The Tournament

A week in advance the Shinobi: Kanna, Satomi, Kutari, and Masuyo were given requests to meet at the Arena. It was noon as the Head Councilman, Yami Hanzo, accompanied by three squads of A-rank Guards, waited at the Hokage's Spectator Balcony. The request was given in the form of a mission, which would be written as such:

Mission Name: The Gauntlet
Mission Type: Tournament
Mission Rank: B
Mission Goal: Defeat your opponent to proceed to the next round.
Description: Given the resumed leadership of Yami Hanzo he wanted to gauge the strength of his Shinobi personally over the year of development they had. In order to best determine their roles he requested the top picks within the village to compete with each other. Win or lose, participating is what matters and will score the mission as complete. The winner will advance into the next round.
Payment: 25,000 ryo
Requirements: Satomi, Kanna, Masuyo, Kutari only.

This was not a typical exam scenario. Aside from Yami and his guards only a few members of the Administration and medical Shinobi were on standby in the bleacher. No other spectators were allowed within and attempts would be swiftly apprehended by Anbu. This was not necessarily a secret meeting, but it was kept under high security as some of the village's best were present. The area was generic as always. The arena floor itself was one-hundred meters across. A ring of trees and vegetation surrounded the perimeter in a ten meter thick growth. Otherwise the ground was dirt and patched with grass. The walls stood forty meters high around the arena. Yami would wait in his location for his Shinobi to arrive. Once they did he would share the details of the tournament and get the test underway.

Masuyo would take the stairs due to common sense. Understanding the nature of the situation she would feel dropping from above or charging up the walls would be a red flag to the amount of guards present. Her footwear consisted of standard black sandals fitted for comfort and security. With the toes and heel left exposed they provided additional balance, while the rest of the foot up to the ankle was protected by the thick nylon material of the sandal. The soles of the sandals are reinforced with hardened material to resist heavy impacts and weathering. She wore a pair of loose fitting black pants with the bottoms near her ankles taped securely in white bandage wrap. This provided balance and reinforcement to her ankles while closing off the ends of her pants. In addition, more bandage wrap was wrapped around her right thigh which allowed a navy blue holster to be strapped over comfortably. Around her waist she wears the basic utility belt which carries two green holsters on her right side along with a tool pouch around her back side and a canteen to the far left.

A black mesh shirt is worn under a common long sleeve black top having a red seal of fire placed on the outsides of each sleeve towards the upper arm. Over that was a fitted green flak jacket provided by Konoha's armory. The jacket was zipped up and secure firmly on her body. Worn on both arms were a pair of custom crafted arm guards gifted to Masuyo. The banded steel design covered the backs of her hands to her elbows leaving a soft spot of leather to allow wrist movement. Around her neck Masuyo wears her forehead protector as a collar. The black cloth is tied in a knot around the back side of her neck with the steel plate facing the front for identification. The steel plate has Konoha's emblem engraved on the front. Masuyo has straight black hair which extends down to her mid back. Two strands of hair drop down touching her chest which leads into her bangs, those being cut shorter and swept to the side. She stands at 5'9 weighing approximately 145 lbs. Her fair skin is complimented with her voluptuous form which is completed with a pair of hazel eyes.

As she made it to the top Masuyo was partly surprised she was the first to arrive. She would casually head over to the arm corner of the balcony, clasp her hands behind her back, and hang out casually for the others to arrive. She was curious as to who she would fight. She was partly familiar with one of the Shinobi, though the other two were unknown.

It was about a week of well deserved rest after his battle visit to Kirigakure. The trip was supposed to be boring, but he ended up fighting for life on behalf of the Kiri army. Their alliance sealed with their efforts against the powerful enemy, however Akeno had been captured on top of that. Perhaps this was the reason for the summon. Only after a week since his return, he received a scroll. Another mission. Always willing to do his job he opened the scroll and read its content. They wish to test us. He had heard rumors. Of Kazuya, the state of the Land of Fire, many rumors. Perhaps some of them were gaining ground.

