Like Looking For A Grain of Sand in the Desert: Genin Exam!

Sunagakure: Part 2 of the Genin Exam
The wind whistled across several sand dunes as the proctors stared down at the children, sending dust into their faces. Each youth who stood in the line had variations of the same look on their face: determination mixed with either nervousness, annoyance or a grimace. The conditions of the "arena" in which the academy students were to fight were harsh, if not brutal. The academy teachers had brought in several jounin to lead them into the featureless desert which surrounded Sunagakure for miles, and now they stood in the emptiness, waiting for action to begin. The first part of the exam had been the written test, which had whittled the numbers down slightly, but not nearly enough. This part, often named as the hardest, tested both sparring skills and teamwork.

"Prospective genin! This next part of the test will be the toughest! You will get thirsty, you will get tired, you may even get injured!" A man with purple lines over his face shouted and some genin wondered how he could stand there so coolly in this heat- he wore a black hat with cat ear-like points and almost all of his body was covered in black fabric. A boy covered in white bandages turned to the kid next to him, muttering,

"Catman looks pretty calm considering he must be cooking like a chicken over a fire...why isn't his make-up running? He must be sweating!" The other boy shook his head, electric yellow shock of hair covering his forehead as he elbowed the bandaged boy sharply in the ribs.

"Be respectful, Renryou!" He hissed, "That is none other than Sabaku no Kankurou speaking! Kankurou of the Desert, brother of our Kazekage!" Renryou, the boy who resembled a mummy, huffed and folded his arms, whispering,

"Alright, alright, sorry!"

The jounin then pulled out and unrolled a scroll and the academy students muttered in interest. That noise grew to an uproar when he bit his thumb, swiped it across the unrolled parchment and a huge cloud of smoke burst from it, obscuring Kankurou. The smoke cleared to reveal ten wooden marionettes, and the puppet-master called lazily,

"These puppets will also be involved in watching your matches. If I see any situations where serious injuries are about to occur, one of these-" He twitched his right little finger and the wooden puppet took a defensive stance, looking like a crudely-built wooden humanoid, "-will immediately get involved in your fight, intervene and possibly end the match. All judgements by either teachers or jounin are final. You may aim to kill, but if we detect any true ill will behind your attack, you will immediately be disqualified. This sparring match is not just aimed to test your skills..." The genin-wannabes fell silent at this. For all they knew, it was a standard one-on-one spar, aimed to test their skills- what else could they possibly test? They were just students, they had nothing else to show off! "You may find this part of the test overly harsh." Kankurou watched the children seriously. "The reason for this is to make sure you aren't wrapped in cotton wool. The ninja world is harsh. People die all the time. The chance of making it to chuunin level without a serious injury isn't too high, and without any injury...the odds are zero. A lot of you may die before even surpassing chuunin." The pale children turned to their teachers, who had no reassurance to offer them. A few of the students were grey with shock, and some were even sobbing quietly.

"But we aim to stop that from happening. Because of our rigorous academy programme, you are immediately better prepared than our allies, the genin of Konohagakure." Kankurou's tone changed suddenly, and the crying students stopped slowly. "If we went to war tomorrow, there is approximately a 60-70% chance that you would survive combat and survive to the end of the war, if in a team of 3 with a jounin. In intense combat, there is even a 30% chance that you could hold out long enough for aid to arrive." These statistics didn't help the attitudes of the children, but then the puppet-master clarified. "In Konoha's current program, genin struggle to achieve C-Rank missions. There is below a 50% chance that Konoha genin would survive in war, and less than 10% chance of them surviving intense combat long enough for a jounin to come and save them." Then it began- smiles slowly began breaking out on the faces of the genin, spreading through the ranks. "What I am not saying is that Konoha genin are inept. Their educational system may be flawed, but once they progress, they become forces to be reckoned with. What I AM saying is that this exam is to prepare you for risks in the future and make you the best shinobi you can be. We believe that you can become as strong as the Third Kazekage, given the chance." Everyone was shocked- the Third Kazekage, a legendary figure who fought with his Iron Sand, was an extremely powerful Suna ninja. The current Kazekage's brother himself was saying that they had that kind of potential? "We want to give you that chance- your teachers, me, our Kazekage. Gaara-sama himself pays much attention to current events at Suna Ninja Academy and he himself will be deciding who becomes genin. Redeem our belief in you, reward it and you shall thrive."

"Whoa." The boy next to Renryou uttered and he elbowed the boy.

"Shut up, Kouya, I'm trying to listen!"

"This spar will be two-versus-two, with you all being matched up randomly. Your teams will fight and then rotate. You will participate in three fights. Depending on what ensues, teams may be changed around, more fights may be scheduled or you may be stopped before the limit I have just mentioned. Do not try and read into this- it can mean anything." Kankurou instructed and the genin-wannabes frowned and complained to each other. Two versus two? Where was the chance to show off if you had a burden on your team hogging the limelight? To the grumbling, Kankurou shouted over it, "I suggest you be quiet and think before complaining!" This admonishment from such a well-known figure silenced them. "Now I shall read out the teams!"

Renryou closed his eyes and crossed his fingers- 'Please don't put me with the baka, please don't put me with the baka...'

"Modai, Renryou with Ikazuchi, Kouya!" Renryou cheered,

"YES!" Not only had he avoided being put with the most disruptive of his classmates, he had been put with his friend and the boy standing next to him, Ikazuchi Kouya. Together, they made an odd pair. Renryou resembled a mummy and Kouya looked like he'd been hit by a thunderbolt. He was the third generation of a family that immigrated to Sunagakure from Kumogakure, explaining why his chakra nature was lightning. Kouya had lightning blue eyes, a long yellow scarf that reached his feet (he hoped to be the new 'Yellow Flash' as if he learned to move faster than the eye could see, the only thing visible would be a streak of yellow moving- his scarf!) and electric blue clothing with elbow guards made of metal, a birthday present from years past. His messy yellow spiked hair reached down past his shoulders and stopped at the small of his back. Together, they would make a decent team.

"Alright, quiet!" Kankurou hushed the genin-wannabes again. "Here are the first fights- listen out for your names!"