As Yakumo finished speaking, thunderclouds suddenly surged above the trial arena. A thick bolt of lightning struck down toward Shikamaru, stunning the girls watching.
Shikamaru merely smiled without moving a muscle. The lightning hit him squarely, but as if his body wasn't even there, the bolt simply passed through him and struck the ground beneath.
"Heh… Yakumo, why don't you show me more of your illusion space? These genjutsu don't work on me." Shikamaru smiled at the shocked Yakumo.
Her surprise wasn't unfounded. Her illusions were known as "real illusions", genjutsu that completely seized control of all five senses. Anyone caught in them had no way of resisting. But what Yakumo didn't know was that Shikamaru's mental strength was so formidable, he could abandon his five senses entirely and rely solely on a sixth sense to perceive and fight.
"In that case… Shikamaru-sama, be careful!" Yakumo said seriously. She didn't want him to see her abilities as useless. She raised her brush, and with a sweeping motion over the canvas, her illusion activated again.
Without warning, Shikamaru suddenly realized he had entered Yakumo's illusion space. He found himself standing at the base of an enormous glacier. Then, with a thunderous crash, huge chunks of ice came tumbling down toward him!
"Hmm… Not bad," Shikamaru murmured, forming hand seals rapidly.
"Shadow Ninja Art: Shadow Devour!"
A swirling black hole of shadow formed above his head, and all the falling ice was completely devoured by the vortex.
Boom, Boom!
As the avalanche ended, the earth began to shake violently. The mountain split apart with a deafening roar, and a pillar of red light shot into the sky. Scorching heat surged forth in waves.
"First ice, then an earthquake and volcanic eruption? Heh… Yakumo, you've got quite the imagination," Shikamaru chuckled as he rose into the air with his shadow wings, glancing at the illusionary space around him.
"Heehee! Shikamaru-sama, I'm not done yet…" Yakumo's playful voice echoed around him. Soon, her illusion space erupted with all sorts of natural disasters, lightning, storms, quakes, floods, one after another.
Back in the real world, the girls watching saw Yakumo's body suddenly sway as she began panting heavily. She looked up at Shikamaru, a bit disheartened. She hadn't expected her illusions to have no effect on him at all.
In a flash, Shikamaru was beside her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. Through her clothes, he could feel her soft skin.
"Yakumo, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Shikamaru-sama," she replied softly, not removing his hand.
"Feeling a little discouraged?" Shikamaru asked with a smile. "Yakumo, you're already incredibly strong. There's no need to feel down. Give it a bit more time, soon enough, no one besides me will be able to withstand your illusions."
Only Shikamaru knew just how terrifying Yakumo's illusion space really was. The only reason it didn't work on him was due to his freakish mental power. Her genjutsu could even rival Tsukuyomi.
"Really?" Yakumo asked in disbelief, but she still beamed at his praise.
"Of course. Keep it up. I'll need your help in the future," Shikamaru said with a nod and a smile.
"Understood, Shikamaru-sama!" Yakumo's heart swelled with determination. If she could be useful to him, she would give it her all. Her gaze toward him turned incredibly firm and resolute.
Shikamaru's strength had deeply moved Yakumo's heart. He had helped her defeat the inner demons that once haunted her, gifted her with a shadow, and made it possible for her to become a true shinobi. Unknowingly, the shadow of Shikamaru had already taken root in her heart.
Half a year flew by as the group trained under Shikamaru's guidance. He didn't hold back at all, especially with Neji and the other four. "Training" wasn't even the right word, "torment" was more accurate. Shikamaru's method was simple: fight him with everything they had. He focused solely on improving their real combat capabilities.
During sparring, Shikamaru was absolutely ruthless. It was normal for them to suffer broken arms or legs. But the next day, he'd heal them completely.
As for Choji's shadow, Shikamaru had gone out once to find a suitable match, specifically a Kirigakure shinobi with a massive chakra reserve but mediocre combat skill. The Akimichi clan's expansion jutsu was powerful, but without enough chakra, its full potential couldn't be realized. So Shikamaru gifted Choji a shadow with immense chakra.
He wasn't nearly as rough with the girls. For Yugito and Karui, he also found shadows with near-Kage-level chakra. Hinata, Ino, and Yakumo had already merged with one shadow each, so he didn't give them more, merging two shadows could be fatal. Only Naruto could withstand two, thanks to Kurama, and Lee due to his self-destructive training.
As for Tenten, Shikamaru hadn't given her a shadow, seemingly on purpose. He didn't want to give her just any shadow. Among the "Four Flowers of Konoha," Shikamaru had always had a soft spot. Though Tenten wasn't yet one of "his" women, under his guidance, could she really escape his grasp?
