[center][img]https://secure.static.tumblr.com/e52e7bbcac6e195e684b15e588dfc131/3isr3ke/iQzo6mcme/tumblr_static_tumblr_static__640.gif[/img] [color=black][b]Peace breeds war.[/b] [hider=music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4itRDAjN1q0[/youtube][/hider] —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————[/color][/center] [i]“Be thorough. Be diligent. Be exceptional.”[/i] The words of his father echoed in Sakana's head, but did not offer any additional pressure or stress on the boy's mental well being. They floated, as if they were leaves in the wind, scattering themselves throughout the corners of his brain to stay there forever. They were the same words that his father said to him every morning, and so to those who would've thought that today was any different, and he would offer more supporting words for the special event, he would be wrong. His parents had caught onto Sakana's views on fate long ago and had ever since respected them - he believed that whatever happened today would be fate, and nothing could stop it. Additional encouraging words were... not required. Offered little in terms of actual gains. It would have been symbolic at best. Being a Konohagakure citizen, the stadium was a known location to him - in fact he knew it all too well from the events that they held there - and as such he allowed himself to sleep in a little longer. Some over-excited chunin had decided to go training before the big event to get ready and warmed up already, but to Sakana this seemed like a stupid idea. The only thing that that would do was raise the chances of an injury that would put you out of commission for the duration of the exams. Instead, he woke up at a reasonable hour, went into the kitchen and made tea for himself. Following that was a soft, easy going breakfast. He took his time drinking his tea and eating his breakfast, sitting by the long dinner table that lined the wall next to the window, allowing him to overlook the masses that passed by his house on the way to the stadium. There were a lot of shinobi - but a lot of civilians too. He glanced over the many faces that passed him by, finding none that were so strange that they stood out. This was a good thing - shinobi that stuck out were usually easy to trace and, therefore, easy targets. After all, what is a ninja, if not sneaky? When the time came, he left the house. It was then that his father delivered his words. [i]“Be thorough. Be diligent. Be exceptional.”[/i] Strong words, coming from a Uragiri clansman. They were not exactly known as formidable shinobi and his clan held a better reputation for being craftsman than they were quick with a sword, accurate with a shuriken or deadly with a kunai. Sakana was one of the few that were above average - but it wasn't a big margin, and he wasn't a genius, nor was he well known in the village. Most people just knew him by looks - how could they not? His eyes stood out. Although the largest portion of the crowd was moving through the streets, Sakana decided it wasn't worth the effort and, upon exiting the house, merely jumped up effortlessly like he'd done it a hundred times - he had done it a hundred times - and jumped off towards the stadium, avoiding the large crowds. It surprised him somewhat that there weren't many others using the rooftops as an easy highway of sorts, but he supposed many of the visitors from other villages were interested in seeing everything they could about Konohagakure. He couldn't fault them - he couldn't care less about how Konohagakure looked, but new places were always a sight to behold, and even someone that was largely stoic about most things, even Sakana himself, could appreciate some sights that were different from what he was used to. He still remembered his first time in Sunagakure - it looked every bit the part of a desert city. Interesting and impressive but it became fact of life after a week spent there in the name of some diplomatic mission. A soft thud and a puff of dust were all that alarmed the rest to his landing outside the stadium, though it wasn't exactly spectacular or strange to see a shinobi using the rooftops as a means of travel. Like the others, he entered the stadium in one of front doors while the spectators would most likely move to the seats through another door. As he joined the crowd of chunin, he found himself wondering where his team was. As far as he was aware they were all selected to partake, but they hadn't explicitly made plans to meet up together and go here together. In fact, Sakana had more or less assumed that the exam would be performed alone anyway, so there was nothing gained from meeting up. He pushed the thoughts away, however, as he looked over the crowd. A lot of foreigners. [i]“Ksk,”[/i] he slissed between his teeth, shaking his head slightly. Foreigners meant kekkei genkai. Something about bloodline limits made him queasy. It just wasn't.. natural. They were like freaks of nature.