"I-I-I~ I'm not scared of you."
Choji spun around and slapped both hands onto the scorching flagstones. Chakra surged from his palms into his legs. "Partial Multi-Size Technique: Both Legs!"
Before his words had faded,
his legs swelled visibly, instantly becoming two thick pillars of flesh a meter across,
firmly planted on the ground.
Even the flagstones sank half an inch beneath their weight. At the same time, his arms expanded with a bang,
crossing in front of him like two solid shields of flesh. "I won't let you catch me off guard this time!"
Though his calves were still trembling uncontrollably beneath his trouser legs—after all, Karui's descending Lightning Blade was just as terrifying as the look his mother gave his father when she discovered his secret stash of money—the Multi-Size Technique gave him enough reassurance
that Choji stiffened his neck
and forced himself to put on an "I'm super brave" face.
He didn't know why, either.
Just seeing this woman made him feel guilty.
His legs went weak.
"Who's trying to catch you off guard?! Can't I attack you head-on?! You coward!!! What are you shaking for?!"
Karui darted across the Arena, the hem of her fitted black outfit whipping up gusts of wind. The blue lightning on her Lightning Blade traced three dazzling arcs beneath the sunlight.
"Cloud Flow: Front Slash: Triple Strike!"
Three diagonal slashes struck simultaneously amid the crackle of electricity: left shoulder, right waist, knee. Their tricky angles seemed calculated to target the gaps in Choji's defenses.
The heat stirred up by the lightning slicing through the air made even the Takigakure ninja in the front row recoil, hurriedly rubbing their arms—
they could feel that tingling electricity
from all the way over here!
"Who?! Who's shaking? I-I-I... I'm not!"
Choji swung his arms