It was actually pretty simple.
To explain briefly—Shikamaru had been making eye contact with Ino from the start. However, the technique he had Ino prepare wasn’t *Mind Transfer Jutsu* but *Mind Link Jutsu*, a sensory technique that allowed them to communicate directly in their minds.
Shikamaru only did three things.
First, he pointed out that the enemy’s jutsu had a ti limit, making them feel pressured.
Second, while Ino’s chakra made the enemy think she was preparing *Mind Transfer Jutsu*, Shikamaru used his shadow to connect with Lee’s shadow.
Among everyone present, Lee was the fastest. The mont Obito finished phasing, during the brief period before he could activate it again, Lee just needed to overlap his shadow with the enemy’s. That would allow Shikamaru to activate *Shadow Imitation Jutsu* through him.
Third, he told the enemy that reinforcents were on their way and would arrive soon.
Obito’s Sharingan allowed him to detect both *Mind Transfer Jutsu* and *Shadow Imitation Jutsu*. While these jutsu weren’t overwhelmingly powerful in terms of control, landing just one of them would be enough for the Anbu present to kill him.
That’s why he found the Nara and Yamanaka clan jutsu so troubleso.
And because of Lee’s speed, if Obito wanted to teleport himself away, he would have to first deactivate his intangibility before using *Kamui*.
With two pairs of Byakugan watching him, the mont he beca tangible, they would signal Lee to charge at full speed.
Even if he deactivated and then reactivated his intangibility to escape, he would just end up in the sa situation again—still forced to consider the risk of being attacked while he was solid.
This left Obito stuck in a trap. He couldn’t deactivate his intangibility freely, but if he stalled too long, reinforcents would arrive.
Simply put, they used the fact that Obito had to be tangible to teleport himself to box him in.
To break free, he had two options:
1. Move outside the range of *Mind Transfer Jutsu* and *Shadow Imitation Jutsu* before teleporting.
2. Kill either Shikamaru or Ino before they could react.
If the Anbu weren’t there, Obito would have likely chosen the second option.
But the Anbu present weren’t weaklings. Even if they seed unimpressive at tis, Anbu were Konohagakure’s elite, and many of them were high-level jonin.
So, Obito chose to retreat.
Slug looked dumbfounded after hearing the whole strategy. "Wait... the enemy actually fell for that?"
"It was just a simple psychological trick." Shikamaru smirked.
"Regardless of what choice he made, the result would be the sa. None of us here could actually be a direct threat to him, but at the sa ti, he couldn’t deal with us quickly either."
"So even if he had chosen to kill us, the reinforcents arriving afterward wouldn’t have been easy to handle. At that point, without his intangibility, would he really be able to face multiple elite jonin? That was a risk *he* had to consider."
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes with a satisfied look.
"And as it turns out..."
"...He didn’t believe his own strength was enough to defeat multiple elite jonin after losing his Mangekyou ability—especially if opponents like Asuma, Kakashi, or Guy might be among them."
"In other words, I didn’t force him to retreat—his own imagination did."
"As long as he had sothing more important to do, he wouldn’t take the gamble on us."
Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "Still, it *was* troubleso. We’re clearly not on his level. I an, the fact that he dared to charge into the center of Konohagakure alone says enough."
His goal from the very beginning had never been to kill Obito—it was to protect the dical team.
Slug remained speechless.
A purple-haired Anbu stepped forward, looking at Shikamaru with open admiration.
"Well done. You already have what it takes to beco a jonin. I look forward to the day we’re colleagues."
Having a tactician like him around would make any mission so much easier.
Shikamaru gave a tired smile. "Just don’t bla for letting the enemy go."
The purple-haired Anbu shook her head. "Our mission was to protect the dical team. Their safety is more important than taking down one enemy."
She wasn’t soone who ignored priorities.
The dical team kept Konohagakure’s forces in fighting shape. As long as they were safe, the entire village remained strong. That was far more valuable than eliminating a single enemy.
Ino crouched beside Sakura, looking at her pale face with concern.
"Um... how’s Sakura doing?"
Behind her, the older dical nin let out a sigh, though their expressions held a hint of pride.
