Chapter Three – Strategic Play! Nara Shikamaru!
(Strong and Strike by: Toshiro Masuda)

"Ame-chan, could you go and empty the trash can please?"

"Yes, father," came the daughter's even reply.

I had just finished my seventeenth bowl of ramen- it was a deep fried chicken (katsu) special. Again and again the chef had always managed to amaze me with his very precise selection of herbs and spices- I just kept coming back for more.

But now, I had reached a paradox. I was a bit full.

And the store was beginning to close business anyway.

I got up from my seat and thanked the chef.

"What a feast (Gochisousama deshita)! Money's on the table, old man! Thanks!"

The chef smiled to himself, probably not knowing how to treat a kind fugitive like me.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun. Take care," he waved off, as he washed the dishes.

I burped loudly and thought about how nothing in the world could spoil my night of ramen-pigging. Things sure changed and everyone thought I was a criminal, but at least the ramen hadn't changed. I thought about what next do about how to go about proving my innocence. Instantly, I knew that Jiraiya was the key. He could explain everything.

I looked at the clock and thought about visiting Hinata's house again. It was already eleven-thirty and I wasn't sure if she would be awake at this time.

Where the heck are you Jiraiya-sensei? What mess have you put me in now…

I cringed inside and could feel my blood beginning to boil, but all the starch I had just shoveled down my throat was beginning to make me feel sleepy.

"Help!" A voice behind me suddenly cried.

With lightning fast reflexes, I wheeled around on one foot to see where the noise had come from. I saw two people: the chef's daughter and an old friend of mine.

From here, the rest of the chapter went crazy, so bear with me.

The chef's daughter, a pretty young lady wearing waitresses' clothes, was standing right in front of the store holding the huge, black bag of garbage she had been sent to throw away. Immediately, I could feel that something just wasn't quite right.

"Uzumaki Naruto! You are wanted for deserting Konohagakure!" Came a deep, authoritative voice. It was formal and gruff, exactly how I imagined him to turn out like.

Nara Shikamaru, one of the Rookie-nine I had once trained with, was the splitting image of his father, Nara Shikaku. His pineapple tail had grown out a bit more, giving him a meaner, adult look. The small whiskers on his chin had also grown into a neatly kept goatee. While he still hadn't put on much weight, maintaining his slimness, he was a lot taller now, making his figure much more larger and imposing. He wore a bigger size of the Konoha military jacket I had last seen him wearing.

"Shikamaru-kun. You've grown," Was all I could say. I knew I wouldn't be able to waste my breath with him once he made up his mind.

Normally, he'd be a lazy guy. He'd even be a little friendly sometimes. I guess the whole leader of Konoha thing really got into his head and he clearly prioritized that over me.

"Same to you, Uzumaki," he replied, dropping the finger he had been pointing me with.

"Call me Naruto… like you used too," I told him, casually glancing at the clock.

"My daughter…!" I heard the chef behind me gasp suddenly.

I looked at the girl standing between Shikamaru and I. Her cute face was twisted in horror and her legs racked uncontrollably. Was she just scared or…?

"Very well," Shikamaru smiled his famous confident smile, "By order of the Hokage, you are under arrest, Naruto, as a missing-nin and as a traitor to this village."

I knew it. What was just a suspicion was now confirmed.

The girl wasn't just frozen in fear. She was frozen in the shadows.

I looked above: a full moon was raining down it's pale light on us tonight.

Shikamaru was holding her between us with his shadow-bind technique (Kage Mane no Jutsu). He had certainly become better with it as he didn't appear to be straining at all.

"Why do you want the girl then? Isn't this between you and me?" I asked him defiantly.

"Humph, I knew you were going to be unreasonable about this. Consider the pretty young girl in front of me as an incentive to allow me to take you in."

"You're not actually…"

"If you do anything funny," Shikamaru warned, pulling a kunai from the pouch behind him and pointing it at the back of the girl's throat, "I'll kill her. I can't miss, Naruto."

The girl in front of him shrieked in terror, trying her best to move free, but powerless as her shadow was pinned down by Shikamaru's power.

The entire street outside the brightly lit restaurant was covered in shadow, meaning that if I were to take a step outside this shop, he'd be able to immobilize me in seconds. Who knows just how much better this guy had become with his technique in the last few years? To top it all off, the chef's daughter…

"My daughter! Please, give her back!" The chef behind me called, watching the entire scene from behind his kitchen counter. He was powerless in this situation.

