Shikamaru led his teammates onward in pursuit of Sasuke. Seeing how composed he looked, Naruto asked curiously, "Shikamaru, you don't seem very worried about Choji. Aren't you concerned about him?"
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," Shikamaru replied. "Of course I'm worried, but we don't have a choice. We're ninja, after all. A ninja's first priority is to complete the mission. Choji was prepared for this when he chose this path. Besides, I believe he'll survive. He'll definitely make it."
Naruto could hear it in Shikamaru's voice. He was only forcing himself to stay calm. Deep down, he was worried sick about Choji, but he couldn't let it show. He was the commander on this mission. If even he lost his composure, everyone else would become uneasy. Then completing the mission would be the least of their concerns; even surviving would be a problem.
Naruto smiled at Shikamaru, pleased by his growth. Shikamaru was becoming a capable strategist, and that would be enormously important to their future efforts to bring peace to this world.
The team continued pursuing Sasuke, and the Sound Ninja noticed that Shikamaru and the others were still following them. Sakon cursed, "That useless Jirobo! He couldn't even handle a few Genin from Konoha. What an embarrassment."
Tayuya laughed. "Heh, if you're so amazing, why don't you stay behind and deal with them? All you ever do is run your mouth."
"What did you say?" Sakon snapped furiously. "Say that again if you dare! I'll kill you right here!"
"You'd have to be capable of it first," Tayuya said disdainfully.
Sakon was seething, but Kidomaru spoke up. "Enough. This isn't the time to fight among ourselves. You know what will happen if we fail to carry out Lord Orochimaru's orders."
Only then did Tayuya and