, genuinely happy to see the man. As the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth were practically neighbors, Yoko hoped to strengthen the relationship between Iwa and Kumo during her trip in Konoha. "Indeed I am. It's always nice to see bright, young gennin show their abilities in battle. Have many Iwa shinobi qualified for the finals this year?" She asked.

Jimaru Kaguya
Jimaru was idly leaning against a fence outside of the main gate. He had been sent in advance of the Mizukage. He impassively watched the gathering the main entrance, the Tsuchikage and the Raikage. He just watched and waited. He bore no identifying marks or clothing of his native village. The Mizukage should be along soon, assuming Genta finished his mission on time. The timing couldn't be helped, so Jimaru had been sent ahead, it wasn't that big of a deal, he was marked with the flying thunder god seal, so the Lord Shuro could transport himself to him nearly instantly. In the meantime, he was content to watch the passerby.

Shuro Otsugi
Shuro stood in the door to the Mizukage's, his very own, office. He finally caught sight of the Genta's massive flying lizard setting down outside, and waited for the man to show up. When he caught sight of Genta making his way up to the office, he strode down to meet him, noticing that he did indeed have the Samehada. I see your mission was a success, good. So you have your sword now, are you coming to the chuunin exams or not? Jimaru is already there waiting for us.

"Ah! Glad to see someone else shares my view on these fine battles!" Kantar exclaimed joyfully when she mentioned the younger shinobi. However when she asked how his ninja had fared he bashfully scratched his head. "Well, after last year's debacle with quantity over quality, most jounin were reluctant to recommend their teams. As it stands now, only three of our genin are in the final round. But I feel like most of the instructors were just being overly cautious and held back a number of good candidates." He shrugged, saying, "Well I guess that means we will just have a proportionately stronger showing at the next exam. And you Lady Yoko, I've heard the Hidden Cloud is making a very strong showing this time around, you must be proud." He gave a friendly smile and nod as Ano went off towards the others
, "You as well good Ano."


Kavic watched from off to the side as the two kage talked about the tournament, happiness etched on their faces. The leaf brat had a strange conversation with the blind cloud fellow before taking off. And there was Toyoka. He hadn't said anything, wouldn't say anything in respect for the Tsuchikage's wishes, but she was very much on his bad side. She stood there, he could tell she was laughing at him, judging him, marginalizing everything he had done, been through, and sacrificed for the village. And her smile, fake as her appearance. It didn't matter that he looked far younger than his years, that was different, he didn't have a choice in the matter. She was just fake, fake like all women. He would get to fight her some day, he would show her his own way of painting...with her blood. Maybe it was just being in this cursed village that had him like this, this spineless, treacherous village. Hate, that was all he felt right now. Maybe he would...steal some pretty young leaf kunoichi's heart while he was here. It had certainly been a long time since he had done that. A murderous smile crossed his face under his mask and was gone. He looked over at Toyoka and glared. Not an angry, or sulky glare, no this was a look of hate. Nothing fake about that.

Kavic was distracted as the blind Cloud ninja came over to him. Ano, if he recalled. He had met him a few times, though they weren't particularly acquainted. "Hello Ano." He said flatly, wondering what it was he wanted to talk about. When he expressed his concern, Kavic actually felt a twisted eagerness inside of him. Letting out a low, cold chuckle he replied, "Ano I am always ready to take sides against the Leaf, you needn't worry about any lack of support from me if they start trouble."

Ano stood there waiting for Kavic's response. Then, all of a sudden, his entire energy seemed to....spark. Ano could feel it, he could taste it in the air. That feeling, there was no denying it. Joy....joy for death and a want for blood. Instead of a normal reaction to this, Ano smiled slightly. For he knew his answer even before he had said it. Letting out a low, cold chuckle he replied, "Ano I am always ready to take sides against the Leaf, you needn't worry about any lack of support from me if they start trouble." Ano's smiled increased, yet it was still rather small. "I am glad to hear it. If the Leaf try anything, they will be in for quite a surprise. It does my mind good to know that the Master of the Earth Grudge Fear technique will be an ally. Thank you Master Toth." He extended his hand towards Kavic and sustained his smile. The stories of this man all said he was a literal heart stealing monster who loves to bathe in blood. Ano couldn't see that, though. Ano couldn't see anything for that matter. He could feel the blood lust, but it wasn't the random need for battle. It was very very specific. It was like a sharpened and well honed blade, not a massive war hammer. He knew if the Leaf became Lady Yoko's enemy, this man would be one of their strongest and loyal allies. Ano was thankful that he was just as predictable as he originally made him out to be.

