Private Welcome to the Jungle: Hunting Kids with Mr. Normal (Exam)

[Midori Futotta]

Maru rode on his Centipede looking for any trace of Moeka, but couldn't find her anywhere which was starting to make him sweat. He made another call to try to get the demons attention, Maru knew that they were lost, so lost that even if they heard him it'll take them forever to get to where he was. 'Fine, looks like I'm going to have to bust out the firepower.' Maru thought as he withdrew his aqua shard, channeling his chakra into the shard before pricking his finger on the sharp end of the shard then he began making slashes into the air as he performed some kind of summoning technique.

"(臨) Rin
(兵) Pyo
(闘) Toh
(者) Sha
(皆) Kai
(陣) Jin
(列) Retsu
(在) Zai
(前) ZEN!!!"​

With the completion of the technique, a blue snowflake seal appeared Maru and the sounds of the wind came from the seal as a beautiful pale blue spirit wearing an extremely thin sky blue kimono crawled out of the seal. The elemental turned towards Maru, the head causing her to look a little glossy since she was made entirely of ice and snow. "Yes, what do you want?" she asked and Maru wasted no time in telling her what he wanted. "I'm chasing some wannabe Gennin through the forest, she's a perfect opponent for you PLEASE capture her!" Maru screamed with urgency, the Elemental nodded. The eye's of Cold Blooded clouded over into white orbs as she focused on a certain point in the sky to combine her natural energy to pull the water in the air to make a storm cloud and used the freezing winds from her realm to summon a mighty snowstorm! This wasn't just some diamond-dust harmless snowstorm neither but it was a straight up blizzard punching you right in the face. All heat around the area had been purged putting out the fires that hid Moeka, the chilling winds blew violently causing the young uchiha to go flying backwards into a tree which on impact dispelled her transformation technique upon impact. Maru decided to use his handy Crystal Eye Technique again to summon a new kitsunebi again, throwing the foxfire into the snowstorm to command it to search for Moeka. It didn't take the foxfire long to find Moeka, Maru now aware of the child's position as well as seeing through any disguise she may have, the chase began once more this time more serious than before.

When a body that resembled Moeka came into view, Maru pulled out his paper fan then pointed at the child. "There she is now's your chance!" Maru yelled at his elemental. Cold-Blooded channeled her chakra into her hands than pushed her hands forward making the snow move like a wave towards the fleeing academy student. The snow pushed trees causing them to snap then fall forward, the icy vapor radiating from the super chilled snow that started off as a very destructive avalanche that started to go slower once the momentum died. Moeka would've been able to outrun that, but Maru used his fan to lift the freezing snow again then thrust the snow forward to make the avalanche hit pushing Moeka forward with the wave of snow…. Everything went calm, Moeka was on the ground with both of her arms and both legs encased in large icicles. She was still able to feel her limbs were just stuck inside ice as though the ice froze around her arms and legs rather than freezing her cells themselves. She could easily break out of the ice that served to weigh her down and keep her from using jutsu properly.

Maru, the Centipede, and the ice elemental came into view. The ice elemental blowing white smoke on the child to rob her of more heat, sending a burst of sub-zero energy into the joints of the child, dealing no noticeable damage, but affecting her muscles. This freezing chakra significantly reduces a victim’s speed and coordination, making each movement sluggish. When Maru believed the child to have had enough, he raised his hand to tell his ice elemental to stop. "Had enough yet." he simply said, not wanting to waste his breath on a long speech. He believed she already knew what he wanted, it all seemed hopeless so far but in behind every storm lies the sun. Moeka could see a light flashing in the distance in front of her, a red light flickering as though it was Morse code. The Youkai that she first saw were trying to signal that they were close, so close that she could hear their voices faint in the blizzard. 'HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!!!! OVER HERE! TO LEAVE IS RIGHT HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE' They continued to shine the red light yelling at just how far the child had come. "That's for real yanno? If you can manage to get up and run to or pass that red light without being caught. The exam will be over. The other 85 can't catch up, they are way behind right now so there's no tricks." Maru assured, whether or not the child believed him he didn't know. "Now what Uchiha, your limbs are sealed in ice, you're starting to get hypothermic. In the end a Uchiha who was just as strong as I was couldn't pass his final exam, if an S-RANK shinobi couldn't do it you don't have a chance in hell. Heck I'm willing to bet if I give you a 10 second head start you still won't make it." Maru threw his head back then laughed, even though he was serious about how confident he was that she wouldn't make it even if he gave her a ten seconds to get to the exit. What will Moeka do?

