"Hōmon!" Shikamaru shouted without looking back.
Hōmon was already prepared. Gathering power in both hands, he abruptly turned and thrust them out. "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm: Barrage!"
Chakra shock waves blasted out in succession. The first sent the two closest pursuing puppets flying, while the second burst in midair, scattering the formation of three or four puppet birds behind them.
Under the relentless barrage, the puppets' assault faltered.
Seizing the opportunity, Hōmon ended his attack and prepared to retreat with Shikamaru and the others.
But at that very instant, a puppet bird that had been lurking in the shadows suddenly hurtled in from the side.
An unusually tall puppet on the bird's back spread its arms, all ten fingers transforming into sharp blades as it slashed straight at Hōmon.
"Hōmon, watch out!" Tenten shouted, but her shuriken scroll was already empty, and she had not yet had time to unfurl a new one.
Sai tried to force his ink bird to change direction, but it was too large to turn quickly enough. The puppet was already upon them.
At the critical moment, Shikamaru abruptly leaned out and formed hand seals. "Shadow Imitation Technique!"
His shadow stretched out like a living creature and instantly caught the puppet.
The puppet's movement paused in midair for an instant, its blades less than half a meter from Hōmon's neck.
That instant was enough. Sai seized the opening to pull the ink bird sharply upward. The puppet's blades skimmed Hōmon's scalp, slicing off a few strands of hair.
Tenten finally unfurled a new scroll and immediately released a sealing jutsu containing a large quantity of steel wire.
Countless fine steel wires wove into a net in the air and dropped over the puppet's head. The wires tightened, binding the puppet into an immobile iron ball