The glare that Kavic had given her seemed to have little ill effect on the woman. In fact, she even found it to be amusing, going so far as to daintily cover her mouth with her sleeve and let out a small, childish giggle, an action that Toyoka often reserved for her clients. The woman seemed to take pleasure in toying with him. In her eyes, Kavic was like all other men. Brute, battle hungry, and driven by the desire for dominance and power. But when Ano took them to the side, Toyoka turned her attention away from Kavic and focused on the Kumo shinobi.

She listened to Ano, an interested look on her face, though it would be hard for the others to tell whether or not she was interested by his words, or by the man himself. Toyoka rested the mouthpiece of her jade pipe on her bottom lip, waiting for Kavic and Ano to finish before speaking. "My purpose here is mainly to serve the Tsuchikage. If the Hokage, or any Konoha shinobi are truly brainless enough to even attempt an attack, however, you certainly have my support." She told him.



Yoko listened to the Tsuchikage speak of the gennin from Iwa before smiling. "If that's the case, I'm sure Iwa will be the star of the exams next year!" She said to him cheerfully. When he spoke of the Kumo gennin, Yoko chuckled softly. "I can only attribute that to all the determined jounin trainers. After Kumo's lackluster performance last exam, I think a lot of them wanted to redeem themselves. Most of our gennin are second time participants, but at least they're determined to receive a promotion."

After the young Jinchuuriki returned, Yoko turned her attention to the group that was chasing after her. She frowned at the sight of the kids drenched in pig blood. Not entirely sure what to do in this situation, Yoko shook her head to the boys. She could feel the killing intent radiating from him, but Yoko remembered that she was in Konoha, and not Kumo, and she wasn't able to deal with the kids like she typically would in her own village. "No. Perhaps she ran off that way." She said, pointing in a random direction.

As he was talking to Lady Yoko, Kantar overheard the conversation Ano had with Kavic. "Excuse me." He said quietly to the Raikage. He was over to the two conversing shinobi in a flash. "Kavic, Toyoka..." His tone was low and warning. "We already talked about this." Facing the other blind shinobi he said, in no uncertain terms, "Kavic does not speak with the authority of the Hidden Stone in such matters. This is neither the time, nor the place for such conversation. Such matters will be addressed by respective kage, not by subordinates. Remember that, all three of you." He shook his head as he returned to the Raikage, such foolishness was begging for an inter-village incident. As he was about to resume his conversation with the Raikage, he sensed the jinchuriki from earlier heading there way, with three others giving chase. The girl...Mia landed amongst them, begging them to act like they hadn't seen her. He resumed his friendly conversation with the Raikage, it would pay to be nice to the jinchuriki. When the angry chuunin arrived, he just ignored them and kept conversing with the Raikage, a genuinely pleasant demeanor around him, hoping that Kavic wouldn't do anything too confrontational. "Well I am glad to hear that your genin and their instructors are bouncing back so well. I am sure the competition will be spirited today!" As the chuunin departed and Mia came out of hiding, he listened patiently to what she was saying. So she wanted to leave the village? That was interesting, maybe he could capitalize on that at some point. Oh well, now was not the time. Facing the Raikage he smiled brightly, saying as he started off, "Well speaking of the final round, we should probably get a move on to the arena. Would you allow this old man the pleasure of escorting you to your seat?"