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

[Maru calls his demons! They heard the call but the 85 demons are so far it'll take three post for them to join +10 progress]

[Maru summons his Ice Elemental Cold-Blooded! Cold-Blooded uses the power of Natural Disaster Senjustu to cause a blizzard! Wind pushes Moeka into a tree causing her to drop her transformation! -5 sanity]

[Maru uses the Crystal Eye Jutsu Along with its special action! Maru is aware of Moeka's location!]

[Cold-Blooded uses
Falling Snow to send an avalanche at Moeka. Cold-Blooded's avalanche wasn't able to reach Moeka so Maru sends one of his own that hits Moeka. Arms and Legs frozen to slow Moeka down. +5 Maru Progress]

[Cold-Blooded attempts to chill Moeka with hypothermic touch Moeka is cold and even slower. +5 Maru progress]

[With running from and going with the avalanche it pushed Moeka to a distance to where she can find the way out, the two demons from before signaling where they are. +15 progress]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

As Moeka laid there on the cold ground with all her limbs encased in ice, her body battered and exhausted from the chase, with no end in sight and her seemingly most successful attempt at a getaway cut just as brutally short as all the rest, she clenched her eyes and mentally resigned to her fate. Had the temperature allowed for it, had the blue spirit not been pummeling her with ice cold wind, the tears that welled up in her eyes would have spilled out. When the barrage ended, she turned her head aside and quietly listened, unable to face Maru as he gave the seemingly final speech of the examination, her expression wracked by frustration and defeat.

As the Uchiha girl spotted at the red glow in the distance and heard her instructor's final conditions, she furrowed her brows, tears finally spilling down her face. But despair abandoned her features in that very moment, and her frustrations were let loose as a shrill, defiant screech. She began to flail her arms and legs around , not unlike a child throwing a tantrum, shattering the ice over her arms and over one of her legs, She sat up, wiping her face, and pointed a shivering, accusing finger at Maru.

"I'll t-t-t-take that b-bet! 10 seconds... i-is all I need! You're on!!!" Moeka put her blueish hands together, formed a few seals, and blew a little bit of fire on her still bound leg, melting the ice around it and offering herself some relief of warmth. It was among the most basic techniques that a fire-user could perform, the so-called Thermal Maw. The limb was still not quite free and her body wasn't warm at all, but Moeka pointed at Maru yet again.

"B-But you said it, so you can't t-t-take it back! N-No cheating either! Count loudly so I can hear you! I'll make you eat y-y-your wooords!!" She wove a different combination of handseals but her incessant shivering made her falter and the sequence was interrupted, provoking her into cursing under her breath. The girl tried again, using the jutsu from before to blow more fire on her frozen leg, which freed it completely.

"S-S-Start the count!" She shrieked, though still sat on the ground and fumbling around in the cold mud, trying to find her balance and control her body amidst the terrible chills. It took her a few seconds to stand up. Moeka then clumsily began to run towards the red lights, trying to regain sensation in her limbs by moving them excessively, at least as much as her debilitated state would allow. Her body was sluggish not just from frostbite, but also from fatigue; the exercise ate through most of her chakra pool, and her final jutsu from moments ago used up everything that was left.

