Warmonger's Finals (Observation Thread)

[Ichigo SatoRaikage]

News of the Chuunin Exams Finals had spread throughout Kumogakure and even Ichigo had caught wind of it. The Drunk wasn't really for these kind of major events but the list of participants had piqued his interest. When he saw the names of those who were fighting in the finals he immediately noticed every single one of them was in some way familiar to him. The first participant was none other than Kaito, the man he had met in a bar of all places. At the time the redhead held the rank of Jounin but it seemed he had lost it to another shinobi. The specifics of how it all happened were unbeknownst to Ichigo but he knew at least that much. 

The second fighter was Aroma, the lavender haired kunoichi he came across when he was sleeping it off. She was rather mysterious and didn't like sharing too much so out of the three she was the one he knew the least about. Last but not least would be Ikari, the young Senju he had an interesting bond with. The finals would surely prove to be interesting and Ichigo was curious to see how it would all turn out. When he thought about who had the best chance to win he wasn't certain he would be able to predict the result, it could go a couple of ways and each one of them was able to win. The mysterious kunoichi, the once Jounin and the ambitious Senju.

In order to get there in time and to get the best places available he decided to leave early. On his way over to the Warmonger's Arena he made sure to buy a couple of snacks so he had something to munch on. He wouldn't be able to truly enjoy the spectacle if he had to watch it on an empty stomach. Once Ichigo had arrived at the location where the fight would be taking place he could notice the mass of people that had gathered to witness the final battle. It seemed everyone got hyped to find out who the victor would be. It also gave them the chance to discover some of the newer talents that could potentially make a name for themselves. 

As he entered the arena he started looking for the best seats possible, hoping it would add more to the experience. Having found a nice spot he sat down and opened up the bag of one of the snacks he bought earlier. More and more people began to walk in, filling the arena. All of them gathered around to find out who would come out on top. Here and there people were making bets on who they thought would win. Kaito, Aroma or Ikari. Amongst the three fighters Ichigo wasn't there, he thought about signing up but didn't believe he would stand a chance. Even now that he was witnessing the atmosphere his thoughts were still exactly the same, uncertain if he would have his place amongst the more talented shinobi. 

After all, Ichigo had already reached the age of twenty-seven and was still holding the rank of genin. He knew he had to take things seriously if he didn't want to end up as "the eternal genin". It was easier said than done, surrounded by far more skilled people with extraordinary talent had filled the Drunk with even more doubt. It would be quite pathetic for a grown man to have certain depressing thoughts but he couldn't help but think that way. Hopefully the final fight could light up a spark in him, one that would cause the Drunk to give it his all to become a shinobi worthy of praise. 

(WC: 615)

[Katsumi NakiriCitizen]

Brushing her platinum bang back from her face she smirked at the approaching arena, becoming larger than life as she neared its entrance - exam days always sent a thrill through the village and sparked some much needed competition in what Katsumi would describe as lackluster civilians. Her brilliant red eyes zipped around her surroundings, keeping tabs on her surroundings as intensely as she would on any given mission. This was, in fact, not a mission warranted by her village but more so a personal mission - and she had been waiting for this moment with mixed feelings. It wasn’t known by anyone, Kaito included to a degree, the personal rivalry Katsumi held with a death grip between herself and Kaito. Intensively competitive and annoyingly pushy when it came to his improvement - years younger and inches shorter did nothing to quell this demanding nature over him - he must be held to the same standard she held herself to… or what kind of rival would he be? What kind of rival had he been this whole time if she really wanted to be objective about it - getting his own rank taken from him I mean come on it was just not something that was going to fly with Katsumi. Most of the reason she was here today was to ensure she was able to either watch him progress further or notice what he did wrong to then force him to train with her on. She sighed lightly to herself as she acknowledged the amount of responsibility she was taking on for no one else but herself.

As her lithe frame converged among the flow of civilians she disappeared from view - blending in seamlessly as if she had never been there to begin with - as she moved through the throng she kept her eyes peeled for open clusters of seats and comparing them to the view they provided; almost to the point of simply sitting on the railing she spotted a mop of black hair in what she would argue was as good a view as she was going to get. An assured smile spread across her face as she deftly leapt up onto the back rest of the nearest seat and quickly hopped the way directly toward her target - she stopped suddenly on the seat directly to the person’s left.