Kavic could tell Ano was happy with his answer, the smile that touched his lips, the expression, the tone of his voice. He knew the blind man perceived him as a weapon. Just like everyone else did. Truthfully he didn't care, even though he supposed it was demeaning. Kavic was far past caring what other people thought about him. However, when Lord Kantar appeared beside him and chastised him, he bent his head in penance, not looking up until Kantar had finished reprimanding Ano as well and was going back toward the Raikage. "By your word my Lord." As much as he hated the leaf, he would not make Kantar angry or go against his will so deliberately. He mentally checked himself, no longer responding to Toyoka's provocations.

That lasted until the leaf brat jumped down amongst them, running frantically from something. She then transformed into a mailbox shortly before three leaf chuunin covered in some sort of animal blood showed up. "Have you seen a purple haired bitch run by here" Kavic laughed at them coldly. The largest one was still several inches shorter than him, and he may have thought he was mad, but getting pranked like that didn't make people into murderous fiends. It just made them look like idiots. They didn't know the first thing about rage, fury, or the intent to kill. Maybe one day he would show him. In the meantime though he just laughed mirthlessly and shook his head.

Mia's words seemed to stick in Yoko's mind, and even after the girl left to do her own things, Yoko couldn't help but to wonder what she was talking about. Her initial views on the village were anything but negative, though all that was going on left her with an impression that much had changed since Konoha's 'glory days', and though they were still one of the strongest villages of them all, Yoko couldn't help but to feel that such a status was slowly declining. However, that was simply Yoko's opinion, and she knew better than to underestimate others. Yoko laughed at Kantar's words. "Oh please, Tsuchikage, you're far from old. But now that you mention it, I realize that standing in the middle of the street probably isn't the greatest idea, especially if our purpose today was to watch the final rounds." Yoko started to head in the direction of the stadium, but stopped when she saw the Kazekage approaching. Yoko waved to him. "Well.. it seems that most of the Kage have arrived.. we have yet to see the Mizukage, or the Hokage, but I'm sure they'll show up, if they aren't already at the stadium." She said aloud to no one in particular. She hoped for a normal, relaxing day in a foreign village, but the rumors of the Hokage's great sense of ambition had traveled all the way to Kumogakure, leading Yoko to be much more alert and ready to respond to any situation.


As the Tsuchikage came and scolded the trio for their discussion, Toyoka's icy cold expression remained unchanged. There were very few men Toyoka could actually tolerate, but the Tsuchikage was one of them, and over the years, the woman had done (what she viewed as) countless favors for the man, something that was practically unheard of from her. Even after her retirement from the ANBU, Toyoka was known to readily accept and complete any mission given to her by Kantar. After the man left, Toyoka puffed out a small cloud of smoke from her mouth before placing the pipe into the sleeve of her robes.

As they moved along, Kantar considered the situation as it stood. He really couldn't afford to trust the Hokage, he was entirely too ambitious, and that could well lead to catastrophic consequences for the surrounding lands if he decided to do something foolish. That being said, he knew that Kavic, Toyoka, and Ano were right to plan for the possibility of betrayal by the leaf, they wouldn't be doing their jobs if they weren't considering such an eventuality. Not that Toyoka really had a formal position or responsibilities anymore. Still, just because the Raikage and her assistant were friendly and unassuming didn't mean they could be trusted either. He would just need to have a more through discussion later on what to do about the Leaf...threat. And it was certainly good to know that the childish jinchuriki wasn't happy here. Maybe she could be persuaded to leave. That would be a blow to the Leaf, and a valuable potential boon to the power of the Hidden Stone.

Sensing the Kazekage's presence he gave a friendly wave to the man. "It is good to see you here, Kankora. Are you ready for the matches? We were just on our way to our seats to watch the proceedings."


As the Kage's resumed their discussions, Kavic dismissed himself. "I will go and make sure your seat is ready Lord Tsuchikage. I will await your arrival." Using the body flicker technique, Kavic rapidly made his way to the Kages' area. Observing the crowded arena, he wondered if the imbeciles of the Hidden Leaf would try to cause trouble for the Tsuchikage today. He hoped that they would.