However... Moeka hadn't used up the precious remainder of her chakra merely to thaw herself out of ice. She gambled it on one final trick. She weaved a secret technique into the handseals which she pretended to botch - a halfbaked version of the Amnesia genjutsu that ran on her very last fumes used for the sole purpose of messing up Maru's count and winning her invaluable seconds. Moeka gradually sped up the more she ran, the movement forcing warmth into her legs, the desperation forcing her heart to beat with more and more vigor, but her destination felt endlessly distant, and she could barely bear to even look ahead as she continued her clumsy sprint.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru seeing the child struggling to get up made him cringe, any normal person would've given up by now but instead the child attempted to take on his challenge. He watched as the child broke through the ice that coated her arms and one of her legs. Listening as the child told him that 10 seconds in her condition was all that she needed, the child had spirit. He could give her that much but even he knew that she'll need more than ten lousy seconds in order to make it in her condition. Nonetheless he shrugged since he was always in for a bet, after all deals were his speciality. "Fine, you get ten seconds to prove you can make it. Don't think you can but hey I offered anytime you're ready." he said, tapping his foot onto the snow as he waited for the child to get herself prepared. Maru wasn't entirely unsympathetic, he could see that the child was closed so he didn't have a reason to end it all right here when he could have more fun. As he waited for the child to free her last limb, Maru looked at his wrist as if he was looking at his watch. When the child was finally ready, Moeka told him to start the countdown which Maru started without waiting for her to fully get up just like she wanted. "Ten. Nine. Eight." he counted low when Moeka was fumbling to get up then began to yell when she got farther away from him.

"Seven!…. Six! Six… Six… Six?...." Maru wondered what came after six, he said the number before but he couldn't quite get the exact name of the- "Five?" his ice elemental corrected, making Maru remember the number again and despite the headache Maru shook his head to begin the countdown again the genjutsu only buying the child mere seconds.
"Five!" he said seeing Moeka was almost halfway there and halfway through the countdown he began to weave hand seals. "Four! Three!" When the hand seals were completed he outstretched his hand out into the direction the child was sprinting towards. Moeka was closed, so close that she was able to see where the trees end and where the buildings started. The two figures waving their arms, telling the Moeka to hurry and to not look back. "TWO!... And THAT'S ONE!" Maru yelled, then fired a blue beam which caused a small explosion sending snow and debris scattering with a loud 'Boom!' The Youkai that were cheering Moeka on screamed in horror at the sight, she was so close, why did Maru just go all out like that?! So much for his reputation for no Student deaths. Cold-Blooded's eyes widened in shock, Maru was smirking as he put his hand down after his attack was finished then after the smoke cleared it was revealed that there was a big cube of ice around the child. Maru simply froze the area around Moeka, trapping her in a barrier of ice leaving her unharmed. "Well that's a relief, shall I capture her then?" Cold-Blooded asked.

"Sure. Here I'll give her a little bit of my chakra so you can escort her out with at least a fight. Can't say I didn't give her a fighting chance." he said, beginning to glow with a light blue to create a chakra link between him and Moeka so he could transfer some of his chakra to her. It wasn't enough to fully restore her, but it'll do to at least reenergize her enough to fight back. "There we go! Well she put in a valid effort, gave me a run for my money but I'm bored now. Please escort Moeka out now, hey, at least she almost passed." Maru shrugged, a bit disappointed but nonetheless his elemental followed by Maru's centipede walked towards where Moeka was trapped. While Mokea was stuck in the ice the two Youkai from before were still cheering the child on, she was about five meters away and Maru didn't exactly say that she failed. Will she accept her fate, be thrown out of the exam while Maru just sits back and watches or will she see the exam to completion. Maru did give her his chakra so perhaps he was giving her one last chance to do something.

Ooc:

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

[Moeka genjustu only bought her a few seconds. Not as effective since Cold-Blooded reminded Maru how to count but she at least got close enough to the exit. +4 progress]

[Maru traps Moeka in a Ice Prison! Maru is growing bored so he sends his elemental and his Centipede to attempt to escort Moeka out of the exam +25 Maru Progress]

[Maru uses Energy Transfer on Moeka. Giving her a small amount of chakra to see what else she has before final decision is made. Last post means everything…...]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Her teeth gritted in cold and frustration, Moeka choked down pitiful cries as she hopelessly struggled against her ice prison. When the centipede's massive shadow loomed over her, she simply stopped.

