Another path

Shikamaru's worries

< Aaaaand I missed the update... I totally forgot I was supposed to update the day before yesterday and I only remembered this morning. I'm sorry 😅 (told I was a total disaster) !
Anyway, have a nice day, good reading and take care ! >

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" This whole situation is so troublesome... It's not going to end well."
Shikamaru sighed as he observed the grim looks on all his companions' faces. Only Hinata looked fine, determined even. An unusual expression for her...
Fortunately, the elders and the council stayed in a different room.
He prayed their screeching wouldn't reach them.

" HOW DARE THAT SLUT LOOK DOWN ON US ?!! "

... His wishes never got realised.
The angered shouts went on and on for five minutes straight before tumbling noises and pained screams resonated through the whole building.
Silence swept over the rooms, only interrupted by the quick check Tsunade did in their room.
Looked like the council members would be a bit sore on the next morning.

Shikamaru's attention was then redirected on Lee's pacing. It was uncharacteristic for him to be so nervous. The lazy shinobi guessed it was because of their encounter with Suzuka. She had barely spared them a glance before leaving. Ice would be less cold than her toward Konoha. It wasn't hatred, it was far worse : indifference. She didn't acknowledge any of them and it was killing them. Even if she said she still cared for them, the bond of kinship they once shared was gone.
Lee might be taking this even harder considering he used to have a crush on her - and probably still did. It had taken Tsunade, Jiraiya and Gai's efforts to prevent him from following her. And then Neji, Kiba and Asuma's as well to prevent him from storming in the council room. That had been a troublesome day.

Shikamaru watched the clock on the wall. It was seven to midnight. He yawned as he fell back on the comfortable bed he was provided.
It was very silent. No one felt like talking and the tension was weighing a lot on their shoulders.

The Nara's heir started drifting off when suddenly he felt a burst of chakra inside the room. He jerked up and searched for the source of the chakra. Everyone had tensed up, which seemed to amuse greatly the newly arrived summon.

" - Greetings everyone, my name is Tamamo and I'm Kurama-sama's summon. I'm here to inform you of the rules for the first part of the tournament.

- W-wait ! We haven't even slept yet ! We only have four hours before the trial ?!

- You were notified you would have a day to discover the country you are staying in. This day is now over so the announcement for the trial can be made at any moment. You were told so firsthand.

- B-but-

- The first trial consists of a team versus team battle. The four people teams registered will fight against each other.
The battles will go on for at most fifteen minutes.
A battle ends when either a team is hors de combat or when the time limit is reached. If the time limit is reached, the winning team is the one with the less incapacitated fighters. If it's a draw, the team who first had a member defeated loses.
You can win by K.O, death or binding. No surrenders are allowed, if you are in a position where you obviously can't fight anymore, you will be considered out.
The battles will take place inside the arena and only inside of it. Disqualification will ensue any trespassing.
You may use any means to ensure victory.
Any questions ?

- When you say "any mean", are there really no restrictions ?

- None, it was specifically instructed so by both Mifune-dono and Kurama-sama.

Shikamaru stared at Sasuke who was nodding, satisfied with the answer to his question. That man would go to the most extreme lengths to get what he wanted. That question spelled no good...

Since there were no other questions, Tamamo left as suddenly as she appeared.
The shinobi called Tsunade and they discussed with her of the rules. She had been messaged separately so she already knew the specifications of this part. Jiraiya was there too.

The trial was made for teams so they didn't have much time to discuss concerning their strategy. They were given a map of the arena though so they could study it.
However, many elected to go to sleep instead, judging it would benefit them more. The arena looked pretty ordinary anyway. Only Shikamaru, Neji and Asuma took the time to study it, going to sleep at 2 A.M.

* Time skip *

" - Welcome to all of you for the first trial of the Shinobi Tournament. The teams will now be randomly paired. The order will be randomly chosen progressively.

Samurai from the Iron country started picking papers and announcing the team battles to a referee. Once all the pairings were made, the list appeared in a giant screen :

Team Gai (Konoha) vs team Matsuri (Suna).

Team Asuma (Konoha) vs team Samui (Kumo).

Team Sakuya (Uzushio) vs team Mori (Iwa).

Team Kushina (Konoha) vs team Kumo (Hoshi).

Team Utakata (Uzushio) vs team Shizuka (Iwa).

Team Megumi (Uzushio) vs team Rina (Kiri).

Team Kakashi (Uzushio) vs team Kankuro (Suna).

Team Temari (Suna) vs Team Ao (Kiri).

Team B (Kumo) vs team Yugito (Kumo).

Team Darui (Kumo) vs team Asahina (Kiri).

Team Fū (Taki) vs team Kurenai (Konoha).

Team Shayô (Kiri) vs team Koe (Iwa).

Team Shira (Suna) vs team Kurotsuchi (Iwa).

Shikamaru gazed at all the names and he recognized quite a few. Every village had sent their strongest shinobi, it wouldn't be a piece of cake.
The screen changed once more, names shuffling at high speed before setting on two :

Team Asuma vs team Samui.

" Shit. "

All the teams and the notables went up in the loggias to watch the battle.
Samui and her team faced Asuma's.

Ino gapped at the other kunoichi's chest and self-consciously checked her own. Asuma had taken out his blades and gotten into a stance.

A samurai stood in the middle of the arena, ready to give the signal to go.
Just before the beginning, Shikamaru looked up at Suzuka. She had a malicious glint in her eyes and she smirked at him.

" - Hajime !

Samui and Atsui circled team Asuma, forcing Chôji to shield them with his body. Asuma took this occasion to kick Atsui back. Shikamaru was already devising a strategy but Suzuka's face kept nagging him. His suspicions were confirmed when Atsui landed.

When the back of the blond shinobi collided with the floor, a click was heard and the whole arena was randomly covered in spikes.

Shikamaru used his Kage Mane to grab Ino while jumping back. Asuma avoided them as well and Chôji was lucky enough not to be endangered. Samui jumped away and Mabui, her other teammate, grabbed Atsui to get him out of the way. The fourth member of Samui's team though didn't have the time to avoid the spikes and his chest got impaled on it, rendering him unconscious.

- I knew it...

Ino looked at Shikamaru, a shocked, almost dazed expression on her face.

- What ? What do you mean ? What did you know ?

He looked at Suzuka and she winked with the same smirk she had before.

- She did this... Suzuka put traps all over the place ! "