The way hung open unlit, though the rest of the temple had been up until now unlit... somehow this opening and its darkness seemed ominous. Not taking any chances this time, Argies threw in his torch not willing to take one step in without knowing what is ahead. His torch light bouncing before rolling across the narrow corridor, making a wooden clang before coming to a stop. With the way lit they could all see the length of the corridor ahead, and at its end a circular stone door way blocking any access.

"Great, another corridor!" Tenten's words echoed as they reverberated within and off the open passage, coming back to them to cement the dreaded possibility of another trap room.

"Let me guess, this corridors walls close in too?" Argies irked the eventuality of them entering another close brush with death. "Although I don't suppose they would want to repeat the same technique twice. Being that we would expect it... or maybe because we expect it they decided to use it again? A double bluff... hmm" He seemed unsure but one thing was clear from his body language, he was not willing to be the first to enter that room.

"Hinata" Mura voiced, returning command to herself and casting off any doubt about their duty. "Tell me what your Byakugan eyes see?" The lizard tongued Jounin paused, waiting for Hinata to activate her Byakugan eyes, and then considered something else. "...and Hinata, this time I expressly order you to look down though the floor and walls and up through the ceiling as well. I wouldn't want to cancel the mission early because Argies over here Wets his pants." Or dies was left unsaid.

Argies stared glumly at their head of command and then conceded "Ok fine I deserve that much. Sorry for blaming you for my short-sightedness Hinata. It wasn't your fault that I decided to break orders and walk ahead into a spike trap, but please this time don't just look into the room ahead. Look through it."

"Right!" Hinata agreed, though she did describe the feeling as nails on a chalk board... she would suffer that for her friends. It wasn't long before Hinata analysed "This room is strange..."

"You've got that right" Tenten interjected, throwing off a kunai just on the off chance that it might set off a trap. It didn't work, much to her off put disappointment.

"It doesn't have any mechanical traps, not at all, no spikes and no moving walls. However hnn..." They paused in trepidation for her response "...this time the walls themselves pulse with an odd purple glow. Dark chakra"

"What? The, Shippuden!" Argies raised his hands, signalling alarm bells to Hinata's conclusion. "Who in ninja chopsticks made this place! Dark chakra, what does that even mean?! No way this is a normal kami loving temple, these people must have been into something heavily evil." Directing his concerns at their leader, he argued for more reason in their task. "Mura please tell me you know what this place is guarding, else this is just a fools mission. The further we travel in the deeper into the web we go, next thing you know we are going to be in the centre with the beast. Whatever they are protecting must be heavily defended, you can bet money on that!" He slammed his hands together to conclude his point, the single clap echoing back to and from the opening that still no one dared venture in.

"Calm yourself!" Mura shot Argies a scowl "You're making too much noise." She whispered. "Whatever this dark chakra is, I can hear it humming." They all quieted down, steading their breath and leaning in so that they might here it too. "It almost sounds like it is whispering to me... no chanting" Argies, Hinata and Tenten all gulped in unison, a disembodied hum with a voice was never good. "I believe I know what this room is..."

Mura said nothing more and unable to wait any longer Hinata was the first to ask. "What?" Her voice low, as if she was afraid she might frighten the darkness or awake the room into attack.

"Song style jutsu" The hearing aid Jounin uttered her words without any hand signs because it was not a jutsu she was casting but an ability she was naming. "I've heard that song style techniques leave an imprint on the place where they are repeated... chanted" Mura righted herself, removing the kink from her back and adjusted her hearing aid back into normal human hearing capacity. "The singer's song sung so often that the walls themselves repeat the chime of their spell. Like a song getting stuck in your head, only this song gets imprints into whatever is around... and I have no idea what we can do about it." She pulled her map out again, and much to everyone's disbelief, she started walking back. Heading out the temple.

"...But wait!" Tenten called. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"Ugh..." Argies gapped. "I want to leave more than anyone but... not like this" He reached out a hand considering catching hold of Mura and pulling her back, but then he reconsidered. "I mean like what does a song jutsu do? Is it an effect on a person or the place? If we can work out that we can report back something to the Hokage instead of returning with absolutely nothing."

Mura turned, and tilted her head to one side considering. "We have already unlocked more doors than any other ninja who has come this way, and I've done this enough to know when to stop." Her forked tongue flicked out. "Besides, I can smell fear when I taste it, and your fear Argies is quite delicious" She smirked.

"Hnn" Hinata squeaked, knowing full well that Argies would react. Mura merely kept on walking, unconcerned her back turned, there was nothing Argies could do in his retaliation that would phase her. Or maybe that is just what she wanted, to be phased or for him to be frazzled?

Argies felt confused and affronted, not knowing what to say he stammered before stomping his foot in defiance. "No, that is just unacceptable! You can't call me a coward to my face and then expect me to turn tail and run! You know what, you can back out of this mission but I cannot... because all I'm ever going to do is walk forward." With his words still in the air, chiming off the walls along with the dark song, Argies stepped into the room everyone else avoided.

...

With my gentle breeze activated, I continued my brash decision. I might be a fool to be goaded so easily into falling into a trap, but I'm not about to lose my head for it... or am I?

