149. Lethal or Non-Lethal?

(power stones please, this fic is alive)

"Good call, at least we didn't get separated," Shino praised Choji for his rational and quick decision.

On a completely unrelated note, Shino would only marry a rational person.

Kiba spewed out water despite not knowing the water style.

Akamaru shook himself to get the water out of his fur.

Hanabi already had her Byakugan activated, so she had seen the direction that some other teams had washed out to.

"This place..." Hinata said and stopped, her Byakugan active.

"Hmm, what is it?" Ino asked her.

"I can feel that there are seals around us, but I can't see them. They should only be visible when we get close, which would then trigger the seal," Hinata frowned.

It seemed there were seals that prevented them from being sensed or seen, and the distance required to detect them would bring the person into the seal's effective range.

Hanabi also tried to see the seals and anything unusual, but she wasn't able to.

"I don't feel any seals or chakra at all; they probably have seals to block chakra from being sensed," Ino shook her head.

"Which means the same will happen for everyone. It's rational to think some of them don't even know such traps exist." Guess who said that.

"Wait... Does that mean the whole training ground is covered in such traps? How much time would it have taken to do that?" Kiba gaped.

The training ground was decently big.

"What a madman," Hanabi sighed.

It seemed her chunin exams were not going to be easy.

"I wonder what those seals do... maybe it's paint and stuff like that, right?" Ino chuckled nervously.

"Hmm, we're ninjas now, so expecting kunai and explosive seals isn't out of scope," Hanabi replied.

"But wouldn't that lead to major deaths, as most people aren't even aware of the traps' existence?" Kiba argued.

"Chunin exams are supposed to have a high fatality rate," Choji said, taking out a packet of chips and munching on it.

He needed to regain the calories he lost from his manoeuvre.

A cool manoeuvre, he dare say.

"Well, I don't think the traps should be that hardcore... but I'm not so sure anymore," Hanabi shook her head.

She hadn't sensed anything strange about the desert they were in, let alone the seals. Sora probably knew that too, so he shouldn't have made deadly traps... right?

"I think we should let a clone go and check it out, a solid clone," Hinata suggested.

"Cool, so do it," Kiba said.

And there was silence.

"Hmm, who knows a solid clone jutsu here? Any variation is fine," Kiba asked with a sweat drop.

Two hands were raised.

"I could do a Bug clone."

"Shadow clone for me."

"Wait, you can afford the chakra cost for a shadow clone?" Kiba looked at Ino in shock.

"Well, I can manage one. It would take most of my chakra reserves, but shadow clones do give back chakra... in most cases," Ino said.

After forming a shadow clone on a trip with Sora, she slightly increased her reserves and learned the jutsu because of its many advantages.

"Whoa, no wonder that jutsu is considered a cheat. I've heard it also returns the clone's memories. I can't wait to learn it," Kiba said, having researched Shadow Clone Jutsu after seeing Naruto use it.

And he was impressed by the pros of this jutsu.

He really thought Naruto's ridiculous reserves and chakra control problems were worth it for this jutsu.

"Uh, that's really not fun. You also get the clone's fatigue—physical and mental. It feels like being a walking zombie who didn't sleep well last night. I don't want to imagine the effect with multiple clones," Ino shivered.

Her respect for Sora, and especially Naruto, had increased by several notches, as they could handle multiple clones and even use them for training where fatigue would naturally be high.

Mind you, despite having a Uzumaki body, the Shadow Clone Jutsu is impartial in that respect, as the memories and fatigue you gain are similar to your own body's. Sora and Naruto often feel the same as Ino, but due to their good stamina, they manage. However, with similar chakra levels, they'd feel the same as Ino, which they do when they make the maximum number of clones for training.

"Really? Then why don't others feel that?"

"Because they have high stamina, so they don't feel it as quickly as I do. They probably would if they created a huge number of clones," Ino's hypothesis was spot on.

"Anyway, I think we're getting late. Who knows what will happen if we wait any longer? We also need to find a camp for the night," Hanabi said, looking at the sky.

It was already sunset, and the light would start fading.

They should start scouting quickly.

Ino made a shadow clone, as Shino didn't want his bugs to face the unknown. Who knows what would happen; maybe they'd get burned or something. So, Ino complied and created a shadow clone.

The shadow clone started moving carefully, expecting to get hit by kunais at any moment.

After a few meters, nothing happened.

"Are you sure those seals are traps? Maybe they're just for monitoring, so no outsiders can enter, like in our chunin exams," Kiba suggested.

"Maybe the traps activate when multiple people are together, or something," Hanabi suggested.

"Or some traps could be dormant, keeping people guessing which ones are active. Maybe the dormant and active ones even interchange to make it harder to predict," Hinata mused.

"Nee-chan, please don't scare us," Hanabi said helplessly.

First, nobody could sense the seals, and now the only person who could be suggesting scary possibilities.

"Look," Choji said, prompting those who weren't watching to look at Ino's clone, which had vanished.

"Did your clone ditch us or something?" Kiba asked, bewildered.

Ino facepalmed.

"I—ouch!" Ino sat on the ground, holding her leg.

"What happened?" Kiba asked.

"The shadow clone fell into a sand trap and was dispelled. It seems the pit was large," Choji said, worriedly looking at Ino.

Ino's pain tolerance wasn't high, but he couldn't really blame her.

Anyone would be hurt if dropped a few floors and landed on their feet.

A few seconds later, Ino rose again. "They're definitely masochists; I'd bet on it," she said.

She was referring to the two Uzumakis.

Those who used clones in battle.

Actually, shadow clones don't transfer all the pain of their experiences.

They can, but since clones usually dispel at such times, the pain is momentary, though intense.

For example, if someone's hand gets broken, they'd feel the instantaneous pain but not the lingering one, since the clone would get dispelle.. Still, that momentary pain feels intense.

And if multiple clones die like that... yeah, that's no fun, as the instantaneous pain becomes overwhelming.

"So, are random sand pits the traps? Or are they randomized?" Kiba asked.

"I didn't fall into a normal pit. I was walking carefully, but the sand beneath me started falling. So, it's definitely due to a seal, as my clone sensed one."

The wolf actually exists.

It wasn't just the sheep's delusion.

It was now the flock's reality.

"Well, Shino, I'm counting on you. Your bugs can fly, right?" Kiba patted Shino on the shoulder.

Shino complied and formed an insect clone, which moved in the same direction Ino's clone had.

Just a few meters away from the actual path.

Suddenly, a kunai shot up from the ground, aiming straight for the head.

But since the clone was made of insects, it just made a circle and let the kunai pass through.

"Um, I thought the traps would be paint bombs or something like that..." Ino tried to joke, saying the same thing as before.

She had expected non-lethal traps.

The pit trap could have normally been avoided, as people generally have time to react, and the worst they'd face is a broken foot.

Assuming nobody died from hitting their head.

That kunai aimed directly at the head made her worry about the other teams.

***

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