Chapter 2 Synopsis

General Summary

After their time in the land of hot springs Team 1 found themselves preparing to leave the land to journey towards The Nordic Isles, but they needed to find a ship willing to take them. This would be the first test of the chunin exams, teams needed to question the captains and find the right ship that was headed for the right destination, to discern which was the right ship the examinees needed to take into consideration the ship's condition and size which would impact their travel, the seas on the path to the isles being one of great danger. A capable captain and crew were also needed, and though all captains could be questioned, they were employed to trick as many students as possible. There were 10 possible ships of various size and shape with different crews, some were merchant and trade vessels, some were transport ships and some were military, it even seemed that there might have been some personal ships amongst their midst.
Team 1 found themselves facing difficulty, with so many ships and a multitude of shinobi each questioning the different captains and making their choices there was little time to waste. Sabishi found himself captivated by a pirate captain who claimed to be heading straight for the Nordic isles, which made the other party members suspicious. Yoro spoke to a large woman with a black Nordic ship who claimed to be a warship travelling the area hunting pirates. Through a modicum of debate Sabishi unfortunately found himself losing the vote and being unable to go alongside the pirate captain he had befriended.
On the sea there were a multitude of issues, from rough weather and unplanned stops to a murder amongst the crew. After the first week of sailing the ship made an unplanned stop on an island. As the crew and their guests traveled the island, Hanzo had caused a dispute with the island residents. The ship had come across Monkey Island, a small island upon which lives a breed of savage apes that would defend their island from violent visitors. When one was robbed of its food by Hanzo, the apes would quickly lead an assault that led to the entire crew having to make a quick departure.
After they returned to the ship the captain had a great laugh about the adventure and threatened to flail the next person to cause a problem on her ship. This wouldn't take long as just a few days later a crew member was found dead, he had been stabbed with a unique curved blade. All the guests aboard the ship were gathered and investigated as the crew conducted their own investigation. Team 1 was the most involved with the investigation and when all guests were cleared of any wrong doing. While team 1 investigated the scene of the crime Kiyoko and Saiyuri would find a blood trail that seemed to have been missed heading into a storage room.
Sabishi would interview each of the guests and at one point overheard someone mention a treasure, though he was unable to locate who it was. It was Yoro who would find the evidence needed, after a brief scuffle with a stone ninja Yoro would find a map and an engraved, curved blade hidden within one of the storage rooms. He decided to pass off the information to the next person he had seen, which happened to be Sabishi. With the newfound evidence, the two genin made their way to the captain's quarters where she had discerned the person's name carved into the blade. Immediately upon realization of the culprit, the captain requested that the party and all other teams aboard be told to stay in their cabins for the evening, no matter what disturbances were heard. The rest of the guests respected the captain's wish and went to bed for the evening to the sounds of screams deep in the ship's belly.
A few days later, the team arrived at The Nordic Isles, the home island for the Vikings and some of the snow clans. The students watched as their superiors were led towards the village. Meanwhile, the genin were taken towards the entry of a fenced in forest. At the gate stern looking man that towered above the average person. He claimed that the forest was filled with dangers around every corner and that it was not to be trusted. However, the teams would each need to survive in this forest for a week maximum, and collect a special crafted amulet that dawned the skull of a raven. Each team that brought in an amulet passed this part of the exam. As the teams were then separated and entered the forest to survive on their own terms, Kiyoko immediately began using her nature energy and sense of direction to lead Team 1 in the right direction. Many different creatures could be heard throughout the cold, snow covered forest, and the team felt a sense of tension as they pressed forward.
As Team 1 explored deeper into the forest, towards the opposite side of where they began, another team encountered them in combat. The team mostly hid in the team except for Yoro who lusted for the thrill of battle. He quickly launched an attack on the opposing squad, which resulted in him getting nearly crushed by Chopo Akimichi. As this happened Kiyoko ran in and managed to restrain another enemy before a sword slashed her back, knocking her prone. After this, Sabishi jumped down from nearby trees and locked eyes with the Akimichi, putting him in a controlled genjutsu. Chopo attacked his own team and with the help of the rest of Team 1 took out the rest of the opposing forces. Whenever the group managed to make some distance between themselves and the others, they found what seemed to be an abandoned building settled deep in the forest. Although, it was quiet, Saiyuri felt a sense of unease and suggested staking out the building while resting in shifts instead. Her comrades found this to be a smart idea and agreed.