Satomi geared up dressed in his familiar Jounin garb. A black and white ninja suit with the Uchiha symbol on the back. All of his items were on his person, stashed around his pouch and scroll on his holster. He was ready for whatever the Council had planned for them. As he made his way to the balcony, he was able to see out and gaze upon the entire arena. But there was someone there already. A Konoha Kunoichi Masuyo. He knew of her but he had not met her before. He made his way over to here, stopping shot of a few feet he introduced himself formally. "Its a pleasure to finally meet you. Satomi Uchiha here."

Having been summoned by the head council member currently running the entirety of Konoha, Kutari had little choice but to partake in the games of this particular man, despite his disinterest in the individual as he was likely a main influence in his current living standards. Instructed to arrive at the intended location for what was meant to be a contest to gauge the various strengths of the elite of Konoha, Kutari would near the steps up to the arena in a typical fashion. Though being forced to participate, the contents of his letter suggested some form of combat which would be the saving grace in securing his attention, hoping the opportunity arose to partake in a possibly enjoyable battle with the village’s elite, his heart pumping in excitement.

Despite interested in combat more than the average foe, easily described as a crazed demonstration, he was no fool as he was well equipped and prepared for battle. Wearing his typical clothing of a white t shirt underneath an unbuttoned flak jacket gifted by the village as four distinct metallic steel tools would glisten at the sight of sunshine within the jacket itself, though his torso would be decorated with a simple black jacket to complete his clothing in that area. An item pouch would be fastened on his behind wielding various tools within his arsenal though nothing of grand sizes. Accompanied with a baldric from his shoulder to his lower hip, no weapon would currently protrude from the baldric given its size. A hip holster would be fastened underneath his purple scarf worn on his hips, though the steel which occupied this area on his left hip being sheathed was easily hidden amongst his flak jacket and overshadowing black jacket from his exterior. A right leg holster wielding a few kunai to the side of his thigh would be present tightly fastened over his black pants, as he wore black shoes which were tall enough to handle the lovely steel that he found himself decorated with some hidden support. Though the main attraction of his arsenal could be found within seals he formulated to decrease the load of tools on hand while effectively linking himself to his storage of blades and other trinkets.

Kutari made no intentions of mingling with the other Shinobi present as he finally made it to the rendezvous point, simply looking over his competition for various exterior items or unique traits to witness upon their person, picking up on them and returning to his own business. He’d speak no words as he looked forward to see what all would transpire that day, intrigued to witness whether there would be a battle to be had, his blood burning with passion as he felt the thrill of battle overtaking him before calming himself as he looked to best any foe in the ring. He’d grip his black gloves as he could recall the place holders he made in preparation of the potential battles to come once the letter was sent to him a week before, prepared and committed to prevail. Undergoing his typical clothing and look, he’d make sure to be aware of his surroundings and be transparent to any sudden movements or irrational actions going on around, having little trust as he was sure his opponents would try something before the battles would come, aiming to gain any advantage towards their victory as he continued to keep a distance from the other three.

One by one the Jounin appeared. Yami was able to tell they were not acquainted with each other as neither of them paired up, or even as a group. Though, to be fair, Masuyo was a foreigner and Kanna still technically a Chuunin. Nonetheless, they were all present and he needed to get the tournament started. "I am glad you all could make it. As you have most likely read I called you here to test all of you individually. By placing you in pairs and having you spar each other I can gauge this directly, instead of relying on reports and reviews which may not fairly represent you as a person. What I plan to get from this are two squad leaders and a captain for my developing ANBU branch. Further details for these roles will be addressed individually. For the time being, let's get this tournament started. Satomi, you will be paired with Masuyo. Kanna, you are paired with Kutari. Satomi and Masuyo will begin. Go ahead and start when you're ready." After his final instructions he expected the two to know where to go and how to conduct a spar without the need of a proctor. Once they would finish, the other two would follow suit and conduct their spar. Yami would watch as their tournaments unfolded.

Masuyo heard her name, being paired up with Satomi. She did not know much about this Jounin, aside from the bare essentials. She knew his name, fighting style, and more general information. It would be her first time fighting an Uchiha. With a mild smirk she was up first. Masuyo would turn her head to the Jounin. "Don't keep me waiting!" She said eagerly hopping over the railings from the balcony and scaling down the wall onto the arena floors. From there she would wait for Satomi to join her to get this fight underway.

[Exit]