The smile was still wide and mischievous as the cries of alarm she had caused during her approach only made her enjoy the choice more. She flitted her eyes down and to the right quickly - checking for anything out of the ordinary - checking out she plopped down in the seat and crossing her legs before turning to the person now at her side and giving a nonchalant smile. “The red haired one is mine.”, zero introductions, she spoke to him as if they had known each other for hours; familiarity and even a hint of sarcasm. The look on her face was like an expectant parent watching their most anticipated match of the season… except for her eyes, which were hard with true judgement. To ease the growing tension she would not break eye contact with the arena, but would lean sideways, closing in the gap between the two -, “Katsumi Nakiri, Jounin.” Finally she focused her full gaze on the man, “And you are?”

[WC 553]

[Takumashi SenjuCitizen]

When he had awoken that morning, Kusari knew what he was going to do today, he got dressed in some of his more dressier cloths. He had made sure to style his hair just right and then when he was fully ready, headed out to the kitchen, making something quick to eat before heading out. He went to the warmongers arena, it was filled with people waiting for the arena to open, he caught sight of a couple of people who seemed like interesting folks. The first rounds was rather hilarious, it seemed that they all had someone who did not show up, if only Kusari was there, he would have stepped into the arena with them to allow them to give a true test. However there was two people who made it that he knew. The viper girl and the wooden boy.

Kusari would move with the line as they let people into the arena and he would head to an area specially set aside for people to spectate with alternate means of watching, he was not just there to be a fan of the violence that would break out. He was there to judge for himself and see their abilities both battle readyness and hopefully quick thinking and alternative planning. Kusari would note two others who had caught his attention earlier in the lines.

Kusari would stand near them as the contestents readied themselves. He watched the Senju boy take entrance first. He thought back to the spar they had in the quarry, the boy had some skill with his own bloodline, but other then numbers, and running back and monitoring from a distance, the boy did not impress him to much with that showing.

The Second contestent that entered was Aroma. The girl with the chains. She was a long distance fighter from his experience with her, it seemed short lived for the most part. He was interested to see how she would handle this without killing either of the other two. It was hard to decide which of the two currents would win this. Suddenly the final one came in, He did not know this one, but he had heard of this one. this was the Jounin who was defeated by a Genin and lost his position to him. Well one on hand, it could be said he had more expeirence and thus the upper hand in this fight. on the other hand tho, he lost to a genin, so maybe he should spend more time as a genin and preparing himself a little better.

That was about the time that one of the other people around him spoke. The voice being light and airy, exposing the femininity of the person speaking allowing him to know without looking that it was a female speaking. Kusari would look over his shoulder at her and then turned around to put his back to the arena. "The Red Haired one is mine" those were her words she spoke, He saw she was sitting down now and was addressing the one next to her, She seemed familiar. he could not think as to why. Then she said her name....It was her...

They had gone to the Academy together. She was top of their class, He was a clown in class, always messing up on purpose, never acceling like he could have been, but he had so much going on, he decided it was better to keep what he could about his prowess a secret at first. "Katsumi Nakiri, Jounin" That came to no suprise to him, She was gifted as a student, why would she not be a Jounin and more then likely before he was, He would still smile seeing a familiar face, her thoughts on him was her own however and so he would not know how friendly a reunion this would be. SO he would stay silent. 

Now it may take Katsumi a moment to recall him if at all, and recognizing would be even harder, cause he used to be short hair and dressed a bit more uncaringly. Kusari would finally Speak as he approached an empty seat on the other side of her. which He would sit in of course and "Katsumi Nakiri, Well well, this is a suprise, Long time no see, Names Kusari Uzumaki" His appearnence he decided to make more clean after taking his duties as a Jounin more seriously.

Kusari was here looking to bring to the Raikage ideas for Teams and even suggestions as to who should form which teams. But who knows, maybe he will just select his own students and just teach them, sadly it would mean others would get left out unless other Jounin collected them up, but he had to do what he felt was right, and becoming a Sensei was a huge achivement in his mind. He was looking down into the arena seeing the event unfold, watching intently while listening for the response of Katsumi to his sudden apperance and introduction.

