And... the Talk-No-Jutsu Advantage!

"... Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, good morning!" the girl said helplessly.

"Hmph, violent maniac! Too late to try and build a relationship now!" Ino's smug voice came from behind. "We've seen it clearly. Your stamina and Chakra are almost depleted. You only scared them off by bluffing. We won't be as stupid as those Sound Ninja! Now, your scroll is ours!"

"Hey, don't be so heartless! We're classmates!" the girl sighed. "Shikamaru, how can you bear to bully a weak girl who can't even kill a chicken?! Choji, what are you saying?!"

Looking back on his impressions of Sakura over the years, Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He couldn't see how Sakura could be described as "weak" or "incapable of killing a chicken."

"Sorry, Sakura! With your strength, snatching the scroll would be easy for you, but for us, taking it from a fully-strength team is too risky. We're only confident we can get the scroll when you're at your weakest!" Shikamaru said with a wry smile. "We'll take the scroll and leave!"

"Uh, well..." Choji chimed in while munching on potato chips, "I'll listen to Shikamaru!"

"Tsk tsk tsk! Truly, a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs!" the girl said calmly. "However..."

A cool, clear voice came from behind Ino and the other two.

Are you sure you've got me cornered?

The girl, who had been controlled by the Shadow Possession Jutsu, turned into a puddle of water with a splash, and her true form emerged from the shadows behind Ino!

"How is that possible? You shouldn't be able to Hand Seals after being controlled by Shikamaru!"

"I can activate Ninjutsu like Water Substitution without Hand Seals," the girl said with a faint smile. "Shikamaru, I've heard that advanced binding techniques can bind Chakra as well. It seems your Shadow Possession Jutsu isn't quite up to par yet! What should you guys do next?"

"Damn it, don't look at me!" Ino bit her lip and made Hand Seals towards Sakura—

"Secret Technique: Mind Body Switch Technique!"

Sakura swayed for a moment, then returned to normal, but Ino suddenly stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

The pale-faced Ino forgot that Sakura had three spirits within her, and her spiritual strength far exceeded that of ordinary people!

"Ino, your Ninjutsu doesn't work on me. Have you forgotten again?" Sakura said leisurely.

"This is bad, Shikamaru! Your Shadow Possession Jutsu and Ino's Mind Body Switch Technique are both ineffective against me. Without your help, Choji will have a hard time hitting me. Now, you're all helpless!"

Choji and Ino's faces paled even further.

Choji was a pacifist who opposed being enemies with Sakura from the beginning. However, he lacked his own opinions and always followed Shikamaru's arrangements. Shikamaru, on the other hand, disliked trouble, so he wouldn't strongly oppose Ino's insistence on doing something. Thus, in name, Ino became the captain of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

The Delinquent Quartet had a good relationship with Sakura, but Ino and Sakura were rivals who couldn't share a love interest—at least that's what Ino thought. So when Shikamaru analyzed that Sakura was all bark and no bite, Ino suggested stealing the Team 7's scroll.

The temptation of being able to defeat Sakura Haruno, a talent only she possessed, was so appealing that even Shikamaru found it incredibly attractive.

As a genius with an IQ of over 00, Shikamaru couldn't possibly be unaware of Sakura's true strength after spending six years with her. Based on his understanding of Sakura, she could easily grow to the level of Kakashi, or even reach the "Sannin -Kage Level" realm of the Legendary Sannin.

For the ninjas of the same generation, this was both exciting and tragic. Tragic because many would be overshadowed by a woman for the rest of their lives, watching her shadow grow ever wider and wider.

Shikamaru quickly realized that this might be his only chance to defeat Sakura in his life. The chauvinistic Shikamaru didn't want to spend his entire life only able to look up to a young girl. If he could steal Sakura's scroll, at least when he was old, he could boast to others, "When I was young, I defeated Sakura Haruno and snatched the scroll from her!"

Although they felt guilty about taking advantage of others and stealing their friend's scroll, Shikamaru believed that Sakura would forgive them. Well, if all else failed, Ino would have forced them to do it!

Of course, given Shikamaru's intelligence, the fact that he's making a move indicates that he's confident.

At least, although Sakura's words shook Choji and Ino's confidence, Shikamaru still believed that they had a better chance of winning.

