Kabuto's POV (Hidden Prison - Hidden Leaf Village)
Kabuto cracked his neck as he inwardly processed his damage and spent chakra as the right-hand man of Orochimaru, a former Root operative and even a mole for Sasori. He had become quite the threat, dangerous even. His loyalties were to Orochimaru due to his genius and only that. It had been painful and annoying to become a Genin to keep an eye on Sasuke. He had been thankful for the emergency; it gave him a reason to break his cover. His butchering of the Genin Team in the exam had been for his amusement. Orochimaru had correctly assumed that the Sound Four may fail. Though he doubted, he had expected what had happened. Tayuya Uzumaki apparently had turned herself in and aimed to give them information. Annoyingly, she had quite a bit of dangerous info to offer. Somehow, it had resisted the installed kill switch in the curse mark. An Uzumaki countering Fuinjutsu, go figure.
His freedom of movement gave him time to find her. It was demanding; he jumped a Chunin to get the info. Oh, he had tried to hold out but had given up once Kabuto had severed both Achilles Tendons. Luckily, Kabuto offered him the mercy of slicing his heart in two. It had led him to the home of an Anbu; a bit more creative torture had led him here. Of course, there were guards, even with a significant amount of shinobi present at the exams. Chunin, Jounin, and even a few Anbu had met him at the entrance. Oh, they were spirited; they had shattered his ribs, severed an arm, even slit his throat.
But in the end, they all lay dead on his feet. As they often were, they were bloodless. Looking as if their souls had simply been plucked from their bodies. His Chakra Scalpel was quite the technique indeed. He marched forward, looking into cells and ignoring the inhabitants. He saw a locked unit and smiled. As he opened the door, he did so to meet an inferno. The flames raged through the door, melting his skin and even causing his bones to pop due to heat. But Kabuto marched through the pain and flames. Trusting his chakra to heal and keep him alive. He saw two Genin and a Chunin look at him fearfully. Kabuto offered them a smile before dashing forward and killing the Chunin with a mere tap to his chest. The Genin, losing their nerve, turned in an attempt to run. Kabuto allowed it as he reached into the kunai case of the downed man before him. He drew two and calmly aimed and threw both. Watching with mild amusement as the adult Genin was struck and killed instantly from kunai piercing the back of their skulls.
Kabuto laughed as he entered the unit. He saw a large furnished cell holding Tayuya and two more Chunin, who glared at him grimly.
"There you are, Tayuya. We were hoping to find you. Orochimaru sends his regards, of course." Kabuto chirped as one of the Chunin stabbed a spear into his midsection with a roar. He froze when Kabuto barely reacted, not even when blood squirted through the wound. "For a second, I thought a bee stung me." Kabuto joked as he tapped Chunin's throat in front of him. The man gasped and stumbled back breathlessly. The second attempted hand signs, but Kabuto brutally ripped the spear from himself and shot it into the second Chunin. He watched as both slowly died, Tayuya doing so with a scowl. "Finally, all alone!" Kabuto yelled theatrically.
"Great, they assigned a bunch of pussy shit guards. And now I have the pleasure of being killed by your creepy ass. At least you creeps can't kill me remotely." Tayuya snarked from within her cell.
"Indeed, such is the price of betraying Orochimaru. Please be patient; I cannot make this quick or painless." Kabuto said as he unlocked the cell and arrogantly allowed Tayuya out of it. "No need to worry. We both know you're no match for me, even with that mark."
Tayuya merely laughed, a heavy belly laugh that made Kabuto frown.
"What pray to tell is such a funny dead woman?" Kabuto was annoyed; she seemed to be attempting to take control.
"How much chakra are you wasting going all psycho killer on the guard's dumbass," Tayuya said in between laughter.
"Hmm, I'll admit a fair bit of it; I won't need much to kill you, though." Kabuto countered.
