Another path

Arrival at Suna

< Ok, so. It didn't go as planned. I'm still unsure when I'll be able to update because my schedule is about as hectic as a mall on a black Friday and it won't clear before a bit. So, I'm switching the update to Tuesday cause I really don't have the time anymore on Mondays, and sometimes others during the week. I will update at least once a week but the day might be random. Sorry for the inconvenience. Anyway, here's the new chapter, thanks for reading, take of yourselves and I hope you'll enjoy it !

I own my OCs but not Naruto. >

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A very satisfied Kurama was humming as she walked through the streets of Suna along with her daughters, their big brother, Higure and the Kazekage and his siblings.
She was awfully happy and that alone was sending chills down the spine of the people surrounding her.

" - So, you had a meeting with Konoha yesterday, right Mom ?

- Indeed, and it was most satisfying ! You should have seen them, begging for help while apologizing like their lives depended on it - which was technically the case.

- It does sound like you... Kazekage-sama, are you really fine with letting the participants discover Suna on their own ?

- It's alright, they will be subdued very easily if they try anything. I will take care of this personally if I have to.

Gaara's mood had grown darker and Tenten was a bit sorry she had brought the issue up in the first place. But soon, Suzuka giggled and they all turned to look at her.

- What's so fun ?

- Ah, sorry, just remembering their reaction to the traps. They even believed the sleeping powder was produced by Fū !

- Ah, right, it was luck Kurenai stepped on the trap... But isn't it Chômei's peculiarity after all ?

- It is, and it's very convenient. It would have been much harder for her to win if not for this.

- All in all, it was a pretty good show... And I believe you all owe me something !

Several groans were heard as Higure grinned widely. The three siblings from Suna were puzzled and Temari asked :

- What are you talking about ?

Higure turned toward them and smirked.

- We had a bet about who would be eliminated from the other countries and I said that Kankuro wouldn't make it to the second turn.

- W-WHAT ?! Why ?!

- A gut feeling.

- Seriously ?!

The poor puppeteer was now the laughing stock of the little group.
They kept walking toward Gaara's mansion, team Kakashi and Temari stopping at the entrance.

- Well, I suppose this is where we part. We need to go back to the hotel before we get scholded.

- I see, good luck then. We will wait for you on the finish line.

- Sure thing !

The two Kage and Kankuro went inside while the four others headed for their hotel. Unfortunately, all the teams were in the same one so they would definitely meet with some people they'd rather not.

- How are we going to survive seeing them everyday ? I wish more of those idiots from Konoha had been eliminated.

- They did as good as we expected them to but it was also clear enough they didn't match our strength.

- It was clear for anyone but them, I think...

- Sadly, Temari is probably right. It would take us literally stomping on that damn Uchiha's face for them to acknowledge the gap between us. Then again, they might accuse us of cheating.

- C'mon, let's cheer up a bit, I'm sure it's not that-

Suzuka stopped mid-sentence as she swung open the door, revealing the utter chaos that was the inside. Items of all sorts were flying around, rarely hitting their intended target, crashing loudly on the walls and the floor. Cries of shock, anger and pain resonated painfully in their ears.
Kurotsuchi was currently sitting on Akatsuchi's shoulders, throwing stuff at the people bellow while screaming bloody murder. Ino had Sakura in a headlock, making the pinkette shriek in pain high enough to break the few remaining glass pieces from the windows. Said windows had been shattered when Bee had thrown both Kiba and Omoi, each through a window. Karui was stomping on Chôji, which didn't prevent him from trying to save some of the food that fell after Shayô had sent Sai crashing on a nearby table. Hakuchô was attempting to strangle Sasuke (unbeknownst to his fangirls) and Lee was cheering for her while trying to kick Neji. Hotaru was throwing chairs at people who came near her (no one could tell why)... Jin and Harubana were trying to catch Arashi who threw a table on their path, knocking in Mitsuba who fell on Enma who hit Shino in the face, breaking his glasses. Kayô was having an arm wrestling match with Darui while C and Muzai argued about how they should punish Chôjūrô for accidentally swinging his sword in their face.
Fū was flying above everyone and laughing while Shikamaru and Hinata sat in a corner to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Kakashi turned on his heels and silently walked away, leaving his students to deal with this mess.
Higure looked at his friends : Tenten had a deadpan expression while Temari and Suzuka were pinching the bridge of their nose. He sighed, wondering how they could get through the crowd of yelling shinobi to go to their rooms. The architect of the hotel had the bad idea of putting the bedrooms behind the common room, very impractical in situations like this.

Suddenly, a chill ran down their spine. The shinobi from Uzushio, Suna and Kiri went still. The others, intrigued, stopped fighting as well. An ominous aura had filled the room.

- WhAt In GoD's NAme dO you ThiNk yOu'RE dOinG ?...

A murderous looking Sakuya was glaring at them, her arms crossed over her chest with kunai already in her left hand.
Everyone got the message and ten seconds later, the room was cleared from all human presence aside from hers.
She smirked proudly and went back to her room with the other teachers from Uzushio.
Since the rooms weren't large enough, each country had three of them : one for the students, one for the teachers and one for the Kage and their staff. Only Suna had two rooms since the Kazekage stayed in his own mansion.

They all rested a bit, until at 3 A.M, Tamamo and her fellow kitsune once again went to deliver the rules of the trial to the participants.

- This time, you will have to perform a specific mission given to you just before the beginning of the trial. You will have an unlimited amount of time to do so but you need to perform it as fast as possible. You will be paired in two people teams and only the twenty first teams to complete their mission will reach the next trial. Ah, and the teams will be randomized among the people from all villages but yours. "

" ... The teams will be what ?! "