"Sakura-sama is focusing all of her energy on healing Lady Tsunade. She can’t afford to be distracted, so she won’t be able to answer you for now."
Sakura’s chakra was already dangerously low. She had been pushing herself for so long that she couldn’t afford to lose focus for even a second.
Right now, if soone were to stab her in the stomach—
Well, okay, *she’d* probably wake up for that.
The purple-haired Anbu looked at Sakura with sympathy but remained firm.
"She’s already done enough. Our job is to make sure she stays safe."
The rest of the Konoha 12 looked at her with deep concern.
After speaking, the purple-haired Anbu looked at Shikamaru. "For now, we’re appointing you as the commander of the dical team’s protection squad. Both the Anbu and the ninja you brought will follow your orders. Any objections?"
Neji, who was walking over, suddenly stopped.
Wait... wasn’t I the one who brought them here?
Shikamaru scratched his head. He wanted to refuse, but after thinking about Obito, he sighed and nodded. "Got it."
"Good." The purple-haired Anbu didn’t hesitate. He turned to look at the other Anbu, who had hidden themselves at so point. They also nodded in agreent, showing no objections.
Honestly, it’s the Nara clan—would they ever argue about sothing like this?
Of course not.
"When this mission is over, we’ll jointly recomnd you for jonin promotion. As long as you pass the assessnt, you’ll officially be a jonin."
That was great news—Konohagakure was about to gain another brilliant Nara clan jonin.
That’s a good thing!
"Thanks," Shikamaru said with an awkward smile. "But, uh, my friend Naruto once said... saying sothing like that is just asking for trouble. Be careful not to jinx it."
The purple-haired Anbu: "?"
...
Her chakra... had reached its limit...
Sakura’s pale face twisted in pain. She was completely drained.
In that case, she had no choice but to tap into the chakra sealed in her Yin Seal.
Sorry, Tsunade-sensei... The Yin Seal... will need another three years to recharge...
Gritting her teeth, she stopped hesitating. The chakra locked inside her body burst out in an instant!
At the sa ti, a powerful surge of chakra erupted from her body. Ino, who had been kneeling beside her, was blown away by the sheer force. She stared at Sakura in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing. The others instinctively shielded themselves from the storm of chakra, their faces filled with astonishnt.
"This is—!"
In the back, an elderly dical ninja froze in place. "This chakra... It’s so strong that we don’t even need to support her... Tsunade-sama?"
Through the silhouette of Sakura radiating chakra, he seed to see another Tsunade sitting before him. That overwhelming chakra, those unparalleled dical abilities—she didn’t even need their help to activate the advanced healing technique...
"This..." The dical ninja were stunned.
As the chakra erupted, a purple diamond appeared on Sakura’s forehead. Her once pale complexion returned to normal in an instant.
Almost imdiately, the slug on her shoulder let out a panicked cry. "No, Sakura-chan! Your Yin Seal isn’t fully charged yet! If you release it now, all your effort will go to waste!"
If the Yin Seal was released before it was fully charged, all the stored chakra would be unleashed at once. The downside? The user would have to start recharging it all over again from scratch.
For Sakura... it ant three years of hard work and exhaustion would be for nothing.
But she didn’t respond to the slug. At the mont her Yin Seal was released, she opened her eyes. Black markings spread across her face as a massive wave of chakra surged into the slug’s body, instantly activating the previously weakened healing technique.
anwhile, far away on the battlefield, Tsunade suddenly stopped mid-fight. She could hardly believe what she was sensing.
"This chakra... Sakura? Did she... fully charge her Yin Seal?"
A look of excitent appeared on Tsunade’s face as she spoke.
When the Yin Seal is fully charged, the healing jutsu it unleashes is far more powerful than usual.
But the slug on her shoulder suddenly spoke up in a panic.
"No, Tsunade-sama! Sakura’s Yin Seal wasn’t fully charged! She ran out of chakra, so she *forced* it open herself—she’s trying to heal *everyone* in Konohagakure at once!"
"What?!" Tsunade shouted in disbelief.
"Is she crazy?!"
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