Naturally, during this half-year, Shikamaru didn't neglect his own training either. He focused on strengthening his mental energy. By now, he could sense that his body was ready to absorb another Tailed Beast shadow.
"Two and a half years left… That's when Akatsuki will move again. Their first target should be Gaara, right? I wonder how Temari's doing…" Finishing the group's training, Shikamaru looked up at the sky and muttered. Thoughts of Gaara inevitably brought thoughts of Temari. Surrounded by beautiful women for half a year, he had nearly forgotten about the lovely girl waiting in Sunagakure.
"…Huh? Temari's here?" Suddenly, Shikamaru felt a ripple in his soul. A joyful smile crossed his face. Just thinking about her brought her presence to him. With a flash, he turned into a shadow and vanished in her direction.
⚔──────────────
Temari was leaping swiftly toward Konoha, her heart full of anticipation. The thought of seeing Shikamaru again filled her face with a sweet smile.
"Who's there?!" she suddenly shouted, stopping in her tracks and glaring at a nearby tree.
Whoosh,
A kunai flew toward her in response.
Temari snorted coldly. Her expression hardened, and a shield of sand formed mid-air to block the projectile.
"Wind Sand Style – Sand Shuriken Technique!"
With a flick of her iron fan, dozens of sand-made shuriken formed in front of her. She swung the fan, launching them with a whirling gust toward the source of the kunai.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of trees were obliterated in an instant.
"Hmph." Temari coldly scoffed. Since no one appeared, they must've been hit. She closed her fan and prepared to move on.
"Heh… Temari, you really impressed me."
A familiar voice echoed from the broken trees. A shadow emerged, Shikamaru.
"Ah, Shikamaru!" Temari cried in joy. Hearing his familiar voice, seeing his unique entrance, and then spotting his figure, she ran into his arms without hesitation.
"Shikamaru! It was you?" she said in delight. "I thought it was just some sneak thief!"
Smack
Shikamaru gave her rear a playful slap. "Who are you calling a thief? Your man just wanted to see how strong you've gotten."
"Mm~" Flushed from the smack, Temari clung to him weakly and whispered coyly, "So? What did I do? I've improved, right?"
"More than improved, you shocked me," Shikamaru said, then couldn't hold back his joy. He lowered his head and kissed her deeply. After half a year, Temari had grown curvier, and holding her close, Shikamaru felt a heat rising in his lower belly.
"Mm…" Temari returned the kiss with equal passion, expressing half a year's worth of longing. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, pressing herself against his warmth.
After a long while, Shikamaru finally pulled back, still holding her.
"Temari, are you planning to stay in Konoha now?"
"Mm." She nodded, resting happily in his arms. "Under my brother Gaara's leadership, the Sand Village is running well again. So I came to be with you."
"Then let's go home." Shikamaru kissed her again and led her back.
On the way, he learned that Temari had not only helped Gaara rebuild the village but had also grown much stronger. One-on-one, her mastery of Wind Release now gave her the edge over Gaara, though Gaara's sand had a consciousness, his mother's. Temari didn't have that advantage. Still, she had independently learned Sand Release and could now use it without relying on Shukaku's shadow.
Back home, after a quick hello to Ino's mother and Haku, Shikamaru took Temari straight to his room.
In the heat of passion, their clothes quickly fell to the floor. Shikamaru pinned her beneath him and, with a breathless grin, said, "Temari, did you miss it?"
"Mm…" Temari opened her mouth and eagerly welcomed him, licking and sucking with affection.
Unable to contain herself, she soon flipped Shikamaru onto his back, straddled him, and plunged down…
"Ah…"
Their room echoed with the sounds of pleasure.
⚔──────────────
The next day, Shikamaru extracted the One-Tail Shukaku's shadow from Temari's body. He wanted to see if taking in another Tailed Beast shadow would allow his Shadow Eyes to evolve further.
He had initially planned to wait until he'd collected all the Tailed Beasts, worried that taking it back early might hurt Temari. But since she had gained full control of Sand Release on her own, he decided to retrieve it now.
"Shadow Ninja Art – Shadow Retrieval!"
In the secret room of the Anbu headquarters, under dim lights, Temari's shadow began to tremble. A portion of it separated and quickly merged into Shikamaru's body.
"Ah…" Temari gasped in pain, clutching her chest and panting heavily. After a moment, she adapted to the discomfort. Though it hurt, she was still happy, because Shikamaru promised to give her an even more powerful shadow in the future.
"Temari, are you okay?" Shikamaru asked, hugging her tightly.
"Heehee, I'm fine," she giggled, but then sensed his chakra surging violently.
"Good. Then go back for now. I need to enter closed-door training," he said seriously. The energy raging inside him confirmed what he suspected.
Temari nodded and quietly left the chamber, closing the door behind her. Then, worried, she waited patiently outside…
⚔────────
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