"Go all out. I've got your back."
Takumi said calmly. "Let's go. They've already left."
"Huh?"
Shikamaru turned around and was startled to find the others had already disappeared. "These guys, they just don't listen to orders!"
"Except for you and me, they're all Genin!"
Rarely, veins popped on Shikamaru's forehead.
This was a very unusual occurrence for him.
On the other side.
"What's the situation?"
Yugito frowned, her expression grave.
"Thirteen Shinobi. Currently about a kilometer ahead. They've probably detected us too."
The sensory Shinobi reported.
"What do we do now?"
Darui's expression was serious, but his tone remained lazy. "Since we're discovered, we should hurry back."
"You're an important Jinchuriki. If something happens to you here, the loss to the village would be too great."
"Shut up!"
Yugito glared at him. "If you can't speak properly, don't speak! All you do all day is jinx things!"
Then, she said with a grave face, "Since they aren't attacking, they're probably also wary of whether we've set up traps."
"If they were confident enough in their own strength, they wouldn't be so cautious on their own turf."
"It seems their strength isn't high, just that their numbers are greater."
After analyzing, she immediately made a decision. "Charge forward. Kill them at the fastest speed possible. We absolutely cannot give them a chance to send information."
"Wait!"
The sensory Shinobi suddenly shouted. "They're moving! They're charging towards us! Very fast!"
"What?!"
Yugito was shocked. She had just analyzed that the enemy's strength wasn't high, and now their actions directly slapped her in the face.
"It seems the enemies are quite strong."
Darui teased, but had already cautiously taken the long sword from his back, holding it in his hand.
Although his personality was lazy, he was still an Elite Jonin of Kumogakure.
"They're here!"
His eyes sharpened, he had already seen a green figure.
Whoosh!
Lee led the charge.
Upon hearing they were fighting Jonin, Lee immediately removed his weights.
Fighting a Jonin while still wearing weights to limit himself? Lee might be single-minded, but in terms of battle, he wasn't an idiot.
At least he knew what to do and what not to do.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
He shouted, charging over almost in the blink of an eye, a powerful sweeping kick aimed at Darui.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Followed by a shout, dozens of Naruto clones rushed onto the scene.
The situation immediately became somewhat chaotic.
"Sigh, they didn't follow my instructions at all."
Shikamaru, arriving later, couldn't help but facepalm.
He found these companions simply couldn't follow his commands properly.
"Only one girl?"
Sakura, Ino, and Hinata immediately noticed Yugito, the only woman on the enemy side.
So, naturally, the three of them teamed up against her.
Sakura immediately threw several kunai, each with an explosive tag attached.
"Ino!"
She shouted to Ino.
Having grown up together, though they often argued over boys, she still knew Ino's secret technique very well.
Ino's control ability was extremely strong, but the technique's accuracy wasn't high, and it required someone to set it up first.
In the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Shikamaru provided that setup.
Here, only Sakura could force the opponent into position this way.
The explosive tags forced Yugito to jump into the air.
Ino immediately seized the opportunity. "Mind Body Switch Technique!"
In mid-air, Yugito couldn't dodge easily… mainly, Ino's technique was hard to detect.
When caught by surprise, it was almost impossible to avoid.
The technique hit, and Ino immediately collapsed weakly.
Hinata quickly helped her to hide behind a tree.
Kiba and Shino entangled one Kumogakure's Shinobi. Choji alone took on another. Sasuke didn't join the fight immediately, instead looking at Shikamaru, who also hadn't moved.
"Where's my opponent?"
Sasuke asked impatiently.
He didn't have the convenient ability like the Byakugan to see the enemy's Chakra levels, so he could only ask.
"That woman!"
Neji immediately said. "That woman has an enormous amount of Chakra inside her!"
"What?!"
Shikamaru was startled. He had just seen Ino use her clan technique to control the opponent, and now he heard this from Neji.
As a member of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, he knew the drawbacks of Ino's technique all too well.
He looked over.
Sure enough, Ino's control had already failed.
She was bounced back into her own body by the massive Chakra within the opponent.
A trickle of blood even seeped from the corner of her mouth, indicating internal injury.
"How can this be?"
Hinata was somewhat flustered.
But she couldn't do anything.
After all, she didn't know Medical Ninjutsu.
"Ino!"
Sakura was also shocked and quickly ran over.
She too was at a loss.
Mainly, she hadn't started learning Medical Ninjutsu under Tsunade yet.
"Leave it to me. You focus on the fight."
