"Damn it! Let Gaara go!"
"Stop!"
High above in the sky, Deidara sat atop his giant clay bird, glancing back at the roaring Naruto and the Kakashi following close behind.
"Tsk, tsk. So they've caught up… the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki." Deidara smiled. Even though he'd lost an arm and a leg, as long as he could shake off Kakashi, he was confident he could still handle Naruto.
"C1 Clay – Flying Birds!" With a flick of his unharmed right hand, three clay birds shot down toward Kakashi.
Chirp chirp,
Hearing the sound of the birds, Kakashi's Sharingan flared open. He swiftly dodged the incoming clay birds.
Boom boom boom! The three birds exploded in a triangle around him. Kakashi halted and began retreating, but before the smoke cleared, three more birds darted toward him.
"Tch! Trying to block me?" Kakashi furrowed his brows and leapt backward, narrowly avoiding another round of clay birds exploding in his previous position.
⚔──────────────
"Hmph, finally shook one off…" Deidara snorted as he continued flying forward, luring Naruto along.
Suddenly, his senses screamed danger. He turned his head toward the sky, only to see a black figure speeding straight at him. In the blink of an eye, Shikamaru appeared in front of him, wings of shadow spread wide.
"Another one? C1 Clay – Flying Birds!" Deidara cursed under his breath. Shikamaru hadn't even reached him yet, but Deidara could already sense how dangerous he was. All his high-level clay had been used up in the fight with Gaara, only one C5 remained, reserved for self-detonation.
Chirp chirp,
Watching the clay birds approach, Shikamaru smirked.
"Shadow Style – Shadow Devour."
A black vortex opened in front of him, swallowing the clay birds instantly.
"Shadow Style – Wind Glide."
A surge of black wind burst from Shikamaru's body. With a flicker of shadow, he turned into a streak of darkness and shot toward Deidara, landing on the clay bird's back in a flash.
"Who are you?" Deidara asked warily, launching more clay birds at Shikamaru.
"Tch. What is this trash?" Shikamaru sneered. "Out of higher-grade clay already? You're coming at me with this junk?"
Without even moving, he casually caught the clay birds with his right hand mid-flight.
"Hmph! Call it trash? That's unforgivable! Art, "
But before Deidara could finish his usual line, his eyes widened in disbelief. A strange black flame erupted from Shikamaru's right hand, incinerating the birds into ash.
"Amaterasu…?" Deidara murmured, shocked. He remembered well the terrifying black flames of Itachi's Amaterasu.
"Sorry. This isn't Amaterasu. Just a mutation of my own ability," Shikamaru said coolly, though he knew full well the origins of his Shadow Flame traced back to Amaterasu.
"Shadow Style – Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Taking advantage of Deidara's dazed state, Shikamaru instantly caught him in his shadow.
"Shadow Style – Alloy Drill!"
With a sweep of his left hand, a black alloy drill forged of shadow sliced between the two. Deidara, forced to mimic the movement, gasped as the drill pierced his chest, blood blossoming like a flower. He could feel his life slipping away.
"Tch. Looks like your strength was nearly spent after fighting Gaara. Shadow Style – Shadow Reaping."
With a sneer, Shikamaru drew Deidara's shadow out of his body. As the sun struck him, Deidara's body disintegrated into light.
Boom,
With Deidara's death, the clay bird vanished, sending Gaara's body plummeting.
Shikamaru swooped down and caught him. Just as he began to relax, a ripple tore through the air. A figure emerged from the void and snatched Gaara away before he hit the ground.
Shikamaru's pupils narrowed.
They had finally crossed paths, the true puppet master of Akatsuki, Uchiha Madara.
"Heh. Sorry, kid. But Gaara isn't someone you're taking back." Madara gave Shikamaru a casual smile.
"U-chi-ha, Madara!" Shikamaru growled at each word. To him, facing one of the most powerful shinobi in history was an irresistible challenge.
"Oh? You know who I am?" Madara raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Shadow Style – Shadow Chidori!"
Shikamaru wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. Black lightning crackled from his hand as he shot forward, wind shadows propelling him.
Crackle,
Thunder echoed across the sky, but Madara remained unmoved. Before the attack could hit, his body slipped into the void, taking Gaara with him.
"Damn it! He escaped!" Shikamaru hovered midair, gritting his teeth. Space-time jutsu, his current Achilles' heel.