Kiyoko quickly jumped into one of the thicker trees nearby and ordered her team mates to lay against the trunk. After following instructions, she wove signs with her hands swiftly and the bark of the tree began to expand, forming a protective wooden cocoon around the party as a whole, with just enough of an opening to peak out. The team used this as a means of rest while Kiyoko and Sabishi kept watch from the trees. It wasn't until early morning, just when the sun peaked over the distant horizon that Saiyuri's hunch was confirmed when the two genin on lookout watched a team of mist ninja emerge from the once undisturbed building and take off in another direction.
Team 1 kept exploring the forest, searching for the amulet they needed. As they looked around, they came across an hollowed out tree trunk. As they looked around further, they found the amulet finally. Suddenly, a distant voice was heard calling after Sabishi Uchiha. "Sabishi!", the voice rang out in a state of excitement. As the genin turned, he was met with an unexpected sight. Kaito Uchiha, his little brother, and prodigy of the Uchiha clan was waving at him and approaching. "Brother?" Sabishi asked, flabbergasted. "Well, yeah! You knew I graduated early! Why wouldn't I be at the chunin exams next? Haha!"
Kaito joked with his brother in a teasing manner, as usual. After some time they both remembered the situation they were in an became defensive, worried that the opposing brother would steal their amulet. Once it was clarified that each had already achieved their goal however, things grew calm once more and the two parties agreed to split off before it began to seem suspicious that they were being so friendly during this part of the exams. After departing, Team 1 began their search for the village entrance once again. As time passed, they had another encounter. A group of young shinobi from the Snow had heard them from across a nearby pond, instantly recognizing the famed ninja of the Alliance, which had dawned at Sabishi at the time that their names were becoming known. The team asked for an autograph but just before they could sign Kiyoko intervened. Her gaze hardened as she pierced daggers into the two younger genin.
"How do we know they aren't trying to use our name for some kind of strange sealing contract or jutsu? This is the Chunin Exams.."
The boys argued that they weren't intending on doing such things, and that they were fans of theirs.
Kiyoko refused to sign anything out of mistrust, just as the rest of the team was about to proceed with doing so, a different group of Mist shinobi emerged from the forest and began launching attacks instantly on Team 1 and the other group. as they fled, Hanzo looked over his shoulder to see his childhood rival, Kaigen, attacking and wiping out the team they were just chatting with. The mist shinobi then began closing in on Team 1, forcing them to have to face one another in combat. Sabishi found an escape with Saiyuri Shima, shielding her from harm with a water sphere as they fled the scene for a few minutes. During this time, Kiyoko had fallen after losing her balance running through heavy amounts of snow. As she brought herself up, Hanzo returned to her side in an attempt to protect her from a barrage of oncoming jutsu from the opposing team. At the same time, Sabishi had sent an explosive clone to help with the fight as he followed behind by some distance. Because of the opposing shinobi's powerful fire jutsu, however, the clone was eventually reduced to no health and dispersed into an explosion. Kiyoko had already been covered in oil, as well as hanzo from a previous jutsu, which caused severe burns and damage to both parties bodies and clothing. Kiyoko would permanently have a scar on the lower, left half of her face because of the severity of the burn. As she and Hanzo both lost consciousness, Sabishi, Saiyuri, and Hanzo miraculously overcame Kaigen and his squad through no easy feat. As the two fallen comrades were taken back to the village, finally, they ran into Aki Hiro. Upon seeing the condition of his students he cringed uncomfortably and rushed them to go to the medical bay. Thankfully the team was allowed three days after these events to rest before the rest of the exam continued, as this was how long it took for the remaining teams to arrive.