Kagura straightened herself up, and sprinted towards a tree, running up it and leaping onto the top branch. From here she could see Konohagakure. She put Chakra into her feet, to speed herself up, and leaped from tree to tree. Ten minutes had passed, and she had finally made it to Konoha.

She silently landed on one of the walls, and instantly turned to scan the area for shinobi. She was taken aback at what she saw.

The Tsuchikage. The one person she couldn't bare to see, the only person she was terrified of. She had to hold back her tears, as they would create noise. She whispered his name, and the name of his assistant, who seemed to be moving through the gate.

"K-Kantar.. Lord Tsuchikage.. Oh, dear god." She whispered, panic coming over her. She was almost paralyzed with fear. After being banished from Iwagakure, she generally was quite scared of the Tsuchikage. She turned slightly, and saw the other Kage's. She couldn't tell if it was all of them, or some from a distance. She could see the Raikage for sure, though.

Kankora raised his hand in a friendly wave to the Raikage. He knew that they would notice him eventually, but on the inside he really wished they didn't. He was shy and stoic, which didn't make for very good conversation with many others that he either didn't know or trust. Kind of odd how a man so quite held the authority over the second largest country of the Great Nations. If he continued to dwell on such topics, however, he would miss the chuunin exams and his entire visit to Konoha would be slightly wasted. He might as well go searching for the family that took him in over 15 years ago and see how they were doing. With any luck, they wouldn't be afraid to find out he was a jinchuuriki or the son of the 6th Kazekage.

Snapping back to reality, he continued to move forward towards Kantar and bowed slightly to the Tsuchikage, who was his elder, so he felt it necessary. He was, in fact, still considered young to be a kage, but then again so was the current Raikage. "Likewise, Kantar." His voice was an interesting one, as it was quite deep for a man of his stature (sure, he was 6'2 but he was skinnny) yet it was soft and smooth, not gritty and intimidating as what most people assumed it would be, considering his lifestyle. "I was heading there myself. However, our chances have slimmed since the years before." He finished his sentence before a whirlwind of events happened. He really took no heed to any of them, contemplating what was going to happen if his little genin should lose. As long as she showed prowess above most other's level, he may promote her due anyway. The chances were slim though.

He was about to continue forward, when he turned back towards the gate, as if he had heard something. His hearing wasn't on par with the Kantar's, by any means, but feeling the ground for vibrations came with the scorpions. There were ninja outside the gates, as that was obvious, but they seemed to be in a large group. He turned back, and shook his head slightly, muttering to himself to stay focused. "Kantar, has the Hokage or Mizukage shown up yet? I noticed you and Yoko, but not either of them." He didn't like that at all, actually. Having the two most ambitious leaders not present yet unnerved him slightly, which caused his Magnet Release to get a little wonky and start moving his chakra infused kunai.

Jimaru turned and nodded slightly to Kagura, glad that they were still on good terms. Once Genta had departed, and after making sure there was no one else around he faced the woman. "The one I represent would like to meet with you." He removed a special kunai from his tunic, one of the same variety used by the 4th Hokage. He was being cryptic, for the sake of deniability should someone overhear them, but he knew Kagura would know he was talking about the Mizukage. "It has to do with a certain proposition. To that end, we were wondering how you would feel about helping us get a gift for the Tsuchikage. He turned to look at the Leaf Village. What do you say? Would you be willing to help us out? I believe there is a certain clan here that has just the gift we are looking for... Maybe something in red?" Without saying it explicitly, he figured she would understand what he was talking about. Something red they could get for the blind kage.


Shuro made quietly made his way through the village alone. The hat of the Mizukage resting on his head. After a time he reached the rest of the kages as they were about to enter the arena. "Hello my fellow Lords and Lady." He said this with a pleasant smile and a slight bow to the group. "Sorry for my tardiness, I hope I didn't hold anything up."

