'They didn't enter the building and trigger the trap.' Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, closed her eyes and laid a hand on her forehead, lips quivering.

'What a drag.' Shikamaru sighed. All that effort to set up some drugged senbons to go off when they entered the room wasted. He'd been forced to steal most of the ingredients to maintain the precious little cash they had.

Still, they had time. They were currently on the opposite end of town, a recently vacated apartment building where dust made outlines of couches, refrigerators, and a few assorted tables and chairs. On the fifth story, the building had a decent view of the town. Why be close to their stalkers when they had the Byakugan on their side?

Still, they should probably flee, or find a method to make them think they had gone.

And it had to be quick. Shikamaru glanced over at Naruto, currently lying on a wall. Asleep, or unconscious.

If he had been awake, he would probably encourage them to stop running and fight. Certainly as foolhardy the idea was, it had merits. Still, Shikamaru didn't want a direct confrontation until either there was no other way, or he believed they could take down their pursuers with no fuss. The latter was a childish fantasy; the former looked to become a grim reality.

Still, there was still a chance to escape, all they had to do was-

'It's your fault.'

Shikamaru froze. Asuma, Asuma was right in front of him. Burned, bleeding, battered, but alive, eyes clouded over yet still managing to stare at him.

'You're not fit to lead, the people around you suffer for your mistakes.'

This wasn't right, this was… was…

A genjutsu.

Making a handsign, Shikamaru roared 'KAI!'

The illusion took another step forward, before fading into an inky blackness, then nothing.

Not long after Shikamaru recovered, the others began to follow suit dispelling the genjutsu. 'Hinata, can you tell where the genjutsu came from?'

'Byakugan!' a quick response. 'One of the guys after us is at the epicentre of a small chakra surge. We weren't the only ones affected. I can see several people who were sleeping before awake, sweat on their foreheads.'

So it hadn't been targeted directly at them. So, what was the point of it? Had they expected a genjutsu spread so thinly throughout the town to incapacitate them?

'They're headed this way.' Hinata deactivated her byakugan.

Had the Genjutsu somehow pinpointed their location? Shikamaru wasn't familiar with any genjutsu with such a capability. Still, while it did indeed matter how they had been located, priority was to escape.

'Lee, grab Naruto, we're moving.'


'The hell was that technique?' Still pale-faced, Reiki lagged slightly behind, a longer delay in his leaps from rooftop to rooftop, judging if he could make distances he had done thousands of times before.

'A large-scale demoralization genjutsu. Although to be more effective I'd need to input additional chakra, most likely from assistants.' Deimos let out a "hmph" of amusement. 'But I've found with a bit of concentration, it can work as a sensor technique, as I see brief glimpses of the fears of everyone in range. From there, I just need to determine one belonging to our dear targets. It's quite easy to pinpoint individuals, once you get the hang of it.'

'So, it works as an inefficient sensor technique that is not one hundred percent accurate and alerts the target, or a genjutsu that requires an impractical amount of chakra to use for little gain.' Nairu didn't even look at Deimos currently right next to him.

'Oh dear Nairu, such little faith you have in my techniques.' A big, toothy grin pointed in Nairu's direction. 'You should wait for the finished products to judge.'

'Using an unfinished technique during an important mission is still an unwise move.'

'Spoken like a true Root member from birth, devoid of any spark of creativity.' The grin stuck to his face as he chuckled and shook his head. 'I find testing my kind of jutsu in the heat of the moment is the only way to effectively determine strengths and weaknesses.' The grin faded swiftly as Deimos frowned. 'You're just starting to become needlessly antagonistic Nairu, delaying us. You don't want to waste time, do you? That's inef-'

'Understood, now are you prepared? They have most likely retreated already, so most likely you will have to use the technique again.'

'Of course, of course. Shall we alert Strin?'

'No' Joseph cut in. 'He's right where we want him, at their most likely escape route prepared to capture or kill any stragglers who attempt to escape. The four of us should be enough to take them on with little difficulty.

Nairu nodded, Deimos rolled his eyes. 'Still not trusting dear Strin are we?'

'That has nothing to do with my decision, and you know that.' Joseph curled a hand into a fist, but opened it as if stung; he glanced down at his hand. Four fingers, including his thumb. His ring finger was nothing but a slight growth, worthless. 'Now who's being needlessly antagonistic?' Joseph crossed his arms. 'Although on an unrelated note. I do not think you were honest about the risks.' Joseph nodded towards a window on a nearby building, a light that wasn't there before shining out of the crack in the blinds. 'It was indiscriminate, and you've woken up quite a few civilians as well. Possibly even one or two ninja, this town is suspected of harbouring some Missing-Nin.'

'If I recall, the suspected ninja are simply ones who wished to retire early. I doubt they want to get dragged into conflict if they can avoid it.' Deimos turned his head, scanning the town for life.

'And if they view your genjutsu as an act of aggression?'

'Alright, alright, you have a point.' For a brief moment, Deimos raised his arms in mock surrender before shifting them back to a more aerodynamic position. 'I'll better explain my actions next time. In grave detail, if you so desire.'

Silence, save for the chirping of crickets.

Joseph motioned for them to stop. They were a building away from their target's last known location, a building a couple of stories larger than the one they resided on. 'Alright Deimos, check again.'

'Next time I shall request a dedicated sensor to be on a hunting team I am assigned to.' Nairu probably would, but it was more likely a thinly veiled insult than something said with any belief of it coming into fruition.

Still, the words gave Joseph pause, he glanced over, scanning for signs of frustration or other emotions that would cause even that small outburst. Nothing, he still remained in his "default" stationary position, ready to spring into action. His mask hadn't twisted into a different position, suggesting his face was similarly unchanged.

'Oh, wish for them to fall in our laps tied up and ready to give to our master while you're at it.' Deimos grinned as he began making handsigns.

Deimos and Nairu had been assigned to the same mission only once before, several years ago. It was becoming more and more apparent why that was so. Joseph grunted as he prepared his mind for the mental assault

With the entire team better prepared, they managed to dispel the genjutsu from themselves almost instantly.

'They're on the move, exiting at a fast pace. Can't be good for the sick child.' He tilted his head towards Joseph. 'But more importantly, it appears they're headed on the predicted path, Strin should be able to intercept and slow them down long enough for us to catch up.'

'Well then, let's not keep him waiting.'

'Indeed, he might have some trouble…'