Neji Hyūga continued to retreat, narrowly dodging the tendrils of Shikamaru Nara's Shadow Possession Jutsu as they chased after him.
But even the Shadow Possession had its limits. Once Neji had widened the distance far enough, Shikamaru's shadow reached its maximum length—it couldn't stretch even a centimeter further.
"So his shadow technique has a range limit too," Neji thought, narrowing his eyes. Even as he backed away cautiously, he kept a watchful eye on Shikamaru's movements.
Then he glanced at the two forked shadow tendrils that had tried to block his retreat earlier. His expression sharpened.
"He tried to cut off my escape… Why?"
Looking again at Shikamaru—still crouched, hands in the sealing position—Neji's pupils suddenly contracted. A realization hit him.
"Don't tell me… he can't move while using that technique?"
Acting on instinct, Neji reached into his pouch and pulled out several shuriken. He steadied his breath, narrowed his eyes, and flung them toward the still half-crouched Shikamaru.
The spinning shuriken hissed through the air as they arced toward their target.
Shikamaru responded quickly. Gritting his teeth, he broke the hand seal and yanked out a kunai, expertly swatting the incoming shuriken aside one by one. As soon as the hand seal was broken, the shadow tendrils receded, melting back into his own shadow.
"So I was right," Neji's eyes flashed. "He has to stay still while maintaining the jutsu."
If he hadn't figured this out, the fight could have turned into a drawn-out stalemate. Neji wouldn't have been able to get close, but Shikamaru wouldn't be able to catch him either. That wasn't a scenario Neji was willing to accept.
Now that he'd found the weakness, he surged forward.
Shikamaru, having already deflected the last shuriken, watched Neji's advance and immediately began weaving hand signs again. The shadow beneath him stretched once more, splitting into two black tendrils that raced along the ground toward Neji in a crossing pattern.
But Neji wasn't fazed. A faint, confident smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he abruptly stopped and reached for another handful of shuriken, flinging them toward Shikamaru once again.
Shikamaru frowned. Neji was repeating the tactic—forcing him to break his jutsu to dodge and nullify the technique. He didn't like being baited.
His fingers flew through a new set of hand seals.
Poof! A puff of smoke erupted beside him, and a second Shikamaru emerged from the haze—clearly a shadow clone. Neji's Byakugan could see it clearly: not just a projection, but a true chakra-based clone.
"Shadow Clone Technique?" Neji's pupils narrowed.
The clone quickly grabbed Kagehide—the dagger Shikamaru had earlier stabbed into the ground—and intercepted all of the shuriken mid-flight. Then, with a pause, it lowered its body and charged straight at Neji.
But Shikamaru himself hadn't moved. He remained in his crouched position, hands already forming another seal—recasting his Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Neji let out a cold snort. He wasn't concerned with the clone. His Byakugan had already detected a fine line of chakra running from the clone's shadow back to Shikamaru's own—he had connected the clone to his jutsu. If Neji made contact with the clone, the shadow would seize the opportunity to bind him.
He immediately leapt back—dodging not the clone, but the trap.
And this time, Neji countered.
Poof!
With a surge of chakra, Neji cast his own jutsu. Smoke billowed around him as five shadowy figures burst forth.
The audience gasped. It was the most basic Clone Technique, taught in the Academy. But Neji wasn't finished. Without pause, he formed more hand seals, summoning another set of five clones—ten in total. Then he directed them forward.
The clones broke into pairs, zigzagging as they rushed toward Shikamaru. While they were only illusions, their speed and erratic movement made it hard to tell which was real. Even with careful observation, spotting the original was difficult.
Shikamaru didn't dare take the risk.
He immediately split his shadow again, tendrils lashing out in every direction to intercept the rushing clones.
Neji smirked inwardly.
"Hooked."
The clones weren't meant to mask his own movement. Neji knew from experience that Shikamaru's jutsu had a limited range. His real plan was to bait Shikamaru into spreading his shadow too thin.
And it was working.
Even the shadow clone that had initially rushed him had come to a stop. Neji took in the whole battlefield in one sweeping glance. With each shadow tendril chasing his decoys, the total surface area was being stretched. The thread connecting Shikamaru's shadow to his clone had grown significantly shorter than the first time he had used it to chase Neji across the arena.
Neji came to a halt, exhaled slowly, and looked directly at Shikamaru's shadow clone.
"This match is over. You can't win."
Since the beginning, Shikamaru had been forced to rely repeatedly on his Shadow Possession and Shadow Clone techniques, draining a significant amount of chakra. Neji, thanks to his Byakugan, could see it clearly—Shikamaru's reserves were running low.
And none of his tactics had managed to corner Neji. With his taijutsu alone, Shikamaru had virtually no chance of winning. If he didn't come up with something drastic soon, the outcome was already decided.
Shikamaru knew it too.
His shadow clone hesitated briefly, then sheathed Kagehide at his waist. He reached into his ninja pouch with both hands, seemingly searching for another tool.
And just as Neji's focus shifted momentarily toward the clone—
Whoosh.
The shadow beneath the clone twitched—then surged forward in a thin black tendril, lashing toward Neji's feet.
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