"Fine... Fine! I give up! Get me out of here!" She yelled. As the jutsu was released, she plopped helplessly onto the ground, and simply sat there for a while. The girl suddenly smacked the cold ground with her fist, stammering out a hopeless growl. It was tempting to give up for real.

The newfound power she suddenly felt well up from within just moments ago restored some semblance of hope from the very brink. And she didn't hesitate to put the chakra to use. As she slowly stood up to her feet, she turned her back on the elemental, subtly performing the handseals for yet another genjutsu. Its target was the giant centipede. The creature - and only the creature - would suddenly see another Moeka pop into existence and begin a mad dash towards the finish line. She figured she would have had an easier time fooling the animal than the elemental with such a simple trick, and that the enormous stature of the beast would make any sudden unexplained movements on its part a suitable distraction in and of itself for what Moeka planned to do next.

...And that was to throw some dirt into the spirit's eyes. During the precious moments won by that, she repeated the same Clone genjutsu she had used on the insect. She would send this copy sprinting for the finish just like the previous one, and in the meantime the real Moeka would try to dart around the elemental, trying to disappear from her line of sight before the elemental recovered to give off the impression that no clone had ever been created in the first place. If the diversion was successful, getting to the end would be easy. But if it wasn't, it was all down to dodging anything the two might throw at her, and even with clones, the odds for that weren't good at all.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru chuckled, making the ice prison shatter when his Elemental and his Centipede got close enough so Moeka wouldn't be able to pull any last minute tricks without being attacked. He decided to stick around for a bit, hanging back at a good distance to watch as his minions got closer… but something happened…. The Centipede saw the Moeka, or at least what it thought was Moeka, make a dash for the finish line. This made the insect hiss then dash forward to chase after the illusionary clone, shooting lighting at it though the illusion made it believe it was missing so it continued to fire wildly moving in zig-zags at full speed. This lead to the Elemental taking her focus off the child, while Cold-Blooded was able to resist the child's genjustu she believed the Centipede to be under the effect of a betrayal genjustu since it looked like it was charging at the two Youkai who were attempting to lead Moeka to the finish line. "You wretched insect! Those are allies!" Cold-Blooded shouted, grabbing the insect by the antenna's to try to steer the centipede away. Maru watched unamused as the child had easily slipped by in the chaos, Cold-Blooded being unable to control the insect as it made a dash for the two Youkai who were cheering the child on which made the two smaller demons break and run to get out of the way of the beast. "COLD-BLOODED LET IT GO! IT'S DANGEROUS! GET OUT OF THERE!" yelled the masked Youkai trying to tell the Elemental to let go of the Centipede.

Cold-Blooded could let the insect go, it bucked her off it's head then fired another lighting bolt at nothing when suddenly…. 'snap!' the centipede triggered the ninja wire trap that the two Youkai had set up for Moeka at the very beginning of the exam! Maru told them in that strange language to set up a ninja wire trap so at the very last moment he could fail the child for not seeing the trap coming, he knew that they glint in the sunlight hence why he called Cold-Blooded to summon a blizzard so the Ninja wire wouldn't be seen. His two Youkai were supposed to cheer the child on leading her right to the trap then if she made it to the finish line, bam! She's stuck in the Ninja wire trap then he could inform her that she failed if she didn't quit or get captured already. But instead of Moeka being in the trap, the goddamn centipede has its head stuck in the trap making it writhe around trying to get itself free. Cold-Blooded blew her frigid breath on the centipede to freeze the insect so it would stay still, making sure that it wouldn't cause any more harm. The two Youkai stepped over to where the frozen centipede was, standing next to Cold-Blooded who was looking a bit embarrassed. "Well then… I guess that backfired." the cyclops said with her hands on his hips.

