Suigetsu's POV (Trial of Nio - Land of Iron)
He wasn't sure when, but they caught wind of him. It is an impressive feat, considering his mastery of the Silent Killing technique. Truthfully, it mattered little. The more they traveled, the more they risked running into another team. Suigetsu could take his time to decide his method of attack. With only the two of them, he was sure he could beat them in an outright fight, especially if one considered their apparent injuries, but one was a Cloud Shinobi. Which just so happened to be a village full of his weakness. He was still confident he could best the two, but there was no need to be too risky.
What was infuriating was that the two seemed determined to keep running. With a frown, Suigetsu decided enough was enough. He burst from behind, a long sword in hand, as he slashed at both their heads. He beheaded the two with relative ease before they suddenly became shadows and enveloped him. He tried to brute force his way through the shadows as they lifted him into the air but couldn't. He couldn't even become water…
"KAI!" Suigetsu yelled as he dispelled the genjutsu he had been placed in. As he did so, he awoke to reality where Karui pierced his chest through. Yuno is standing in front of him, Sharingans glowing.
"Decent effort, you weird bastard!" Karui yelled at the man as she pulled her blade out of him mercilessly.
"You're not even that cute." Yuno panted to the man. "Enjoy my Sudden Shadow Binding Genjutsu?"
Suigetsu stumbled forward as liquid leaked from his body. "I may not be cute…" He started as he turned towards the two…revealing the hole in his chest dripping with water. "But that attack was." He finished as he flashed forward, swinging his longsword at Karui. The woman caught the slash but dropped to the ground suddenly. The ground beneath them cracked as Suigetsu whispered to Karui. "Water Style: Great Water Arm!" His strength increased significantly and slowly overwhelmed her. Before he could finish, Yuno appeared, slashing his arm in half with a kunai. The arm turned into the water as Suigetsu laughed mockingly.
"It's super effective! Water Style: Drowning Bubble Jutsu!" He called as the water that was his arm wrapped around the head of Yuno. The woman flailed as she struggled to breathe. But her attacks went through the liquid body of the man without effect. Karui thrust her blade into the man several times as well. But to both of their dismay, it didn't stop. Yuno slowed down as she drowned. Suigetsu chuckled as he activated the technique again. This time, trapping Karui. "Shame it ends here. I was hoping you two weren't scrubs." Suigetsu taunted as Yuno slowly fainted. Suigetsu chuckled as he released her. "One down. One to go. Already got my points anyway."
But as soon after releasing Yuno, he flinched as he suddenly got a debilitating headache. He screamed as his jutsu released Karui as well. "N-never underestimate a Uchiha." Yuno struggled as Suigetsu slowly climbed to his feet. The two stared momentarily as Suigetsu seemed to struggle to get himself together. "That was my False Pain Jutsu. Luckily, you're still affected by Genjutsu." She taunted.
Suigetsu growled as he stumbled a bit. "Think a bit of pain will save you?" He asked angrily.
"NO BUT THIS WILL!" "Cloud Style: Lighting Flash Slice!" Karui called as her blade, now covered in lightning, slashed into the back of Suigetsu. He cried out as he stumbled back. She had never used the style before. Her control was off, and she could feel her chakra drain too quickly. It seemed she lacked the efficiency to use Omoi's technique. Damn it.
"You do know the lighting style! You two are more trouble than you're worth." Suigetsu growled. The man jumped into the air into a tree above the path. "But next time, you won't be so lucky!" He called as he retreated. "Besides, I completed my goal anyway. HAHAH!" Suigetsu taunted as he left.
"Karui, you said you didn't have mastery over lightning style," Yuno said tiredly as she sat on the ground. Let's rest for the night…" She noticed Karui was face down on the path. "Or you forced it, " she joked to herself.
The young woman sighed as she walked over to the other woman. "Thank you; you were much more interesting than I thought, " she said sadly as she reached into her pocket and called for an aide for the woman. Quickly, a Samurai appeared, giving first aid to the woman and lifting her for transport. Upon seeing Yuno's beaten state, he offered to take her back as well. Yuno refused, of course.
How could she back out without meeting more interesting people?
Shikamaru's POV (Trial of Nio - Land of Iron)
Shikamaru and Lee continued to observe the group. Tracking them silently as they unknowingly padded towards the trap they had laid ahead. With his quick mind and Lee's endless energy, they had prepared quite an array of traps for their unaware prey. In truth he would've preferred them moving together but with his team holding…..
One antisocial genius who wished to fight against strong opponents.
One violent sociopath who wished to fight against strong opponents.
And one hardworking idiot who wished to fight against strong opponents.
Who knew they likely wouldn't go for any reasonable plan. As such he had learned of their abilities and sent them off. His gut told him the two would manage somehow and he and Lee at the very least could get one as well. But the team they had run across was an interesting one.
He recognized both Ino and Shino and they were troubling. Ino had never been all that powerful but she had a solid head on her shoulders and could be very clever. Shino was similar but significantly more powerful and intelligent. Add to that Cloud Shinobi he had no info on. And a Suna woman he saw already was a long-range fighter. They were certainly a team to be wary of. In direct combat doubtless, they could defeat the two of them. Worse yet Shino had subtly created a perimeter of small insects to patrol the area around them. Meaning no one who came close would do so without their knowledge.
Luckily he had already figured out how to score points on them without combat. And the secret was Lee. Lee was absurdly fast and apparently could become even faster. Originally Shikamaru had intended for him to blitz the others but there was too much risk. Instead, they had set an array of traps to give the man the perfect shot. He would race in, make contact and get out. If things worked out perfectly they would escape before they had the chance to defend themselves.
It was Omoi who triggered their first trap. The young man unknowingly stepped on a trip wire. Suddenly a huge log flew into the clearing towards the group from a hill in front of them. Omoi, who had been on guard, flew forward with his sword drawn. "Cloud Style: Crescent Moon Beheading!" He flashed forward the slash managing to slice the log in two.
The group all flinched as they realized they were in an ambush. Tens of kunai and shuriken flew from the surrounding woods. Ino and Shino flashed forward and skillfully deflected these with ease. Shikamaru body flickered behind the group. He threw a large amount of Kunai each tagged with explosive tags. Temari stood on her horse with a smile.
"Nice try slacker!" She called as she swung her fan. A powerful gust of wind sent the kunai and Shikamaru flying back as the sound of explosions deafened any other noise they could catch onto before….