After the third day of rest, Team 1 regrouped and met the other teams and superiors within a location known as The Cave of Fears. None of the students knew what they were going to endure until a large man came forth from the shadows deep within the corners of the caverns gaping mouth. "To those of you here, congratulations.", He began. "What you have endured thus far has been nothing easy, that can be assured to your superiors. However, if you cannot endure your greatest fear are you truly able to pass as a true shinobi? To step into the dark and look your greatest horror in the eyes is what it means to be a true warrior." As the man's voice bellowed through the hollow, some of the students shifted uncomfortably, and sighs of unease were heard. Once again the elder spoke in a firm and certain voice. "To those of you not ready-- not willing to overcome such things, step back towards the entrance with your superiors. You will remain with them until the end of the exams."
As he finished, many of the students subsided towards the entry way, leaving a smaller group than before for the second to final stage of the exams. "For those of you participating," Began the large figure. "Here are the three things you get to know about this exam. One: If the flame's hue turns green, the person inside has passed, Two: If the flame instead turns purple, the student has failed, and will be sent back with their superiors," As he paced back and forth, the flame reflecting off of his eyes in the dimly lit cavern, his eyes shifted to a more serious expression and he faced the rest of the genin. "Three: If the flame turns white, the student has been said to never be seen again. To these words, audible murmurs began to echo in the room once more before the students were shifted into a single file line. As each individual went in and faced the next part of the exam, The different members of Team 1 reflected on things thus far and spoke amongst themselves. Eventually, it came to be Hanzo Rigeki's turn. Whenever the flame changed color, indicating he passed, Hanzo stepped out from the sealed off room. Whenever this happened, he avoided staring at his team and the other genin. This seemed to be the response for most who went into the strange room. There was only one person who didn't seem to return from the room, when the flame glowed white. Soon, it came to be Sabishi's turn. As he stepped into the room he found himself immersed in total darkness, that not even the sharingan could seem to cut through. As suddenly as the shadows swallowed him, they spit him back out into a rather familiar scene: his childhood home. As he looked around in confusion the familiar sting of his father's scornful voice rang from behind. Sabishi turned suddenly, finding himself being the subject of a series of cruel insults towards his capabilities and his personality. How dare he be born second? [how dare he not be born perfect? The words seared into his mind as the words rang repetitively throughout his mind. As he shrank back and closed his eyes he found that each time they would open again, he was in different parts of a life led by his father's cruel hand and brother's ego, always being pushed down by those he feared and looked up to. At the peak of it all Sabishi centered himself. As real as these events felt for him, and as hurt as he was, he knew that this had to be a trick. Maybe not of the Sharingan, but Genjutsu was a probable cause. To Sabishi's pleasure, he had been correct, and broke free after focusing his chakra and releasing the jutsu.
Eventually, it came to be Saiyuri Shima's turn. The same dimness surrounded Saiyuri, and suddenly the room began to shrink. With no sight and the feeling of the room closing in around her, Saiyuri found it difficult to breathe and dropped to her knees. Then, the pressure immediately dropped. She looked up, finding the warm glow of flames burning away the surrounding forest of a destroyed village, and amidst this chaos stood her comrade. Sabishi stood tall with his fist tightly clasped around the throat of an unknown person. The girl felt fear wash over her heart and backed away from the killer before her. Just as she grabbed a blade from it's sheathe, the same cold and firm fingers grasped at her, forcing her wrist away from herself. Saiyuri's gaze shifted around her desperately, sifting over countless decimated corpses and homes before Sabishi forced her to look at him. The red glow of the sharingan pierced through her psyche, paralyzing her almost instantly. This felt too real to be a jutsu. As Sabishi's grip tightened, the pain caused Saiyuri to snap out of her entranced state of fear. Using her remaining strength she used her free hand to reach for her blade and finally pierced it through his heart, sobbing as the door slid open and the light from the torch outside of the room shone in. Saiyuri too, had passed this part of the exam.
