Chapter 81: Shikamaru VS Suigetsu! Battle of the Blondes!

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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 of such. 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 as of late, Shikamaru seemed utterly outclassed 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 surely 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 attempted 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 before he looked up and addressed the crowd. "Winner of the match Shikamaru Nara!" The crowd roared 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.'

"Alrighty, 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 as he impacted into 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 in an instant.' "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, Naruto had seemed somewhat down, and looked conflicted now that it was her turn to fight. Couple problems as well? This day was really troublesome.

Samui - Contestant Section Iron Arena

Samui scowled as she saw the screen as something occurred to her.

"Naruto, is your teammate not coming today?" Samui asked with a raised brow. It wouldn't be cool if she missed out on her match. "I promise not to be too rough with her." She teased.

"I haven't seen her." Naruto replied honestly. "We're kinda… in a fight. She hasn't enjoyed the rep that comes with being associated with me. She and I haven't talked since she told me that."

Samui felt a spark of emotion fire through her. But she tempered it for now; besides, losing her head over someone she had just met was uncool. Yet Samui felt earnest annoyance for Naruto. As a student of a jinchuriki, she knew the burden they carried as well as the burden their loved one ended up carrying as well. But Samui had never blamed Bee sensei for such; he needed support, not judgment. Perhaps that's why she felt so protective of Naruto. It was uncool to not back up your friends after all.

She shouldn't get involved…

"I hope your teammate shows up, Naruto. I look forward to our battle." Samui replied earnestly.

She then proceeded to the hall that would take her into the courtyard. As she marched, she thought it over more. Something about Naruto she had found engaging from the very start. It wasn't a physical attraction thing; the man looked fine enough. No, it was something about the way he acted. No airs were being put up, no hidden intentions or malice; hell, he had barely even stared at her… assets. That bar was a desperately high one…

He was just who he was. He was caring, silly, and brave. In many ways, he reminded Samui of a cooler Bee. Certainly not nearly as knowledgeable or powerful, but not nearly as strange. He was as fun as her own team but didn't grate on her nerves as they often did. She enjoyed his company…..

…..She was losing her cool. She needed to win this for her village. She was the last Cloud Genin in the exams. She needed to do well for her village. Not beat up some hussy for hurting her friends. Though she supposed being efficient and doing both would be alright…

Samui supposed it was her time…