Tenten hurled the heavy scroll. It unrolled in mid-air and hit the ground rolling like a long dragon. As Tenten's fingers formed seals, Temari's brow twitched and a sudden unease stirred inside her.
The sequence finished in moments. A soft pop echoed, smoke billowed, and a silhouette appeared within. When the haze thinned, murmurs rippled through the crowd.
The figure was none other than Mamoru's Shadow Clone, looking toward Team 7.
Naruto exclaimed, pointing, "What's going on? Why's Mamoru down there?"
Sakura asked worriedly, "Kakashi-sensei, doesn't that make it two against one?"
Sasuke's brow knitted as he muttered, "What are you scheming this time?"
"I see…" Kakashi folded his arms, glancing at the real Mamoru in the stands, and understood the scroll's purpose.
He said gently, "Sakura, it's not two-on-one. If it's a jutsu, it doesn't break the one-on-one rule."
Sakura blinked "Huh? A jutsu?"
Kakashi explained, "Seal a Shadow Clone into a scroll beforehand, then summon it mid-fight. Just like summoning a ninja tool but it takes talent in Space-Time Ninjutsu."
Sakura asked, "So… treat the clone like a tool and call it out?"
Kakashi nodded. "Exactly."
Naruto scratched his head, still lost. "Shadow Clone… as a tool?"
Team 8's area.
"What's going on?" Ino let go of Mamoru's arm and stared in surprise at the perfectly calm Mamoru beside her.
"That's a Shadow Clone." Mamoru answered flatly.
"How did the bun-head summon your Shadow Clone?" Ino pressed.
"Because the scroll was sealed with my Shadow Clone." Mamoru said, glancing at her.
"That's so cheap." Ino blurted out.
Mamoru said nothing more, tacitly agreeing. The tactic really was a bit cheap.
Team Three's area.
"We've got this!" Guy gave a big thumbs-up, his teeth glinting.
"Tenten, so youthful! And that move!" Lee was so moved his eyes brimmed with tears.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu… can be used like this?" Surprise flickered in Neji's Byakugan.
Meanwhile, on the field.
"Uchiha… Mamoru."
A flicker of barely contained panic crossed Temari's face.
As if grasping at straws, she spun toward the proctor Hayate. "Isn't this one-on-one? Does this count?"
Hayate didn't answer at once, he'd never seen anything like it. He instinctively turned to Hiruzen standing before the stone carving.
Pipe in hand, Hiruzen paused a few seconds, then declared, "It's simply a Ninjutsu she cast. No rules broken."
Biting back her frustration, Temari tightened her grip on her fan until her knuckles whitened.
Mamoru's Shadow Clone casually kicked aside scattered ninja tools and teased, "How'd you get so wrecked again? You should've let me out sooner."
"Shut up!" Tenten panted. "Handle the rest yourself."
At her words, the clone slowly turned toward Temari, who stood ready.
When those deep, all-seeing blue eyes fixed on her, every hair on Temari's neck stood on end as an invisible pressure bore down.
She drew a sharp breath, forcing down her thumping heart, muttering, "It's just a Shadow Clone. It can't threaten me."
The clone said, strolling closer, "Well, in theory, sure, but even as a Shadow Clone, I'm the strongest."
"D-don't bluff!" Temari snapped, whipping open her three-star fan.
Wind Release: Sickle Weasel!
Fierce wind howled forward, yet it didn't slow the clone's stride. The blades of air vanished against an unseen wall before ever touching him.
From the stands, the original Mamoru watched his clone stride through the wreckage of weapons, so arrogant even he felt a twinge of pressure.
He knew better than anyone. With the Six Eyes, a Shadow Clone was almost equal to the original.
When her first strike failed, Temari's eyes hardened. She swung the fan with all her might.
Sickle Weasel!
A roaring cyclone of razor wind surged toward the clone. Yet again, the tempest shattered harmlessly against an invisible barrier a foot away, not even ruffling his clothes.
Gasps rippled through most of the arena and the rest looked unsurprised.
"How?!" Temari had heard of this uncanny defense, but seeing it again and again left her stunned.
"Simple: you didn't hit me." The clone said, as though stating the obvious.
"Liar!" Temari snarled, fanning the air in rapid succession.
Multiple whirlwinds converged from every angle. The clone advanced at leisure, every gale vanishing before touching him.
"Give up." He said, voice still calm.
Temari backed away unbidden, fear flashing across her face. Sweat dotted her forehead, her clothes clinging to her with cold perspiration.
Breath ragged, she stared into those devouring blue eyes, retreating step by step.
Kankuro muttered, "What's wrong with Temari? It's only a Shadow Clone, no matter how tough."
Gaara said coldly, "Fear clouds judgment and crushes the will to fight. Pathetic."
Nearby, disguised as an Otogakure ninja, Orochimaru watched the clone with burning interest, a crooked smile on his lips.
Arena floor.
The clone quipped, "Don't make that face. Makes me want to pick on you."
"Damn you…" Temari flushed, knuckles white around her fan.
"Sunagakure's little coward?" He teased.
Temari's eyes flared with shame. "Shut up!"
She slammed her fan into the ground, the stone floor cracked and shattered beneath the blast, chunks flying.
The destruction halted just at the clone's feet, stopped by the invisible barrier, but it finally forced him to pause.
The clone sighed, lightly slapping his own cheek. "Shouldn't have mouthed off. Made you snap."
"Don't underestimate me!" Temari yelled, eyes fierce, planting her fan.
She raised the massive fan again and swung with everything she had.
Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!
A fiercer tempest swept the arena, wind blades blanketing a wide area. The gale was so strong it startled the spectators, who threw up their arms to shield their faces.
Yet before the assault had even settled, Mamoru's Shadow Clone strolled unharmed from the swirling dust and wind, his blue eyes still calm.
"Impossible…" Temari's pupils shrank, her confidence shattered in an instant.
"Just give up." Mamoru's Shadow Clone said, patience gone.
"Shut up!" Temari shot back stubbornly.
Past the clone, she spotted Tenten watching with folded arms and at once formed a new plan. If she couldn't beat Mamoru's Shadow Clone, she'd strike the caster herself.
Mamoru's Shadow Clone read her intent in a glance, glanced back at Tenten, and said flatly, "Pointless. Don't waste your Chakra."
His gaze returned to Temari a few steps away. "Besides, you've got nowhere left to run."
Only then did Temari realize she'd been retreating, her back was pressed against the arena's hard wall.
But she refused to yield. Snapping her fan shut, she prepared to open it in front of her, using it as a feint while she hunted for a way out.
"Won't help." The clone judged.
As the words fell, a soft "snap" sounded and a huge suction yanked Temari against the wall, pinning her limbs as if invisible shackles had locked them in place.
"What's happening!?"
Panic flashed across her face and she struggled frantically, yet not even a finger would move.