Maru clapped his hands slowly on a job well done. "Congrats, you three, including the other 85 still coming, showed me that you're all completely useless. You ALL let an Academy Student get the better of you! Academy Student! You all had one job here." Maru screamed at the three spirits that he had as his officer's of his night parade. He was in his good mind to order them all to commit harakiri, luckily he was nice so he'll think of a punishment later for them. Maru turned to Moeka, who had already escaped the forest and overall passed her exam. He went into the sleeve of his kimono to pull out a single shiny silver headband that had the Kumogakure's symbol of allegiance etched into it, handing it to the child. "By the power granted by the Raikage, Lord Enma, and all the horrors that lurk in the shadows of Kumogakure. I hereby promote you to Gennin. Congrats Uchiha, you beat me this old fox." he nodded, changing his tune sounding like he was impressed.

"Now that you passed your exam, which branch are you thinking about joining? With a glowing recommendation from the academy headmaster you'll easily be able to get into any branch you want. Being able to avoid a Jounin along with 88 Gennin level 'Shinobi' makes you look pretty good to anyone wishing to hire you, they do like the best after all." Maru asked, reaching into one of his tails to pull out a scroll from underneath the fur along with a quill and a jar of ink. So now what path will Moeka follow? The path of the medical nin, helping to keep the village healthy and harvesting organs for the progression of science? The elite Anbu shinobi who operate in the shadows maintaining the law in the village, taking on the most difficult missions that will challenge you both physically and mentally? Or the Main Branch who are given a bit more freedom with how they operate, being hired for all sorts of tasks to keep the village going from saving the world to helping cats out of trees. The choice is Moeka's now...

[Uchiha Moeka PASSED their Exam!]

[Will request banner once branch is chosen]​

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Upon running out of the woods and leaving the test and pursuing demons all behind, Moeka began to laugh. She merrily hopped on the spot and repeated "I told you!" between her fits of irritating giggling. But her accumulated exhaustion soon overwhelmed her celebratory mood and the girl only managed to leap a measly two times before she almost collapsed again. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop smiling, no energy left in her to contain her grin and regain any semblance of propriety.

"I already know how to put my talents to use." Moeka said. She took the offered headband but kept it in her hand instead of putting it on. "There's nothing I can't excel in, so restricting myself would be pointless! Therefore, I'll be joining the Main Branch!" The newly-initiated Genin declared without a hint of hesitation, confident to her core.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru gave Moeka a nod before beginning to write up the child's promotion letter, the corners of his mouth curled up in a smile as he heard the branch that the child had chosen. "The Main Branch, huh? That's an excellent choice." Maru stated, putting the finishing touches on the letter before tossing the ink and quill behind him like trash he folded the paper in half before putting the letter in his sleeve. Though Maru could work with just about any branch he wanted, given that one of his jobs as headmaster was running CPSS which all branches participated in. Whether it be to kidnap new recruits or announce fake flu vaccinations to find children that held potential the medics or the anbu will still be fine. But Maru always favored the main branch despite the new Sennin being someone he…. wouldn't necessarily say was ready for the responsibility. Maru rubbed his chin, then looking at his three spirits before deciding to offer the child something to go along with the promotion. "Well all done now. You're officially a beginner shinobi, you're pretty much free to choose what kind of path you want." he paused for a moment before starting again.

"While I'm here, how about I become your Jounin supervisor so you can keep rising the ranks. Give you a few tips in combat, doing a couple missions on my behalf, get you connections to some high profile shinobi to help you get to my rank and all that jazz." Maru offered since he was the first one around that could possibly help the child keep moving forward . "You see, I've been attempting at forming a team to reflect my.. ahem… our worth to the high ranks. I can see that you have potential, well at least enough to be stronger than two of the Sennin that our Raikage recently appointed. Basically, I want to prove to those weaklings that we are the best not that we are just as good as they are. Who knows, you might get a promotion to Jounin which I'd recommend you for when you're ready. Plus you can be my intern and come along with me when I take trips out of the country…. So how's about it, wanna be a member of my crew or not?" was Maru's final offer. Of course her answer wouldn't affect his decision to pass the child, but he simply wanted to offer to make the child well known if she was willing to put in the work to do so. Besides, he was starting to grow bored with the village and needed a little something to spice up his life even if he had to train up a new Gennin. Not to mention he hadn't seen Ai in a bit so he might as well start looking for a new apprentice to help ease his boredom.