Stepping a foot ahead it felt as if gravity had increased, and with my next foot step, it happened again. I gulped down my spit and waited, resting my hands on my knees. 'Should I go forward or back?' I wanted with all my might to go forward, I didn't want to go back on my word, but logic told me I would surly die if I did. Instead I contemplated, 'if Tenten's kunai could make it, why can't I?' I turned my head around, facing them over my shoulder, my neck stiff and my actions slow.

"The area seems to be under some kind of gravity field" My voice sounded uncharacteristically slow, as if I was suffering from depression and I had to consider that my words were weighted too.

"We will have to use... our heads to get around this obstacle" I feel as if the condensed volume of the air is making my speech slow to the point of sounding unintellectual, though that is the least of my worries. Drawing in a breath, I realise the strain is felt their too, the air is getting thick or at least the effort of taking it in is hindering my ability to breathe.

Why haven't the others replied yet, I looked at them, turning from my shoulders this time to gain a fuller view. Grated and slow, it is as if my body is gradually turning into rubber and my flexibility becoming sluggish and aged.

"Argies get out of there!" I heard Hinata's voice as fluid as if I had returned to a normal reality where the airs weren't bent with time and gravity. Catching sight of her mouth told me whatever is affecting me is doing more than just slowing me down. Hinata's words were disjointed from her speech, the sound of her voice and the motion of her mouth are not inline. There is a time difference between what she said and when she said it, and now I have that bit of information to solve my problem before time runs out.

The walls around me started to sparkle the purple colour that only Hinata could see before. I took that as my alarm clock, once the walls reach bright purple I'll know my time is up.

What can I do? My Gentle breeze is already activated and I know stepping forward only makes it worse. My only other ability is my Blood mist... but I'm not the only one here. What about their abilities, they are only two steps behind me. What can they do that will help?

No wait, first I have to focus on the problem. What exactly is it, time and gravity. Ok now I need to solve that. What can revert my time and gravity back to normal?

Could I even make it back if I took those last two steps out?

Ok negativity, you've have got to start thinking positively.

When Tenten threw in a Kunai nothing happened to it, when I threw in my flame nothing happened to it, when I walked in... this happened. What difference is in me that isn't in them? It's not the floor, my torch rolled on the floor without restriction, Hinata already said it is the walls and I can see them pulsing brighter now. The fire would set off any heat sensor seals, and motion is already excluded. Chakra, life? Maybe those are the only two factors that are in me and not them, but before I can think of testing this theory. How do I extinguish my life or chakra in order to bluff the trap into thinking me dead... without being dead.

"Blood mist jutsu!" I summoned up my blood, casting it forward in a gentle stream of mist and plasma. The mist ventured forward through the air, I could see the fire light reflect off it in an orange glow, then it collapsed. It reacts to both life and chakra.

Now to test out chakra alone. "Gentle breeze" I commanded myself. Though I had practiced the gentle breeze so I could use it without command, to create a tendril of it while it circulated my body as a protective shield is a vastly different experience.

The tendril of chakra in the form of mist ghosted forward and then like a swarm of bees it dispersed when gravity grew too great.

Again I tested blood, this time I cut my finger and like flinging a ball of snot I tossed it ahead. Nothing... it didn't fall at any greater velocity than that of normal gravity. Life isn't the trigger to this trap, chakra is... but how do I stop that?

"...It means" I called back to them. "That this trap was designed only to let normal, very low to none existent levelled chakra capacity citizens through" ... but what am I supposed to do. I left unsaid.

I'm not going to stand here and just let myself die. Instead I sat down. Much better. The strain from the gravity increase was beginning to hurt my bad, and I can't concentrate well focusing on pain.

Ok now, "*Wooo*" I let out a shaky breath. Time to reassess all I know about chakra. Chakra is produced by the body, and it can be condensed inside the body and expanded outside the body. According to the elements of five, chakra is produced by the spleen and is generated through movement. That was what Kosuke told me and it makes sense, the trap responded to every step forward I made... like wise to the progress of my chakra tendril.

Every person has a certain limit to the rate at which their bodies produces chakra, according to their conditioning and genetics. I know for a fact that some techniques use up more chakra than the body produces, resulting in death over a duration of use. That is what most forbidden techniques are after all, too chakra costly to be cast, basically too dangerous to use unless you are Naruto.

Now I can't very well use a forbidden technique I don't know, besides it killing me, but maybe I could improvise. If I balance the amount of chakra I produce and the amount expended... then I might just survive long enough to make it to the other side.

"Huh, I think I've got a plan" I cheered out loud. During my tournament with Neji, I feared that if I used my gentle breeze for too long I wouldn't have enough chakra to beat Neji with it... Well. I wonder now if I can push my gentle breeze into using up far more chakra than it requires.

Only one way to find out "Gentle Breeze" I formed my hands into the confrontation seal, a seal most use to activate their chakra and funny enough the same seal used to activate the spleen. Seals are so simple when you think about it, how can they make Fuuinjutsu forbidden when it is so obvious.

...

Exhaling a breath Argies cooed out a vapored mist, his gentle breeze. His jutsu pushed far beyond its normal consumption, every cell in his body giving out chakra at an alarming rate. Once his reserves were spent, he stood up and declared "Walls, let me pass, for you see. I have no chakra!" With his every word huffs of smoke left his breath, and no not steaming up but descending to curtain the floor, his chakra produced a fog that blew all around him. Until a wind was created from all the chakra dispersed by the spell of the song chanted, and Argies took a step forward unimpeded.

