Another path

The second ring

< Hello there ! Just a word to tell you that I will now refer to what happened to Sakura during the third trial as the Sakura incident. It will get mentioned quite a few times from then on so I'll mention it in the warning (and the triggers if I describe it at least partially).
With this said, good reading and see you next week !
Still not owning Naruto, just my OCs.>
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Triggers: none.
Topic : action.
Warning ⚠️ : mentions of the Sakura incident.
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The laugh sounded hollow, like it came out on its own without any meaning nor intention behind it. Despite being so quiet, it rang so loud it caught everyone's attention.

As the laughter died down, the annoyed edge of the voice it stemmed from became more pronounced. That same voice then called out to the man who was shakily standing up behind his fellow shinobi.

" - I can't believe you. You really thought- this would be hilarious if you weren't doing that kind of shit every. Single. Time.

- I-

- I'm not done ! Shut up and listen for once. You are a selfish, self-centered moron who'd rather spit on those who support him rather than acknowledge he cares for them. You keep talking about revenge and clan duty but now we can see all that actually amounts for : you never cared about anyone besides yourself. Whether it's a teammate, a friend or a family member, you'd crush them without batting an eye lash if they stood in your way.

- Like you're one to talk ! Tell us, what happened with Sakura ?

- Wh-

- She kept wailing your name in her sleep and you've been out of it since the end of the third trial. Did you do something ? Surely you couldn't have abandoned her in a time of need, could you ? You're not that kind of trash-

The accusation was cut short as yet another punch collided with Sasuke's jaw. He fell backward, the Konoha nin gasping in shock. Suzuka stood frozen a few feet away, her expression unreadable. Sasuke's eyes darted between her and his attacker and all of a sudden his eyes widened in realization.

*32 hours earlier*

The four checkpoints on the second ring were nowhere in sight. Most of the shinobi had headed straight ahead in hope they'd find one but to no avail. Even when at the 2.5 km distance indicated by the summons, no sign of the checkpoints could be found. More and more shinobi started to look around haphazardly, hoping to accidentally find the checkpoints.
However, only those who had anticipated this would be able to reach them.

Higure reached a clearing and the glow of the southwest checkpoint was finally in sight. At first, he was surprised that no one was following him but then it dawned on him that most participants might have been mistaken on the instructions. Indeed, when it was said that the checkpoints were equally distant from one another, it meant that for each ring, a checkpoint would be equally distant from all four checkpoints closest to it on the previous and next ring. In other words, if each rings checkpoints were linked by a segment, they would form a square and the squares of the adjacent rings would have their corners face the middle of the segment of the other ring.
As such, while most contestants went straight ahead after the first checkpoint, Higure immediately took the diagonal to save time as he knew he wouldn't be able to reach the first checkpoint first. Therefore, with his speed - even if not on par with that of Kakashi or Suzu - he had no trouble reaching the second checkpoint with no competition whatsoever.

On the northwest checkpoint's side, Tenten was currently battling with Omoi, Arashi and Chōjūrō to reach the glowing seal. The raging fight had impeded their progress and every time one would try to escape, all the others would step in their way.
Tenten glanced at the horizon behind her and she could see faint silhouettes forming. They needed to sort this out fast-
She barely avoided Arashi's punch. It would have hurt had she not. Tremendously. She needed to refocus.

Assessing each opponent, she could tell neither of them were in a good position : all of them were proficient with weapons save for Arashi who was more of a taijutsu user. None of them would naturally come out on top at this rate. Tenten needed a game changer, something unpredictable that would let her gain the upper hand.

"What would Suzu do in a situation like this ? Oh, that might be nice !"

The three men currently battling didn't notice her small smile even as she dodged slashes and blows. She jumped away from Omoi and summoned the nagamaki she'd used during the first trial just in time to block the incoming slash from Chōjūrō. They exchanged blows at a frenzied pace before Arashi jumped in - literally - and dropped kicked the ground in between them. All four shinobi jumped away from each other, worriedly gazing at the fast-approaching new contestants.
Arashi was the first to break the stalemate by attempting to punch Chōjūrō. The Kiri nin parried with his sword but Arashi kicked the weapon up, the momentum making his opponent lose his balance. The navy haired shinobi then grabbed Chōjūrō by the leg and threw him at Tenten before turning around to avoid Omoi's attack. Meanwhile, Tenten used her nagamaki to endure the shock of Chōjūrō colliding with her and then throw him away. She gazed at her blade - almost there.
She swung it at Omoi, the blow being deflected toward Arashi who punched the side of the blade away. The Uzumaki kunoichi recoiled from the strength of the punch and both of her opponents tried to close in to take advantage of this.

However, the moment they got too close-

A loud noise deafened the approaching shinobi as they were blown away along with Arashi, Chōjūrō and Omoi.
When Arashi came back to his spirits, he struggled to understand what just happened. Wasn't the storage seal supposed to only take in fire attacks ?
Whatever the answer was, it wouldn't amount to much to ponder on this now. The distinct sound of a checkpoint being taken informed them all that Tenten had seized their target. Time to get back on track apparently...

On the northeast part of the second ring, Lee was making a bee line to the checkpoint. He was followed closely by Darui and Tetsuya. A bit further were Megumi, Kushina and Jin. He could faintly discern Jin and Megumi fighting, the former seeming to have the upper hand. Kushina was avoiding them, it seemed as though she wasn't planning on attempting to take this checkpoint. That left him with only Darui and Tetsuya - which was more than enough. It was a race and he had a head start compared to these two. It was all thanks to him having worked with Suzuka and knowing how fast and unpredictable she could be that he was ahead of the Kumo nin. As for Tetsuya, while Uzumaki were endurant and strong, they weren't known for their speed. They had all lost a bit of time by trying to find the checkpoint since none of them realised the configuration of the rings but now that all were there, it was a race Lee wouldn't allow himself to lose.

Lee avoided lightning tigers and water tides as he rushed to the checkpoint. It was in his favor that his pursuers had to run because it severely limited their attack options and they realised any second wasted would allow him a fatal advantage. Suddenly, the attacks came to a stop and Lee glanced over his shoulder. Both Tetsuya and Darui were heading away forward - probably toward the third ring. In the distance, he saw Megumi laying unconscious while Jin tried to make up for the gap between them. Kushina was closer but she wasn't rushing either, probably electing to make it to a further base like her son. As such, Lee no longer had any competition to claim the checkpoint and he reached it in a way he felt was a tad underwhelming. He faded away nonetheless, joining with the seven other contestants that were qualified.

So far, Suzuka, Sakuya, Sasuke, Kakashi, Higure, Tenten, Lee and B had reached the final trial.
There were eight checkpoints left. And over twenty contestants fighting for them. In the first rings, many of them had fought while trying to save as much time as possible. Now, it was going to turn into an endurance run and they were going to really go at it. The third ring checkpoints were 12.5 km away from the start point - and there would be infighting all along the way.
For some of them, the situation was turning desperate. For others, it was only starting. Lee gazed at the assembly and then at the screens that allowed the participants and Kage to watch the trial unfold. He couldn't tell who would make it and who wouldn't and he had the sneaking suspicion everyone was in the same boat.
At this point, the competition had reached a level where nothing was assured.