[Rokuro MasamuneMissing-Nin (C-rank)]

With news of the impending finals of the Chuunin Exams filling the village, one couldn't help but be curious as to what the villages new generation of Genin could do. For those that have been of this village for some time this would be a time of celebration, but for him it was a simple walk down memory lane. Still holding the guise of a child, the ex-raikage would finish putting on his blue short sleeved hoodie and white with hints of blue shoes before heading out into the streets of Kumo. While he wasn't going to be exactly on time to the start of the fight, his speed would assure that he made it just as the first move was made, even before then. It was always interesting to see how the kids fought nowadays, at least in his eyes things were a little more tame compared to his. The short legs would carry him far as he entered the arena past a few adults and their families getting into their seats. Of course he wasn't going to simply sit with the common people, no he moved his little way up toward where most of the shinobi had been situated. Yaju made it a habit of not really speaking to anyone unless it was necessary, moving past the woman with Platinum hair and the other two and sitting himself a row higher than then so he could get a better vantage point.

Of course as he sat down the fight was rearing its beginning and as a habit he would have activated his Byakugan to get a clearer picture than the rest. Due to the special nature of his eyes they didn't bulge or create veins as a typical Hyuga, but a low glow took over the cyan hues in his eyes. For the moment he'd let the rest talk while he watched intently, reminiscing on his first chuunin exams within this very village. Maybe the three fighters would rekindle the flames within the man...or not. Only time would tell.

[Ichigo SatoRaikage]

Just as he was about to open his bag of snacks Ichigo could hear a voice coming from his left. Curious to see who this voice belonged to he looked over to his side. Skin as pale as the moon, short platinum white hair and ruby red eyes that immediately grabbed the tattooed man's attention. Now sitting next to him was a rather petite kunoichi who looked not that much younger than him. No clue who this female in question was Ichigo started looking around him in case she was talking to someone else. As her gaze was still directed at him he finally knew she was really talking to him. Something about a redhead, so she must have been referring to Kaito. It seemed that the lady and the former Jounin were acquaintances, interesting. 

Not much later she introduced herself as Katsumi Nakiri, Jounin of Kumogakure. A beautiful name for an evenly attractive young lady but of course he wouldn't say it out loud, for that he didn't have enough to drink yet. "Ichigo Sato, Drunk, I mean Genin. Nice to meet you." Great, already made the worst possible first impression, you had to be called Ichigo in order to pull that one off. Oh well, it was too late now so he figured he might as well make the best of it. "Cookie?" As he asked he offered her the bag of snacks. Depending whether or not she would accept he would wait before attempting to continue the conversation. For a moment his attention shifted to the arena where it started to look like the fight was about to begin.

In the meantime another voice could be heard, this time belonging to a male and someone Ichigo recognized. The familiar face was that of Kusari, the red haired Jounin he had run into a couple of days ago. Only this time it looked like he was hardly minding the Drunk as the redhead was clearly captivated by Katsumi and her alone. What's more, it seemed like he was aware of who she was considering he was able to fully remember her name. This caused the tattooed shinobi to assume they knew each other from back in the day. If there wouldn't be anymore surprises Ichigo would focus on the fight that was about to begin. He figured Kusari would say something when he noticed he was sitting there as well, but for the time being he would allow the two of them to have their little reunion. 

The Drunk briefly noticed someone walking behind him before sitting down, probably another spectator curious to see the new talent amongst their shinobi, or at least that's what Ichigo figured. He didn't want to bother the man and focused on the battle in front of him. First to make a move was the young Senju, Ikari. "Figures" he smiled. Of all people Ichigo might have been the one who knew the teenager best and with that his lack of patience. Immediately rushing before activating one of his clan's signature moves, as expected of young Ikari. He wondered how the other two participants would react and he didn't have to wait too long to find that out. As a mist started to form he figured it had to be the lavender haired woman Aroma who was responsible for creating said mist. 

All that was left now was to see how his drinking buddy Kaito would react to his opponent's actions. Throwing a smoke bomb followed by some shuriken the redhead kept it rather safe. His opening move was then followed by an attempt to take out the Viperis. What seemed to be just some punching in the air Ichigo was sure there had to be a meaning behind all of this. Curious to see how the battle would evolve he looked at the other people sitting around him, assuming they were aware of what was going on. 

