"Hehe," Naruto said with a sly look. "Shikamaru, if you don't follow my arrangements, you'll never have a peaceful life from now on."
"Ugh..." Shikamaru's whole body was covered in goosebumps. He let out a helpless sigh and said, "I surrender. I quit. It's such a pain in the ass."
Shikamaru was naturally lazy and usually as good - for - nothing as a dead fish. He had no ambitions, hated troubles, was prone to giving up, and disliked fights.
He yearned for a peaceful life and wanted to live an ordinary life. He always slept in class and was too lazy to write during exams.
"I won't agree," Naruto said. He had long guessed that Shikamaru would definitely give up, so he directly refused.
"Hey?" Shikamaru said in confusion. "According to the rules, surrender is allowed."
"If you dare to surrender," Naruto said with a sinister smile. "I'll go to your house every night to harass you and keep you from sleeping."
"Ugh..." Shikamaru was scared.
Naruto then threatened, "When you want to sit around and daydream all by yourself, I'll come and interrupt you."
"Ugh..." Shikamaru felt like he had made a bad friend. How could he have befriended someone as annoying as Naruto?
Naruto said with a big grin, "When you're playing your favorite shogi, I'll knock over the board."
"Naruto! You're going too far!" Shikamaru knelt on the ground and howled at the sky, "Is that what a decent person does?!"
"Take her down!" Naruto pointed at Temari.
Shikamaru's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He rushed towards Temari at an extremely fast speed.
"Done," Naruto thought to himself, feeling very smug that he had managed to convince Shikamaru to join him with just a few words.
Naruto directly picked up Hinata and wanted to take her into the battle.
Hinata, held in Naruto's arms, blushed deeply. She stuck out one finger from each hand and kept poking them against each other.
Hinata said shyly, "Naruto, I'm not hurt..." What she meant was that she could walk on her own and didn't need to be carried.
"Sorry, sorry," Naruto said sheepishly. "I'm just used to it."
Then he added in Hinata's ear, "Haven't you gotten used to it yet?"
The blush on Hinata's face spread gradually and finally dyed her entire pretty face red.
With Shikamaru joining the battle, he immediately held Temari back, relieving a lot of the pressure on Sasuke and Sakura.
Then Naruto brought Hinata here to help out, creating a situation of four against two.
Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura were up against Gaara and Kanpo of the Sand Ninjas.
"Two more..." Kanpo broke out in a cold sweat. He realized that the situation was very unfavorable for his side.
When Sasuke saw Naruto coming, he was shocked. He quickly looked at the other side of the battlefield and saw that Lee, Neji, Ino, and Choji were all lying on the ground.
Naruto had taken out all four of them! Is the gap between me and Naruto really that wide?! Sasuke gritted his teeth so hard that they were making a crunching sound.
Naruto said, "Sorry I'm late. It took me a while to take out those four. I also managed to convince Shikamaru to join me and brought Hinata here to help out."
"The speaker didn't mean it, but the listener took it to heart." Sasuke's heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle.
"Naruto, how on earth did you do it?" Sakura asked.
Naruto thought for a moment and said, "It must be about strength. As long as you have strength, you can make Shikamaru yield; as long as you have charm, you can get Hinata's help. Hahaha!"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a combination of strength and charm!"
"Awesome," Sakura couldn't help but praise, and deliberately glanced at Hinata, thinking that Naruto had accomplished many incredible things.
In the past, if Naruto bragged like this, Sakura would have found it unbearable. But now it was different. At this time, Naruto wasn't just bragging; he was stating a fact, and even Sakura didn't find it offensive.
Sasuke felt as if countless sharp blades had pierced through his heart. He was determined to catch up with Naruto and never stop chasing.
Suddenly, Sasuke burst out with powerful explosive force, and his figure disappeared from the spot.
Kanpo stepped forward directly, manipulating his Puppets to intercept Sasuke.
Naruto instantly made his move, flashing directly beside Kanpo, which really surprised Kanpo. He thought to himself, "This guy... What incredible speed..."
Naruto threw a punch. Kanpo quickly recalled his Puppet to defend and blocked Naruto's fist with it.
Naruto stopped Kanpo, but he wasn't interested in this guy. He directly said to Hinata and Sakura, "Hinata, Sakura, leave this puppet - master to you."
"Yes," Hinata stepped forward and assumed the starting stance of the Gentle Fist in front of Kanpo.
Sakura cast a reluctant look at Sasuke. She would have preferred to fight side - by - side with Sasuke, but Naruto was the leader of Team 7, so she had to follow Naruto's arrangement.
"Humph, sending two women to fight me," Kanpo showed a ferocious face and said, "If you underestimate me, you'll pay the price."
Hinata and Sakura attacked simultaneously, charging towards Kanpo from the left and the right.
The irrelevant people were all sent away. Now the most important thing was the battle between Sasuke and Gaara. Naruto stood aside, watching the battle.
Sasuke first threw two Shurikens at Gaara, aiming straight for his throat.
Gaara stood still, slowly opening his eyes. The Air Sand Protective Wall automatically formed a defensive barrier, blocking the two Shurikens.
The Air Sand Protective Wall continuously changed its shape and shot a Sand Shuriken at Sasuke.
Sasuke quickly dodged the Sand Shuriken and flashed beside Gaara. At the same time, the Air Sand Protective Wall emerged again, blocking Sasuke.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and performed the Taijutsu he had copied from Lee not long ago. He instantly flashed behind Gaara, which really surprised Gaara.
"This speed!" Gaara finally realized something was wrong. Only then did he notice that Sasuke's speed was actually comparable to Lee's.
As long as the speed was fast enough, the defense of the Air Sand Protective Wall couldn't keep up. Sasuke successfully kicked Gaara in the face with one foot.
Naruto showed a smile. Sasuke's growth rate was indeed very fast. Naruto took a step forward.
Sasuke shouted, "Naruto, just watch. You don't need to intervene. I'll take down that guy myself."
Sasuke launched a series of attacks, moving as fast as lightning. Gaara simply couldn't keep track of Sasuke's movements with the naked eye.
After expending a large amount of physical strength, in his lightning - fast movements, Sasuke kicked Gaara multiple times in succession and even kicked Gaara flying.
Gaara was enraged and felt insulted. He quickly wrapped himself completely with all his sand, instantly forming a large Sand ball.
Sasuke threw Shuriken and Kunai, but neither the Shuriken nor the Kunai could break through the large Sand ball.
"Tsk, what's Gaara up to, hiding in that Sand ball?" Sasuke thought to himself, "No matter what he's up to, I have to stop him..."
"Lightning Release Chidori!" Sasuke once again used the newly learned Ninjutsu. Countless lightning bolts flashed out from his left hand. After activating his Sharingan and with his super - fast speed, he directly struck the large Sand ball.
It could be seen that Sasuke's left hand directly sank into the Sand ball, but Sasuke felt as if he hadn't hit anything. The attack seemed to have missed.
Sasuke sensed something was amiss. Behind the Sand ball, a big frog suddenly appeared.
"A Frog? Where the hell did it come from?" Sasuke couldn't figure out where the Frog had suddenly come from.
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