Kiko's Notebook!!
If you're reading this and you aren't T&I, start running~!
"Writing down what I've said about them!"
My current thoughts!
Small scribbles and what I made them to remind me of
My Team <3!
"Are they ready?" -Natsuo
"hn, needs more seasoning"
A bit underworked, but I have hope they will succeed.
Three stick figures, in a pyramid. The one on top is looking around.
They're not ready for this exam whatsoever. Not enough time left to train them to worthy standards. Best option is a crash course in strategy but will it stick? Unlikely.
They also don't need to 'win', though. Just survive, promote. Potential in that route, pursue it. Teach them to complete the mission. Good shinobi complete the mission. If they can do that without combat, better for them. The ideal strategy would be to prey on the weak and avoid the strong, making it dangerous enough to pursue that nobody bothers.
Itami
"Dork."
A genius (mentally, at least) blessed with bloodlines. Personality is a little rough, but ninja have made do with much, much worse. No, his worst trait is running right into foes when he has a combination of techniques practically made for evasive skirmish flight. With weight control and Typhoon, he should be able to crack flight as soon as he cares to, and with Swift release it would be at an exceptional speed - and he uses this to get closer for taijutsu.
Genins.
Chakra pool exercises, chakra control exercises, chakra shaping exercises (he already has a bombardment technique, a typhoon dragon!!! Just use a cheaper variant of the same jutsu!!!!!!), and he'll rule the skies. Until then, he'll be down here eating dirt.
A whirlwind, an indistinct figure in the middle of it.
Combining Typhoon with Remilia's poison mists is an obvious range magnifier. If only they had a sensor to aim it, but at middle range they may get about without one. Anything further waits on his development of Typhoon release to functional ninjutsu usage. Taijutsu synergy isn't a bad concept, with Swift and perhaps a Typhoon armor, but a more ninjutsu focused strategy would serve him better on the road to ninja than jumping in aggressively with a backliner's skillset.
Remilia
"...Nice work."
A talented little medic-nin with a specialty in poison mists. Polishing off her control took a while, but she is pretty sharp with her poisons now. Branching out towards more combat applicable jutsu would be ideal, but her goal is medical ninjutsu, so more control and precision is likely. I'll be looking forward to seeing what she can do.
A large variety of snakes, in many colors.
I had hopes she would take to genjutsu, as I would have a lot more to teach then, but it seems her specialty is more in the realm of ninjutsu. With her close relationship to snakes, converting some Inuzuka techniques to work with snakes may produce interesting results. At the very least, a snake's sense of smell should synergize, and provide a good sensor backup. Integrating Substance Production would increase her poison ability significantly, as would properly internalizing how to apply different dosages of the same poisons for different effects. If there was more time...
Kazen
Page left blank.
Complete the mission. Personal feelings have no place here.
You have experience with Uzumaki seals, even if you don't know them. That's his style. That's why you were picked. You can manage that much, can't you?
Everyone Else!
Lady Hokage
A small black rectangle.
Just say the word.
Natsuo
"Warm guy!"
I annoy him. He warms my ramen. Complete strategic victory.
A sketch of Natsuo riding a snake. Neither seems happy about it.
Poor matchup. Superior genjutsu, superior technique, two bloodlines. In that valley, there is no road to victory. Fang Wolf Fang beats swords and separates our gazes, but if it does not scatter the Scorch, instant painful death. The consequences of seeing his second eye release would be - what? Uncertain, but loss certain. Rain or pond? Water beats Scorch - but can I trust that? Only reliable option is cutting his eyes while he sleeps, but circumstances are rarely so in my favor.
It would be hard, still.
His Team
Natsuo has trained them well. Good for Konoha, but may be Team 4's downfall.
One has the Lord Second's technique. Fearsome, but is it earned? Even a tenth as fast is far too fast. Workaround for an omnipotent jutsu would be necessary to devise, but how?
The Second Hokage, with cool shades.
Pure arrogance, but I have ideas. Perhaps by isolating the seals from the underlying substance via apoptosis or simple cutting, the seal could be kept intact while removing it. Could be used to trap or force a misjump, but without access to more information the strategy is stillborn. Best to avoid contact and run instead. I should leave space for my genin to strategize though. Work out too much for them, and it's no longer a proper exam.
Medical-nin that uses poison haze. Winning strategy, let's steal it.
A snake, hidden in a bush.
Natsuo has told me she is extremely stealthy. Unfortunate in that she has developed this strategy before I could train Orochi on it, so now it would be planned around even if finished before the exams. Will need some other ace for our medic...
Sharingan user from Kumo. I thought we had all the Uchiha. Swords user, won't shut up about it. Like any sharingan user, should be more skilled than is reasonable.
Another reason for Itami to stay out of taijutsu range, but alas.
Osamu
"...Weirdo."
Strange man from Ame and his strange daughter. Don't know what to think. I have no ground to complain about loyalty, but if you shift once, could it not happen again? Still, the technology they bring is something. I wonder what a robot dog could do...
A man and a girl sitting above the city, looking down on it.
Thankfully a predictable madness. Noncombatant, tied down, compliant, and his activities are well recorded. As is sleeping hours, sleeping quarters. Still, clever and inventive, likely hiding techniques. Circumstances feel off. The most certain way would start with the daughter, the fastest way is claw to throat. Be wary and always watch for danger, but this one doesn't need to be overthought.
Unless that is his plan? Watch more closely. Cannot let anything escape.
His Team
Some eternal genin. Commendable spirit, lamentable initiative.