(WC: 655, TWC: 1270)

[Katsumi NakiriCitizen]

Keeping her steady ruby gaze on the man she couldn't help but chuckle as he looked around himself, searching for whomever she was talking to briefly before realizing - or perhaps accepting - that she was talking to him.  A warm inviting smile was forming on her face as she watched him take her in and attempt to gather himself after her sudden appearance to form a reply to her question. She generally had this effect on people in general - her intrusive nature made even the most confident of men and women need a moment to collect themselves - unabashed as she was. She was taking in the details of his appearance in turn, now that she had the time necessary and the proximity of being inches apart. As bright as her eyes were his were a dark grey, like collecting storm clouds - scars down his cheek lead her to wonder of what story;interesting or otherwise, would have been its cause. A tattooed face was also something she wasn't used to seeing - she narrowed her eyes slightly at the '69' in question before moving on to the very definable blue streak over his nose and cheek - identifiable markings on a shinobi... interesting. She had taken in his appearance in time for him to finally reply to her, which was well worth the wait as he misplaced some of his words - her gaze softened as she nudged his elbow with friendly vigor, “You aren’t drunk yet Mr. Sato, but you let me know when you break it out.”, her eyes peered down suddenly at the sound of the rustling bag being offered to her, her eyebrows raised for a moment before she reached daintily into the bag and pulled out two cookies between her fingers, “You know, if you intend to feed me cookies every time you stumble over your words, you might end up owing me a factory.”, she made her tone lighthearted and joking, giving a few chuckles before popping one of the cookies in her mouth and closing her eyes in enjoyment. 

Just as suddenly as the cookie was in her mouth the figure in front of them was turning around in his seat, red hair like Kaito… but with a more dramatic dark root only aiding to draw your attention to those cloudless sky blue eyes. Blue.. Her eyebrows drew in suddenly as she examined the curious face in a flash, swallowing the cookie hurriedly to have the ability to speak without choking as she watched the familiar boy - now man - take the seat to her left. She looked at him in mock shock as he deigned to introduce himself to her - Kusari Uzumaki.. As if anyone in their class would forget the name that was shouted near daily in desperation from their sensei. She looked him over quickly as he approached and was unable to see the delinquent she had grown up next to - instead a more groomed and appropriately behaved Kusari was now getting comfortable in the seat next to her. She leaned her back slightly away from his form, bumping into the arm of Ichigo slightly as she shot back her response to him - her tone of voice full of jest as she shook her head in disbelief, “As if anyone could forget a trouble making red head. Good to see you Kusari, I wondered what had become of you after we had graduated.” Her volume dropped off at the end as her eyes flitted to the match - One of the competitors had finally taken initiative and struck first - perhaps a little rushed but overall she mentally noted his rush into battle as the double edged sword it was. Momentarily distracted from her reunion she was suddenly on her feet, how she had managed to get to be standing on the chair itself in such a short time was beyond most people - but she needed the extra vantage point. Some people sitting behind her were making rude comments at her to sit down but all it took a very quick sharp glance in their direction before their complaints fell silent.

She stared in anxious tense silence as the mist formed over the arena, her intense gaze flitting around the opponents before settling on Kaito - teeth grinding slightly in anticipation. Her nails unconsciously dug into the backrest of the chair in front of her - not from fear but from holding herself from shouting down at Kaito. Her eyes shifted slightly to activate her Sharingan to watch more closely what was going on below her - and a mischievous smile spread over her face as she gathered Kaito’s plan more fully in her minds eye - being able to see the chakra he launched into the mist was a smart use of a double blind spot. 

“Good choice Kaito..”, her voice was more relaxed as she spoke the words, mostly to herself, as she plopped back down into her seat - legs crossing so she was completely sat upon the seat. “Alright boys, tell me everything you know,”, she glanced over at Ichigo addressing him first, “I know you have some knowledge, you commented ‘figures’, care to explain?” The tone was mostly curious, only laced with worry at the end of her question. As her face was turned to address Ichigo she caught the glowing hue of blue out of the corner of her eyes, abruptly turning her face to take in the figure who was intently watching the match… too intently. Choosing her longer standing acquaintance for information she leaned closer to Kusari, letting her eyes do most of the talking. Left eyebrow arched in a meaningful question she would flash her eyes to the blue eyed person and back to him, furrowing both her eyebrows quickly in a ‘Explain that.’ kind of way.


