Dong Shiren chose Shikaku from among the challengers!
Indeed, in terms of direct combat strength, Shikaku was not necessarily the weakest among the remaining genin, but he was at least among the bottom three—
It was not that Shikaku lacked talent or diligence. Rather, before the Nara clan's shadow secret techniques could be materialized, they were primarily support-oriented and had no direct offensive methods!
Once one reached the stage where the shadow secret techniques could be materialized, they would basically possess the strength of a full-fledged jonin. Before that, only the "Shadow Imitation Technique" could be used.
Of course, that did not mean Nara clan ninja were particularly weak before then. It only meant they leaned toward support and were not suited for frontal combat.
Furthermore, the Nara clan was known for its sharp minds, and its members generally served as the strategists of their teams.
Shikaku Nara now held a certain advantage as well. Not only had Dong Shiren already been worn down by Fugaku, but Akaseki had also told everyone the intelligence they had gathered during their previous encounter with Dong Shiren.
Thus, Shikaku entered the arena armed with information, while his opponent's understanding of the Nara clan amounted only to "not very strong" and "those Nara who like to scheme behind people's backs."
The result was that he got outmaneuvered without any surprise at all!
At first, Dong Shiren had intended to calculate the length of his opponent's shadow, determine his effective attack range, and then end the battle from a distance without taking damage.
If he got lucky, perhaps he could even recover some stamina this round?
It was a good idea, unfortunately—
After a prolonged back-and-forth with Shikaku, Dong Shiren had countered many of Shikaku's methods of extending his shadow. He had even realized that