Background: Should fit into the anime storyline as a filler arc after the rescue Gaara arc and before Naruto's sage training. ShikaTema slowly happening.
This is a work in progress, so come back often! Additional chapters will be shorter than the first one (and will take longer than chapter 2 went up, but I got excited after writing chapter 1).
I don't own Naruto, so all characters, places, etc. are the rights of their creator. Any similarities to other stories are coincidental. If you can't find the characters on Narutopedia, they're my creations. Enjoy.
Shizune entered the room. "Tsunade-sama," she began.
"How does she always manage to get in here just when I'm ready to take a break?" Lady Tsunade grumbled to herself.
"We have just received a message from the Village Hidden in the Sand. They request Shikamaru's assistance at once. His responsibilities for the chuunin exam apparently aren't over. Also, it appears to be signed by the Kazekage, but something about the signature isn't right."
"That boy fulfills his responsibilities, but his lack of motivation even drains me. Perhaps the Sand liaison can inspire him by the time this is finally finished." For Shikamaru's sake, she hoped that the Sand kunoichi would.
"But Lady Tsunade, the signature mystery. Shouldn't an ANBU escort be prepared?" Shizune insisted.
The Hokage was visibly irritated by the whole situation. Besides, she was expecting Shikamaru's report on reallocating Leaf defenses by the end of the week. "Summon him. Chouji and Ino too. And Yamato. We can't afford to send a whole ANBU squadron just for a chuunin exam follow-up, even if it is a trap. Shikamaru will see through it, if that's what it is."
Inside the Yamanaka flower shop, Hinata was gazing intently at the selection of delicate blooms. "Ino-san," Hinata gently began to ask, barely loud enough to get Ino's attention, "Do you have any yellow and orange narcissus this time of year?"
"Narcissus? Why would you want those, Hinata? Forsythia and plum blossoms make a much nicer arrangement now... unless you want them for someone special." Ino had that almost-evil, knowing look in her eye as she spoke.
Hinata instantly began to blush as she stammered, "T-They just make me happy."
The wind chime on the front door announced another visitor. "Yamato sensei, what are you doing here?" Hinata's words were markedly relaxed from a moment ago.
"Lady Hokage has called for Team Ten and myself."
Yamato and Ino ran out of the shop toward the Hokage Residence, leaving Hinata alone to find her special narcissus. "I-I guess I'll find it myself, Ino-san." After a few minutes, Hinata collected a small bouquet of orange and yellow narcissus from a cooler near the back of the store. Writing a note and a receipt, Hinata left the cash near the register.
Chouji and Shikamaru met Ino and Yamato at Tsunade's office. As she explained the mission details, Shikamaru let his exasperation slip. "More chuunin exam follow-up? I thought that was finished months ago. What a drag."
Tsunade decided to show a little empathy. "I know it's a pain, Shikamaru, and I don't really want to send four ninja. It should be a quick mission. And prepare to be tested. Yamato, you are in charge of the escort, but Shikamaru will be the overall mission leader."
The group responded in unison, "Yes, Lady Hokage," and left. Since the mission details were vague, the team decided to travel at an easy pace, trying to prepare for a potential ambush.
"Shikamaru, why don't you act interested in any girls? It's not like we're all crazy," Ino blurted out when they stopped to make camp. The awkwardness even momentarily stopped Chouji's eating.
"Women... I mean, relationships are so troublesome." Shikamaru knew better than to say anything negative about women, especially with Ino around.
Seven five-pointed shuriken flew toward the group from somewhere in the night darkness. Chouji reflected five of them with his kunai. The young man's speed and dexterity apparently had grown significantly since his last mission with Shikamaru and Ino. The sixth shuriken cut Chouji's barbeque stick in half, sending his food into the campfire. Infuriated, he turned to Ino, expecting to be treated to her leftovers - she always claimed to be on a diet, after all.