[WC 963]

[Takumashi SenjuCitizen]

Kusari had been watchin, he was not suprised at the least to see the senju boy take lead. and the viper girl made her mist, just like in their spar they had. However the final moved he witness was what seemed to be a ex Jounin taking the first actual attack , this was rather interesting to witness indeed. He overheard a name and recognized the Sato man he had met breifly before. So he would look over and nod at him " Ichigo, nice to see you again mate. How has the world been treating you?" He inquired to the man he met once. He had left to study up on these kids, so they did not get to talk much, however they did get to at least make introductions. that was nice and handy of course.

Kusari would note the boy who took seat for a better vantage, and the slight hue to his eyes, but he brushed it off as he would look towards the match once more watching the contestents Kusari did not have a preference as to who won honestly, He was here mostly to be gaguing their abiliies, although the one thing he did not expect was the running into of the old classmate of his. He would then talk out of the side of his mouth towards the once classmate as he spoke to her in hushed tones "Oh you know, Barely passing, getting paired up with a couple of cool cats, we were close , at least until out Jounin teach was killed in front of us." Kusari fell silent after talking about that. He was interested to see how the Senju would escape his self made prison and the Viper girl and what was happening to her.

He noted the fact of how Katsumi said the ex Jounin's name, so Kaito was the name of the man. interesting. Kusari would lean forward as he watched the match go on. Then came the voice he had recognized earlier asking for everything that he knew, and Ichigo as well. Kusari stole a glace over at her, and that when his eyes locked onto hers. He sat there for a moment staring at the ruby gaze that met his own sky blue orbs. He would shake his mind free and cleared his throat as he would then speak. " While being skilled, the Senju boy is quick to act, and slow to catch his mistakes from my experience with him, The girl hiding in the mist there, shes methodical to a T, but from what I know about her, she has to be to avoid accidental deaths with her heritage. The third on is a man who was recently defeated by a mere Genin for his position as a Jounin, so to see him attempting to climb ranks so soon, that is a suprise, other then that I dont know much about him." Kusari would then fall silent

He looked over at the boy again, he felt....odd, the boy did not seem like a normal boy for his apparent age, even if a ninja. He would keep the boy in his vision if possible. while watching the match, albiet the match would take precedent. Kusari would note the look he got from Katsumi and shake his head followed by a shrug, he did not know. He would blank out a bit as he thought back to the first time he felt what he felt just a moment ago. He was back in his academy days. he was a goofball, but was constantly challanged by her, almost as if she could see more to him then he tried to play of as. It was not until a class of taijutsu practice and he wound up on his back with her barely making a movement, almost like she was brushing him off, and so he decided he would actually try, but to no avail. Between her sheer skill level and his own foolishness he was to far behind her in skill. She won each match up against him, and that show of power.

But it was not the power he felt for, it was when she stood up for another, rather when she stood up for him, that the feelings surfaced within himself. However he had written it up as just a fleeting feeling, until today when he finally saw her again, and his heart fluttered in ways it had not since he was younger. Kusari would try to keep his eyes on the match but he would keep stealing glances back at her, almost in disbelief.

[Rokuro MasamuneMissing-Nin (C-rank)]

The fight had been progressing quite well, enough that the young male gave a small smirk." This is going better than I had anticipated...Almost expected a shit show compared to other things," the words were said loud enough to where most would hear it and he wasn't concerned with who heard it. He caught the look of the woman first, giving her a rather small smile but enough to flash the unusual canines he had in his mouth. From there his eyes went back to the fight at hand wondering which of the three would come out on top. When the red haired mention that a recent jounin was fighting in this tournament due to losing his rank to a genin, he pulled a disappointed face before shaking his head," If someone who has held a higher rank is knocked down by someone like a genin...it begs the question of if they were even worthy of the rank to begin with. Means a lack of discipline on their part," ever the analytical or to some blunt person, he was going to hold his tongue on the issue.

