Konoha, Death Forest.
Ryota was the captain of their team, so he went forward to claim their scroll, hiding it immediately the moment he got it as not wanting to be an open target of the opposite scroll teams the moment they enter.
"Well let's try our best guys… it may be tough but we can surely do it." Said Ryota after showing them the earth scroll they had been allotted, flashing a smile and bringing his right fist forward.
"To success." Said Mei and brought her right hand forward as well, nudging Ryota's fist, and both of them looked at Isagi, waiting for him.
Seeing the fists before him, Isagi didn't make them wait anymore and nudged with his right hand also, words leaving his mouth. "To survival."
As their fists touched, Isagi noticed a blue arrow like Mei appearing above Ryota's head as well.
"Alright the gates are open, now go!" But Isagi didn't get the time to see what Ryota could offer him as Anko announced the start of the test, under the lead of Ryota the three rushing towards gate no. 40 and entering from there.
THUD!! THUD!!
A dark forest with towering woods and a gloomy atmosphere greeted them the moment they entered, but their pace not slowing down at all, rushing into the darkness and jumping on the branches of the towering trees, jumping from one to another.
"Let's stop here." After nearly half an hour of careful forward stride, they stopped at the signal of Ryota, jumping down from the trees to the grassy ground.
"Let's set an ambush here, the terrain is suitable for it." Said Ryota, as the particular area where they were now had a number of trees more than usual, and towering bushes with dense greenery made it simple to hide and wait for their prey.
Using a triangular hiding formation, they took their positions and waited for their prey, with Isagi hidden in a bush at ground level while Mei and Ryota perched on opposite trees ahead of him. This way, each of them able to keep an eye on each other's blind spot and signal at first sign of movement.
As they waited, Isagi finally got time to look through the replication options that Ryota could provide him.
Isagi noticed that once he had physical contact with someone, it seemed like distance didn't matter and he could replicate their abilities, really convenient for him.
{Green Ability – Chunin Kenjutsu – 85% Replication Chance}
{Green Ability – Chunin Chakra – 85% Replication Chance}
{Green Ability – Chunin Body Flicker Jutsu – 85% Replication Chance}
Just like before he could choose two of the three available options, but what surprised Isagi was his chances of copying a green ability, unlike before, had gone up by 5%, and it didn't take him long to figure out why—simply an increase in his own strength would increase the chances of copying an ability successfully.
After a long thought, Isagi decided to rule out the second option. While more chakra is always a good thing, for now he needed to enhance his attacking capabilities, so the addition of chunin rank swordplay would surely come in handy.
Body Flicker Jutsu was the most obvious choice of the three as speed in a battle played a big part and was a good life-saving asset also.
"I choose 1 and 3." As Isagi made a choice, just like before a warm force spread throughout his body, his muscles twitching. Out of nowhere, knowledge about swordplay drilled into his head—wrist movement, holding the blade, everything to do with it Isagi mastering in a matter of seconds.
After a few seconds, the unique force enveloping his body disappeared, and Isagi immediately opened his property panel.
Chunin Kenjutsu (Green), Body Flicker Jutsu (Light-Blue)
Overall Rating: Light-Blue
Replicants: 2/10
A new ability, which was Kenjutsu, was added into his ability slot, though his Body Flicker Jutsu remained the same as before despite superimposing, clearly explaining that higher ratings required more than one superimposition.
Though his overall rating did jump from Green to Light-Blue, in a matter of hours Isagi transforming into an elite chunin from an average one.
Just as Isagi was experiencing the surge in strength, his face showed a serious look suddenly as his ears picked a slight noise, his eyes shooting towards his teammates and noticing they had alert looks also, clearly having noticed the approaching guests.
Immediately the three of them in sync brought their breathing to the minimum and went into absolute silent mode, as gradually the faint noise from distance getting louder every second.
"Slow down Lee! We need to make a strategy or we'll become open targets for everyone like this."
The annoyed and angry feminine voice fell in their ears, Isagi's eyes narrowing as just from these words understanding who the coming guests were, a plan forming in his head and immediately making a gesture towards his teammates, a code that the three understood.