Looking down at her abdomen, Ino saw the final shuriken, a small but steady stream of blood already flowing from the wound.
"Chouji, take Ino back to Leaf hospital. Sand might not be in a position to help her right now. Yamato, I need you to find and eliminate whoever is targeting us. Use transformation jutsu on a wood clone and hide it nearby. I need them to think I'm still here. In this light I can hardly use my shadow jutsu anyway."
Moments after leaving, carrying Ino, Chouji felt her body go limp. "Hang in there, Ino! We'll make it back to the Hidden Leaf in no time. Just hang in there! I-I promise I will protect you."
Shikamaru stealthily moved south by southeast, hoping to keep his true path hidden. A few kilometers later, a voice broke the darkness and silence. "Ino said that it was hard getting Leaf men's attention, but this was ridiculous," the shinobi said with a short laugh. That voice - Shikamaru recognized it instantly. But this whole mission and the sudden attack couldn't possibly have been one big setup. "If you're ready," the voice taunted, "let's have that rematch. Besides, we both know that you had enough chakra to finish it. I just need to know..."
"That's what this is about?" Shikamaru momentarily lost his cool. "Ah man, now she knows she got me. What a pain that one can be."
"Don't worry about your teammates. The shuriken was tipped with a simple knock-out poison. She'll be fine in an hour. And she didn't lose that much blood. You can still be tricked with a very simple genjutsu."
"Why do you want to challenge me so badly, Temari-san?"
"Because," she began, then tossed a dozen shuriken straight up into the air, "I think you are a worthy opponent, even if you are lazy." Ten steps away, Shikamaru could see her wry smile turn to intense focus. He lept back just before Temari unleashed her wind scythe jutsu. "Did you like my ninjutsu improvement? I picked it up from Tenten way back during our chuunin exam. You can be honest, I won't be disappointed by you."
"Once again I'm stuck fighting a kunoichi. What a drag. She really wants to beat me, but I can't let myself lose to a woman. And it's not right roughing up a woman, even if she is the aggressor," Shikamaru quietly said to himself, obviously agitated.
As Temari released her jutsu, a trumpet bellowed from the southeast. It was a distress call from the Sand Village meant specifically for Leaf ninja in the region. A single, deep trumpet blast was the alliance's request for immediate assistance. The sound of the raging wind and sand made the sound barely noticeable.
"Shikamaru, no doubt you felt each of those shuriken graze you in the midst of the jutsu. Don't worry, I wouldn't want any real harm to befall you... crybaby." She let out a short laugh. Apparently she'll hold onto that memory for a while. "So what's your plan, acclaimed strategist of the Leaf? Your partners are preoccupied. Your ANBU teammate has been recalled for an urgent mission in the neighboring Land of Rivers, and it has been reported to him that Sand medical-nin have come to the aid of Chouji and Ino - which is true, in case you're wondering. The cloud cover prevents you from using shadow jutsu tonight. You are in a strange land that I know extensively."
"You talk too much for a ninja," Shikamaru retorted. A paper bomb attached to a kunai flew toward Temari but missed her completely. "It won't last long, but you know my shadow possession shuriken jutsu, right?" The flickering flame of the paper bomb allowed Shikamaru to control Temari, albeit briefly. He walked her closer, not only to protect her from the paper bomb, but he secretly wanted to see her again. He smiled as the paper bomb exploded, extinguishing his ninjutsu.
Temari smirked. "Nice one, Shika-kun. But is that it for tonight? You'd better not just give up again."
Yes, women were a pain, Shikamaru resolved. And the older sister of the Kazekage was a special pain. If Shikamaru failed her tests, or worse, resisted them completely, he knew that it could strain relations between the villages.
"Strategist lesson one: find an advantage in your environment!" Shikamaru shouted as he jumped away from Temari, into the darkness.
"Lesson two: eliminate your opponent's advantage," Temari said, using her sandstorm jutsu to blast a giant swath of desert in his direction. "I hope that didn't hurt too much."
