[Tanigakure underground labyrinth]
Hundreds of meters below the surface, hundreds of shinobi were fighting among themselves, seldomly allying to defeat summoned beasts and pass the trial.
Jaito, a young boy aged 16, used to be in the same class as Kaito. Due to his strong mastery of taijutsu, he used to be evaluated fairly well in the academy. Years later, he was one of the few students who managed to survive along with his teammates, Kirito and Ryuga.
Kirito was a kenjutsu specialist, using the twin sand sword style of the Sand Kenjutsu Barracks, while Ryuga was a medical nin. She also knew fuinjutsu and could seal enemies in battle. Their team was fairly average, but their formation and hard work allowed them to hone their skills and eventually be selected for the exam.
Well, they knew the risks by coming to this stage, many shinobi quitting the exam after hearing about its dangers and low survival rate.
"Go east, these tree huggers were running away from something, and if that something is Kaito's team, then we get a chance to survive", Jaito had ordered his teammates.
Although he was the weakest of the group due to having low reserves of chakra, he also happened to be the most endurant. Training taijutsu to the limits, he had earned the respect of his teammates and his decisiveness granted him leadership over the years.
The gauntlets he had purchased from Kaito in the Sungakure Genin Corps Market after the attack on Tanigakure outposts had raised his strength dramatically as well. However, he was only a genin in terms of strength and facing three shinobi by himself, Jaito's body was covered in wounds.
By chance, there seemed to be a pink-hair kunoichi with very low skills in the enemy team as well as an arrogant aburame. Their leader, a hyuga, was much tougher and entered in a duel with him.
[Desert Lotus Punch] [D]
However, Jaito was not your average genin either. To reach this stage of the exam, he had proved himself worthy in taijutsu times and times again. The desert lotus punch was deflected, but his gauntlets still scratched the Hyuga captain's elbow.
His counter attack connected, though, sending Jaito two steps back, coughing blood.
"What is this?", Jaito exclaimed, seemingly realizing that his chakra network had been damaged, "I can't summon chakra in my right hand anymore!"
However, neither Ryuga nor Kirito were capable of helping him. In this fight, he could only rely on himself. Since physical contact was so dangerous, he needed to rely on dodging rather than parrying.
The Hyuga did not wait for him to finish, but instead charged towards him.
Jaito dodged one blow after another, but the Hyuga relied on dexterity and accuracy, rather than brute force and speed. Each one of his step was pressing Jaito further back, to the point of cornering him to a wall.
Jaito, realizing he had been had, staked everything on one attack.
As a taijutsu specialist, they had not expected him to possess trickeries, but years on the battlefield had taught him that trump cards were what made the difference between a corpse and a successful shinobi. A motto that the elites of the Sunagakure Genin corps told times and times again.
Taking out an explosive tag, he forcefully grabbed the Hyuga's collar, and grappled him to the ground, pressing the explosive tag on his chest.
*BOOM*
The explosion completely cooked the Hyuga, but Jaito was in dire conditions too. His arm was completely charred, the rest of his body grazed but affected still.
To his surprise, the Hyuga, however, was not dead and attempted to speak. But his vocal chords were damaged too. Jaito's adrenaline kicked in as he plunged his left arm onto his throat, finishing him.
Looking around, he sighed in relief as he realized the rest of his team had defeated their opponents. The pink-haired kunoichi was sealed like a mummy, Ryuga having used her scrolls to bandage her from head to toe.
As for the Aburame, he seemed to have escaped, though the number of insects on the ground hinted at an intense battle in which he was forced to flee, leaving Kirito as the victor.
Ryuga ran to his side, tears on her eyes at his injuries: "Jaito...Your wounds..."
Ryuga was a sealing kunoichi and a medical nin, but as a genin, her chakra reserves were too low to sustain the mystical palm jutsu for extended periods of time. However, Jaito's wounds were beyond severe. His arm was completely charred and if left untreated, he would lose it. But the rest of his wounds, the bleeding especially, would make him die before he could even be amputed.
She started to take out bandages and press the wounds to reduce bleeding, but...
This was beyond her capabilities.
Jaito muttered in pain as she deinfected his wounds: "Ryuga...I never told you before...but...I lo-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the words were muffled in his throat. The blood loss was too severe.
Kirito sheathed his sword and took Jaito on his back
Ryuga exclaimed: "What are you doing? His wounds are not stable yet!"
Kirito shook his head in scorn: "If we just treat the bleeding, he is going to die. Your medical skills are mediocre at best. You are just a civilian shinobi after all. Jaito mentioned that the Konohagakure shinobi were running away from a threat. If it is Kaito's team, they might be able to help us"
Ryuga gulped, her ego able to take the facts for what they were, and nodded: "Then let us hurry"