Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Enter from small village hut)

Yamatano continued his trek through the water country, this time coming across a village with some life in it. There weren’t many homes, but the people seemed happy, and the shops seemed to be doing well. “Looks like the Water Daimyo treats the people well.” Yamatano thought as he bought a cinnamon roll from a small stall, eating it quickly enough for no one to see underneath his mask. As he continued walking the streets he passed by one house that seemed as abandoned as the houses in the previous village. Deciding to investigate, Yamatano entered the house. There was nothing there, except for a mark of something that looked like a spike had been thrown at the wall. But one thing puzzled Yamatano: Why was it so cold?

Shrugging away the feeling, Yamatano left the people to continue on with their peaceful lives. He decided that his patrol was probably over, and he had found no enemies. But rather than take the way he came, Yamatano decided to go on a different route back to Mist. He wanted to see everything the Water Country had to offer.

(Exit to Snake Way)

Hearing Shinji's instructions to Yamatano, Vincent realized how off he was when it came to one of the clues:

Where feet leave clear tracks, and your breath can be seen,
Perform a Suiton jutsu and watch the next scene,
In a place which has a history of cold blood and despair,
A lingering presence will freeze it in mid air

For the longest time, Vincent had thought that the clue would lead them to the Country of Snow but apparently not. He waited for Yamatano to perform the Suiton Jutsu that would help them in this endeavor.

No sooner had Shinji suggested the action to Yamatano then did he here a voice call out to them. recognizing the other team immediately from Stage One, Shinji cursed in his mind, "Oh God... not this again." Listening to Kai speak, as he seemed to be the leader of the troop in this area, he asked if they were passing through as well, but then trailed off towards the end of his last sentence. "Of course we're not passing through, this isn't even an area you'd have to pass through in the first place. "

Speaking up, Shinji stepped forward, hoping that this encounter wouldn't turn into what the last one did as he hoped Yamatano would still have the good sense to complete the riddle while he was speaking. "What's the point in even leading a question like that. We all know why we're here, it's the same reason any of us are anywhere in these last two weeks. You guys must have read the clue just like Yamatano did and recognized it. it seems that the exam proctors knew this sort of thing would happen and deliberately expected us to run into each other on the way. Another test if you will. We've already had run-ins with other groups elsewhere."

[Chakra Point Total: 50/50]

"Talk is cheap, Let's Do This!"

Seeing as this was so far a much more peaceful encounter then the last, Shinji could see that it could be dealt with in a nicer tone. "You're right, it was a good call on your part, but the last time we ran into another group, they tried to steal the artifact from under our nose as we were caught in the rock barrage trap, and I ended up having to fight for the artifact. I guess I'm just a little on edge, but this is important, ya know? We only have a few days left and there's really no time or place for mercy ."

Shinji understood what these situations were testing, but didn't feel that they all had to end up in fights. In truth, there were many more artifacts to obtain, but travel was the issue. He had come all the way from Iwa to Mist, and if it was for nothing, then they wasted any entire 2 days in getting here. As he thought about it, he was suddenly surprised by Kai's question, furrowing his brow with a slight bit of confusion before looking at him quizzically. "Yeah, I'm from Iwagakure. I'm the only one in the exams from my village, but I grew up there, and aside from my 3 years of travel across the world, I've been in the Earth Country my whole life. Why do you ask?"

[Chakra Point Total: 50/50]

"Talk is cheap, Let's Do This!"

Vincent understood what this particular ninja was up to. He was searching out clues to answer one of the artifact clues. There was a certain apprehension that he had given the last situation that they were in with the last group trying to take the artifact that his team had earned. It still seemed so silly and childish given how there are plenty of other artifacts to be found for the whole team. It just required a little cleverness on the teams part to figure out the clues. Of which Vincent felt that he was lacking since the only clue that he figured out was about the ramen stand in Konohagakure.

Kai chuckled a bit and then stopped his face taking on a serious edge as he said with no hesitation, "Alright Shinji, I'm going to be forward about this. My team is the only one that can get the artifact that clue 16 refers to. I'm aware that I could just as easily get other artifacts, maybe this one, and keep other teams from moving on. But I don't want that. Believe it or not, I'm willing to let you have this artifact if you tell me if there is a a landmark in your homeland that matches the description of the clue. I want your team to move on, Shinji. I want to see both you and Yamatano in the next stage. So if you help me out, I'll let you have this artifact."

"I live to fulfill the dreams of those that came before me"

(actually vincent Shayera's on my team)