"Shikamaru, I had no idea you would stoop so low… let the girl go," I ordered him.

I glanced at the clock again, using the corner of my eyes.

"Naruto, you practically grew up with this girl. You remember her from five years ago don't you? What do you think? Has she grown up into a pretty lady?"

"Shikamaru…" I growled, reluctant to take a step outside the protective light of the restaurant and into the shadow-coated world outside.

"Naruto, I'm not kidding," He replied calmly, "Come with me or I will kill her."

I looked down at the floor in front of me, anxiously watching for that ominous, shadowy stripe Shikamaru always used to pin down the victims that were far away from him.

"You wouldn't have done this, Shikamaru…"

What was up with this guy?

"You have five seconds."

Suddenly, the chef behind me cried out as if he had been struck on the back.

"Agh! I can't move! Naruto… what…the?" He cried out helplessly.

Damn it! He must have captured him from behind the shop… that means he could reach the front anytime he wants too. I've got to make sure I can dodge it if it comes!

"My shadows have surrounded you, Naruto. Surrender now- resistance is impossible."

Time was ticking and I was running out options.

"Five."

Shikamaru was smart, you see. It appeared that he had calculated a fair bit before he decided to meet me here. Firstly, he had no problem meeting me tonight, knowing it was a full moon whereby more shadows would be cast. More shadows meant more room for him to move and less for me.

"Four."

Next, when he had initiated me he kept some distance between the both of us, making it hard for me to fight toe-to-toe with him. To reach him would mean to be captured in the shadows.

"Three."

Lastly, and this was the hard bit, he had made sure to keep the girl directly between us so that if I tried to throw a kunai or perform any other ranged attack, he could use the girl as a human shield by his own movement.

"Two."

Then it suddenly occurred to me. This has happened before. I looked at the clock again.

"One."

He had certainly tried not to underestimate me, but he had overestimated himself, thinking he could convince me of his bluff before the time on his jutsu ran out. He couldn't hold shadows for longer than around six minutes, if I remembered it right from five years ago. That means his power should be fading right about now…

You see- I had been watching the clock the entire time this event was unfolding, timing down to when his shadow jutsu would run out. He was actually counting down on himself in an attempt to force me to reveal my hand before I could call his bluff.

Shikamaru would never kill an innocent… it was all just a bluff.

"Time's up!"

Now's my chance! Hopefully he hadn't managed to increase the time on his jutsu!

"Mass shadow clone technique (Tajuu Kage Bushin no Jutsu)!"

"Naruto, you idiot…" I heard Shikamaru whisper before thousands of my clones appeared in puffs of smoke from everywhere around the village as far as I could see.

They stood above rooftops, hugged off railings, stood on the dirt, and some were even sitting on stools in the ramen shop with me.

"Okay, guys! Take him down!" I ordered thousands upon thousands of my clones.

They all leapt up for their target in the center, at the same time. A glorious army made up entirely of copies of myself. It became more and more beautiful every time I used it.

Suddenly, Shikamaru yelled out a new jutsu.

"Shadow Neck Bind Technique (Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu)!"

Those are his father's seals! I suddenly realized.

Immediately after he had finished the seals, he crouched on one knee and stared at the moon as all of my clones froze in mid-air as a black hand snaked it's way up their bodies and held them by their throats. Almost at the same time, they all began to disappear one by one in miniature puffs of smoke.

The daughter, who had been shaking in the middle of the battlefield, also disappeared into a puff of smoke, revealing a small section of a log in her place.

Damn, Shikamaru is much stronger than I thought!

I had been right in only one out of two assumptions about his power: he was bluffing about killing an innocent girl- the real one was probably trapped somewhere else, but unharmed. I was wrong, though, about his ability to hold his jutsu for longer than six minutes. As if he read my mind, he spoke up and said:

"Naruto, I know what you tried to pull. I can hold the Kage Mane no Jutsu for up to six hours now- just so you know," He said with a cocky tone in his voice.

Now I know she isn't real! I thought to myself.

Both of my hands went into my holsters and pulled out six kunai, three in each hand.

No hostage in between us. No limits. This is where the real fighting began.

I launched all six of the kunai from my hands directly towards Shikamaru's position. I couldn't afford to be captured here before I made Jiraiya explain everything to these crazy people! Damn it… if he only told them where I was, I wouldn't be here!

I saw his legs tense up, how eyes scanned the arc of each throwing knife and how he prepared to dodge each one.

