"Now Lee!" Shikamaru called. As soon as he finished this a green blur flew into the clearing landing on Temari's shoulders.
"Yosh!" Lee screamed as Temari lost balance due to his weight. The two stumbled, Lee jumping off Temari, and Temari falling off the horse. Shino and Ino both flew in to attack the man but he merely gave them a blindingly white smile as he raced past both of the group. Simply being too quick for them to react. Lee ran into the forest screaming out apologies.
Omoi, seeing him escape and being closer than the others, raced forward to combat Shikamaru. Who merely smirked at the approaching man. "I wouldn't." He informed blandly. Right as Omoi drew close Shikamaru jumped up revealing the approaching horse behind him. He had timed the jump perfectly landing on the horse. Omoi threw himself to the side. Aware if he had harmed the horse he would fail. This allowed Shikamaru to race past the group.
"Sorry about that. We needed the point and pointless combat is a real drag." Shikamaru called out as he raced by. His horse carried him further up the mountain as he informed, "Something to keep you busy for my escape!"
As he said this he threw a kunai to sever a rope he had set up before. With this, a large amount of tree trunks rolled down the hill towards the group. Ino, Shino, and Omoi all flinched at the approaching debris. But a snarling Temari merely swung her fan with a scream. "Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu!" She called. Her attack produced a strong gust of wind as blades of wind sliced through the logs with ease as the gust threw them from their original path. Sawdust, snow, and dust filled the air blocking their vision. Temari merely swung her fan again. Forcing away the disturbance to their vision. And showing the two attackers had escaped. Team Two was silent as their lord and leader seemed frozen. Before the woman snarled. "Oh, that damn slacker will pay for running out on me.!" Ino and Omoi both snickered at this, causing the irate woman to turn to them. "Got a problem?!" She asked furiously. Both Omoi and Ino stiffened up barely holding their mirth, shaking their heads no in hopes of escaping her wrath.
"I think they both find it funny. That is because you made him sound like a lov-" Shino did not get to finish his informing due to Temari chasing him around with her fan. This of course caused Omoi to freak out over their team falling apart.
Ino took back her earlier thought. Her team sucked…..in a way.
Jiraiya's POV (VIP Room of Trial of Nio - Land of Iron)
Jiraiya inwardly cackled at the Raikage's reaction to yet another one of his performing what he called "A PATHETIC EFFORT!". He hid his mirth inside a saucer of sake. Then Mifune and his guards led them to a separate room with a litany of monitors. Expensive machines were a rarity due to their battery-powered mechanism, which never did last too long. On these screens were the video logs on the Trial of Nio. Each monitor followed a different team, allowing them to see how things were going.
The room was quiet except for the quiet chatter throughout. Various officials have been discussing the exams thus far. Hiruzen, A, and Mifune were seated near the center together. Their bodyguards were seated nearby at their council. Darui and C sat with them and were relatively good company, not quite sharing the intensity of their leader.
"Hmm, it seems Team Five is quite the group." C mused out loud. "Not many could escape Omoi that casually. Shikamaru Nara and Rock Lee are ones to watch."
"I think that the Gaara guy has it locked. He took on an entire team. He's not dull, but he certainly seems like a problem." Darui replied. The man enjoyed his sip of sake.
"There are quite a few notable ones in this aye Jiraiya?" Tsunade said with a shoulder bump. "The betting is bound to be something else."
"Not that you should partake. With your terrible luck." Jiraiya countered with a smile.
Tsunade frowned at the friendly jab before she softly punched Jiraiya (her version tended to leave bruises) and threw back her sake saucer. "Oh shove it, the betting will simply be too juicy to resist."
"Good point! Maybe I'll place a bet of my own!" Jiriaya responded merrily as he refilled Tsunade and his saucers.
"Perhaps you two should hold yourselves with dignity?" C asked, frowning at the two legends.
"Don't be so dull, C. Our job is to guard our glorious leader and maintain peace. If a drink does for them, we can call it easy." Darui replied with a smirk. C frowned even further before he sipped at his sake. Flinching at the strength, he nursed it silently.
"We're merely doing our jobs and enjoying ourselves," Tsunade said with a smile. "Besides, unlike you, we can handle our liquor."
"I'll cheer for that!" Jiraiya sang happily. Two Sannins were happily toasting their glasses, shocked to see Darui join them.
"Would you cheer with Konoha Dogs?" C asked, looking gobsmacked.
"For now, they are our company. We will have plenty of time to kill each other." Darui answered.
"Darui here is right, you know," Tsunade added. Suddenly, she seemed less tipsy as she focused. "It's best to be friendly for now. We're professionals." She lectured to C.
"Beautiful here is right." Jiraiya chimed in as well. Ignoring Tsunade's punishment for the casual call. "Besides, I wanna discuss betting some more."
"Hmm, it would make things less dull." Darui mused.
"Exactly, I will bet 30,000 yen one Naruto Uzumaki will win this tournament."
"Tournament? They still do that for these?" Tsunade asked questionably. "Well, then I got Sasuke Uchiha for it. Those gloomy Uchiha are always somewhat powerful." She explained as she downed yet another saucer of sake.
"Might as well keep it fun. I have Gaara of the Desert, as I said earlier. The kid is nothing short of a monster." Darui chimed in.
"Hmph! While I disagree with such actions on the job, I relish the chance to take money from degenerates like yourselves." C started. He somehow ignored both Tsunade attempting to throttle him and Jiraiya desperately holding her back. "I will back my sister. She is much ahead of the other Genin in our village and has quite the head on her shoulders."
"You really should watch your mouth," Darui told C. "Those two are S rank. They likely could kill you easily."
"Of course we would," Jiraiya answered merrily.
Hiruzen held back a chuckle as he noticed the guards going back and forth. Despite their differences, their table was having an interesting time. His own was awkwardly silent. A was harsh towards everything he saw and brought the mood down each time he spoke. Mifune was more polite but seemed less than enthused with A's presence. They settled into a polite silence. They watched as Shikamaru Nara and Rock Lee escaped Team One.
"Impressive strategy." Mifune started. "Simple but rather effective. Those Nara's in your village are quite ingenious. To prepare that kind of plan on the move is quite the feat."
"Indeed. The other team learned a valuable lesson. Just because you outnumber someone never makes them harmless." Hiruzen replied happily.
"Perhaps. There would be no need for such treachery if they were simply stronger though." A countered, seemingly annoyed with their method of scoring.
"Samurai themselves normally do not move in such ways," Mifune said with a slight frown.
"But shinobi move in such ways," Hiruzen explained. "For us, their strategy is not only appropriate but impressive."
"HA! For you weaker villages, maybe." A laughed happily. "We prefer to use our might."
"The smallest blade can slay the mightiest warrior," Mifune replied.
The leaders continued to bicker as they watched the Trial of Nio unfold.