"Hey Argies are you alright?" Tenten blinked with her question still hung from her mouth. Argies' turned head looked so ghostly that a chill ran down her spine.

Mist poured out of his eyes, his nose and mouth as he spoke. "I'm fine, I just figured what song they were singing. Now let's see if I can deactivate this room somehow" Walking over to the far end, he could hear them whisper bewilderment to his understanding of the song trap. He found the carving of a hand print on the wall next to the stone door, opposite the opening. Placing his hand in the mould he was forced to released his confrontation hand seal. For a moment he felt dread thinking that at this distance the spell might be strongest, but luckily the gravity only slowly accumulated once it recognised his presence once more. The circular print pressed in at the vigour of his touch and with the rotation of his hand the walls stopped glowing.

"I think it is safe now, you can come in."

Within the blink of an eye, Mura stood behind him. "Do you understand you broke a direct order to abort this mission?" She stood, her hand held ready to confront Argies with the knuckle side of her open palm.

"I..." Argies bowed, thinking it best to continue his apology from a place of reverence. "I am deeply sorry Mura, but I could not follow those orders. 'A ninja must complete the mission, accepted onto them, no matter what'" He quoted, keeping his malevolent selecting of that particular quote to himself.

"HA!" Mura voiced with a sly smirk. "Do you believe I made Jounin without reading the same books you did? That passage follows on to say that unless the parameters of a mission are unchanged, a senior advisor can decide if it is worth continuing the mission or reporting back for further orders. I chose to report back!" her words boomed and resounded off the room's narrow corridor, a trickle of sweat began to crease down his head in unease to the blow he expected next.

Still with his head bowed, Argies did his best to hid the smile in his words. "Forgive me, I am only a Chunin and have yet to read that particular passage... maybe one day when I reach Jounin, when I have been granted the opportunity of ascending to your rank Mura Mizuchi. Will I endeavour to read that rule." Soon as his words were done, he found his face on the floor, but it was Tenten whom supplied his downfall.

"Stop being so Cheeky, Knuckle head" She walked past him to examine the artwork on the circular stone slate blocking their way.

Mura offered Argies a hand "Get up, we still have more of the Temple ahead... and it looks like I will need your help with these two" Her hand, a show of mercy and in a way respect.

Smiling up at her hand Argies took it. "Thank you, I'm glad that worked out... I was beginning to have my doubts on about my second step as leader." He jested, considering it only took two steps before it all went wrong "I'm glad I don't have to do it alone." He's not ready to lead alone, not yet.

"Ok...." Tenten dragged out her word-part-sigh, bringing the teams attention to the stone slat in front of them "Now look at all this junk"

"Hnn" Hinata began. "It seems to be a warning, if the bodies are any indication hnn..." She pointed at the bodies piled up in the stone images chiselled in the rock. Reading off the images like a string of scenes, Hinata translated with confidence. "After a great battle, the enemy and the leader of the attacking force finally met in the middle of the battle field." Her fingers ghosted over the three panels showing just that, a battle between red and blue painted stone, a sudden meeting of two prominent figures, many warriors dead. "Though the enemy was defeated, their armies scattered, their leader the great foe would not give up." Hinata added a name to the enemy leader, 'The great foe', out of convenience and with the natural talent of a good story teller. "She fought and killed the attacking forces' leader and then turned her magic staff on all her enemies." The panel showed the looks of horror on the faces of the attacking forces, and the power wielded in the hands of 'the Great Foe' "However, so much power was expended that soon the staff grew a power of its own and turned on 'The Great Foe' consuming her too" It showed the twisted form of the great foe as she was sucked into the purple staff. "Here within is where she lies" Hinata didn't need to translate this last passage because it was clearly written, marking the last panel which gave an image of the door they were in front of.

Tenten tilted her head in her hands, looking at Hinata with admiration and surprise. "How do you know what it means?"

Hinata looked down and tapped her fingers together. "I can't be sure that is what it means but... Our clan has secret glyphs too. They teach about old legendary Byakugan users who used their far sight to kill targets tens of kilometres away. I used to read them as a child like a story book, though the story never says who is good or who is bad, we used to pick sides." She looked up at Argies and blushed, he was staring at her with his half smile.

Picking up his discarded torch, still burning though the side that faced the ground had long since been extinguished, Argies smiled up at Hinata "Secret hey? Why don't Byakugan users use that technique today?" Argies broadened his smile, finding all he was learning from her very intriguing.

"It is thought of as dishonourable within the clan today, to kill another ninja without them seeing your face. Over the years our clan jutsu shifted from focusing on long ranged attacks, to defence and short ranged offence. From the glyph legends it is thought the reason behind this change is because so many high level Hyuuga ninja were being killed by many low level Hyuuga using the same technique. Without knowing your enemy is there, there is no way to defend yourself"

"Hmm I see." Argies stated very matter of fact "Technique exchanged for security and self-preservation. From my understanding, presently your clan doesn't have any qualm against leaving doors open to bathrooms... because other family members can see in regardless if the door is shut or not."

Again her cheeks turned red as roses, but this time she was quick to turn attention back to the mission and not her brightly coloured face "If my depiction is true... it means that whatever is behind this door is heavily feared and guarded"

"You see!" Argies eyes popped out of his head, along with a very accusing finger which found itself pointed at everyone. "What did I tell you, whatever is behind that door is ten times deadlier than this whole ninja chopsticks temple!"

