Escaping Rabbit: Feeling Average

Choji's cheeks flushed crimson as the chakra within him erupted.

A blue current of energy sent the fallen leaves around him scattering into the air.

His limbs and head retracted abruptly into his oversized clothing, and his entire body inflated rapidly like a balloon, transforming into a massive ball of flesh in the blink of an eye.

"Multi-Size Jutsu! Human Bullet Tank!"

The giant ball of flesh spun at high speed against the ground, kicking up a whirlwind of leaves.

The next second, the meatball roared across the clearing, hurtling straight toward Sasuke.

A deep trench was carved into the ground, with soil and gravel spraying out to both sides.

Sasuke stood his ground, surveying the trio.

"White Dog, stop him."

"You really know how to give me a headache! How am I supposed to sink my teeth into that?" White Dog complained, yet his body lunged forward without a moment's hesitation.

Just as he was about to be crushed by the Human Bullet Tank, he pushed off with all four limbs, sliding across the ground toward the right.

The Human Bullet Tank brushed past White Dog with a gale-force wind, the intense airflow flattening the dog's fur backward.

White Dog grazed the edge of the spinning meatball, opened his jaws, and sank his fangs precisely into the junction of fabric and flesh rotating at high speed on the side of the sphere.

The centrifugal force from the high-speed rotation was immense; White Dog was flung away the moment he bit down, tumbling twice in mid-air before landing steadily on his feet.

However, that bite successfully disrupted the balance of the Human Bullet Tank.

Choji's trajectory veered off course, and the massive ball of flesh rolled past half a meter to Sasuke's left, snapping a small tree behind him before coming to a halt amidst a cloud of dust.

"I'll go play with Choji, Sasuke, watch yourself!"

Man and dog fought their way further into the distance, becoming entangled deep within the woods.

In the brief moment Sasuke's gaze followed Choji, Shikamaru knelt on one knee, his hands already tightly clasped in the Rat seal.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow crept across the withered leaves on the ground, extending toward Sasuke's heels at blinding speed.

Sasuke caught the black line rapidly closing in on him in his peripheral vision.

Chakra mixed with cursed energy within him, flowing through the soles of his feet and into his own shadow.

The shadow on the ground suddenly grew dense and thick.

"Bang!"

Shikamaru's shadow slammed into Sasuke's shadow barrier, producing a dull, physical thud.

The black shadow stalled on the ground; Shikamaru's shadow had hit what felt like an iron wall, unable to advance even half an inch further.

Shikamaru stared at the protruding black mass.

"Impressive, Sasuke. I saw you do this during shuriken training, but I never expected you to be able to block even our clan's original technique."

"Didn't you say that a shadow is both a conduit and a physical entity?" Sasuke looked at Shikamaru, his tone indifferent.

"I just stuffed a little more into the conduit to make it a bit sturdier."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "To apply chakra shape transformation to this extent... just what do you take our clan's secret technique for?"

"A very useful reference material." Sasuke continued to exert force through his feet, pouring a steady stream of cursed energy into the shadow.

"Your technique relies on a connection. As long as I sever or block the path of that connection, your technique becomes useless."

A thin layer of sweat beaded on Shikamaru's forehead.

He could feel his shadow pressing against an incredibly hard iron plate; no matter how much chakra he channeled, he couldn't penetrate it.

Sasuke had turned an unavoidable shadow technique into a contest of chakra, and the volume of chakra was not Shikamaru's strong suit.

"What a drag..."

Shikamaru took a deep breath and squeezed his hands together tightly.

"Don't think you can block me like this! Shadow Possession Jutsu, get through!"

Shikamaru increased his chakra output, and his shadow on the ground began to split toward both sides, attempting to bypass Sasuke's physical barrier.

Shikamaru inhaled deeply, pouring the remainder of his chakra into the shadow beneath his feet.

"If you think you can stop our clan's secret technique with such a half-baked materialization, don't look down on people!"

Shikamaru's shadow thickened instantly, its front end branching out to force a breakthrough around Sasuke.

"It is you who is looking down on me."

The shadow barrier beneath Sasuke's feet suddenly dispersed, spreading in the opposite direction along Shikamaru's shadow.

Black sludge rapidly congealed over Shikamaru's shadow, pinning down his branching tendrils.

Shikamaru felt his legs grow as heavy as lead; the shadow being suppressed in reverse caused his own body to lose most of its mobility.

"Although I can't move right now, you aren't able to act either, are you, Sasuke?"

"That's why, taking you down will be enough. Black." Sasuke issued his second command.

The Black Dog, which had been lurking by Sasuke's side the entire time, instantly lowered its body and pushed off with its hind legs, lunging straight at Shikamaru.

Restrained by the shadow, Shikamaru had no way to dodge and could only watch helplessly as the Black Dog's sharp teeth grew larger in his pupils.

Just as the Black Dog was about to pounce on Shikamaru.

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Ino, who had been hiding behind Choji, formed a triangular seal with her hands and aimed it in Sasuke's direction.

Her body lost consciousness and slumped forward limply, only to be caught by Choji, who had just climbed back to his feet.

After settling Ino down, Choji immediately resumed his standoff with the White Dog.

Sasuke, standing where he was, suddenly stiffened violently.

His hands hung powerlessly at his sides, his eyes lost their focus, and he took on the same expression as Ino.

The moment her spirit invaded, Ino felt as if she had fallen into a bottomless black well, surrounded by cold, bone-chilling negative emotions, but she gritted her teeth and forcibly seized control of the motor nerves of this body.

Sasuke's hands hung limply, and the solid black shadow beneath his feet that had been suppressing Shikamaru began to dissipate due to the cut-off of chakra.

Ino's body fell limply, caught by Choji, who had recovered his strength nearby.

Sasuke closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze had changed.

"Success!"

Ino spoke while controlling Sasuke; she flexed Sasuke's wrists, feeling a bit stiff.

Feeling the pressure on his body vanish, Shikamaru stood up straight immediately and quickly changed his hand seals.

The Black Dog in mid-air was just about to bite Shikamaru when the shadow at Shikamaru's feet crawled along the ground and entangled the shadow of the Black Dog on the ground.

The Black Dog's body stiffened, losing its balance, and it crashed directly to the ground, held fast by Shikamaru's shadow.

"Nice work, Ino." Shikamaru panted, looking at the controlled Sasuke and the Black Dog on the ground.

"This guy's chakra is terrifying. If you had been a second later, I wouldn't have been able to hold on."

"Sasuke" stood where he was, looking down at his own hands.

"His mental strength is so strong, I'm having a hard time controlling him. Hurry up and take the sticker off him!" Ino urged, borrowing Sasuke's mouth.

Shikamaru stepped forward, reaching out to peel the sticker off Sasuke's forehead.

Just as his fingers were about to touch the sticker.

Under the tree roots nearby, a white mass slowly crawled out.

At that moment, a rustling sound came from the bushes nearby.

A white Escaping Rabbit slowly crawled out from under the leaves, its two long ears drooping behind its head.

It squatted on the ground, its red eyes looking at the frozen Sasuke, then at the sweating Shikamaru and Choji.

"Hmm..." The Escaping Rabbit's voice was soft and had a leisurely, unhurried feel to it.

It washed its face with its front paws and then said slowly: "Sasuke says you guys are strong..."

The Escaping Rabbit tilted its head.

"...feels average."