"Who knows?" Yoko replied, chuckling softly as she spoke to Ano. Of course the Raikage wanted someone from her own village to win the exams, and she was confident that at least one of the gennin from the Hidden Cloud would be able to make it to the last few rounds of the competition, but whether or not they would actually be able to take the win would be hard to tell. "The battlefield constantly changes. It's really a game of who can adapt to a fight the fastest. I'm sure the Cloud kids have been trained in both mind and body, but all we, as their mentors, can do is just sit back and hope for the best." But, like the typical Yoko that Ano has known for a long time, she added with a whisper and a wink to her assistant "But I've got my bets on us. We're going to kick some ass this year, and no one can hold us back."

The stadium was close now, and Yoko could see the main doors from where she stood. There would be a set of stairs specifically for the Kage to reach their own platform, which would be guarded by Konoha's own shinobi, but as they got closer and closer to the stadium, Yoko could feel a sense of unease and tension build, mostly from the paranoia that she felt, especially from the fact that security would be provided from the Hokage, the host of the exams. "Well.. looks like it's about time. Another year, another set of exams. We should all enjoy it while it lasts." Yoko said cheerfully to the others.


As the group headed towards the stadium, Toyoka made up the end of the pack once again, walking slowly as she took a good look at the village. She was mainly looking for a bar, or some type of salon, but something else caught her attention, leading Toyoka to close her eyes momentarily. She could sense a presence approaching from the trees and stopping at the village's wall, thanks to the Mind's Eye technique that she had spent years mastering after learning it from her Onee-san. Of course, anyone approaching without proper identification would be viewed as a potential threat to the woman, but when she turned her head ever so slightly to get a better view of who she was dealing with, the woman was shocked to see Kagura, though did good not to show it through her facial expression. Kagura, the girl who was banished from Iwa. Toyoka thought with bitter amusement as she turned away, continuing to walk. Though she couldn't specifically see who, she knew that Kagura was being dealt with by others, and to take action would be a waste of her time. But curiosity got the better of her, and moments later, Toyoka reached into her sleeve and retrieved a small hand-held mirror. Holding it up to her face, the woman positioned it so that she could see behind her while making it appear as if she was looking at herself. Kiri shinobi.. so the Mizukage had arrived. Toyoka frowned as memories of the hunter-nin and her mentor's murder flashed through her head. Toyoka closed the mirror, a little more forcefully than she had intended, and placed it back into her sleeve. Calm down, Toyoka. You aren't here for revenge. She thought to herself as she picked up her pace to catch up to the Tsuchikage.

As the group was on their way, Kantar enjoyed the warm weather. It was rather nice, he did enjoy this weather the temperate weather of the Leaf Village. However, he was pulled away from enjoying the weather as a he detected a familiar presence. He increased his sensory projection and sharpened the focus on the presence to be sure. There was no doubt, Kagura. Kantar did not stop walking, slow down, alter his gait, or even change facial expressions. To even the most astute interrogator, it appeared as though nothing had changed. But in his mind he was wondering what Kagura was doing here, now of all times. He hoped she wasn't here to stir up trouble, heaven knew they didn't need it now. She was in close proximity to a chakra signature he recognized as belonging to one of the Mizukage's men, his assistant. And then their was another, with the distinct, proud chakra of an Uchiha.

Kantar observed the short-lived battle as the Uchiha attacked, and had his...tailed beast? Sucked out by Kagura. Now there was a surprise. The Mist ninja made the body disappear. Kantar continued to walk along, seemingly oblivious to the tragedy he had just witnessed.

The Mizukage soon caught up with them, right as they were about to enter the arena and before he could answer Kankora's question. Kantar had detected him about the time he had expanded his senses to get a better bead on Kagura. "Hello my fellow Lords and Lady. Sorry for my tardiness, I hope I didn't hold anything up." Kantar faced the man and smiled, "Speak of the devil, we were just beginning to wonder if you wouldn't be able to make it!" He laughed, "But no, its perfectly alright, we all just arrived a short while ago ourselves." He decided that for the time being he would say nothing on the matter of Kagura, he was currently unsure of what exactly she was doing here, and didn't want to start trouble. Kantar could tell that Toyoka was using her special technique as well, no doubt she had picked up on Kagura. He wondered what the former Stone ninja could be up to, though he continued to act for all the world as though his only concern was to enjoy the tournament and the company of his fellow Kage.