Mura arched an eye brow, placing a hand on his shoulder with a strongly threatening vibe etched into her chakra "I thought you had risen above those piss stained emotions, was I wrong?"

"Ergh, no I suppose." Argies looked to her hand at then across the length of her arm at her, at them. "I realise now what you did... I guess I was acting a little pedantic. Ok let's push this door aside and see what is really inside"

With Argies torch dropped to the floor, Mura's chakra flare pocketed to her waist and extinguished, they pushed the stone slat through. Pivoting the rock rather than rolling it, for it had nowhere to go but through the way it blocked. Instantly, as the seal of the opening was cleared, wind gushed into the unsealed room. The stone slat was compelled open by the rushing air forcing its way ahead and then flowing back out with a foul stench. All remaining lit torches were blown out and before any more flames could be ignited to return light... they heard the mechanical click of a trap ahead triggered.

...

In complete darkness I heard several strings pulled back. Argies, Mura and Tenten were all blind in the dark, but with my Doujutsu(Eye technique) I could see through the night. I can see the chakra iron crossbows in the wall in front of us and there is so little time to react!

I jumped in front of our Captain, and Argies our co-captain, and with my kunai in hand I pondered. What would Naruto do? I know at any second the cross bows are going to fire, it is just a matter time. I had less than a second in order to react. That was what they taught us in the academy, what Kurenai sensei taught me, less than a second. Now all their faith in me is going to show. Everyone is relying on me, I'm the only one who can do this!

I've got to try... For Argies so that he doesn't get caught in another trap again, for captain Mura so she doesn't have to shout at any one, for Tenten so I don't have to ask her for any favours that put her life at risk. I will stop these traps from hurting my team.

With all nine kunai in my hands, it began "Ha!" I threw my first kunai as the bolt that fired, but when my kunai hit it the arrow splintered into 4 new bolts! I didn't let that me phase me and struck the next bolt, it split into ten bolts. The third, forty. The fourth, fifty. The fifth, sixty. The sixth, seventy. The seventh, eighty. It is a nightmare but I'm not going to let them down. The ninth bolt and my last kunai! Now I have no more kunai! Oh no, the tenth!

...

Argies heard the bolts coming but he knew there was nowhere to hide. The slat door pivoted in leaving nothing for them to dive behind. He looked to where he knew Tenten was, where he thought Hinata was. What could he do? He reached for Tenten, for Hinata, and he pulled them in. Shoving them behind himself, he opened his arms out wide expecting the worst...

...And a hundred arrows pierced is flesh.

...

Tenten heard the click of the cross bows and instantly she knew what it was. Her seal summons! The scroll wielding Konoichi knew that was their only hope! Racking her hair, her consciousness running through her mind for a solution, She wished she had developed more defensive techniques. Click, tighten, pull, release! The air filled with the sound of arrows flying!

"Sealing art; Giant Tessen Iron War Fans!" She opened the metal fans, known well for deflecting small darts... she only hoped they might protect them at least a little... But to no effect

... Her hand rolled out limp across the floor, a fan falling free from numb fingertips, her body dead.

...

Mura could feel the spark of chakra, the trap ahead priming itself. Her strings would provide little in the way of defence for the Genin in her charge. She wasn't really adapt at defending students, why did the Hokage think it a good idea to assign her this mission? Sure Mura had been the leading Jounin assigned to dealing with the temple, she had been in alone to the temple more times than anyone else... but alone was the preferable word. Although she had a hand in the selection of her current team, she didn't expect to be leading the mission with a bunch of babies.

Regardless of how she got there, babysitting was where she was now and she would not fail her hatchlings.

"Ninja art; Lightning shadow clone release!" Like a mirror trick the fork tongued Lizard ninja Duplicated herself into four Lightning style ninja copies, the copies absorbing the arrows before dispersing... but was it enough?

NO... Mura with her final ounce of chakra was cut down by a volley of innumerable arrows that came from nowhere.

...

Exhausted for the few short seconds that amounted for so much action, a body momentarily over exerted, Hinata panted "Kai... Release!" The lavender eyed Konoichi fell back, collapsing to recline on the stair way leading down to their next room foreboding entry.

"What just happened?" It was the voice of Argies as he picked himself off of the floor, dazed and confused.

"I thought my fans failed?" Tenten searched around in the still dark room, not understanding where her metal fans had suddenly gone.

"Why can't I feel any pain" Mura whispered numbly, examining her body for wounds that weren't there.

"Genjutsu darts" Hinata's voice sounded less than the murmur it usually was, fatigue finding its way to expand on her meek voice.

"Hinata?" Tenten flashed to life a torch to return light to their scene once again. The orange glow scattered around to their confusion and disorientation. 'Where was I, what happened, didn't we just die... are we all ok?' No one quite could understand it except for the ringing of Genjutsu in their heads.

"Hinata did you say that was a genjutsu?" Argies walked over to her, his footsteps falling lightly to the floor as if he expected at any second the world around him might shatter and he would wake up dead. "That was unlike any genjutsu I have experienced, I thought they taught us in the academy that you can't die in a genjutsu... well now maybe that wasn't what they meant?" He fumbled with his thoughts, whether the meaning of the lesson were dying in a genjutsu spell or the spell itself killing? Reaching Hinata he kneeled down propping her up, his eyes shot open. "Hinata!"

