Another path

The third ring

He immediately regretted this decision. This was not the kind of shinobi you want to fight during an endurance ordeal. Gai was... overwhelming. Strong and endurant but also exuberant. Asuma was nowhere near close to the stamina his three opponents displayed. Would this turn into another chaotic struggle ?

His musing was cut short when a powerful tide came his way. Evading it was no issue but it seemed like Utakata was now focusing on him. In the distance, the former Fire Guardian could see Fū had engaged in a wild chase with Gai.
Well, that was somehow better and somehow worse.

Utakata was probably the calmest and most laidback of his opponents. He didn't look built as a taijutsu user so he might be a similar type of Jinchūriki as Gaara : good ninjutsu but if Asuma could close in on him, he'd easily get the upper hand. However, that meant that he first to actually close in and that was easier said than done.
He engaged head first in battle with Utakata when yet another suiton jutsu almost collided with him, this time being a thin but powerful stream that looked like it could cut anything in half. And cutting it did : several trees and rocks fell behind Asuma after he'd jumped out of the way. Not one to remain idle, he swiftly exhaled a large cloud of smoke. Utakata couldn't avoid it entirely and his right foot was caught in. He realised immediately that it wasn't smoke as a familiar sting radiated through his limb.

He landed a few feet away, gazing down and sure enough, a striking red - black in some spots - wound rested on his foot.
He eyes Asuma who had taken a defensive stance with his blades. The laid back jōnin remembered Tenten mentioned this technique to him : the blue glow on the blades was wind chakra - sharp and swift. It would cut through him easily if he was careless. Between that and the ash cloud he earlier produced, Utakata's opponent wasn't to be taken lightly.

The two engaged in a stare down, tuning out the ruckus of Fū and Gai dancing, jumping and smashing stuff around.
Then without notice-

Ashes covered the entire area only for water to wash them away. Utakata gazed around and found Asuma poised to strike right above him. He ducked and rolled to the side, the other following suit without missing a beat. Utakata avoided strike after strike, careful to maintain a safe distance until he found himself cornered between three trees narrowing his escape possibilities. Asuma was about to dive in but a loud rumble cut him short and jumped back right in time to avoid a geyser sprouting inadvertently from the ground. Startled, they both realised that the northern part of the fields were not only an arid terrain but also a natural minefield with water ready to tear them apart any second. How they hadn't realised earlier, they didn't know.

A surprised cry once again broke their focus and it seemed it came from Fū-

Why was Tetsuya here ? Why on earth was he here ?!
Had he come from the northern side ? It did seem to be were he was initially headed when the trial first began. After all, their little group had all booked it in the same direction but that didnt mean everyone would do the same.

There was no time left to pounder though as the unexpectedly arrived red head swept through their group, getting quickly ahead to seize the checkpoint. All of them were battered and tired and competing with an Uzumaki on the matter of stamina was ridiculous.
Both Asuma and Utakata saw where this was headed and they raced further ahead, each in a different direction in hope they'd get to the fourth ring checkpoints in time.
Meanwhile, Gai and Fū attempted to catch up with Tetsuya but to no avail and the east third checkpoint was taken.

Temari wasn't sure how exactly she'd gotten in her current position but considering how it favored her, she wouldn't complain.
She had been battling with people all along her way to the west checkpoint but it went surprisingly easily. She didn't really get how it could be but truth to be told, she hadn't even attempted to take a first or second ring checkpoint. She had trusted in her stamina and the fact most people would rush to those, thus exhausting themselves.
Though she hadn't expected this many people to rush in, it made her work easier as she encountered little to no resistance.
She easily claimed the checkpoint though she could hear shinobi approaching in the distance.

When she arrived, she was met with an adorable sight that made her crack a rare smile.
In the middle of the room were Tetsuya and Suzuka, the latter enthusiastically squeezing her brother into a hug while he chuckled. Her gaze swept through the room and she wasn't surprised by what she saw : Sakuya and Kakashi were standing in a corner, talking softly while Higure and Tenten were watching the Uzumaki twins with a fond smile. B was rapping and it made his friends laugh, Lee even attempting a rather peculiar dance. And then there was Sasuke, brooding in another corner of the room, not taking part in any form of social interaction.
Well, that result wasn't too surprising. However, many strong shinobi remained and she wondered who would make it to the last trial after them. She was glad that at least one Suna shinobi had made it.

Her answer soon came when in the centre of the room, a seal glowed and a new shinobi appeared surrounded by a blueish hue. A quick look and she recognized Darui. She couldn't remember which way he had initially went but judging by how battered he was, he might have faced a lot of competition for that checkpoint.

Darui wouldn't have thought he'd struggle so much to reach a checkpoint. In comparison, his race with Rock Lee and Uzumaki Tetsuya had been a breeze. The north checkpoint had been were Arashi and Omoi from the northeast and himself from the northwest met. He'd had an awful time taking them out as the three of them were locked in stalemate, no one allowing the others to get an inch closer to the checkpoint. Since no one came to break it, they had to go through with the fight and it was miracle he made it to the checkpoint without collapsing.

However, both of them were now out. He doubted they'd recover fast enough to reach another checkpoint. Though if he was honest, Darui had to acknowledge he'd enjoyed this battle quite much. Those kids were strong and by the looks of it, so were the shinobi of their generation. While a shinobi's prime was in their twenties, older shinobi tended to be wiser and better prepared. The overwhelmingly young selection for the fifth trial showed that those kids had training and schemes in spade if they could beat their sensei to the punch. How fascinating...

Kurotsuchi walked triumphantly to the checkpoint, basking in the chaos of the battlefield aftermath she'd left behind her. That Karui kunoichi sure was strong, and so was Akatsuchi - though she suspected he might have been holding back. However, no matter how strong they were, she'd prevailed and saved Iwa's honor. Like, seriously, how was she the only Iwa nin left ?!
All villages had sent the same number of teams yet there was an overwhelming prevalence of shinobi from Konoha and Uzushio. It seemed that the younger generation from those villages was just stronger and while all great nations were at equivalent power when it came to shinobi of Aoi, Akatsuchi, Kakashi or Dario's generation, the newest one could trample them. So much for her grandpa's plans of toppling the Leaf Village.

The checkpoint's seal transported her to the head quarters and sure enough, there were five Uzushio nin and four Konoha ones with only one kunoichi from Suna and two shinobi of Kumo. She met her grandfather's eyes and she could see relief in them. Yeah, that made sense. They couldn't have afforded to lose face more than they already had.

But wait, how were there thirteen of them when she'd just taken the last third ring checkpoint ? There should be only twelve participants unless one made it to a fourth ring checkpoint before her.
She met the gaze of the shinobi that seemed to have arrived last and he gazed back at her.

"Ah, so that's what happened..."