Vacation and Friendship

Under the awed gazes of the women present, Shino silently returned to the stands.

Those gazes didn't linger on Shino for long. They were soon drawn to the names of the competitors in the third match:

Misumi Tsurugi VS Shikamaru Nara

"Misumi Tsurugi..."

Shikamaru immediately spotted his opponent—the teammate of Yoroi Akado, who had nearly been burned to death by Sasuke's Great Fireball Jutsu. His outfit looked somewhat similar, too. "Ah~ What a troublesome opponent. Maybe I should just forfeit."

"Don't say that."

Asuma, standing beside Shikamaru, encouraged him. "How about you put in a little effort? If you win, I'll give you half a month off before the Chunin Ninja Exams are over."

Shikamaru's expression instantly turned serious. "You mean it?"

Asuma smiled. "When have I ever broken a promise to you guys?"

Shikamaru took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Then I'll put in a little effort."

After Shikamaru had walked far enough away, Choji suddenly asked Asuma, "If I win my match later, could you treat me to barbecue?"

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

Asuma smiled. "But if you win, I'll let you eat until you're stuffed."

Choji's eyes widened. He was fired up!

But it wasn't his turn yet, so he soon settled down and focused on Shikamaru's match.

The Nara Clan's secret technique let them control shadows. It wasn't known for its destructive power, but it worked well for controlling and disrupting opponents.

At the start of the fight, Shikamaru didn't know what Misumi Tsurugi could do. But based on how Misumi immediately moved in close, Shikamaru quickly guessed the general idea.

"He went in close right away. Like his teammate Yoroi Akado, he must have an ability or technique that needs close range to work."

Shikamaru formed Hand Seals. Before Misumi could reach him, his shadow stirred and stretched forward.

But Misumi seemed to know how Shikamaru's technique worked. He promptly backed away and dodged it.

Shikamaru pulled a strained expression and asked with a forced smile, "You know what my Shadow Possession Jutsu does, don't you?"

"Quite a lot of people know about the Nara Clan's shadow techniques."

Misumi replied calmly, "Speed is the weakness of your shadow techniques. Without the other two clans' support, the Nara Clan is nothing to fear!"

Shikamaru's expression darkened. He said nothing, as if Misumi had hit the mark.

Just then, the shadow Shikamaru had stretched out seemed to reach its limit and began to retract.

"Now!"

Misumi pushed off hard and charged toward Shikamaru again.

At the last moment, Shikamaru pulled his shadow back and dodged to the side.

"Not so fast!"

Misumi thrust out an arm, which visibly stretched longer.

But just as his hand was about to touch Shikamaru, Misumi suddenly froze in panic. "What's going on? When your shadow's just retracted, you can't—You deliberately pulled your shadow back!?"

"Phew... I thought I'd have to repeat that two or three times to fool you. You're even more impulsive than I expected."

Shikamaru let out a long breath and looked at the hand that was about to reach him. "I don't know exactly what your ability is, but as long as you can't touch me, you can't use it, right?"

Misumi didn't answer. He focused his chakra and tried to fight off the Shadow Possession Jutsu.

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

Shikamaru returned to his original, listless demeanor. "I can only hold it for a few minutes, but that's enough to beat you."

As he spoke, Shikamaru reached into the ninja pouch at his side and took out a kunai. Misumi did the same, but his pouch was on the other side, and his hand came up empty.

Pointing the tip of his kunai at the major artery in Misumi's neck, Shikamaru asked Gekko Hayate, "Can you call it?"

Gekko Hayate ignored Misumi's gaze, raised his hand, and announced loudly, "The winner of the third match is Shikamaru Nara!"

"Phew... I'm exhausted."

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

"You really can do it when you set your mind to it."

Asuma put an arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. "It feels good to fight hard and win, doesn't it?"

"I just feel tired."

Shikamaru replied listlessly. "Don't forget what you promised."

"I won't."

Asuma smiled. "After Choji and Ino finish their matches, let's go out for barbecue tonight. My treat."

Shikamaru wasn't particularly interested in meat, but a free meal was another matter. "I'll be there on time."

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

Sakura Haruno VS Ino Yamanaka

The two girls immediately spotted each other, their gazes clashing fiercely.

"Ino, huh... 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 Forehead Protector on her head. She usually wore it like a hair clip, but now she moved it down to her forehead. "We've both been looking forward to this fight for a long time."

Sasuke glanced at Ino, then at Sakura. "You're much stronger than she is now. If you fight seriously, I doubt she could even take one punch from you."

"It's fine."

Sakura repeated herself. "This is a promise between the two of us."

With that, Sakura silently walked into the arena.

Seeing Sakura wearing her Forehead Protector properly, Ino smiled and put hers on her forehead, too. "Looks like you've bloomed."

"I don't know if I'd say I've bloomed yet."

Sakura said expressionlessly, then slowly broke into a smile. "But now I can face myself honestly, and say this to you properly—Ino, thank you. I've always liked you!"

Ino's face quickly turned red. "Y-you don't just say embarrassing things like that!"

Sakura continued, "And, um, I'm going to win this match."

"Heh, you've gotten good at talking!"

Ino was in high spirits. "But I'm not going to lose to you that easily!"

Gekko Hayate played along and announced at the right moment, "Begin!"

Ino had barely gotten into position when she lost sight of Sakura. All she saw was a crater suddenly appearing where Sakura had been standing. Then her vision was filled by a fist rapidly growing larger, along with an intense sense of danger: I'm going to die!

The fist never landed on Ino's face. Its powerful gust ruffled her blond hair and made the skin on her face ache.

Sakura held her punching stance and met Ino's gaze. "Do you want to keep going?"

Ino took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "No. I give up."

Gekko Hayate announced, "The winner is Sakura Haruno!"

After the match, the two girls walked shoulder to shoulder toward the stands, looking like a pair of sisters.

"Honestly, you only graduated a little while ago. How did you get so much stronger?"

"Because Naruto and Sasuke are both amazing. If I want to stand beside them, I have to work twice as hard."

"That still doesn't explain such a huge difference! You're definitely hiding something from me. Tell me!"

"I'm not~ I just met an incredibly skilled master, and he taught me some special training methods..."