Capture the Leader to Capture the Bandits

"Expansion Jutsu! Human Boulder!"

As soon as Nara Shikaku finished speaking, Akimichi Choza launched his attack first.

His body suddenly bulged outwards, rapidly expanding in the rain. His muscles swelled as if being inflated, and his ninja uniform enlarged along with him.

In the blink of an eye, his body had grown several times larger. His limbs and head retracted inwards, shrinking into his body like a turtle. He transformed into a meatball shape and began to spin at high speed on the spot, creating a violent airflow that swirled the surrounding rainwater into a spiral curtain.

Once his speed reached a certain level, the giant meatball charged straight towards Uchiha An. The ground was plowed into deep furrows wherever it passed, with gravel and broken wood flying everywhere. Its power was comparable to a battering ram.

The Mangekyo Sharingan immediately appeared in Uchiha An's eyes. An Energy Giant rose from the ground, its Susanoo skeleton rapidly constructing itself in the rain. Dark red Chakra surged skyward, firmly protecting Uchiha An within its body.

Unlike when he dealt with Yamanaka Fu before, this time Uchiha An directly activated the second stage of Susanoo, the flesh armor form.

Energy muscles coiled around the skeleton like living creatures, forming smooth muscle lines. Chakra armor then covered his entire body, emitting a suffocating pressure.

The second stage of Susanoo could already form weapons. The Energy Giant held a massive Scepter in both hands and had a Herb Gourd strapped to its back.

In this state, Susanoo's offensive and defensive capabilities were greatly enhanced, while its Chakra consumption also increased significantly.

The Mangekyo Sharingan spun madly, and an endless stream of Chakra poured out from within. "Inaba's White Rabbit" granted him an exaggerated Chakra recovery speed, making the Susanoo's form even more solid.

With the support of "Inaba's White Rabbit," Uchiha An's endurance was greatly improved. He could last for an entire match without any problem.

Both sides knew the other was a formidable enemy and were well aware of their opponent's abilities. Therefore, there was no probing, no transition. The battle instantly entered its climax.

"Get lost!"

Uchiha An shouted, and the Susanoo gripped the Scepter with both hands. Like playing golf, it delivered a heavy blow to the charging Akimichi Choza.

As the Scepter swung, it produced a harsh whistling sound, drawing a deadly arc in the air, as if tearing space apart.

"Boom!"

The Scepter collided with the meatball, and a huge explosion erupted out of thin air.

The shockwave from the collision instantly vaporized the surrounding rainwater, filling the entire battlefield with white mist.

Chakra energy and the high-speed rotating flesh rubbed intensely against each other, and the fierce confrontation erupted into dazzling sparks, blooming like fireworks in the rainy night.

The two sides stalemated for a moment, but ultimately, flesh was no match for energy.

Akimichi Choza was sent flying with a single blow, spinning like a cannonball as he crashed into the dense forest beside them. He gouged out a wide, deep trench in the forest and broke dozens of large trees before finally coming to a halt.

Broken wood and stone fragments flew everywhere, and dust billowed skyward, covering the sun.

Uchiha An didn't have time to pursue. A shadow had already extended from Nara Shikaku's feet, following closely behind Akimichi Choza. Silently, it approached him.

After Akimichi Choza was sent flying, the shadow immediately lifted its head from the ground, transforming into dozens of arrow-like black shadows. Like a monster with tentacles, they twisted and writhed in the rain, sweeping towards him and sealing off all angles of evasion. Their speed was so fast that it caught him completely off guard.

However, Uchiha An had long heard of the Ino-Shika-Cho's reputation and was very familiar with their combat style.

Their standard tactic was for Akimichi Choza to enlarge himself, increasing the area of his shadow, allowing Nara Shikaku to restrict the enemy's movements, and then Yamanaka Inoichi would perform mind control.

In battles between Jonin-level shinobi, even a few seconds of control could often decide the outcome of the battle.

Uchiha An didn't know what tactic Nara Shikaku would use this time, but the basic framework wouldn't change.

So, when Akimichi Choza charged forward, Uchiha An knew there had to be a shadow hidden behind him.

He was well aware of the intelligence on these three, and also very clear about the weakness of the Shadow Secret Technique.

That is, this secret technique had requirements for the area of the shadow.

The larger the shadow, the wider the attack range, and conversely, the narrower it would be.

This was the opening!

After blasting away Akimichi Choza, who was drawing his attention, Uchiha An didn't even look up. He immediately formed a hand seal with one hand, and the Susanoo outside his body synchronized, rapidly making its giant palms blur into afterimages.

"Fire Style. Great Fireball Technique!"

In Uchiha An's opinion, using Susanoo like a giant robot for close-quarters combat was just a conventional tactic, far too inefficient.

Susanoo could also use Ninjutsu!

Susanoo Chidori, Susanoo Kirin, Kamui Shuriken, Kamui Raikiri... each one was more exaggerated than the last!

Susanoo was similar to Sage Mode, acting like a Ninjutsu amplifier. Any Ninjutsu released through Susanoo would have a power comparable to that of a Tailed Beast.

As expected, the Susanoo's giant mouth opened, dark red Chakra gathering wildly within it. A fireball the size of a Tailed Beast Bomb quickly appeared and descended towards the enemy formation.

A bright light instantly illuminated the entire battlefield, and shadows were nowhere to hide under its glare.

Under the illumination of the scorching flames, the shadow techniques vanished like spring snow exposed to the sun, disappearing in an instant without having any effect.

Where the fireball passed, the surrounding rainwater was instantly evaporated by the high temperature, forming a thick white mist that distorted the vision.

Uchiha An knew very well that the three members of Ino-Shika-Cho were each only elite Jonin. Although their combat power was not weak, they had obvious weaknesses and could easily be targeted and killed.

Just like Yamanaka Fu before, Uchiha An hadn't even targeted him, yet he had been killed by multiple backlash attacks, his signature Body Mind Switch Puppet Curse Seal Technique never even getting a chance to be used.

But once the three formed a team, their flaws were compensated for, their strengths were doubled, achieving an effect that surpassed Kage level.

However, the Ino-Shika-Cho's tactics were not without their weaknesses.

This was not a fixed tactical routine, but a slow-burn strategy that required Nara Shikaku, acting as the battlefield strategist, to make targeted adjustments based on the enemy, the environment, and the situation, allowing for a wide variety of tactical maneuvers.

It could be said that as Uchiha An understood the enemy more and more, and grasped the battlefield situation more thoroughly, Nara Shikaku's tactics would become more targeted, and their effectiveness would grow stronger.

In other words, the longer a battle dragged on, the greater the probability of the Ino-Shika-Cho tactic winning.

And its weakness stemmed from this as well.

The core of this tactic was Nara Shikaku, the tactician among the trio.

If Nara Shikaku was suppressed and forced to flee, with no time to formulate tactics, then the other two would also be dragged down with him, caught in a pincer movement, busy rescuing him, and their combat effectiveness would immediately plummet.

If Nara Shikaku could be defeated at the fastest speed, then the remaining two would have equally obvious weaknesses and would be no harder to deal with than other Jonin.

Precisely because he understood this, Uchiha An's attacks were all aimed at Nara Shikaku.

To catch the thief, first catch the king!

He intended to eliminate Nara Shikaku first, at the fastest speed.