I don't own Naruto.
Hey guys, here's yet another installment. There's only about ten chapters left of the story. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 20: Shikamaru vs. Zir pt. 1
Shikamaru had taken Zir to the western part of the village. Zir appeared to be oblivious to the fact that he had been lured here. He was just ready for a fight. He lowered his goggles and prepared to fight.
Shikamaru took the lead in the fight with an explosive kunai. Zir noticed the tag at the last second and jumped out of the way. The blast still caught him and threw him toward a building. He pulled out at the last second and rolled to his feet. He threw his own kunai toward Shikamaru, who summoned his shadow to catch the attack. A tendril rose up and grabbed the kunai from the air.
"Guess Mammoth was right. You are a shadow user. Doesn't matter. I can still take you on."
"Don't be too sure of yourself," replied Shikamaru, throwing a tendril out toward Zir, who jumped away from it. Little did Zir know, Shikamaru had already planned for that and sent his shadow out to catch Zir. When Zir landed, he was immediately paralyzed.
"What did you do?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"I caught you with my Shadow Possession Jutsu, or at least, my version of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, instead of making you do everything I do, I only paralyze you. Plus, it leaves you open for my next attack. Ninja Art: Shadow Puppetry Jutsu!"
Zir felt his entire body go numb and watched as his hands moved of their own accord. His left hand reached down, pulled a kunai from his pack, and held it up as if to stab him. Shikamaru formed another hand sign and Zir plunged the knife into his own heart. Shikamaru released the jutsu, and Zir's limp body fell to the ground. Shikamaru sighed. He expected more from his enemy.
Suddenly, a hand rose up from the ground Shikamaru. He was taken off-guard as a knife penetrated his flak jacket and pierced his back. Shikamaru fell to the ground, badly injured. He turned to see Zir, rising from the ground, unscathed.
"How are you still alive?" asked Shikamaru, pain evident in his voice.
"My ultimate jutsu, Life Clone Jutsu."
"What is that?"
"I take something, such as a plant or animal, or even another person, and use a jutsu that transforms them into me. They have my arsenal of jutsu, their own weapons, and everything. The only thing I give them is chakra. Quite useful."
"I can't believe I was fooled by a clone."
"Heh! Believe it."
"Too bad the same happened to you."
"What?" cried Zir, turning to Shikamaru, who was now gone.
"Over here," said Shikamaru, leaning against a nearby building.
"Interesting. A solid clone that can fight and sustain itself even upon injury. Very interesting, indeed. Similar to my Life Clone."
"Yeah. Now take this!" said Shikamaru, throwing a tagged kunai at Zir. Zir formed hand signs, and the knife spun in the air and launched itself toward Shikamaru. He released the explosion before it got to close.
"Fool me once, shame on you," said Zir. "Fool me twice, and I must be an idiot. You won't be hitting me with that again."
'So he has a jutsu that can reflect weapons back at me. That could be trouble."
"Tell me, shadow user, have you ever heard what I'm famous for?"
"What?"
"What I'm famous for? Have you ever heard?"
"I guess not…."
"I'm a master of genjutsu. Something you've been trapped in for the past few minutes."
"I would know if I were in a genjutsu."
"Not one of mine. This one is my best."
"And what is it?" asked Shikamaru, unconvinced.
"Great Nightmare: Cruel World Incarnate Jutsu!"
Shikamaru stumbled. That was the most powerful genjutsu ever created. It was used to kill entire armies. If he really was caught, then he was doomed.
"You're kidding. You expect me to believe that you've actually been able to use that jutsu?"
"I have. Want me to prove it?"
Shikamaru said nothing.
"Fine. I think I want a bowl of ramen." Suddenly, a bowl of ramen appeared in the air next to him. He casually sipped from the bowl, before he had another idea. "And here you go!"
The ground below Shikamaru instantly turned to noodles. They rose up and tied Shikamaru up. Shikamaru was speechless. The chances of him winning this battle were slim. This jutsu could only be learned by being put through it, but only one man had ever survived this jutsu, and he had gone insane. The only survivor…was Zir.
So as we near the end, I just want to let everyone know that I'm sorry it was so long since I posted. I started posting again this weekend, and I plan to finish this story soon. Until then, R&R. See ya!