"So what did you need to discuss about the chuunin exam?" Shikamaru asked. His voice came from behind Temari this time. Instinctively she spun around and raised the edge of her giant fan to his throat. "And now who's being too serious?" Shikamaru and Temari were an equal match when it came to bothering each other.
Temari lowered the fan to her side. In an instant, she deflected three kunai coming from the opposite direction. "Now you play with shadow clones, or are they just traps you've set? I hope it's a shadow clone; I wouldn't want you to be predictable."
One more kunai flew toward her, this time from behind Shikamaru. Unable to avoid it, the kunai struck Shikamaru's arm, landing between Temari's feet. Before the Jonin could react in shock, a flare lit up the sky in the distance. To her surprise, Temari saw nobody standing in front of her. Shikamaru had used Yamato's wood clone adeptly.
"Lesson three: prepare." His words were cool, collected.
"I didn't know you had such stamina, Shikamaru," Temari playfully exclaimed. "You certainly know how to keep a girl guessing."
"What did you want to discuss about the chuunin exams, Temari-chan?" His voice sounded gentle but agitated. She still was unsure where he was. As she attempted to turn around, she realized that once again she was caught in his shadow possession jutsu. "I'm right here," he whispered from behind into her left ear. "Now, the chuunin follow-up?" He relented with the jutsu.
Turning to face him Temari replied, "Gaara believes that Naruto must not remain a genin much longer. He needs to develop as a leader," Temari began, then stopped herself.
"Heh, it is Naruto you're talking about," Shikamaru scoffed.
"Itachi left the village because there was no challenge worth staying for. Obviously Naruto loves the Leaf Village." Again Temari stopped. This time Shikamaru could hear her voice strain. After a moment, Temari regained her composure and declared, "We must convince the council and the Hokage to promote him. Gaara refuses to lose Naruto as an ally."
"Naruto is nothing like Itachi. He is fiercely loyal to the village and to his friends. And while he has grown, can you imagine him in charge of a ninja squad? Regardless, even if I wanted to, I couldn't promote him myself."
"You are still the chuunin exam contact for the Leaf. And this is more like a favor that Gaara has asked from both of us. It'll be fun, I promise." Without waiting for an answer, Temari continued, "There is another matter more pertinent to the chuunin exam."
Temari looked directly into Shikamaru's eyes as she spoke. "Any ninja should be honored to have you as Sensei... as long as you're not always so boring." She smiled, knowing that her words were effective in bothering Shikamaru's otherwise relaxed demeanor. "Gaara, on the other hand..." Her face once again turned serious. "He is a wise and capable Kazekage, but there are lessons that he can't teach young kunoichi."
"Like how to forge his signature to intentionally arouse suspicion? Matsuri and Sari both wrote the message that was sent to the Leaf village. Since there were two writers, I knew it wasn't a real ambush." Obviously Shikamaru would rather be gazing at the stars rather than dealing with Temari right now. "And sounding the trumpet was overkill."
"Shikamaru," Temari said as her blue eyes peered deeply into his eyes, "Wait, what? I know better than to misuse that trumpet." Her look of affection turned to concern. "Quickly!" she shouted, as they started running toward the Sand village.
"Shikamaru, Temari, where were you?" Ino cried out. A squad of Sand and Leaf ninja were regrouping near the top of the city gate.
When they reached the group, Sari burst out, "Temari-sama, the intruders are demanding Kankuro. We don't know how they infiltrated the village. Lord Kazekage, Kankuro and Baki have not returned yet from their mission. Three attackers are in the village but cannot be located. A fourth has been keeping the defenders busy out here. Lady Temari, shall I alert the Kazekage to return?"
"No, Sari, that will be unnecessary. That mission is too important. Find Matsuri and compile a list of all villagers known to be in the city. Chouji, please go with them."
