This Disguise Is Too Fake

A devastated stretch of flat ground.

"Meat Tank!"

Having gained overwhelming power by consuming the Red Chili Pill, Choji curled his entire body into a ball and transformed into a human tank, charging at his enemy again and again.

Meanwhile, Jirobo, in Curse Mark Level 2 and barely resembling a human, could only struggle to dodge repeatedly.

Perhaps because they were both fat, or perhaps because he envied the other side for having so many companions who cared about him, Jirobo had never truly regarded his enemy seriously.

But after facing death several times, Jirobo could not help but wonder if he had underestimated his opponent too much.

If he had gone all out from the beginning, would things have turned out differently?

Unfortunately, there were no ifs.

His lack of stamina and chakra caused him to make a mistake during one dodge, and the slight advantage he had possessed vanished in an instant.

Choji had already prepared himself to die in exchange for greater power. The moment he realized his attack had struck his enemy, he suddenly increased his chakra output.

"Aah!!!!"

In an instant, hair as hard as steel and strength capable of shattering stone struck Jirobo's body. More than half of his body vanished outright, and his consciousness collapsed completely.

There was no chance of turning things around.

Even a lion used its full strength when hunting a rabbit!

Perhaps Jirobo's defeat had been inevitable from the moment he looked down on his enemy.

Looking at the lifeless enemy beneath him, Choji, whose torso had become unnaturally thin, collapsed weakly onto the ground and gazed longingly at the distant scenery.

The Red Chili Pill, the Akimichi Clan's Secret Medicine, traded life itself for a hundredfold increase in strength!

"Goodbye, everyone..."

"Fang Over Fang!"

A fierce whirlwind slammed viciously into the iron gate.

Boom!

Even with Rashomon blocking the attack, Sakon could clearly feel its terrifying power.

"This guy's head is really hard, huh, Ukon?"

"Yeah." A body slowly emerged from his back. "It's time we finished him."

In an open clearing.

A man and a woman stood facing each other.

Both gritted their teeth as they glared at one another.

"What kind of power is this?" Feeling his chakra rapidly drain away, Shikamaru clenched his teeth inwardly.

He had not had much chakra left to begin with.

He could not sustain this kind of horrifying consumption for long.

"Damn it!"

His chakra ran dry, causing his Shadow Neck Binding Technique to abruptly stop at the enemy's chest.

Though it was utterly flat, that pitch-black shadow looked especially conspicuous there.

He swore that he had activated the jutsu with every intention of killing that crazy woman!

But some things could not be explained...

"Damn it!" Tayuya clenched her silver teeth, fury rising in her heart as the force of her struggle increased once more.

She might have been dissatisfied with her body in countless ways, but it was still her body—a woman's body!

The Shadow Neck Binding Technique might only be a shadow, but if he stopped it there, then he had to die!

The sudden increase in force nearly caused Shikamaru to lose control over his enemy.

The Shadow Neck Binding Technique was forced all the way back to Tayuya's calves.

"I'm done for!"

A few breaths later, the last trace of chakra in his body vanished. Shikamaru pulled out the final Shuriken he had saved from his ninja tool pouch.

"After Ino kept saying I wasn't manly, was I finally going to act like a man for once...?"

Thud!

Suddenly, a figure clad in a black robe and wearing a Red Fox Mask appeared behind Tayuya.

A sweeping kick carrying tremendous force struck a vital weak point, instantly scattering Tayuya's consciousness.

Shikamaru's eyelids twitched as he watched the scene.

Not having to die was certainly a good thing.

But having his blood boil with passion only to be doused with ice water immediately afterward felt awful.

First Battlefield.

Neji stared at the spider silk hanging motionless in midair as though someone had pressed pause, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"I wasted a bit too much chakra."

Before him, the black-robed figure looked around and spoke helplessly.

Just wasted a bit too much chakra?

Neji Hyuga's eyelids twitched wildly. Using an enormous amount of chakra to directly disperse all the chakra contained in every strand of spider silk—such a crude method, one that treated chakra as though it were nothing—was only wasting a bit too much chakra?

Was that a joke?

"Naruto Uzumaki?" Even with the mask blocking his view, Neji recognized that familiar chakra at once through the Byakugan's vision.

"The Byakugan?" Naruto's Shadow Clone turned and looked at his eyes.

The Transformation Jutsu was still somewhat inadequate against this kind of Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai.

Should I make a mask and cloak that can block dojutsu and sensory ninjutsu?

Though his thoughts wandered, Naruto did not forget that there was still an Otogakure enemy on the field.

A large amount of chakra wrapped around his body. This was an imitation Tailed Beast Cloak he had created by copying Kurama's.

Naruto's figure merely flickered before appearing in front of Kidomaru.

His feet rooted themselves to the ground, his waist twisted slightly, and terrifying force traveled from his spine into his arm.

Bang!

With the Byakugan's powerful perception, Neji could even see ripples spread across the enemy's face as though silicone had been struck by a heavy blow.

Senpou Temple Striking Fist!

A simple yet highly effective method of attack.

Second Battlefield.

Naruto gave part of his chakra to Choji.

He usually relied on his body's own healing for injuries. He truly had no way to deal with internal injuries like Choji's.

"They're finally here..."

Feeling Kankuro's chakra source finally arrive, Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

Choji's current condition made it best to send him back to Konoha for treatment.

However, Naruto's identity was no longer suitable for entering Konoha.

As Konoha's ally and a support ninja from Sunagakure, Kankuro was clearly far more suitable than him.

"Is the battle already over?" Kankuro's expression changed slightly as he looked at Jirobo's mangled corpse.

Third Battlefield.

"Fang Over—"

Kiba's voice abruptly cut off.

He stared blankly at the two corpses on the ground, both long devoid of life.

He had even been wondering why the Summoning Jutsu had suddenly disappeared...

Could someone tell him what exactly had happened?

How had he somehow won for no reason?

"Looks like I'm no longer needed here." Seeing that Gaara had already taken over the battle, Naruto's Shadow Clone silently dispelled itself.

It was not as though no one could defeat Gaara now that he could communicate with Shukaku on a basic level, but the enemy before him clearly was not one of them.

The Shikotsumyaku bloodline was powerful.

But that Kaguya Clan ninja was already terminally ill.

Even if Gaara could not defeat a terminally ill ninja directly, he could still wear him down.

He could win through the advantage of his greater chakra reserves.

"Naruto, is that you?" Even with the Black Fox Mask blocking his face, Shikamaru recognized his former friend at a glance.

He dropped onto the ground on his backside.

"You're being a little disrespectful toward my identity as a Rogue Ninja." Naruto removed his mask and chuckled.

"Hold out your hand."

"What for?" Shikamaru did as he was told and held out one hand.

"I'll give you some chakra. Don't end up too weak to walk back to the village."

Feeling the chakra within his body fill up again, Shikamaru was speechless. If he had had this much chakra earlier, he would not have needed to fight so cautiously.

"...How have you been lately?" After hesitating for a moment, Shikamaru asked softly.

"Not bad. What about you?" Naruto sat cross-legged beside him.

"Not bad either." Shikamaru smiled.

As for the other teammates, he believed that since Naruto had appeared here, all their problems had been resolved.

That was the trust between friends.