The second exam had not at all been going well for Konoha Team Ten. They weren't exactly the most combat oriented team in the first place, so in general, their main plan of action was to hide out of view and ambush another team.
…Yes, that had been the plan.
Until a massive, gargantuan black hurricane had ripped through the forest and rained strikes of lightning down all around as it passed by.
…The team they had been in the process of ambushing, had been swept up and killed by the monstrous jutsu and their scroll lost in the process.
"…Guys there's that laughter again." Choji trembled, he couldn't at all tell where it was coming from, but that terrifying laughter, they'd heard it already multiple times today and it seemed closer than ever, echoing all around them.
"Damnit, get down." Shikamaru crushed, grabbing his two teammates and pulling them down into some shrubbery to hide out of the way.
"Oi, watch my hair Shikamaru," Ino huffed, before looking around, "Who the hell is this guy? Every few hours we hear him laughing, who the hell would enjoy a place they'd laugh so much here?"
"Never mind that, listen to the laugh itself Ino, this guy sounds super evil!" Choji shivered, just the sound of that laughing voice was so terrifying it put him off food.
Hell, it was so foreboding, one team that had got the drop on them earlier outright got terrified and ran away even though they had them dead to rights.
"Ino, can you sense this guy?" Shikamaru frowned and asked, "He sounds closer than before." annoying as it was, they mainly had to rely on Ino here, as a Yamanaka she was a natural chakra sensor, but relying on her so much had drained a lot of her chakra, so she was getting lower and lower without them having a chance to rest.
"Gimme a second." Ino brought two fingers to her temple and focused, closing her eyes. Only for her eyes to shoot wide open in shock a split second later, "He's right above us!" she gasped, looking to her teammates in horror.
Shikamaru froze…before sighing, "…Just our luck, troublesome," he griped, "Let's just hope whoever this crazy guy is, he isn't all that good at sensing."
"Oh man…oh man!" Choji shook his head, before swallowing and crawling forward a bit to peak out of the shrubbery they were hiding in, "…We have to at least see who this guy is…"
He was stopped by Shikamaru blocking him, "Wait, lemme do it," he said, understanding. He was the best on their team when it came to stealth. Crawling forward, the pineapple haired Nara got directions from his blonde teammate and poked his head out, looking up. The Nara's eyes widened at what he saw, "…Oh, you've got to be kidding me." he groaned, the tension leaving him slightly at just whom he saw.
"What do you mean Shikamaru?" Ino hushedly asked.
"…Take a look yourself." he replied simply.
"What?" Ino furrowed her brows, before huffing and pulling her head out of the shrubs and looking up, "Oh….OH?" Ino hummed, eyes lighting up.
"What, what do you see?" Choji asked, curiosity getting the better of the 'big boned' teen and he stuck his head out, the same as his teammates and looked up, "Hey wait, isn't that Daiki?"
"Yep." Shikamaru nodded.
"Hell yeah it is." A wide grin spread across Ino's face, "Mama likey what she see's."
It was indeed their former classmate Daiki Yurei, standing a few hundred feet above them atop a large thick tree branch, his torso completely bare, showing off his broad chest and muscular abs, with his powerfully burly arms crossed over his chest as he threw his head back and just laughed.
"So it was Daiki all along…" Choji shook his head, a sigh of relief leaving him. He didn't exactly know Daiki all that well, they rarely spoke, but when they did, he was generally a pretty accommodating guy.
A bit off though to see him , he tended to keep to himself, a lot like Sasuke and Shino actually.
"Why the hell is he just standing there laughing and not wearing a shirt though?" Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder.
"He doesn't need a reason to show off muscles like that!" Ino scoffed, "Who knew Daiki was so well built though? I'm sure I would have remembered someone like that at the academy."
"No...that guy's always been built like that, he wasn't as burly as he is now, but he definitely was always muscular," Shikamaru refuted, ignoring her admiration of their former classmates muscles, "Still, I don't think I'm wrong, he was the strong and silent type remember? Standing around and just laughing out in the open, it doesn't feel like the guy we grew up with."
"Err I mean, we didn't exactly know the guy that well beyond the academy, we only saw what he was like there," Choji pointed out, all the tension long since having left him at this point now that he knew it was somebody he knew that wouldn't just murder them for sport, "He didn't really have any friends either."
"How about I go ask him?" Ino piped in eagerly, "And you remember what Kabuto said earlier right, Daiki is like super strong, not so sure I believe him being stronger than Sasuke-kun, but he's definitely strong if Sasuke-kun himself was interested in him. I bet he'd be fine helping us get a scroll if I turn the charm on a bit."
"What charm?" Shikamaru gave her girl a confused look.
He received a backhand that smacked his face into the dirt in response.
Either way, the choice was taken from their hands either way a moment later, "Will you shut the hell up?" a male voice barked, as a team landed on one of the branches not far away from Daiki.
"Ino!?" Shikamaru pulled his head up and glared at her.
"…I'm already low on chakra, what do you expect? I lowered my range down to save chakra." she looked away at the accusatory look, cheeks flushing lightly.
Daiki, head back and laughing heartily, froze at the loud shout. Slowly, his head lowered and he stared at the team that disrupted him.