"What, what is it this time Argies" Mura walked over, her voice and the stride of her body conveying both irritation and unease. Seeing Hinata her slit eyes narrowed even further. "Are any of you skilled in medical ninjutsu?" Mura's words sounded detached, she arched her head up and looked around. "It is a long way back to the village, she might not make it."

"What?" Tenten rushed over without taking a moment to pause.... "Open her jacket" Hinata protested with a wince. Tenten took in Argies presents and reassessed her order. "Argies, go sit over there and no peeking. Mura an I have this handled"

Gulping Argies walked away, He knew nothing about medical ninjutsu... let alone the female body. He only hoped that Hinata was alright and wondered why she wasn't affected by the Genjutsu, yet was the only one to get injured.

Examining Hinata's wound, her jacket stripped. "Good thing you wear such a thick jacket" Tenten remarked, never really understanding why the small girl insulated herself so well from the world. "Now let's have a look here, girl that is unsightly" Argies could only listen on with burning ears, and a sombre scarlet face. "Don't worry Hinata it looks like your under skin chainmail did its work... now let's just pop this busybody off and we'll see if we can remove the point." Argies could swear Tenten was using code words just to keep him guessing and his face as hot as a frying pan.

Unsealing a set of medical implements, Tenten cut through the stave of the arrow and focused her attention on the iron tip. It was a good thing Hinata was wearing an under skin of chainmail, as most ninja did, because the arrow head had caught itself in the net of metal links. The chainmail serving two purposes for ninja, personal protection as well as a barrier sweat can pass through and a breeze can enter. With the stave cut from the arrow tip, it didn't take much wiggling before Tenten was able to remove the cutting edge of the arrow head. Hinata was quickly bandaged up, her busybody put back on and her chainmail along with the rest of her outfit securely reequipped.

...

"It's alright Argies, you can turn around" Hinata's voice found its way behind me, I took that it meant she was up and well again but just to be secure.

"Are you sure?" I asked... buying myself some time to hush the heat in my face away.

Tenten's voice echoed from a distance. "Well it is either that or you can carry on staring at the wall whispering sweet nothing to it."

"Ok right, back to the mission." I turned around and instantly blushed locking on to Hinata's eyes. Obviously pretending I didn't over hear Tenten's colourful language wasn't going to cut it. Awkwardly I bent down to the sight of Hinata, I held my mouth open even before I had anything to say. "Ergh, look at these things... darts I mean." Tenten and Mura merely rolled their eyes on my return up, while Hinata came closer to see exactly what was so important about these darts.

Realising I hadn't said it, I looked to Hinata while she was quite close within my grasp "I'm glad you are alright." I whispered.

Hinata blushed, averting her eyes to the dart in my hand. "These are the only darts that shot out of this trap, it never tried resetting itself like all the others. Meaning that this trap was set at a later time, before the expanse and marvel that is the rest of this temple." Catching my eyes in her gap, she also said it. "Thank you Argies for your concern, I am alright now." Likewise she whispered, keeping our concerns on point and our mission at the front of our focus.

Tenten walked over with her hand pointed back to the wall that fired the darts. "You mean to tell me that these traps are older than the rest of the temple, why haven't they degraded then?"

It was a reasonable question but instead of asking anyone else I speculated "Chakra maybe? The spike trap I stepped on was chakra preserved, but was that because the temple gave it power or something else?"

Hinata cleared her voice offering her own speculation "I suspect that these darts have never been set off before, we were the first they tried to kill"

"That's good" Mura smirked, much to our dismay. As a trio we stared back at her in disbelief, 'That's good?' I heard Tenten mouth much to my own outrage. How was almost dying, good? The physiological experience of being filled with arrows alone, was harrowing. If it wasn't for Hinata's wounds playing a trick of concern and embarrassment on us all, I don't think we would have recovered as easily.

Relighting her chakra flare and tying back her amber hair, Mura clarified. "These darts are new, or rather very old but we are the first to ever experience them. Meaning that no one , not even temple raiders, have ever been this far. Suggesting whatever is inside, is still there"

"That is what I'm afraid of..." I spoke out loud. "Call me afraid all you like, but a stick that can absorb souls or a dead enemy powerful enough to be feared to this extent... most certainly can't be good. Not for anyone" Before Mura turned to begin the mission anew without my meddling in the confidence of our troop, I added. "You have got to consider that maybe these traps aren't to keep us out, but to keep something in."

Hinata looked at me, clearly catching my drift with a little anticipation of the worst, while Tenten merely shrugged walking past. "Meh, you said it yourself Argies. Ninja have got to complete the missions assigned to them... or whatever" She joint Mura ready to descend down the stair case. "It isn't really your choice to make, so instead of complaining, face it." Looking up to Mura she sympathised "I'm glad you are leading because I can't stand indecisive people."

Hinata to the rescue "That is unfair Tenten. Argies' questions and examinations have led to much of this temple being unlocked."

I stepped forward but before I could say a word Tenten shot me a remark I couldn't help take a little seriously "We've all contributed but so far I haven't seen any of your trap expertise"

...