"Y-Yes, Lady Temari." "Yes, Temari-sama, at once."
"Ino, I need you to convince the ninja outside the gates that his comrades have been captured. We need to lure him inside to subdue him."
"Yes!"
Shikamaru sighed. "The duties never end around here."
"When this is all over, I can make sure you don't regret this mission," Temari said with a wink.
"Did she really just do that? Geez, women are such a pain," Shikamaru whined to himself. "So what's our task, Temari?"
"Yamato, we know this alliance is disapproved by some Leaf factions," Baki explained. "But we need to know that the Village Hidden in the Leaves is committed to working with the Sand and disabling the Akatsuki at all cost."
"Lady Hokage has agreed. However, we cannot yet extend our full resources. We have lost many of our best ninja defending ourselves in the past few months. Our ANBU unit is quelling an internal rebellion as quietly as possible. And we barely have enough resources to monitor the Akatsuki's preparations against Naruto."
Gaara calmly laid out their current mission. "In addition to confirming our mutual intentions, we must lead a coup against Senrai, the recently self-proclaimed Feudal Lord of the Land of Rivers. He has been building military strength and views the Lands of Wind and Fire with hostility. The Land of Rivers is a vital link between our nations. Without it, we will remain fragmented against the Akatsuki."
"Baki will contact the dissidents and prepare them to take control. There is an underground labyrinth at the Temple of Rivers complex. As a water and earth user, Yamato, you are essential. Gaara and I will distract and hold off the enemy while you infiltrate the base and locate Senrai. Give us a direct entrance to him, and we'll take care of the rest." Kankuro's breathing was heavier than usual. Perhaps the wet air was bothering this Sand ninja, or like his brother, he was unaccustomed to speaking so much.
"I'll flush out the attacker for Ino. You prepare a trap inside the city," Temari commanded.
"So much work for that woman," Shikamaru muttered. As he left, he heard her use a new ninjutsu.
"Wind release: river jutsu!" A mighty surge of wind began blowing.
"I see, she rides the fan on her air current for scouting. Clever, but she leaves herself open to attack." Shikamaru resented being her subordinate. Oh well, back to preparations.
Inside the village, Shikamaru found a broad but deserted street several blocks from the gate. Quickly and delicately he began working on the trap. Simplicity, he thought, is the key to catching someone on the run - especially when you want them to lead you to their comrades.
"A Leaf in the Sand? How unexpected." The voice was young, warm. It reminded Shikamaru of Temari's more pleasant moments. He looked over his shoulder. Atop a nearby building stood a short woman with shoulder length orange hair. She wore a gray shirt under what appeared to be a very worn green flak jacket.
Shikamaru recognized it as the version worn by Leaf ninja during the Second Great Shinobi World War. Who was this woman and where did she get that jacket? "Why are you here?" he questioned.
"One of my partners has business with Kankuro of the Sand. Where is he, Nara of the Leaf?"
"Is she a missing-nin? Regardless I better finish this quickly." He threw four shuriken; two landed behind her on the roof, and two appeared to have fallen short, lodged in the second story wall of the three story building.
"I know your aim isn't renowned like the Uchiha clan, but I question if you should have graduated from the Academy, let alone pass the chuunin exam." Yet another kunoichi was demeaning Shikamaru. It was a record for a single day - first being reproved by his mother, overhearing Tsunade's comment about his lack of motivation, then Ino's implication that he needed a woman, his entire interaction with Temari, and finally this.
Shikamaru sat down and formed a circle with his hands - a sure sign to anyone who knew him that he was planning the battle that was about to occur.
Chouji struggled to keep up with the pair of young kunoichi. How could they run so fast, he wondered. After running across what seemed like half the village, Matsuri announced that they had arrived.
"Where are we, anyway?" Chouji wondered aloud.
Sari quickly stated, "This is where the village gatekeepers' records are stored. Now we just need to locate the most recent documents and check everyone in the village against the list."