"How about me, then, old friend?" A female voice called out as Kabuto heard a familiar set of heels draw closer…
Shikamaru's POV (Courtyard of Iron Arena - Land of Iron)
Shikamaru rolled under a speeding ball of water, dived above another, and deflected kunai as he rose. It was a wonder he could even do such; the match had been predictably one-sided thus far. Shikamaru had time before this tournament to look into and prepare for his opponents, and a thinker like him knew to use the time well. Yet if Shikamaru was fully honest… his expectations and predictions had been well and far off.
Sasuke he had known little about, but the tidbit of him having something akin to teleportation was sure to leave Shikamaru helpless. He had assumed Gaara would be quite the threat, yet he hadn't considered the idea he could casually send building-sized waves of sand. Naruto could fly and had mastered the nature of wind at some point. Even Suigetsu, it seemed, was prepped to shatter his predictions.
He had figured the Hozuki clan used their bloodline defensively, turning targeted parts of themselves into water to avoid damage and further augment their water techniques. They could freely do it to each part of their body reflexively; they were similar but critically different. It meant their defense was much more consistent than he had hoped. It had been made clear from the previous bouts that "they were weak to lightning." Unhelpful, considering his nature was fire, and it was easier to harness the power of electricity with jutsu. Luckily, Shikamaru had developed a plan that did not require such. All he needed to do was force Suigetsu to fully become water. Easier said than done.
For the past five minutes, Shikamaru had done something he had always hated. Fought head-on, he hated close-range combat and trading blows with a specialist. It took each trick and technique Asuma had taught him to survive this long. Suigetsu wielded his sword well, using timed strikes paired with self-powered water jutsu to completely overwhelm the Nara.
Shikamaru had been OK with this; he knew he could only force Suigetsu to fully liquify by offense. Unfortunately, even with his increased training lately, Shikamaru seemed utterly outclassed in terms of physically speaking. After several cuts and painful blows, it became clear that a change of plans was necessary.
Suigetsu had shown himself to be rather prideful, showing his abilities and techniques gleefully. That was annoying but undeniably useful; he should be able to bait him… Shikamaru ducked another spurt of water and backtracked into the forest.
"Can't hide from me, slacker! Water Style: Crescent Wave Blade!" Suigetsu taunted as he spun and swung his blade. An arc of water fired off the sword and raced toward the forest, cutting down several trees as it did so. Shikamaru barely managed to outpace it, pumping his arms and legs as he sprinted towards his destination. If he could get him there and bait him into doing his will. "Stop fucking running, you damn coward!" Suigetsu yelled.
"Strategic withdrawal is the proper term here!" Shikamaru replied, the irritation dripping from his voice as he slid into a bush. Suigetsu, mere instants behind, slashed wildly, destroying the plant life as Shikamaru scurried forward, finally rolling down into the ditch to his goal. 'The river! Perfect! Let's hope this is less of a drag than I think it may be.'
"You're a dead slacker!" Suigetsu roared as he leaped towards Shikamaru. But Shikamaru merely smirked as he made a hand sign.
"Let's test that. Shadowy Grasp Jutsu." Shikamaru countered. The first part of his little ploy would be costly but would indeed work. From holes in the ground, the shadows of trees and shadows from beneath the leaves condensed and formed a grouping of long shadowy hands that seemingly mindlessly writhed around the genius. Suigetsu smirked cockily.
"Have you learned not-" Shikamaru didn't allow the mist shinobi to finish the hands stilled for a moment before racing forward. Some slammed straight through the liquid body of Suigetsu, others attempted to beat him into submission, and some even tried to tear him apart. Suigetsu burst into the water, flying around and past Shikamaru into the river of the courtyard.
"You little shit!" Suigetsu said with anger. "You tried to lead me to an ambush! You must've forgotten it wouldn't work. Now, let me show you my full power! Water Style: Water Golem!" Suddenly, the entire river surged, rising into the air into a large semi-humanoid; it became more defined as his face could be seen. "WHAT'S YOUR PLAN NOW?" He asked cockily. Shikamaru didn't bother to answer as he calmly drew a scroll and released its contents, showing what appeared to be quite a few pebbles. "GO AHEAD AND WASTE YOUR TIME IT'S OVER!" Suigetsu decided with a manic smile as he raised a giant watery fist to smash Shikamaru easily.