Shikamaru knew that Sakura's senses were extremely sharp within range, and he couldn't yet conceal the Chakra Shadow Possession Jutsu, making a sneak attack unlikely to work on her. Moreover, even if a sneak attack succeeded, she could escape Water Substitution technique. Ino's techniques were ineffective against her, and Choji's techniques were too cumbersome; without their assistance, they would be difficult to use effectively. It seemed that the three of them truly had no way to deal with Sakura.

However, they also have a winning advantage.

First of all, before dawn, the pitch-black Forest of Death became the natural battleground for the Shadow Possession Jutsu. Because there was no light here and shadows were everywhere, Shikamaru could attack Sakura from any position in the forest!

More importantly, whether it's Water Substitution to escape the Shadow Possession Jutsu, breaking free from the Mind Body Switch Technique, or dodging Choji's attack, all of these require consuming basic stamina and Chakra, which are precisely what Sakura lacks most right now!

As for offense, Sakura wouldn't use those deadly techniques against them, just as Choji wouldn't use the Three-Colored Pills when fighting Sakura. Conventional tactics, on the other hand, would consume too much Chakra and stamina for Sakura to handle!

The sky was already turning a pale white in the east. In the soft light of dawn, Shikamaru saw a bead of sweat on Sakura's smooth forehead. Despite her efforts to control it, Shikamaru could still hear that her breathing had become heavier.

This guy is so weak, yet he can still act all nonchalant and confident...!

Shikamaru calmly analyzed their strengths and Sakura's weaknesses for everyone.

"... So, the one who truly holds the decisive advantage is us! I have a question, Sakura! If you really have such a huge advantage, why aren't you attacking?" Shikamaru said with a relaxed smile, "Or perhaps you don't even have the stamina to attack?"

"Even though you think you have the upper hand, do you still have the energy to maintain it?" Shikamaru asked loudly!

Shadow Possession Jutsu, activate!

Sakura gave a bitter smile and let Shikamaru restrain her.

If they were to fight, Sakura could put up a fight if she gave it her all, or even fight Shikamaru and the others to a draw. The problem was that if she did that, she would be completely at their mercy when they encountered enemies again. It would be better to just give the scroll to Shikamaru and the others.

Sakura tried to use the same trick again to fool them, but these tricks were indeed useless against Shikamaru.

Sakura did indeed lose this battle. Shikamaru saw things very clearly and crushed Sakura with a straightforward strategy, which is far more effective than clever tricks. Shikamaru is truly intelligent!

However, Shikamaru overlooked a fatal flaw!

"Ino... are you really going to steal our Team 7's scroll?" Sakura blinked at Ino, who was Ino to take the scroll. "If I tell Sasuke that you stole our scroll and caused Team 7 to be eliminated, will Sasuke hate you for the rest of his life?"

Ino stopped abruptly.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. This despicable woman! She actually used something like this to threaten Ino! And it seems Ino is actually falling for it!

Seeing Ino standing there stunned, her heart churning with shock, Sakura pressed her advantage. "But if you turn around and help us, take care of Sasuke Sasuke, he'll be very grateful. Plus, I can put in a good word for you, and maybe Sasuke will even agree to go on a date with you! Also, when we recover our strength, we'll share the scrolls we snatched with you, ensuring you pass your exams!"

A fatal blow!

Tempted by the prospect of both love and career success, Ino nodded without hesitation after only five seconds of consideration!

Ino... has betrayed us!

Staring dumbfounded at Ino's ever-changing attitude, Shikamaru was speechless. "You're the one who snatched the scroll, and you're the one who didn't! What's going on?!"

Women are such a hassle!

Shikamaru... silence!

A perfectly legitimate and open strategy was actually defeated by a woman's few words... Shikamaru felt his heart break! He could only console himself: In the end, he didn't have to stand against Team 7, but instead managed to get on Team 7 good side, which is pretty good!

As for integrity... of course, the more you throw away, the less burden you have!

At that moment, Ino glared back at her. "Shikamaru, release the binding jutsu!" Then she turned to Sakura with a lovesick grin, "Sakura, you'd better put in a good word for me with Sasuke!"

"Of course, leave it to me!" Sakura patted her meager chest and said boldly!

Thus, the quirky six-person team was formed.