(Posting in generalization, this is going to signify the actual actual start of the plot.)

As the four Kage arrived to the stadium, the guards at the stairs stepped aside and allowed them and their entourage to pass, and once they ascended the flight of stairs leading to their booth, the Kage would be able to see the massive crowd that had gathered from all the parts of the continent, including some samurai from the Land of Iron. However, the spectacle wouldn't be much of a surprise. The Hokage had promised a tournament to remember, and everyone knew that Konoha would never disappoint. When the Kage stepped into the view of the public and walked towards the chairs, all of the spectators would stand and clap and cheer for them. It was rare to see all of the village's leaders together at the same time, but the lack of one Kage in particular seemed to be a bit confusing to some of the people, who expressed visible signs of confusion on their faces. But the show had to go on, and even the missing Hokage couldn't stop the exams from beginning on time.

When the Kage took their seat, the audience followed and the examiner stepped out into the stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen..." The man began, his voice was surprisingly deep and seemed to pack a punch. "The final rounds of the Chuunin Exams are set to start right away. But before the first match, I would like to go over some simple rules and regulations of this round..." As the man explained the rules and format of the battles, and the process in matching each victor to another until the final match where one is crowned champion, some people in the audience were visibly bored. Most of them were already Chuunin rank, some of them even Jounin who had traveled from their village to Konoha to watch the fights. When the man concluded with the announcement of the first match, the crowd went wild. Mainly because the majority of the people within the audience were from Konoha, and the first match was between a Konoha gennin and a Kumo gennin.

The young shinobi made their way into the arena, waving to the audience and bowing respectfully to the Kage before getting into their battle stances. When the examiner counted down to zero and disappeared, the fight began, but the crowd's energy was as high as ever.




As Hana arrived back in the village in a puff of smoke, she looked around, as if the Hokage was at the exact area she teleported to when the chance of such was slim. When she couldn't find him, Hana sighed, but the distant sound of a crowd drew her attention, and reminded her that the Chuunin exams were today. An imaginary light bulb went off in her head as she sprinted in the direction of the stadium. If the exams were happening right now, then she might be able to find the Hokage sitting with the others and get a chance to learn where her cousin was going on his mission.


Standing in the back of the booth under the covers of the shadows, Toyoka began to smoke on her pipe once again. She tried desperately to convince herself that coming to Konoha wasn't a waste of time, but somehow it wasn't working, and the woman was left wishing that Kagura would start something. Perhaps the girl would be foolish enough to set off a bomb in the stadium, Toyoka thought with a shameless grin on her face.


The Raikage seemed to be sitting on the edge of her seat, watching with great focus as the fight unfolded between the two gennin. To her, this fight wasn't simply a battle between two gennin. It would be a display of power between the two villages, and the demonstration of the future generation that may dominate one day.

Kagura smiled, and disappeared in a small puff of smoke. Alright, since the battle is in motion, they'll be concentrating on the Gennin. She thought, reappearing on the wall above where the Kages were sitting.

"Now, let's get this started. Explosion Release: Twin Clay Birds!" Kagura shouted, throwing clay into the air and making the handsign for Tiger. The clay turned into two giant Birds, and flew towards the Gennin. There was a large explosion, and the Gennin were thrown to each side of the arena. She made a third one, and flew on it, eventually floating in the centre. "So, then. It's about time we met face to face." Kagura laughed, directed to the Kages. "I assure you i won't do much harm to this village. Especially you Kages." She continued, making a handsign and an innocent Villager, a Teenage girl, appeared infront of her. She was about to jump off the bird and save herself when Kagura wrapped an arm around her neck.

"It's no fun if we don't have a hostage." She laughed. The bird suddenly opened it's beak, and fired out smaller birds before flying at the Kages. "It's time to play." She laughed again, the bird going faster. Eventually, it fired like a bullet at them. "Here i come!"