Shikamaru did not even flinch as he picked up and tossed the pebbles lazily at the giant. As Suigetsu reared back to finish the battle, the pebbles seemed to cause the water to bubble before significant bits of it began to solidify, seeming to become more gel-like than even Mangetsu had been. Suigetsu gasped as he watched both his shoulders solidify, part of his chest, and both his legs. Suigetsu growled as he raised a hand sign to turn back. But he could not move well…
"I can't control my body anymore; it's no longer even water!" Suigetsu said with shock. "What did you do to me…"
"Ever heard of instant snow?" Shikamaru replied easily. Suigetsu growled in angry confusion. "Slush powder? What a drag, slush powder, AKA sodium polyacrylate. It's a polymer that's considered a super absorbent. It can absorb as much as one hundred times his own weight in water." The genius explained casually as he watched Suigetsu struggle to escape his predicament.
"So what?!"
"So… when sodium polyacrylate is introduced to water, it becomes a semi-solid gel-like substance. I figured you would struggle to control your body in this state." Shikamaru continued. "Technically, I still can't hurt you yet."
"Ya! I'll enjoy tearing you apart once I find my way out of this!" Suigetsu chuckled.
Shikamaru shrugged as he drew another scroll and released three kunai covered in Fuinjutsu. "Well, the best part of it is slowly but surely, it will turn your entire body into a solid. I imagine that very well will kill you. Though if you surrender, I can free you."
"Your lying bastard!" Suigetsu roared now, unable to move his almost entire gel body anymore. He gasped as he realized how little of him was still water.
"If I am, it wouldn't really matter, would it? In that scenario, you die either way." Shikamaru replied as he lay down on the bank of the river and drew a cigarette. With a flick of his finger, he lit the flame using a minor fire technique he knew. "Your choice?"
Suigetsu frowned, seemingly prepared to deny the aid offered before he flinched and nodded his head.
"Sorry, I know the proctor; we'll probably need verbal confirmation to end this." Shikamaru apologized as he drew a deep drag.
"I SURRENDER!" Suigetsu yelled desperately. Shikamaru nodded as he grabbed the kunai and lazily chucked him into the odd mass that had become Suigetsu. The kunai each stabbed in before they started to glow. Soon, the bizarre mass shrunk as the kunai glowed brilliantly blue. Suigetsu crawled out of the mass of gel coated in such but now entirely average.
"M-my chakra i-is…" Suigetsu started.
"Only way to force you to revert back," Shikamaru replied. "No chakra, no bloodline."
Suigetsu only groaned exhaustedly at that.
"Match over," Kakashi said as he appeared. Then he looked up and addressed the crowd, which roared in approval, enjoying the stylish win.
'Hopefully, that's enough to get promoted…' Shikamaru thought as he lazed. 'The other opponents wouldn't be so simple.'
"Alright, it's time to leave, Nara." Kakashi informed him. One of my precious students is next."
"Too tired…" Shikamaru complained.
"Well, as your ally, it's only right I help you then," Kakashi said sweetly. "Earth Style: Emergent Pillar." He said as he stomped. Suddenly, a pillar of earth launched up from the ground. Sending the prone Nara flying upwards. He didn't bother screaming; surely Kakashi wouldn't kill him so casually.
'My life is such a drag.' He thought that as he impacted the competitor section, Naruto and the others narrowly avoided his impact, allowing him to slam painfully into the concrete. 'How did he even know the mathematics to send me flying perfectly into him instantly.' "Your sensei sucks, Naruto."
"Not now, Shikamaru." Naruto replied seriously. Shikamaru glanced up, seeing the next match-up and realizing what had felt off all day. Ino had been missing all day, and Naruto had seemed somewhat down and conflicted now that it was her turn to fight. A couple of problems as well? This day was really troublesome.