"But won't that take hours?" Disappointment flooded Chouji's expression.
A woman's scream was followed by a small explosion two blocks away.
"I think we found at least one of them," Chouji exclaimed. The three ninja squad hurried to the scene.
"Lightning style: sea of mirrors jutsu!" A young shinobi paced among an array of shimmering, moving mirrors. Somehow he created all of them with a single burst of lightning. His hair was silver and black, flowing into a long ponytail. He wore a dark blue cloak with a high collar and what appeared to be Lightning symbols stitched in gold along its bottom hem. "Don't worry, you three won't live long enough to suffer unless you can deliver Kankuro to us. He's late on his end of the bargain, and we won't be kept waiting." With a swing of his arms, the mirrors separated and surrounded the three ninja.
Chouji noted that the enemy didn't have the advantage of the sun's glare, thankfully. It was still too dark for that.
Sari let out a fearful cry, but the mirrors diffracted the echo. It was impossible to discern the her location.
"My name is Tiratsu. I am a Lightning-nin free from the oppression of the Village Hidden in the Clouds and the Raikage. Now tell me where the puppeteer is and I might spare you." His focused glare flickered across the field of mirrors, hauntingly.
"You can put down that kunai, little Sand ninja. You don't even know where I am." A shuriken flew from behind a mirror, grazing the back of Sari's right shoulder. Her immediate reaction was to turn around and hold her shoulder with her left hand. Tiratsu anticipated this, throwing a second shuriken that effectively knitted her sleeve to her shoulder, momentarily incapacitating Sari's left arm. "You can't even defend," Tiratsu noted coldly. Then he screamed, "You don't deserve to be called a ninja! None of you do!"
"Tsunade-sama, Yamato has responded. A situation has developed in the Sand Village. Team Ten is assisting. He is about to begin the allied mission." Shizune bowed slightly before heading toward the door.
Tsunade sighed loudly. It was barely after sunrise and already her day showed signs of being annoyingly complicated. It seemed that she shared more of Shikamaru's sentiments than she wanted to admit. If those mission details ever became public knowledge, the Hokage reputation would be finished. "I miss morning sake with Jiraiya."
Temari spotted the enemy half a kilometer from the city walls. A pair of kunai flew toward him from behind, but a quick jump and a block with his tanto kept him from harm. He called out, "Think you can push me around, huh?" Soon his tanto began to glow red with chakra. "Five flaming dragons jutsu!"
Five giant chakra dragons emerged from the tip of his tanto. They began seeking out the kunai thrower. A wind scythe jutsu blasted the beasts but left them uninjured. "Darn," she thought aloud, "I just wanted him to move into Ino's range. Now it looks like I have to fight him."
The ninja called out to Temari, "As a wind user, you know you have no chance against an experienced fire user. I've taken on your entire village defense, and now you think you can defeat me. Prepare to die."
He wore a long, brown jacket with short sleeves. On his right leg was a Mist forehead protector with a slash through it. Besides indicating his defection from the village, the protector also served to hold his tanto. A blue mesh shirt gleamed slightly in the moonlight.
One, then two dragons sensed Temari and bolted toward her. The other three quickly followed. Temari threw a dozen shuriken at them, to no avail. "I have to get him to drop the tanto," she thought. She dodged each of the heads as they crashed at the ground, breathing death from above. After a few moments her frustration melted away into confidence. She dodged the dragons' attacks with a calculating rhythm. Slowly and methodically she led them eastward. Out of sight of the city gate, Temari hoped that her gamble was right. It had to be.
She opened her fan once more. "Gentle wind: lifting jutsu." Sure, the name didn't instill fear or awe, but like fingers, it sifted through the sand, tossing projectiles into the air. Combined with her wind scythe jutsu, this attack had the potential to be menacing.
The red dragons closed on her position. If her strategy were to be successful, she needed a decisive change now.
