As the kunai hit the ground and the red explosive tag attached to its end became visible, the onlookers' hearts skipped a beat. Their pupils instantly shrank in unison.
Kankurō stepped back a bit, quickly pulling Konohamaru in front of him as a shield, while lowering his body, trying to use Konohamaru as a human shield. Beside him, Temari partially opened her fan and stood in front.
Naruto, who had fallen to the ground and was dangerously close to the kunai, had his face change drastically, his heart nearly stopping. Having never experienced the ordeal of near-death, he was still but a child in such situations. Panicked, he crawled backward a few steps, then curled up on the ground, covering his head with his hands.
Sakura, who was slightly further away, quickly came to her senses after the initial shock. She grabbed Moegi and Udon and pressed them under her body, lying flat to protect them.
However, when Nara Shikamaru's voice rang out from the far end of the street, and everyone saw the kunai quietly stuck into the ground with its intact explosive tag, the group quickly reacted.
"It's Naruto! What a coincidence!" From a distance, Shikamaru didn't seem to care about Naruto's words. Instead, he remarked casually, "This is a coincidence. It's not like we were caught in a conflict." The Chūnin Exams were approaching, and many lower-ranking ninjas from foreign villages had entered Konoha, trying to gauge the strength of their Konoha counterparts, particularly the lower-ranking ninjas. These "conflicts" weren't a big deal, but Shikamaru considered that in the coming days, more would likely occur. With Kankurō and Temari being lower-ranking ninjas from Sunagakure, the chances of conflict with Konoha's ninjas were high. Yet, much like in the original series, this was a confrontation between Naruto, Sakura, and Konohamaru, which made Shikamaru reflect.
"Nara Shikamaru!" Naruto's eyes were filled with tears. In that split second, he had felt like he had walked through the gates of death, his fear almost suffocating. His face turned red with anger as he quickly jumped to his feet, pointing toward the distant figure and shouting, "I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!"
"You're from Sunagakure, aren't you?" Shikamaru didn't even acknowledge Naruto's words. Instead, he squinted at Kankurō and Temari, his mind working as he asked loudly, "But I don't think you two are the usual ninja from allied nations..."
"Attacking a Konoha citizen? Are you spies?" Shikamaru's expression grew colder, a glint of cold light flashing in his eyes. In the Konoha Collapse Plan, Gaara played a crucial role. As a jinchūriki, his destructive power and strength were extraordinary, far beyond that of a regular Genin. Apart from Naruto, who had the protection of the Nine-Tails' power, even someone like Shikamaru wouldn't be able to handle Gaara in battle. The Chūnin Exams would surely be a tough challenge, and if he could take down Gaara's teammates first, it would prevent them from participating due to lack of manpower. Moreover, Konohamaru's existence was a perfect excuse.
The area was wide and narrow, and the puppet master couldn't hide well. With Shikamaru possessing the destructive power of the Rasengan and his mastery of Taijutsu, it would be difficult for Temari, who excelled in mid-to-long-range attacks, to utilize her strengths in close combat. Though Naruto and Sakura were insignificant in comparison, their presence still forced Kankurō and Temari to divide their attention.
"You're arrogant, huh? Kid!" Kankurō's forehead bulged with veins. The explosive tag earlier had caught him off guard as well. Hearing Shikamaru's words now, he sneered.
Kankurō was about to say something, but then he saw Shikamaru suddenly form hand seals. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the explosive tag attached to the kunai starting to burn.
"Move, Temari!" Kankurō yelled in surprise. Though he felt something was wrong, he still instinctively shouted to Temari.
"Watch out!" Temari reacted faster. She turned around and quickly realized, judging by Shikamaru's tone and the fact that Naruto had called him by name, that Shikamaru was a Konoha ninja. How dared he ignite an explosive tag in the middle of Konoha?
Hearing Temari's warning, Kankurō turned his head to look at Shikamaru, only to see him already charging toward them. Taking advantage of Kankurō's distraction as he ducked to dodge the kunai, Shikamaru got closer.
Whoosh!
To avoid injuring Konohamaru, Shikamaru didn't use his Shadow Possession Jutsu. Instead, he attacked physically, crouching and sweeping his right leg to strike Kankurō's calf. It was a simple low sweep, but since Kankurō was still holding Konohamaru, he couldn't respond quickly and had to retreat.
"He's fast! He must be good at Taijutsu!" Kankurō thought as he quickly threw Konohamaru toward Shikamaru, hoping to use him as a distraction while he grabbed his puppet, "Crow."
Shikamaru's lips curled into a slight smile. He opened his arms to catch Konohamaru, then quickly formed more hand seals. Rolling backward, he redirected Konohamaru's momentum, then summoned an identical shadow clone to appear in front of him, which blocked Kankurō's path.
Unlike Naruto, who didn't fully understand the mechanics of the original story, Shikamaru, being familiar with it, knew how to deal with puppet masters and their techniques. After creating the shadow clone, he wasted no time and immediately charged toward Kankurō, not giving him the opportunity to untangle his puppet.
"Shikamaru!" Konohamaru's face turned pale, unsure whether it was due to Kankurō's earlier grip on him or the fear of the situation. Seeing his escape, he called out timidly.
"Get behind me!" Shikamaru placed Konohamaru down and ordered seriously.
Konohamaru nodded, and Shikamaru stood up quickly, about to charge toward Kankurō, who was still engaged with his shadow clone in Taijutsu. But just then, a huge black fan appeared from an angle, heading straight for Shikamaru. However, Shikamaru, seemingly prepared, narrowly avoided it, stopping just in time. The fan hit the ground with a loud crash as Shikamaru pivoted and rushed toward Temari.
Shikamaru's earlier focus had been on Temari, and the move toward Kankurō was just a feint to lure Temari into attacking. The fan's heavy swing had revealed a vulnerability.
"Wait, this is a misunderstanding! We have Konoha's travel permits!" Temari's pupils constricted, and she yelled at Shikamaru.
"First, I'm going to capture you two!" Shikamaru sneered, taking a step forward. With a swift motion, he drew the "Shadow Possession" from his waist, holding it backward as he aimed for Temari's shoulder.