[Moeka NOW Promoted to Cloud Gennin!]
[Maru offers Moeka to be his apprentice!]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka cringed, her hands going up and her feet moving her a step back, clearly ready to provide Maru with some excuse as to why she can't go along with that idea for one reason or another. But something made her pause. As the gears turned in her head, her abrasiveness gradually faded from her expression and her hands slowly lowered themselves. "Well..." She hesitantly began. "I suppose it won't hurt..." The girl mumbled almost inaudbily, but then coughed to clear her throat. A polite smile came over her features.

"I mean, of course!" Moeka addressed Maru with sudden enthusiasm. "If you would have me, then it would be an honor! From this day forward, this Uchiha Moeka is at your service as your apprentice!" The girl bowed her head and made a slight curtsy with her by now tattered skirt, still smiling.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru could see the child was hesitant at first, looking as if she was going to cook up some excuse and bail on him. 'One last push.' "Hey I'm just letting you know I have some pull to make you great. As a teacher I want to see all my students succeed and I know first hand what a lack of guidance can cause." Maru explained. He didn't remember much about his past in the leaf village but Maru knew he wasn't necessarily a good fighter persay. He could blame it on his lack of knowledge but if he actually had someone who could've shown him what to do Maru believed he could've been successful back then. The fox could tell the child was at least serious given everything he threw at her and how she came back after sending her away. With enough training Maru's pretty sure he could make her a prodigy to flaunt around the village, besides none of the members of the Kurū are necessarily interested in advancing the ranks so creating a team of graduates seemed like the second best option for the villages (and the Kurū's) protection.

With that, the child had accepted his offer. Officially declaring herself his apprentice, Maru chuckled at her enthusiasm and with a nod the deal was sealed. "Perfect. First thing tomorrow I'll teach you some more advanced lessons in combat so we can start building around your talents. Right now, get some rest and change out of those ragged clothes when you get home." Maru said, hearing rustling in the trees the 85 demons peeked out ready to capture Moeka not knowing that the exam is over. The man-sized monkeys hopped out then got into a fighting stance, speaking all at the same time. "We've got cha now! It's over!" said the monkeys which made the officer's that knew of the exams' conclusion cringe. Maru remained smiling, turning towards the demon mob and raising his hand to demand their attention. "The exam is over, all the female demons are dismissed but all the males stay behind. I need to have a conversation with you all! Oh and all who are actually shinobi of the village are allowed to leave with the women! he ordered. With that, a good portion of the demons that were pursuing Moeka walked away slowly, kicking at the dirt as they went away seemingly unhappy with the result.

A good handful of the lesser demons remained behind with confused looks upon their faces as Maru proceeded to crack his knuckles making the team of monkeys back up.. "Now Moeka if you need me, I'll be turning these Youkai into corpses. If I were them, they'd better start running." and ran away they did! Maru wasn't as nice to them as he was with Moeka, he ran after them leaving Moeka alone as he went to genocide the real failures of this exam…..

[Left Topic]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka watched Maru begin the pursuit with a small, polite smile on her face. When he was far out of view, the girl breathed a sigh of relief and turned away. She looked over her battered self, dusting off the dirtiest parts of her clothes to not much avail. She sighed again, though the accumulated fatigue made it difficult to care about her uncouth state.

She held her brand new headband up to the skies by both ends. As Kumogakure's symbol stared down at her, the smooth metal reflected her proud but tired grin. The freshly-initiated genin admired the fruit of her labors for a while longer before tucking it away into her pocket. She would figure out how to wear it later.

Moeka brushed a hand through her dark hair and began a slow walk home for some much needed rest.

WC: 141

[Topic left]