A sudden shriek pierced the darkness. Instantly the dragons dissipated. "Lesson one complete," Temari said to herself.
A minute later, she heard the Mist missing-nin utter something barely audible: "Breath of dragons." What Temari first perceived as a fireball, she soon realized was an enormous chakra blaze emanating from his mouth. Seemingly worse than the fire style she'd heard belonging to the Uchiha clan, the breath of dragons seemed to seek its enemy and expand to engulf it. The heat produced by the jutsu was only surpassed in ferocity by its ability to corrode everything, even the sand itself. A fraction of a second could mean the difference between Temari's safe escape and hot demise. This fire-style user had powerful ninjutsu, she thought, but his planning skills were nothing compared to Shikamaru.
Retreating northward, Temari unleashed another wind jutsu; she couldn't allow her opponent to realize that she was, in fact, leading him toward lesson two. "Ino," she thought aloud, "we'll be there soon."
"You know a lot about the Leaf for being an outsider," Shikamaru observed. "And your clothing tells that you respected - perhaps loved - someone from the Leaf in the age of the Legendary Sannin."
"At least your acuity is sharper than your sense of direction." Apparently the denigration would continue until Shikamaru defeated the kunoichi towering above him from the rooftop.
"What a drag," he moaned. "Who are you, since you already know me?"
"U-" she began, quickly stopping herself. "Kakiiro." The boy was intuitive. With that miniscule mistake, her identity would be discovered. Now she had to kill him and cover her tracks.
Shikamaru threw three kunai into the air. Attached to each one was a long streamer. Kakiiro caught herself briefly distracted by the streamers. Shikamaru used that moment to disappear in the puff of a smoke bomb, which blanketed the dead-end alley. The streamers began to burn, still high above Kakiiro's head; obviously they were some form of paper bomb.
"Water style: extinguishing jutsu," Kakiiro announced as she completed the hand seals. A heavy, water-like substance spewed from her mouth, saturating and extinguishing the paper streamers. "I would expect a greater challenge than that from a ninja but perhaps you're too lazy. Nara men always are." Her words infuriated Shikamaru, but he couldn't break the silence and give his location. "This is getting boring, so it's time I end it," she said matter-of-factly.
Kakiiro bit her left thumb then slammed her hand against the roof where she was standing. "Summoning jutsu: flying men-of-war!" Dozens of large jellyfish began raining down around Kakiiro, each one the size of a grown man. They quickly moved through the air, ready to attack with long, thin blue tentacles.
Shikamaru realized that he wouldn't be able to hide in the same building below Kakiiro for long. Then his queue came - the streamers re-ignited.
"H-How?" Kakiiro demanded.
Shikamaru's shadow sewing jutsu sprang from the partially lit room where he'd been hiding. It easily pierced all the men-of-war, destroying them. The streamers remained overhead, as if something were keeping them there. Shikamaru's shadow climbed the outside of the building with ease in the light provided by the streamers.
Kakiiro thought through the next moves. "He's going to use his shadow to force me into a corner, then trap and attack me with the kunai streamers. It can't be helped. I need to escape for now."
One streamer exploded with a violent noise. Shikamaru used the opportunity to bore two small holes in the roof behind Kakiiro. Another streamer exploded, this time with a bright flash. "Now's my chance," Kakiiro thought. She jumped, but two shuriken wrapped around her ankle with chakra threads. As she looked down, the two shuriken the young ninja had first thrown were missing from the roof. In their place were two shadow tentacles, seemingly waiting for her return to the roof.
Quickly she grabbed a specialized knife from her rear pocket, infused it with chakra, and cut the threads. The final paper streamer exploded, sending the attached kunai flying toward her. Kakiiro dodged the kunai, but it was close enough to leave a superficial cut across the front of her right thigh, just below the hem of her skirt. Instinctively she dove the moment she hit the roof, then threw a grappling hook into an open window across the alley. She swung hard toward the opposite side of the street. The rope was too long; she only made it two-thirds of the way across the alley before making a diving roll onto the ground, stopping a few meters from the nearest window.