Stuck between their angry glares Argies couldn't help feel a little intimidation squelch his hurt into humour. "Hey I contributed!" he yelled with light hearted words. "If I didn't step into all of those traps how else would you know they were there." his face plastered with a wide grin

"Fine." The sealing misters folded her arms and looked away in mocked offence. "We each have our unique methods of doing things, some not as smart as others."

"Hey!" Argies responded to the attack one more time before settling himself and for better or worse trying to calm the air by leaving it there.

Hinata suddenly considered something, "A Genjutsu was used, doesn't that mean that there is a ninja here?"

Argies agreed "That's right" Perking up his senses and stiffening his body to be on guard. "But I wouldn't be surprised if these walls can cast genjutsu too"

"Or maybe the darts can" Mura says throwing a dart gingerly to Tenten who was quick to catch it one handed while holding her torch. "Look in the centre of the dart, does that look like a seal to you?"

Tenten rolled the dart in her hand until she found the seal, her eyebrows lowered into a curious scowl. "I thought Lady Tsunada told you there was nothing valuable here." She pocketed the dart. "If we could mass produce these I wouldn't mind using them in my seals, darts that paralyse victims even before they hit would sell at high price."

Argies brushed at his black hair, his earlier question popping up in his mind once more. "How were you able to see through the Genjutsu Hinata?"

"Hnn, my Byakugan makes me immune to genjutsu." Suddenly the centre of attention she felt herself slip into her awkward shy self once again "I can still see what the enemy wants me to see but I can also tell that it isn't true." Picking up her thrown about Kunai she added. "When I deflected the projectiles with my kunai the arrows split, which was why everyone saw hundreds of Arrows. Making it hard for a normal ninja to tell apart the real dart from the false."

Cracking his wrist Argies looked away from Hinata, and almost saying it to himself he voice. "Oh is that why we are alive? I thought all the darts just missed" Argies cheeks held tight in wit, he could not hide the smile making its way across his face. "Thank you Hinata... I guess you saved us this time around"

...

Down the stairs and into the low ceiling room we went. This section of the Temple, if we are even in the temple, was definitely built at a different much older time. Unlike the grand high ceilings of the other rooms, this place had a more realistic manageable room size. Not so crowded that a group of twenty couldn't fit, and not so elaborate that it would take a ladder to wash the earthy stone walls. It's maybe double the length of the average person in height and substantial in every other aspect. Strangely I find the close walls comforting, unlike the vast darkness we experienced everywhere else.

With light touching all four walls, we could see exactly what was in the single room. "Another door" only this time there was the statue of a man kneeled down with his hand pressing on it. "Judging from the size of this guy... wow really realistic too... these must be very old statues in deed"

"Like the rest of this place wasn't a big give away" Tenten scoffed, I didn't let it bother me this time... that was just the way she was. I guess she doesn't mean anything offensive by it? Whatever. The statue is just like the other statues we had seen earlier. Only this statue has legs instead of an rolling orb, and armour like the others but no weapon. I feel that it has some significant meaning in its eyes and by the mere presence it holds in the room. Why is its hand pressed on the door, it looks like it is pushing it shut, baring the way for something in from coming out?

"Hey look at this" I ran ahead to what I could see. "It looks like it might be a seal" Under the hand, of the statue, pressed against the door was the familiar etchings of a seal. I'm not about to let anyone else know I knew it is exactly just that, but why not let them see it for themselves first.

Tenten's eyes widened before she could unseal a quick pencil and page of paper... I thought it a little excessive to seal paper away but then realised I had none. Well I guess on a mission you wouldn't really think of these things but still.

Tenten's words brought me out of my discontent, I need to bring paper next time. "Oh wow I have never seen a seal like this before, too bad the hand is covering most of it up. Hmm What is this?" She held the tip of her pencil at a particular circle of two different constituents, bridging together various container seals around it. "What! This is an odd numbered seal overlaying and even numbered seal! I thought that was impossible, or at the very least very bad mojo"

"Bad mojo? How is that?" Hinata came in for a closer inspection herself, though I'm sure she couldn't really understand much besides the apparent random string of lines and circles. To anyone else but a sealing user, or like myself someone studying seals, it just looked like a schematic of patterns and shapes.

When Tenten remained silent, sketching down the little that was shown, I asked again for Hinata's sake. "Bad mojo? How so?" Using it as the perfect opportunity to learn from the sealing Konoichi myself.

Still Tenten said nothing until Mura spoke "Come on, we have got to go back." Tenten Held up her head like a frightened gazelle "This wasn't part of our mission detail, we aren't qualified to handle seals of... any nature" Mura added, picking out the mention of bad mojo as a defiant point which we couldn't pass.

Tenten looked at Mura's turned back, searching for any excuse I'm sure of it. "We can't go back without at least looking at the seal first, we might be able to make a sketch. No point in bringing a seal expert here only for them to tell us it isn't a sealing class they knows."

"Seal class" I added sceptically, but realising I wanted to know about this seal too I adjusted my glare. "Uhm, I believe I've heard about that. When I was send to the seals department after a scroll retrieval mission." I left Kabuto or rather false Kabuto out of it. "It wouldn't be very attentive of us to leave here without something for the next team to start with. I mean it would be pretty stupid for a team to make it all the way here, risk their lives again like we risked ours, only for the sealing team member to say they have no idea what this seal is."

