Choji's cheeks flushed red as chakra exploded inside him.
Blue energy surged around him, scattering every fallen leaf nearby.
His limbs and head suddenly tucked into his oversized clothes. His body swelled rapidly like a balloon, and in the blink of an eye he had become a gigantic ball of flesh.
"Multi-Size Jutsu! Human Bullet Tank!"
The enormous ball spun rapidly in place, scraping against the ground and sending leaves swirling everywhere.
The next second, it rumbled across the clearing, barreling straight toward Sasuke.
It carved a deep trench into the ground, sending dirt and gravel flying to either side.
Sasuke stood his ground, sizing up the three of them.
"White, stop him."
"You really know how to give me a hard time! How am I supposed to bite that?" White Dog complained, but its body shot forward without hesitation.
Just before the Human Bullet Tank could run it over, White Dog pushed off hard with all four legs and slid to the right, almost scraping the ground.
The Human Bullet Tank swept past White Dog with a gust of wind, its powerful airflow flattening White Dog's fur backward.
White Dog skimmed along the spinning ball's edge, opened its mouth, and sank its teeth precisely into the point where the clothes and flesh met on its side.
The centrifugal force from the high-speed rotation was immense. The moment its teeth sank in, White Dog was flung away, tumbling twice through the air before landing steadily.
But that bite threw the Human Bullet Tank off balance.
Choji's path veered aside. The giant ball thundered past half a meter to Sasuke's left, snapped a small tree behind him, and came to a stop amid a cloud of dust.
"I'll go play with Choji. Sasuke, watch yourself!"
The boy and dog fought their way farther and farther away, locked in combat among the trees.
While Sasuke's gaze followed Choji's movements—
Shikamaru dropped to one knee and clasped his hands tightly, forming the Rat hand seal.
"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Shikamaru's shadow raced across the dry leaves on the ground, stretching toward Sasuke's heels.
Sasuke caught the rapidly approaching black line in the corner of his eye.
He mixed chakra with Cursed Energy and channeled it from the soles of his feet into his shadow.
The shadow on the ground suddenly deepened.
"Bang!"
Shikamaru's shadow slammed into the barrier of Sasuke's shadow, making a dull, solid impact.
The black shadows locked in place on the ground. Shikamaru's shadow seemed to have struck an iron wall and couldn't advance another inch.
Shikamaru stared at the raised mass of black.
"Pretty impressive, Sasuke. I saw you use this during shuriken training, but I didn't think you could even block the original version from our clan."
"Didn't you say shadows were both pathways and physical forms?" Sasuke looked at Shikamaru, his tone calm.
"I just stuffed something extra into the pathway to make it a little sturdier."
Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "You've taken chakra shape transformation this far? What do you even think our clan's secret technique is...?"
"A very useful reference." Sasuke kept pressing down with his feet, channeling Cursed Energy into the shadow without pause.
"Your technique depends on a connection. If I cut off or block that path, your technique becomes useless."
A sheen of sweat appeared on Shikamaru's forehead.
He could feel his shadow hitting 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 chakra reserves weren't Shikamaru's strong suit.
"What a pain..."
Shikamaru took a deep breath and clamped his hands together.
"Don't think that's enough to stop me! Shadow Possession Jutsu, break through!"
Shikamaru poured more chakra into his technique. His shadow began to split to either side, trying to get around Sasuke's solid barrier.
Shikamaru drew a deep breath and frantically poured the chakra he had left into his shadow.
"You think that half-baked attempt at making your shadow solid can stop our clan's secret technique? Don't underestimate us!"
Shikamaru's shadow thickened instantly, its tip branching out as it tried to get around Sasuke and break through by force.
"You're the one underestimating me."
The shadow barrier beneath Sasuke's feet suddenly scattered and spread backward along Shikamaru's shadow.
Black sludge quickly congealed over Shikamaru's shadow, pinning its branches in place.
Shikamaru's legs felt as heavy as lead. The shadow pressing back against his own had robbed his body of most of its ability to move.
"I can't move right now, but neither can you, Sasuke, right?"
"So I'll just take you down. Black." Sasuke gave a second command.
Black Dog, which had been lying in wait beside Sasuke, immediately lowered its body and sprang at Shikamaru.
Pinned by the shadow, Shikamaru couldn't dodge. He could only watch Black Dog's sharp teeth grow larger in his eyes.
Just as Black Dog was about to pounce on Shikamaru—
"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
Ino, who had been hiding behind Choji, formed a triangular hand seal and aimed it toward Sasuke.
Her body lost consciousness and slumped forward. Choji, who had just gotten back to his feet, caught her.
After setting Ino down, Choji immediately resumed his standoff with White Dog.
Sasuke, still standing in place, suddenly stiffened.
His hands fell limply to his sides, and his gaze went unfocused, his expression becoming just like Ino's.
The instant her mind invaded Sasuke's, Ino felt as if she had fallen into a bottomless black well, surrounded by bone-chilling negative emotions. But she gritted her teeth and forcibly seized control of his motor functions.
Sasuke's hands hung limply at his sides. The solid shadow holding Shikamaru down began to fade as its chakra supply was cut off.
Ino's body slumped to the ground, and Choji, who had recovered a little, caught her.
Sasuke closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze had changed.
"It worked!"
Ino spoke through Sasuke. She flexed his wrists, finding them a little stiff.
Shikamaru felt the pressure on him vanish. He immediately straightened and swiftly changed his hand seals.
Black Dog was in midair, about to bite Shikamaru, when the shadow beneath Shikamaru's feet snaked across the ground and caught Black Dog's shadow.
Black Dog's body stiffened and lost its balance. It crashed to the ground, pinned in place by Shikamaru's shadow.
"Nice work, Ino." Shikamaru panted as he looked at Sasuke under Ino's control and Black Dog on the ground.
"His chakra is terrifying. If you'd been one second later, I wouldn't have been able to hold out."
"Sasuke" stood there, looking down at his hands.
"His mental strength is so strong that I'm struggling to control him. Hurry up and take his tag!" Ino urged him through Sasuke's mouth.
Shikamaru stepped forward and reached for the tag on Sasuke's forehead.
Just as his fingers were about to touch it—
A clump of white slowly edged out from beneath the nearby tree roots.
Just then, something rustled in the nearby bushes.
A white Escaping Rabbit slowly emerged from beneath the leaves, its long ears drooping behind its head.
It sat on the ground, its red eyes moving from Sasuke, frozen in place, to Shikamaru and Choji, both covered in sweat.
"Hmm..." Escaping Rabbit's voice was soft and sweet, with an unhurried, leisurely quality.
It washed its face with its forepaws, then spoke slowly. "Sasuke said you were strong..."
Escaping Rabbit tilted its head.
"...Nothing special."
Before you continue