Her heart was racing. "Chakra transformation: pseudo-bijuu, level one." Kakiiro's own dark bluish-purple chakra began to bubble around her.
"What a pain," Shikamaru groaned.
Chouji understood that clearing a swath of mirrors around him wouldn't help; more would just take their place. But first he needed to know where his Sand allies and the enemy were. He used expansion jutsu to smash a few mirrors, and, more importantly, to give him a broader view of the field. "Sari is ten meters to my right; Matsuri is eight meters behind and to my left. Neither of them appears to be seriously injured. So where is Tiratsu?"
"I'm right here!" Tiratsu shouted, close to Matsuri. "Lightning release: senbon cutters." He threw a barrage of chakra-infused senbon in all directions. They ricocheted off the mirrors, making them extremely difficult to predict. Infused with lightning chakra, each senbon could easily cut a meter or more through a target.
Senbon grazed Chouji and Sari. With amazing skill, Matsuri knocked away all of the senbon flying toward her with her rope javelin. Matsuri called out, "Everyone ok?"
In anguished voices, her teammates replied in unison, "Yeah."
Sari suddenly jumped high into the air. Finding the enemy, she threw a kunai at him. Tiratsu easily directed a mirror in front of him. The kunai struck the mirror and riccocheted, nearly hitting Chouji.
Not in a mood to kill these young shinobi, Tiratsu prepared to incapacitate them. It would be easy since none of them appeared to be sensory ninja. He surrounded himself tightly with mirrors, then closed his eyes and stood still. It would take about twenty seconds to build up sufficient chakra for his next jutsu.
"Now's our chance," Chouji quietly said. He used expansion jutsu then started to plow through the mirrors with his human boulder technique, heading straight for Tiratsu. Unsure how the mirrors surrounding Tiratsu would react against his attack, Chouji hoped that Sari and Matsuri would use the opportunity to escape.
The pair of kunoichi recognized that this could be their only chance. Sari threw two sets of four kunai. One set flew past Tiratsu's right side and the other on his left. All of them were attached to chakra threads. It wasn't a tight hold, but they did limit his potential movements as Chouji approached him.
On Chouji's first pass, the mirrors deflected him. Any subsequent attack would have to be precise in order to do anything useful.
Matsuri ran toward Tiratsu, dodging and kicking any mirrors that got in her way.
Chouji turned around to make his second pass. All of the mirrors except for those enveloping Tiratsu moved into a large dome formation with the four of them inside. Sari sprinted past Tiratsu, hoping to pull him over with the chakra threads. Reaching ten meters beyond him, she stumbled while he and the mirrors remained unmoved, unshaken.
Chouji picked up speed as he rolled directly at Tiratsu. He crashed into Tiratsu with amazing force, shattering the protective mirrors. Perfectly timed, Matsuri's rope javelin wound around Tiratsu so that he was unable to move his arms or legs. Chouji and the Sand ninja had stopped their opponent with a commendable level of teamwork.
A fraction of a second after Chouji slammed into Tiratsu and Matsuri threw her rope javelin, Tiratsu completed his jutsu. Through the noise of the battle, none of the ninja were able to hear him declare, "Lightning style: blinding radiance." Nor did they notice how the great pillar of light rose like a bolt of lightning from Tiratsu, struck the uppermost mirrors of the dome and diffracted throughout the enclosure. The last thing that they saw was a great white flash, brighter than anything they had ever seen before.
The flash was gone in less than a second. However, the jutsu was successful; Chouji, Sari and Matsuri were blinded. All that remained of their vision was a painful white blur. Confused and caught off-guard, Sari released her chakra threads. Unaware of what just happened, Matsuri clenched the end of her rope javelin, the only thing that still held Tiratsu.