[Ichigo SatoRaikage]

Teasing and cunning would be the least you could say about the kunoichi next to him. Not taking offense to him mixing his words together but rather partaking in a dance that would go back and forth as far as she would allow it. "Something tells me I won't be able to keep up with you even if I tried." Crap, did he just call her a drunk? Nah, he was sure she wouldn't interpret it that way, and if she did he was certain he'd be met by a slap to his cheek. Awkwardly smiling, scratching the back of his head hoping he didn't mess it up for real this time. Fortunately for him Katsumi with her platinum hair didn't seem to mind. "Trust me, with a figure like yours I would eat cookies all the time." It was meant as a compliment aimed at her slim body shape, but then he realized he was actually talking to someone higher in rank than him. "Oh, I mean, you know, ehm .." Ichigo stuttered his way through hoping no one would witness how he was making a fool out of himself in front of an attractive young lady, a Jounin nonetheless.

The Drunk's remark about Ikari's impatience to start the fight had notified Kusari about his presence as he was greeted by the red haired Jounin. "Oh you know. Some working, some drinking, some training. How 'bout yourself? Still busy with administration like last time?" When they first met Ichigo remembered Kusari to be collecting information on the Genin of Kumogakure. A task not suited for the tattooed Drunk himself, so he was glad the higher ups were assigned to these tasks. Ichigo continued to watch as the crouse of the battle slowly progressed. It was then that he was met by a question of the kunoichi staring intently at him with her ruby gaze. "Hm? Oh, nothing in particular. Just that it came as no surprise that the young Senju's patience ran out. He has quite the trouble controlling his emotions, or rather his enthusiasm. But he's a good kid with a lot of ambition." Not much could be said about the other two participants as he didn't know them all that well. 

"As for the other two, I know Kaito has faced some hardships recently so I'm sure he's eager to prove he got what it takes and deserves to be there. The lavender haired woman is quite mysterious, so I believe we will have to find out what she's capable of." Ichigo noticed both Katsumi and Kusari's attention had shifted towards a young boy sitting behind them. He didn't want to make it too obvious but actually he did, so he decided to just turn his head and look at the child sitting there keeping watch over the battle. He thought about offering him a cookie but ultimately made the choice not to. After all, he promised Katsumi to give her a factory. 

(WC: 495, TWC: 1765)

[Katsumi NakiriCitizen]

 She had idly smiled as Ichigo stumbled along his compliment toward her - not often were men so abrupt and open about it - though she didn’t mind the brazenness of her new friend. He had one thing right though, he was nowhere near able to keep up with her appetite - petite as she was, her stomach was a black hole for food; a trait she was eternally grateful for. He was still adjusting how he approached her when Kusari addressed him over top her small frame - both men sitting high enough over her that they could see over her head if she slouched forward a little. Which she immediately did as the two conversed overhead.


Her ruby eyes glittered with further interest between the two men as she was obviously privy to their conversation. Being in the middle of this conversation was like being a sponge - her acute observation skills taking in the slightest change in tone or body language, all the while showing no interest in the conversation she was so obviously not involved in. Kusari worked administration while Ichigo left out details of his tasks, leaving them vague but listing many to seem busy - regardless they still spoke to one another with surface level friendlies which probably meant they were still in the beginning stages of their friendship. Ichigo seemed even more closed off when she heard the next sentence uttered by Kusari on her other side, now directed at her again - he spoke so sadly and yet so casually about a mentors death and her eyes flicked quickly up to him, only to see his attention averted to the match again.

Now her question, abruptly asked after the tension of the match, was being answered by the men she had in her company - first answer coming from Ichigo though her eyes did not leave the Senju as she was given the overview; ambitious but lacking control - a firecracker. He knew less about the other two, Kaito she needed the least explanation on anyways. Finally she turned her full gaze back to her ex classmate and listened - Methodical and mysterious with a well reasoned head on her shoulders, hard headed added onto the ambitious boy and -

Her eyes sharpened as she took in his last observation on Kaito - His mention of his recent loss of rank caused her to stiffen slightly as well ,before relaxing at his admission that he knew nothing else. Her focus drew itself back to the match in front of her, still sitting cross-legged ed in her seat, sharingan still active she was drawn momentarily to the comment back by the glowing boy behind her, with her reckless confidence she twisted suddenly in her seat - one arm holding her position on the back of Kusari’s seat - eyes now locked with the boy behind her, “What about you, little boy blue, any interesting developments you want to share with the rest of us down here?” Kusari would recognize her tone of voice instantly, challenging and enticing, without a trace of malice it still made a proud man stand a little straighter and take her far more seriously than her appearance would suggest.


[WC 525]

{TWC 2041]