Neji VS Rock Lee Tenten Yakumo

Neji raised a hand and gently pressed down on Sasuke's wrist, which had already closed around his sword hilt, poised to strike.

"No need to rush, Sasuke." Neji's voice remained steady, his gaze sweeping lightly over Shikamaru's nine-person team ahead as they stood as if facing a great enemy, then flicking down toward the real Naruto below, who had temporarily stopped because of the rising barrier and was staring upward in startled uncertainty.

"Your job is to keep an eye on Naruto."

With that, he released his hand and took a step forward.

Following his movement, Kaguya Kimimaro and Otsutsuki Toneri on the rooftops to either side also stepped forward at the same time.

The three moved in astonishing unison, the sounds of their feet landing merging precisely into one, forming a triangular formation that faintly surrounded Shikamaru's nine-person squad within the central area.

Though they were at a numerical disadvantage, the calm, restrained, yet unfathomable aura radiating from the three of them, along with the Four Violet Flame Formation that cut them off from the outside world, brought a heavy pressure down on everyone.

The nine people trapped within the Four Violet Flame Formation instantly felt their breathing catch.

Even the air seemed to grow a few degrees hotter because of the barrier's high-temperature flames.

Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from Shikamaru's forehead, but his brain was running at its absolute limit.

Escape?

The barrier separated inside from outside. Forcing their way through carried unknown risks, and they would immediately be attacked by the three of them.

Negotiation?

Judging from the other side's posture—four puppets sealing the four corners, a fifth patrolling the perimeter, and three elite ninja arranged in a triangle around them without attacking—this was clearly a net being drawn shut.

Only battle remained: search for