"What do you propose you do?" Mura gave in but her scowl made it very evident she wasn't buying my argument.

"It doesn't look like this statue is attached to anything, I'm sure we could push it aside so that Tenten can get the full sketch."

...

Unsealing a large poll, Tenten, Hinata, Mura and Argies all pulled on the heavy stone carved statue. With a Lever supplied by Tenten, and the fulcrum a rather large boulder, they struggled with chakra enhanced strength to push the carved rock from the surface of the seal door. Their hands all rung white with the effort they supplied in pressing in the lever on one end with the other end wedged between them and the hand baring their way.

"It-s... moving" Argies tensed his breath on saying.

They were all holding in their breath, not allowing for any waver over the force they supplied, and soon they could hear the slow scraping escape the statue made from the wall as it was shifted away.

"Finally!" Tenten sighed in relief. "I thought it would never budge."

As if the statue could hear her words, the inanimate stone came to life! "Who dares disturb the sanctity of this place!" The words boomed from its mouth, loose earth fell from the ceiling as the ground around them shook with the impact of the guardians voice. Its palms turning into fists, the rigid stone stood to its full height, the head of the man of stone scraping away at the ceiling as it looked down on them in towering might.

Every eye, every brow, every heartbeat, ever foot step, leapt back. Widening the gap between them and the stone being they now faced. Before anything could be said in their astonishment, the seal marking the wall glowed yellow and with this light it vanquished the dark grain of the rock around it with vision of a world beyond.

"S-say something Mura" Argies stammered stupefied by the presence of both otherworldly Fuuinjutsu and might.

Their squad captain stepped forward. "In which Nation do your loyalties lie?" As a ninja she pressed for answers before she could give her reply. No one had yet determined the survivability of their party if they response were to be demeaned incorrect.

The Stone guardian kneeled down inspecting The yellow haired Jounin, the guardian did not looked pleased . The head of the carved man of rock near the size of Mura's whole torso, now opened the gap of its mouth saying. "Nation?" It voice unimpressed. "I ask again, if the meat bag wishes to live. Who are you!"

Tenten strained her voice, whispering. "Clan name... Clan names!" Hoping that the sentinel would know them by clan, as name would be meaningless to a thousand year old being.

"I am Mura of the Mizuchi Lizard clan" Arching her arm back she listed the clan names Available to her. "Hinata of the Hyuuga Byakugan eye clan." She stopped there as Tenten was an orphan and little to nothing was known of Argies.

"And who are they?" Stone eyes grinded in their sockets to look on Tenten and Argies, its eyes flashing with an ambient blue light. "I recognise you" A stone finger unfolded itself to point at none other than Tenten, the only ninja in their group without a clan... officially or not.

"Me?" Tenten pressed her hands against herself. "But I don't belong to any clan"

"Na-de-shiko" The Sentient rock uttered the words as if they were a incantation.

"Wait a second I know that name" Argies said, though he was puzzled as to where he had heard it.

"You!" Again the attention of the talking stone was caught. "..." But it's words fell silent as if it were about to say what it chose instead to hold back. "Tell us why you are here"

"Us?" Mura questioned and they all began to feel a little more threatened to the possibility of more stone foes. "We were assigned a mission to decommission this temple. Now I have a question for you"

Straightening to stand in full once again the Stone man stood waiting. "What, is your question" Again they felt the boom of its voice as if it were threatening them to dare to ask anything.

"Who made you?" Mura's words fell from her mouth as if time were holding still, awaiting the response of the sentinel of stone.

"I do not know." Frowning that its answer bothered it and seeing that it was not sufficient to please the meat bags, the wall of stone said instead. "I am Nurikabe, I was created to block your path"

Stepping forward Argies clicked his fingers catching on to the name resounding in his mind. "Wait a minute, I know that name too. Nurikabe is the name of a yokai, is that right?"

"I cannot say, all that I know is what I have said. I was designed to block your path. You have your answer and I have no further questions." Folding its arms the Stone being stepped in front of the portal leading to another world and most probably the chamber they were assigned to unlock.

With the creature now blocking their path, and with a somewhat calm returned, the group consulted each other as to what was to happen next.

Tenten looked across at Mura "Well, should we try and get past him or call for reinforcements?"

Mura looked down at the ground in though. "There is no telling what it meant by us, there may be more of these 'things'" Her tongue flicked out licking the air in search of any sign that there was danger, but how to you taste the presence of stone?

"That is right" Hinata gulped. "When we first entered the temple we passed many stone statues just like this one... only they had sharp weapons"

"If I'm right, leaving isn't even a choice." Argies cracked his left wrist uneasy. "Nurikabe block the path of travellers going forward and back, we won't be able to make it out of here without... getting past him" Destroying was the word they all understood from his pause, but to say that out loud might end with their world going splat.

"Great..." Tenten scratched at her arm, stretching it as she did, itching to unseal destruction. "I'm getting rather tired of this whole maze, can't we just start blowing things up? You said it yourself Argies, this walls are pretty strong. I'm sure a few explosions would be alright"

"Earlier" Mura paused, listening for any movement from the sentinel. "... when it spoke a lot of dirt fell from the ceiling. This structure was made before, before the quality of work the temple above was constructed"

"Meaning it will collapse?" Hinata looked up and around. "Isn't there another way...Maybe we could ask it to move politely"

"Worth a shot" Tenten didn't waste any time. "Hey stone dude. Would you be willing to move out of the way for us?"