Next, Yoro stepped in. After the dark subsided this time, Yoro's vision was different, just as each one thus far had been. He found himself standing before his home village in flames. The faint cries of battle and horns of war rang out in the distant and as Yoro turned to look around, he saw his childhood home engulfed in flames. The expression on his face turned as cold as the snow that fell, disguising the burning embers and ash mixed in with the dancing snow flakes. The wind blew violently as the cold winter air filled his lungs and the scent of charred wood burned into his nasal cavity. It seemed as though Yoro had come to a sense of acceptance for his past in this moment as he simply fell to his knees, watching the flames engulf his house in silence. As he left the room, it was clarified that he seemed to pass thus far as well, which allowed Kiyoko to finally step into the sealed room.
She stepped forward, with little to no expectation beyond some combat. Whenever the room shifted around herself, Kiyoko stood in the ruins of her village, similar to how Yoro had previously done. Calamity was amidst and the remains of the clans were fleeing. As Kiyoko investigated her surroundings she soon found the reason as to why everyone was so afraid. Just beyond the tree line, leaning over the outskirts of the village with their hot breath vaporizing in the cool night air and created a thick fog like mist. It was just barely light enough for the beast's ice cold eyes to shine through and stare right into the core of Kiyoko's very existence. She felt shaken at this familiar memory and her heart raced when suddenly her attention was drawn to something else. The sound of snapping branches nearby.
Kiyoko turned, seeing her younger self standing just behind her with strange looking wooden creatures. Her eyes were milked over and their body twitched in unnatural ways, almost as if she was trying to fight something internally. Kiyoko was between a terrifying beast with the ferocity of over 1,000 men and the unsettling looking version of herself covered in twisted and thorned vines that moved sporadically. As she tried to comprehend these things a white light stabbed straight through their back and out of the heart. She chose to turn away from the nine tails and run. The beast howled and instantaneously launched into hunting after her. Just as Kiyoko managed to get away from the beast, hiding underground with her earth jutsu, Kiyoko used her training against genjutsu to best the technique affecting her psyche and she too was shortly released to pass.
None of the team spoke to one another as they regrouped slowly. When all was said and done, the man from the beginning of the trial stepped out of the shadows once more and led the remaining genin into a separate area. Everyone settled down fairly quickly given the recent events, and found themselves watching attentively as the announcements began once again. The groups were told that the terms of the final stage of these exams was for each genin to fight another individual in one on one combat. The first to be knocked out of the fighting arena or made prone in general would lose, while those who succeeded moved up in the tournament.
The tournament was full of many great fights with each member of the team getting into several intense fights.
Saiyuri would be eliminated in the quarter finals by Ijiri of Tsukigakure after scoring a fabulous victory in the first round. Kiyoko would find herself placed against Sabishi's younger brother Kaito Uchiha in the first round and would ultimately win with ease, she would be eliminated in the quarter finals when Sabishi debuted his rasengan technique and she had to be restrained before her nature energy overtook her. Yoro would dominate his first match before fighting a capable foe in Blaire from Kusagakure in the second round, he would ultimately face Sabishi in the semi-finals where he would fall when Sabishi hit his teammate with a powerful chidori to the chest. Hanzo would dominate his first two fights before ultimately falling to Ijiri in the semi-finals. Lastly Sabishi would be defeated by Ijiri in the finals for the win and Sabishi would earn a scolding about his dangerous actions, while his moves would have been commendable in battle he was reckless with the lives of his friends in battle and his actions could have been lethal if not for Aki's medical skills.
Ijiri would learn a similar lesson, despite winning the exams he would be left behind when his teammate, whom he had gruesomely wounded in the first round would lock Ijiri in a room before the ships left the Nordic Isles, it was only thanks to Sabishi finding Ijiri and helping him that Ijiri was able to escape the nordic isles. Due to his abandonment, responsibilities to the alliance, and Sabishi's begging, Aki would ultimately allow Ijiri to join their team, though he'd likely be assigned to a different squad as the paperwork was filed. The party would ultimately enjoy their own return trip as they prepared to go back to HQ.

Report Date

25 Jan 2023