Takumi said softly, using the Mystical Palm Technique, his hands glowing with green Chakra as he placed them near Ino's forehead.
Meanwhile, Yugito's appearance had changed.
Blue flames emerged from behind her, like a tail made of fire.
"Are you my opponent?"
Sasuke crossed his arms, standing on a tree branch, looking down at Yugito condescendingly.
"Who are you?"
Yugito asked coldly. "Not bad presence. Are you Konoha's Takumi?"
Sasuke froze, then his expression suddenly turned fierce. "Go die!"
Sasuke, who wanted to maintain his cool demeanor, immediately lost his composure. His Mangekyo Sharingan appeared, and the half-body Susano'o immediately covered him.
"What is this?"
Yugito was startled. She felt an extremely strong threat from Sasuke.
"It seems you really are Takumi! To give me such a big threat!"
Yugito's expression became grave. "It seems I can only go all out. If we drag on too long and Konoha's people surround us, it'll be bad."
Blue flames suddenly erupted from her body, transforming her into a giant monster.
Covered in blue flames, its shape resembled an enraged giant cat.
Two tails swayed behind it.
It was the Nibi, Matatabi.
"I didn't expect the main force to be targeted so quickly."
Takumi looked up during his treatment and saw the two behemoths appearing in the field.
One was Nibi, the other was Sasuke's Susano'o.
The others were forced to other areas.
Shikamaru used his clan's secret technique, Shadow Imitation Technique, to cooperate with Neji and Lee against Darui.
But with his strength, it was difficult to restrict Darui for long.
Moreover, after the first time, making Darui fall for his technique again seemed somewhat difficult.
As for the remaining four Kumogakure's Shinobi.
Under the combined assault of the other young Shinobi, they were quickly defeated.
"Damn it, his strength is definitely not ordinary Jonin level!"
Shikamaru frowned tightly. He realized he had somewhat misjudged the situation.
Darui's strength exceeded his expectations.
The opponent's Water and Lightning Release were very proficient, and his experience was rich.
Though compared to them, who had just become Genin not long ago, any Jonin could be considered experienced.
"Lightning Release: Black Panther!"
A black panther formed of black lightning suddenly pounced from Darui's body.
Its speed was extremely fast.
"First Gate, Gate of Opening, open! Second Gate, Gate of Healing, open!"
Lee instantly opened the first two gates, using his speed to dodge.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation!"
Neji, seeing he couldn't dodge, immediately used his signature defense technique to block the black panther.
Shikamaru, from a safe spot, quietly used his technique, trying to restrict the opponent's movements again.
If he could limit him, they could defeat him.
However.
Darui had been caught once at the beginning, so right now, he was very attentive to Shikamaru's movements.
Because of that, he immediately noticed the shadow stretching from behind him.
He quickly moved away from the shadow.
Although Shikamaru couldn't control him for long, even controlling him for a moment would be enough to decide the outcome.
Their situation was already at a disadvantage now.
Except for him and Yugito, everyone else had been defeated.
'These Konoha kids are really capable.'
Darui even had time for idle thoughts. 'If we go back like this, Raikage-sama will probably be furious, right?'
"It seems we have to put in a bit more effort."
"Although you haven't fully grown yet, letting you grow would probably give our village a headache."
"So, I can only apologize and have you die here."
Darui showed an apologetic expression, but his hands showed no restraint as he used his signature technique.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
He clapped his hands together, and several beams of light suddenly shot from his hands.
The beams were very fast, chasing after Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru under his control.
Neji used Rotation again.
Lee dodged with his high speed.
Only Shikamaru, facing this fast attack, found it difficult to evade.
"It's bad!"
His face paled, a flashback seemed to appear before his eyes.
At that moment, a figure spread its arms and stood in front of him.
Thump!
The figure was sent flying by the powerful force, along with Shikamaru.
"Choji!"
Shikamaru shouted anxiously. Then he saw Choji's pained expression, but he seemed to be okay otherwise.
Choji's sturdy body saved him.
If it were someone with a smaller frame like Shikamaru, taking that hit would probably shatter all the ribs in his chest.
"Leave the treatment to me."
Takumi appeared again, like a perfect medic, always appearing where he was most needed.
"Ah, okay."
Shikamaru nodded blankly and quickly handed Choji to Takumi.
"Two ribs broken. Fortunately, the internal organs aren't damaged."
Takumi instantly assessed Choji's injuries and began treatment.
"I leave Choji to you."
Shikamaru said, his expression becoming very serious.
Although he had taken on the role of temporary leader, he hadn't been focusing too much attention on it.