(( And so it begins. ))

Kankora had been directed to his seat and watched as two gennin stood in the middle of the stadium. They were met with cheers as they started the fight, and Kankora simply watched. His facial expression was always hidden behind his scarf, but he was actually smiling in a bemused way. He enjoyed watching two competitors attempt to win for their country, fighting with their true potential and never backing down. The one who worked the hardest would win, that was what Kankora always told his pupils and fellow ninjas. Skill comes with practise, and natural skill is an illusion.

Enough of that babbling, Kankora noticed that the Hokage still hadn't shown up for his own hosted chuunin exams. He wasn't sure if the Hokage was just being tardy, or very rude, either of the two being very disrespectful and highly annoying in Kankora's eye. He hated lateness, which was a form of laziness, and being rude was just that. Still, it was funny to see how intensely focused the Raikage Yoko was into the matches, even if he didn't care for them much himself. He was more interested in his own gennin, the female ninja from Sunagakure, that would be in the finals. While she had potential and was a very good worker, he was curious to see how she would fare against equally strong ninja.

But that was when it had to all go to hell, didn't it? Two clay birds blew up the middle of the arena, and a familiar looking ninja appeared on a clay bird flying above the stadium. Kankora couldn't see that well in the first place, but he could hear her just fine. "So, then. It's about time we met face to face. I assure you i won't do much harm to this village. Especially you Kages. Kankora raised his right eyebrow out of confusion. Where was this coming from? Some randomly annoying ninja that just happens to be able to use a dead technique? He looked sideways at Kantar, guessing that she was probably from his village, or formerly.

What was worse was that she even had to have a hostage. What kind of sick ninja needed a hostage to get what they wanted. He began to seethe in anger, stepping forward and iron dust slowly coming out of the gourd. The gourd actually contained a mixture of both iron dust and sand to make it easier on him so he didn't have to break down any other metals in the area, since that would require more chakra to control. As the iron dust came out it began to form an object which resembled an iron shield. What made it funnier was that he was activating his Magnet Release, which made most iron tools or weapons in the area around him useless as the magnetic field grew. He kept his voice dangerously low as he spoke to her, iron dust hovering in the area.

"Time to show you that ninjas that don't have shame die shamefully." He snarled, then spoke once more. "Iron Sand. Gathering Assault." He bit off the last word, and the massive iron shield formed in front of the Kages. He turned to them and hissed. "I believe it is time we acted." He was hoping they would take the hint and scatter before they collided with his metal shield.

The crowd was shocked at what was happening. A stranger was interfering with the battles. The examiner jumped into the field, followed by the Jounin sensei of the two gennin, who took their students to safety. Meanwhile, the examiner picked up the microphone, looking up at the crowd that looked in shock, though most of the people were generally composed, still absorbing what had just occurred. "Please, everyone, calm down!" The examiner pleaded in an attempt to squelch any crowd riots, but people were already starting to panic. It wasn't often that bombs were dropped on the village, but if the massive group fled the scene at once, injuries, and even fatalities, may come as a result.

When the young villager girl was taken from the crowd, the public descended into chaos, and the common villagers started to make a mad dash for the exits while the shinobi prepared their weapons and looked up to the Kage booth. The girl had a look of horror on her face when she appeared in front of Kagura, and after her failed attempt at escape, the girl attempted to mouth the words 'help me', though at a distance it would seem like the girl was simply just opening and closing her mouth.


When the girl attacked the gennin, Yoko shot up from her seat, slamming her fist into one of its arms and accidentally smashing the small thing to bits. "What is the meaning of this!?" Yoko shouted out, pure rage emanating from her voice as she shot Kagura a death glare. Not only was this stranger interrupting the exams, she made a direct attack at her own shinobi. Yoko would never let this one go until she was properly disposed of. When she turned to find the chair of the Hokage still empty, Yoko's anger boiled over, and she clenched both of her hands into fists. The air around her was slowly becoming dry and static. "This is unacceptable! When I get my hands on that man.. I swear.." She muttered before the Kazekage reacted. Yoko stepped back, though her heart was beginning to pump faster and her lust for battle slowly took over. If he failed to knock the girl out of the sky, Yoko would take advantage of the situation and take her out before the others.