I threw another volley of six kunai and brought both of my hands back.

"Rasengan! Yaaaaah!"

In milliseconds I had given it enough time to form and thought that about how Shikamaru would be the first to see that my Rasengan was no longer just a close-ranged attack.

He would now witness that I could throw my Rasengan.

I launched it so that it flew in between the six kunai already in the air. They flew in a flying hexagon formation, just as Shikamaru was eagerly dodging my first six kunai.

His eyes opened wide in amazement as he saw the next barrage of missiles flying his way and he eagerly jumped up to avoid the floating armada of my deadly weapons.

He's jumped up and lost contact with the ground!

I eagerly threw more kunai after him, occasionally sending a smoldering ball of chakra to force him higher into the sky. I wanted him to know that the ground was off-limits.

Now!

I eagerly leapt up to meet him mid-air in the skies above Konoha. He jumped tall, but I could easily match him. Before I left, I turned around and said to the old chef who was still quivering behind the counter:

"Keep the change, old man. Your daughter is probably still nearby. She is not hurt."

Then I threw myself into the sky, chasing after Shikamaru who had no intent to retreat from our coming battle. He was a few feet above me, but I quickened my ascent, burning into the night sky like a firecracker. He stopped, seemingly just in front of the bright, yellow moon, and I met him there, grabbing him with both of my hands.

We were now both about half a mile above the streets of Konoha. Looking down, the houses and their tiny lights looked like fireflies caught in small jars. I saw clearly the faces on the mountain that held the faces of the past Hokages. We were pretty damn high.

"Got you, Shikamaru!"

I have to beat him before we reach the ground where he can use his shadow jutsu on me!

"Naruto! I'll kill you!" He called out in rage.

"Not before I get you first, pineapple head."

His fists came up, flailing at my face and chest in a hundred positions a second. My arms came up to block his blows. At one point I managed to blow both his arms back with my own, exposing his chest and face hidden underneath.

As I began my counterattack, throwing my knuckles at his face, my elbows into his ribs, I saw the world turn upside down. Konoha village was now right above both of our heads.

At this point I realized that we had just inverted so that we were falling headfirst.

Shikamaru loosed a few kicks at my kneecaps and groin, trying to score a hit that would weaken me. I guarded against this by folding my legs and, holding him by the collar with one hand, punched him squarely across the right jaw with the other.

"You damn fool! Naruto! Give up!" He cringed out through clenched teeth.

We were halfway down. There was a quarter of a mile before we reached the ground.

"I'm innocent, Shikamaru! I don't know what they've told you but…"

Suddenly Shikamaru slapped me across the cheek.

"You- you- you SLAPPED me? What the HELL is wrong with you?"

"Come get some, Naruto! Bitch-slap combo!"

He began a strange new taijutsu technique, flailing his arms in the air even more wildly than before, slapping me a hundred times in places I had not been able to defend.

"Shikamaru!"

I had to reply with my own jutsu.

"Uzumaki Naruto Combo (Uzumaki Naruto Rendan)!"

He was powerless to defend against what I had to show him next. I powered the chakra inside my body to give me some extra force in executing my next move.

First I kneed him in the stomach, slowing both of our falls down. He cried out in pain and his eyes rolled back in response to my attack. Then I elbowed him back down towards the ground, followed him lower, and gave him a solid uppercut to in the chest.

"U..zu…!"

I climbed back on top of him and elbowed him in the back again, went back down, and delivered another uppercut to his shoulder. He cried out in more pain, promising revenge and cursing at me.

"…ma…ki…!"

With that, I came back down and delivered my final uppercut to the abdomen and jumped off his body and came back down again, dropping my ankle on his back this time.

"…Naruto!" I finished it off by sticking both of my hands on his body, one over his chest and the other over his abdomen.

"Shikamaru, if I can't convince you, the hospital nurses will…"

I formed the same balls of grinding chakra in my hand. They were small at first.

"You've grown… stronger… Naruto!" He cried out my name in loathing respect.

"Rasengan!" I shouted in reply.

And it was as if Shikamaru's falling body suddenly became rocket-powered, falling back towards the ground at twice the speed we had both been falling. He fell through the final eighth of the mile with quick ease, yelling in rage the whole way.

I caught up to his body, quickening my fall so that I was right next to him.

That's when my luck suddenly turned around, as a huge cloud flooded over the moon.

