Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Out of the Forest at Last!

A pair of higher ranked Konohagakure staff ninja were standing beyond the northern gate. There was a moment when Mana's eyes had to get used to the brighter gloom of a simple Fire Country forest and the deforested areas where the roads were made. In this case, a small dirty zigzag that lead further into the main road, which headed west, towards the Land of Wind and many smaller pleasure towns in between Land of Fire and Land of Wind.

"Huh, there are no other genin around", Kiyomi wondered loudly while looking around, pondering why the area outside was so empty.

"Each team that has completed the exam and exited through the gate has done so at their own time, some of them did so days ago. It'd have been strenuous to keep all of them here just so the underdogs could hear the same thing they've heard", one of the cloaked yet unhooded ninja noted.

A long braided, brown haired kunoichi walked up to the two Jinchuuriki placing her hand on their shoulders. "You two OK"? I'll have your supervisors brought here at once", she asked.

A group of four cloaked ninja positioned themselves behind Daidao and Nanaba until their "supervisors" would arrive as the shortest baldy of the staff ninja stood out in front before listening in and muttering something to the little microphone he had positioned by the ear-set he was wearing. A raspy and unclear husk was all that could be heard from the other end so it was tough, if not impossible, to tell exactly what the conversation was about.

"Alright, Team Hokage and Team Hawthorn, you appear to have completed the exam successfully, congratulations", the baldy nodded as he addressed the handful of teams.

"This is not it just yet, Sugemi and Meiko will be joining us soon. They've been left behind to deal with some unpleasant business", Daidao's voicebox matched the unclear rasp, which came out from the bald ninja's ear-set.

"I see, then maybe it would be better to wait for at least a good twenty minutes longer before we explain what comes next", the baldy nodded.

What transpired after was an uncomfortable and awkward stance as both the staff ninja and the genin just stood around, looking at each other, before glaring back at the northern gate and wondering if Sugemi and Meiko would even be back. It barely even took five good minutes after the pause was given thought that the two walked through the gate, slightly beaten up and bruised, even more than they were before Team Hokage and Team Hawthorn were encouraged to leave them behind.

"Well, now that everyone is here", the baldy cleared his throat before addressing the squad again, "Do not worry, the next stage of the exam will not take place immediately. It was initially a thought for our consideration but once we saw more eliminations than it was predicted, with some teams eliminating plenty people they had no obligation to eliminate and the natural conditions of Training Grounds No. 44 eliminating its own fair share of contestants, it was quickly reconsidered".

Sugemi laughed out loud before rubbing the back of his head relieved, "Ha, that's great, I used the Second Gate in there so we'd have been in a pinch if I had to fight again right afterwards", he let his weariness go down to being just another joking matter.

"Did Spyder-Wolf have some unseen weapon up his sleeve that you needed to resort to such measures"? Daidao wondered, as the Nara's revelation appeared to hit a chord with the Jinchuuriki.

"Nah, I kind of did it just to look cool for the manga panel, when that episode inevitably makes it to my story"! Sugemi laughed out, rubbing his own nose in shame.

"Imbecile", Daidao crossed his hands around his chest. "It appears that me teaching you more about the effects of the Gates on your body had no effect on your mindset about using them".