A big scribble
His hat smells of senjutsu. Strong, strong senjutsu. What the hell? Sage Mode has me risk death every time I use it, and then there's just a magic hat of congealed sagacity? The world is truly unfair. On the other hand - if the old bug bites it and nobody else figures it out in time, I'm claiming it myself. What sort of knowledge can a thing like that hold?
The creepy daughter smells of clay and metal. Not of person. Abnormal and worrying. Some sort of advanced clone technique? But from where?
A small featureless figure, brandishing a spear.
I've seen her sprout weaponry. Definitely not human, or at least one with a bloodline too strange to understand.
And an oni. Knowing temperament, unlikely to be happy with the selection.
May be the team's weakest link, not in strength but in personality. And yet still one my genin must avoid, for the blood favors her. Perhaps could be turned against her teammates - but none of mine could manage a trick like that. What a missed chance!
Kamiko Kirigakure
"..."
I do not like her. Stupid hair, stupid face, stupid voice, stupid chakra, stupid stealing my technique. Smells like a dried whorehouse.
A redheaded stick figure with stink lines coming off of it and a stupid look on it's doodled face.
Being uncivil in public ensures some distance and low expectations. Not a real threat on her own, but contains a Tailed Beast. Solution 1 - get Natsuo to do it. Solution 2 - hit fast and hit hard. Genjutsu would not work, any waste of chakra would alert a sensor, and Jinchuuriki do not go down easy, but letting them tap more strength - much worse. If the Six Tails is allowed to emerge... Well. Get Natsuo to do it.
Her Team
Do not know much. The bubbly one reeks of blood and does not have the feel of one that'd kill enough to smell like that, while the other two are striking in how not-striking they are. Strange team, but probably aren't unspeakably powerful and skilled. Hopefully.
The bandaged one has a familiar gaze. Can't remember where I've seen it before.
Ezaki
"Bandages... go the whole way?"
Before my time. Too crotchety for me, you oldster. Kind of gets it, though. That a good or bad thing?
A mummy, chasing unfortunate genin. Ink splattered over it, lightly.
Strong matchup. Fang Wolf Fang should work. Genjutsu should work. The lightning will be painful but manageable. The barriers would be trouble if he can set them up. His domain-
His domain technique is unfortunate. Maintain momentum, if it successfully wraps, dispel the Double-Head and use the open space it provides to Gate. All else considered, I woul Stay cautious, overconfidence leads only to hell. The advantage is mine, if it must be done exploit it rather than waste it.
Better it not be done at all.
His team
Jin is exceptional for a Hyuuga, will be a strong ninja soon.
A pair of moons.
The battle between him and the Sharingan user would be interesting. Nobody in Team 4 could face him head on. Avoid.
The monk has very strange techniques. Don't like them.
A bunch of strange letters, hastily copied.
Some sort of curse jutsu? Or some sort of... variable seal? Ominous either way. The bigger issue is the nature energy clinging to him. Absolutely to be avoided.
The third one is... Do the Uchiha really let their eyes wander so far? Does Natsuo know? Was it from somebody he knew? Strange times.
Tomoes in a pond.
If it's truly an evolved sharingan, even with the penalties for bearing foreign eyes, this may be the most powerful genin in the match. Another dangerously powerful team.
Tsugumi Shimogakure
"One more 'politely but firmly' and I'll shit a tailed beast, Tsu!"
I should apologize but I wont.
A handful of slurs in poorly drawn calligraphy.
Noncombatant, but genjutsu would not work, and knows too much. Should not be able to read this. If she can-hi? Forget everything, please, or I'll have to kill you. Would be an annoying and unfortunate fight but not risky.
Her team
The other fully foreign team. Brought a bioweapon to chunin exams. Also wood release. And a creepy girl who keeps looking at me. Don't like this team. Seem... capable of mass death and destruction, even as genin. Bad sign, I think, but I'm not paid to do that.
He's GHIDORABLE, get it? Get it? Someone needs to kill and sample him for toxins, poison style could leap ahead decades if it's as strong as it seems.
The Exam
What are they feeding the genin these days? Bloodlines and techniques of legend everywhere. I had Passing Fang and a lethal dose of soldier pills. What the hell, sensei?
Hn. Any die, their village is losing a well of potential. What a waste.
Maybe Lady Hokage will let me grab an eye if a holder loses their life? A sharinganin-dog...
Stupid idea.
Stop it.
Drawing of a dog with a bleeding Mangekyo Sharingan.
Can't tell who will pass. From first impressions - Jin, Nodao, any two of Team 1, and with great fortune, all three of mine.
Or none of mine, most likely.
Biggest threats - everyone?
Last Second Tactics Brainstorming
Will need to run Team 4 through team drills. Teamwork is the best option for bridging the gap in skills and techniques. Consider some of the following for team techniques.
Strategy A
Sealing + Poison Style => Poison tag minefield
Scatter with Typhoon release over a large area to create a dead zone
Also works with normal paper bombs - Typhoon feeds the Fire release in the bomb tags, as well
Requires preparation but is decently fast to deploy and magnifies jutsu power significantly
New Uzumaki slaughter method. You've outdone yourself now.
Strategy B
Flight + Sealing heavy objects =>makeshift bombardment jutsu
Release seals midair, accelerate/guide them with wind jutsu
No beyond flight, uses gravity for power instead
Mostly reliant on sealing ability, not much needed out of Itami
Interesting to consider, not likely to be viable against wary ninja, but from surprise it's deadly.
Strategy C
Itami flight + sealing => flight for entire team, reduces team profile
Seal Rem...
This isn't working.
I'll... leave anything else up to the kids.