"What the…?" I looked up to see how the light of the moon had been cloaked, casting all of us in a quick shadow. My heart skipped a beat.

Shikamaru's eyes went wide at the event. He looked up at me with his smug grin and began performing hand seals and yelled out the name of a new jutsu I had never see him use before:

"Shadow Striker!"

Suddenly the air became alive with bolts of electrified chakra shooting out from Shikamaru's body. The air became electrified ad sizzled and rattled as an uncountable number of volts coursed through the air, conducted only by the darkness from the moon's shadow. Suddenly, it seemed that the bolts had a mind of their own and all came shooting towards me, as if to intercept me in the air.

The pain that followed was unbearable at the least.

The shocks racked all of my body, burning me in some places, and forced me to lose my concentration. My arms began to flail about in the air, dropping me through the sky in a clumsy manner and at a dangerous rate. With all the electricity in my limbs, I doubted I would even be able to land on my feet properly.

I'll be killed at this rate!

We were only about one-hundred-and-fifty yards above the ground now, falling at the rate of two burning meteors. Bolts of chakra jumped across my body, racking my concentration and sizzling me alive. My feet were rapidly becoming numb.

This is not good. I have to…

Yes, do it.

Damn you, stupid fox.

Transform now, idiot! Or we'll both be killed at this rate!

"Okay!" I yelled at myself, at the voice in my head.

My hands came up and could barely perform the thirteen hand seals I needed to perform the transformation into my other form.

"NINE-TAILED NARUTO (Kyuubi no Naruto), FIRST FORM!"

The skies above began to rumble and hum with a surge of red electricity. Within a few seconds a rainstorm had begun and thunder and lightning struck the village from above.

I saw Shikamaru's eyes widen as he looked up at me.

"Wha-what's going on…?"

The blonde hair around my face suddenly took on a few more inches and blew across my back, turning jet black in color. My eyes became red and adopted the shape of a fox's eyes. My hands curled into claws, eager to swipe and destroy.

But probably the most noticeable and horrifying thing Shikamaru would have seen would've been the nine tails composed of chakra, sprouting out behind me.

The blue bolts of chakra from Shikamaru's shadow striker were suddenly neutralized by the new red bolts of chakra that now rolled around my body like large worms of electricity. The cloud over the moon also passed at the same time, bathing me in moonlight so that every detail on my face was clear.

I bet he could now even begin to see how my ears became longer and more pointed and how my small whiskers had grown a bit longer. With each flapping of my new nine tails, I could feel the winds blow violently, the rain-wash over the village and the lightning roar in worship. I prayed that I wouldn't have to invoke this jutsu, especially against a friend. If I wanted too, I could have easily killed him I this form, but I didn't choose too.

I just had to make sure he couldn't fight me for a while.

I needed him out of my way, but not dead.

"Kyuubi no Rasengan!"

The voice no longer belonged to me. It was deep and evil, borrowed from a hidden demon spirit to suit my new appearance.

"Naruto? What has become of you?"

A large red ball began to form in one of my now-larger hands. It took less than the time taken to blink an eye. I raised the ball above my head and threw it down on his falling body. It was like a bowling ball had just hit a mouse, driving him down towards the final one hundred yards of air left before the ground.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" He screamed as he was driven towards the ground.

It won't kill him, don't worry kid.

You better not have hurt him too much…we had a deal remember?

Relax. Leave things to me. Damn.

My name would be the last thing out of his lips until he woke up again a few days later in the Emergency Ward at the New Konoha Hospital.

As soon as Shikamaru's body hit the ground, I felt my hands click it's fingers just once, and suddenly, the huge red ball of chakra, the Nine-Tail's Rasengan, disappeared into the air, in a cloud of sparks and chakra, freeing my opponent's body from the force of it's immense grinding power. I was grateful that the fox had kept its end of the bargain.

See?

Good. Okay, you're done here.

By the time my feet touched the ground again, my body had finished reverting back to its original shape and color. In a matter of seconds, I was Naruto again.

I approached his smoldering body. My own body was a little bit sore, but that pain was quickly fading due to the healing powers that worked on my body while I was in the other form. I knelt down and took a look at his matured face.

"You've grown, Shikamaru," I whispered to his unconscious mind.

"Stop right there!" A woman's voice cried out. It sounded familiar.

"Huh?"

I turned to see a tall woman standing on one of the rooftops.

"You interest me. I like that," Was all that female Jounin had to say to me.