"Right." Between the two of them, they lift her up, and flee out of the arena.

Mariko jumps down, followed after a few seconds by Lee and Shino.

"What's going on?" Rian asks the proctor, who's staring at the jounin.

"Looks like an invasion. You four - go after that Elieyha, stop whatever they're planning. Consider this an A-rank mission, under Uchiha Rian. I'll cover your leaving."

Rian nods, sharply, and motions to the other three. "Mariko, you've got a fix on their location?"

"Yeah, pretty clearly. This way."

And they're off, the proctor blocking any attempts by the Sand jounin to stop them.

Soon - "There's a nine man squad following us. They're a good bit back, we'll be nearly on those three before they catch up. Middling power, but enough to slow us down."

Rian bites her lip, thinking, and - "Shino, do you think you can take them, or at least slow them down?" she asks.

He nods. "Yes. My chakra levels have sufficiently recovered."

Breath out, then: "Shino, fall back and set up an ambush for the pursuing squad. Us three will continue pursuit of the targets."

Shino falls back and away, and the now three-man squad continues their pursuit.

Rian considers her chakra levels, toys with the idea of taking a soldier pill - probably not a good idea until absolutely needed, she was warned it could fuck with her seal - and then flashes through handsigns, biting her thumb before slamming her hand down on a branch. There's a billow of smoke, which clears to reveal a grey tabby in a dark blue vest with the Uchiha fan on the back. The cat falls into step with them, and Rian turns to him and explains the situation. (Sen's got more chakra than it takes to summon him, so it's a reasonable tradeoff, and this returns their numbers advantage).

"I'm starting to regret not signing that stupid toad contract," Mariko mutters, then - "We're nearly on them."

"They're following us."

"I know."

"We need to delay them."

"I know."

"Do you have a plan for that?"

"No."

"Then I'll take them."

"...Catch up fast, yeah?"

"Trust me."

Kankurou and Elieyha move on ahead. She stops, turns to face the direction of pursuit, opens up her fan, and unleashes a huge scythe of wind, slicing through trees and creating an artificial clearing.

Mariko's able to warn her team in time so that no one gets hit.

She fans to the left, Lee going to the right and Rian staying in the middle. 

Rian doesn't even bother reactivating her sharingan. She forms a few handseals, breathing out a stream of fire that turns into a roaring dragon - covering for the cat Sen darting around towards Tsubasa.

"Wind Release: Great Task of the Dragon!" The sky darkens, and a tornado dips down from the clouds, dispersing the fire blast.

Tsubasa springs over to Mariko's side to more effectively bar her path, judging the two kunoichi the more serious threat.

Mariko sends chains bursting from her back and hands at Tsubasa, while Lee and Sen close from behind her. Sen shoots off a fireball - smallish but hot and fast-moving - and then another set in quick succession. 

She's going to crash from the pill soon enough, but she'll use it while she has it. She moves faster than she did in her last fight, fan spinning gracefully, tossing wind jutsu left and right. There's more of them than her, so if she can maneuver them into blocking each other, clogging up the firing lanes, she will.

Lee's fairly good at staying out of the girls' way.

Sen, Mariko, and Rian move in concert, clearly well used to each other. 

At a look from Rian, Lee tries to close with her - his weights are still off - while Rian, Mariko, and Sen go to move past her.

That's not allowed. She flips up into the air, out of Lee's reach. They're too spread to hit all of them, so prioritizing-

She sends a Wind Scythe aimed toward Mariko that arcs partway through to bend and hit the summoned cat.

Mariko drops from the trees, away from the scythe, while Sen barely rolls out of the way. 

She lands, touches the ground, and chains burst from the ground at Tsubasa's feet, moving to twine around her.

And she's not fast enough.

The skin under the chains goes numb, and her chakra moves sluggishly through those channels.

Mariko directs more chains to bind her properly.