The shadow technique he granted Tenten could only transport weapons through space. Unlike Minato or Madara, she couldn't teleport herself. Otherwise, Shikamaru would never have passed the ability on.
"Gaara!" came a sudden cry from below. Shikamaru glanced down and saw Naruto, red-eyed, leaping at him in fury.
"You bastard! Give Gaara back!"
Naruto hadn't recognized Shikamaru. At first, he was happy to see Deidara killed, but then watched Gaara vanish in a stranger's technique. Naturally, he assumed Shikamaru was responsible.
"Wind Style – True Dragon Rasengan!"
A red Rasengan swirled in Naruto's palm. In a blink, he was in front of Shikamaru, hurling the attack with no hesitation.
"Tch. Idiot." Shikamaru frowned and dodged easily.
"Shadow Style – Monster Strength Konoha Whirlwind!"
A surge of black chakra exploded from his body and concentrated into his right leg.
Boom!
With a single kick, he sent Naruto hurtling to the ground.
He was already in a bad mood. Now this idiot wanted to add to it? Shikamaru wasn't about to let him off easy.
Crash!
Naruto crashed into the ground, forming a massive crater.
"Cough… damn… that hurt…"
"Naruto!" Kakashi rushed over and checked him. Seeing it was just superficial injuries, he sighed in relief. Then he looked up at the figure who had knocked Naruto down.
"Kakashi-sensei! Gaara's dead… I have to avenge him, "
Thud! Before Naruto could finish, Kakashi punched him on the head.
"Idiot! Look closely. That's Shikamaru!"
As soon as he saw Shikamaru descending, Kakashi recognized him and sighed again. Naruto really was a handful.
"Wha–?" Naruto looked up, finally taking a proper look. Though his form had changed, the silhouette was unmistakably Shikamaru's.
"Don't tell me you seriously thought I killed Gaara?" Shikamaru said coolly, noticing the large bump on Naruto's head.
"Kakashi! Long time no see," he added, turning to greet him.
"Haha, Shikamaru-sama! It's been a while." Kakashi smiled. As the head of the Anbu, Shikamaru deserved the honorific.
"Shikamaru… Sorry… I thought you were someone else," Naruto rubbed his head awkwardly. "But I saw you, and then Gaara vanished…"
"Idiot! Gaara was taken!" Shikamaru snapped. Now he understood why Sasuke and Sakura always called Naruto a moron, it wasn't out of habit. He truly was one.
"Shikamaru-sama, who could possibly take Gaara from you?" Kakashi asked gravely.
"Just an old fossil," Shikamaru replied indifferently, deliberately omitting Madara's name.
"Kakashi, wait here for Gai's group and catch up later. I'll go ahead." With that, Shikamaru spread his shadow wings and flew off.
He couldn't use space-time jutsu, but he could still sense the direction Madara had gone.
Boom! In a hidden cave, Madara tossed Gaara's body in front of Pain.
"Pain, the One-Tail's yours now," he said. Then, with a darker look, added, "Also, Sasori and Deidara are dead. That shadow reaper, Shikamaru, showed up."
"I see. So Konoha has grown that strong?" Pain muttered.
"Madara, stall Shikamaru. See if you can convince him to join our plan. I'll handle the rest of Konoha's forces."
"The One-Tail… This time, we must secure it."
"Leave Shikamaru to me. But you're not seriously sending all Six Paths for the others, are you?"
"Hmph. To bring true peace to the world, we have no choice. We can't allow the extraction to be interrupted," Pain replied.
"Heh. Then I'll go test this so-called 'genius of the Shinobi World,' the Shadow Lord." Madara chuckled and vanished.
⚔──────────────
As Shikamaru flew through the sky, the space ahead of him rippled again. He immediately stopped.
"Heh. Shadow Shikamaru-sama… Didn't think we'd meet again so soon," Madara emerged with a grin.
"Heh. I didn't think you'd come back to die so quickly," Shikamaru replied with a smile.
"Nara Shikamaru, how about a deal?" Madara offered.
"Oh? What kind of deal?" Shikamaru asked curiously.
"You seem to know Akatsuki's goal is to collect the Tailed Beasts. But do you know why?"
"What's the reason?" Shikamaru asked, feigning curiosity while laughing inwardly. Trying to recruit him?
Madara's answer came in a single word:
"Peace."
Inkstone and watttadd
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The Mountain of Ice and Fire (GOT) – 56 advanced chapters!
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