Vacation and Friendship

Under the awestruck gazes of several women at the scene, Shino returned to the spectator stands in silence.

These gazes did not linger on Shino for long, quickly drawn instead to the names of the participants for the third match:

Misumi Tsurugi vs. Shikamaru Nara.

"Misumi Tsurugi..."

Shikamaru immediately identified his opponent—a teammate of Yoroi Akado, who had nearly been incinerated by Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique earlier, and who dressed in a similarly peculiar fashion. "Ah, what a troublesome opponent. Maybe I should just forfeit."

"Don't say that."

Beside Shikamaru, Asuma offered encouragement. "How about putting in a little effort? If you win, I'll give you two weeks off until the end of the Chunin Exams."

Shikamaru's expression turned serious instantly. "Are you serious?"

Asuma asked with a smile, "When have I ever failed to keep a promise to you lot?"

Shikamaru took a deep breath and stepped forward. "In that case, I'll put in a little effort."

Once Shikamaru had walked far enough away, Choji, standing next to Asuma, suddenly asked, "Asuma-sensei, if I win my match later, can you treat me to barbecue?"

"Whether you win or lose, I'll treat you to barbecue."

Asuma said with a smile, "But if you win, I'll treat you until you're stuffed."

Choji's eyes widened in fury, and he was fired up!

However, since it wasn't his turn yet, he quickly cooled down and focused on watching Shikamaru's match.

The secret ninjutsu of the Nara clan is a technique capable of controlling shadows; it is not known for its lethality, but it is highly effective for control and interference.

At the start of the battle, Shikamaru did not know what Misumi Tsurugi's abilities were, but he soon made an educated guess based on Misumi's immediate attempt to close the distance.

"Closing in immediately—just like his teammate (Yoroi Akado), is his ability or technique one that requires physical contact to take effect?"

Shikamaru formed hand seals, and before Misumi could touch him, his shadow stirred and extended forward.

But Misumi seemed to have known the effects of Shikamaru's technique all along; he retreated decisively and dodged it.

Shikamaru put on a pained expression and asked with a forced smile, "You guy, do you know the effects of my Shadow Possession Jutsu?"

"Many people know about the shadow secret techniques of your Nara clan."

Misumi said calmly, "Speed is the weakness of your shadow techniques. Without the coordination of the other two families, the Nara clan is nothing to fear!"

Shikamaru's face turned ugly, and he remained silent, as if he had been struck by the truth.

Just then, the shadow Shikamaru had extended seemed to reach a limit and began to retract.

"Now's the time!"

Misumi kicked off the ground hard, rapidly closing in on Shikamaru once more.

At the critical moment, Shikamaru retracted his shadow in time and dodged to the side.

"Don't think you can run!"

Misumi reached out his arm, which could be seen stretching significantly.

However, just as the arm was about to touch Shikamaru, Misumi's movements suddenly stopped, and he panicked. "What's going on? When your shadow just retracted, it shouldn't have been able to... You retracted the shadow on purpose!?"

"Whew... I thought I'd need to trick you two or three times, but you turned out to be even more impulsive than I expected."

Shikamaru let out a long breath, looking at the arm about to touch him. "Although I don't know exactly what your ability is, as long as I don't let you touch me, your ability can't take effect, right?"

Misumi did not answer, focusing his mind and chakra in an attempt to resist the effects of the Shadow Possession Jutsu.

"Give it up. With your current chakra and stamina, you won't be able to break free from the Shadow Possession Jutsu before my chakra runs out."

Shikamaru returned to his usual unmotivated demeanor. "Although I can't hold it for more than a few minutes, it's enough to defeat you."

As he spoke, Shikamaru reached into the ninja tool pouch at his side and pulled out a Kunai—Misumi made the same motion, but his pouch was on the other side, and he grabbed nothing.

Pointing the tip of the Kunai at Misumi's carotid artery, Shikamaru said to Hayate Gekko, who was standing to the side, "Can you announce it now?"

Ignoring Misumi's gaze, Hayate Gekko raised his hand and announced loudly, "The third match, Shikamaru Nara wins."

"Whew... I'm exhausted."

Shikamaru let out a long breath, released the Shadow Possession Jutsu, put away his Kunai, and wobbled back to the spectator stands.

"You really can do it when you want to."

Asuma draped an arm over Shikamaru's shoulder. "The feeling of fighting hard and then winning—not bad, right?"

"I just feel tired."

Shikamaru said listlessly, "Don't forget what you promised."

"I won't forget."

Asuma said with a smile, "After Choji and Ino finish their match, let's go eat barbecue tonight. My treat."

Shikamaru wasn't particularly interested in eating meat, but getting a free meal was a different story. "I'll be there on time."

The matches continued, and the screen on the wall flashed the next pair:

Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka

The two young girls found each other immediately, their gazes colliding fiercely.

"Ino... I remember you two have been close since you were little."

Naruto asked Sakura, "Are you okay with this?"

"It's fine."

Sakura adjusted the position of her forehead protector—usually worn like a hairband on top of her head, she now shifted it to her forehead: "She and I have both been looking forward to this fight for a long time."

Sasuke looked at Ino, then back at Sakura: "You are much stronger than her now. If you fight seriously, I estimate she wouldn't even be able to take a single punch from you."

"It's fine."

Sakura repeated, "This is a promise between her and me."

With that, Sakura walked silently into the arena.

Seeing Sakura wearing her forehead protector properly, Ino smiled and adjusted her own onto her forehead as well: "It seems you've already blossomed, haven't you?"

"I don't even know if I can call it blossoming yet."

Sakura said this with a blank expression, then slowly broke into a smile: "However, I can finally face myself now, and I can properly say this to you—Ino, thank you. Actually, I've always liked you!"

Ino's face quickly turned red: "Why are you saying such embarrassing things!?"

Sakura: "And, sorry, but I'm going to win this match."

"Heh, you've become quite the talker!"

Ino was in high spirits, her emotions surging: "But I absolutely won't lose to you easily!"

Hayate Gekko coordinated with the two, announcing at the right moment: "Match start!"

Just as Ino set her stance, she lost sight of Sakura. She only saw a crater suddenly appear where Sakura had been standing, and then, all that remained in her field of vision was a rapidly enlarging fist and an intense sense of crisis: I'm going to die!

The fist ultimately did not land on Ino's face; the powerful gust from the punch blew her blonde hair back and made her skin ache from the sheer pressure.

Sakura maintained her punching stance, locking eyes with Ino: "Do you want to continue?"

Ino took a deep breath and slowly exhaled: "No need, I forfeit."

Hayate Gekko: "The winner is Sakura Haruno!"

After the match, the two girls walked side-by-side toward the spectator stands, looking just like sisters.

"Seriously, it hasn't been long since graduation, how did you improve so much?"

"Because Naruto and Sasuke are both so amazing. If I want to stand by their side, I have no choice but to work twice as hard."

"That still doesn't explain such a huge gap! You must be hiding something from me, tell me!"

"There's nothing to tell~ I just happened to meet a very impressive Master, and he taught me some special training methods..."