"No. blocking your path is my purpose"

"What if we were the ones who made you?" Argies took the challenge as a riddle only he could solve. "Would you move out of the way then?"

"No. The others are coming to decide your fate... you are not welcome here"

"What?" Hinata faced the exit, her fingers forming hand signs and her eyes searching "Byakugan! Their coming, the statues from before, we have about twenty minutes... no ten"

...

Unstrapping a scroll from her rank jacket, Mura stated the obvious. "We weren't commissioned to face combat. I don't have a full grounding of your abilities so I'll ask you. Are you ready to fight stone?"

Tenten nodded preparing her scrolls as well. "I'm ready when you are"

Flaring up her gentle fist style Hinata looked determined "I've cracked rock before"

It came turn for my confirmation... "Without being able to use paper bombs, and with what little effect kunai would make, my blood mist ability cannot harm stone." That much was proven in my sensei test, without the inclusion of a lot of time and water I can't do much to a boulder.

"Right, looks like you will sit this one out" The string style ninja bit her thumb and struck her hand to the ground. "Summoning jutsu, Fire salamander!" Before turning to face the oncoming attack she shot me a cutting remark "You always did smell like coward"

What was I supposed to do, what am I supposed to do. I know for a fact that none of my abilities will be of any use. I could unseal my reel of wire, kunai and paper bombs, all of which would be ineffective or too dangerous to use. I could consecutively press my hands against the statues and heat them and then run and throw a bucket of water on them until they crack from tempering... yeah no. What a pack of wolves Mura Mizuchi, there is nothing I can do but that doesn't make me a coward.

"Hey Nurikabe, let's talk." Given that the stone Yokai was still a threat, he would be my challenge. "You say you were created with the purpose of blocking our path, but surely you aren't supposed to block the path of everyone who travels this way?"

Shifting its head to look down on me the Stone man obliged begrudgingly "'Travels this way', this is our sacred temple, it is not the mid-way point between two places. For thousands of years people have come to pay homage to the one who has fallen, buried within"

"Time has passed and all who once visited this temple or knew of its true purpose, have long since died. Why has this place been so secured for all these years if you will not let me pass to retrieve it, and relearn the knowledge that is now lost?"

"Hmm" The room shook to the contemplation in the voice of the granite man.

Tenten caught my attention, leaping back within my sight she drop an iron hammer on a stone warrior. "Argies, none of that matters if we all die here! Can't you help a little"

"A little may not be enough" I ignored her, and despite the peril to us all I continued searching for entry. "What good would it be for you to guard that door for another thousand years, and the knowledge in it locked away and forgotten until there is no one left to teach it to. No one left who can read and understand these ancient forgotten ways."

"I was not created to judge who should be allowed to enter, my purpose is to block your way in wait for those who are welcomed" The stone man kept his words cryptic, he was unwilling to reveal to me who is welcomed.

"And what if those who would be welcomed, are all gone and dead. Never to awake again. Never to enter your sanctum. Never allowing you to rest. Never to grant you peace to your task completed." I paused letting this possibility sink into its mind of stone. "Are you to stand here for eternity waiting for what will never come?"

"It is not my purpose to..." Caught off guard my revelation finally sunk in. "My purpose is meaningless if what you say is true. My purpose maybe to block your path, but it is also to protect the knowledge within. I cannot protect it from time and an eternity. With no one to pass this knowledge on to, I the guardian of this temple, choose to pass that knowledge on to you. The Ages within our presence" Stepping aside the Guardian allowed me access.

...

Stepping through the portal, I felt my skin shimmer and tingle, the other side was cold. Yellow light beamed from all the walls but the Lance I saw in the rooms centre, glowed purple like the image of the staff depicted in carving. This was the knowledge the temple protected.

I turned back, looking to my comrades still fighting beyond the blue mirror that was the portal, their battle silent to this other world I was in.

"What now?" I reached out to the purple rod, but then remembered what happened in Hinata's story. "The one who is buried within" the purple staff absorbed their soul after all... would it do the same to me? "I guess I have no choice" I will have to bare this knowledge, or else when I return the guardian will not be pleased. Untying my red waist sash I lifted it up to the purple rod made from opaque stone. Well nothing is happening to the cloth. I wrapping it around my hand instead this time and grabbed a hold of the purple staff.

On contact, for a moment, I felt the chakra fly out of me. My heart dropped but then my chakra flow stabilised. I took it that the staff accepted me, I wasn't about to be sucked in thank goodness. Turning back I looked to my comrades, their battle was over. Well looks like we would have survived this thing even without my conversation with stone.

"Ok, time to get out of this crazy place" Waving fanatically to me I saw the others beyond the portal almost warning me about something, then I could see it. Shimmering the portal was closing!

With the weight of the staff in hand I jumped through the quickly closing mirror way, landing on the other side with dust picking up at my collapse. "Wow, you guys managed to survive" I rolled myself over. "And looks like I made it too"

"Argies, you have the staff?" Hinata's words fell sweetly on my ears, she was kneeling down beside my head. "We were fighting the stone warriors when suddenly they crumbled into rubble, along with the Nurikabe"

"Really?"

"Big risk touching that thing don't you think?"

"Seems you aren't a coward after all"

...

n4*C/