(If you guys get to 250 stones before Sunday, then Double Release on Tuesday)
"D-rank Four Elemental Attack!" they cried in unison. From four directions, a D-rank jutsu of fire, water, wind, and lightning rushed at the cart.
Choji, reacting with surprising speed for his size, enlarged both of his hands. He tanked the fire and water attacks, the flames licking harmlessly at his chakra-enhanced palms while the water splashed ineffectually against his other hand.
Meanwhile, Ino, her eyes narrowed in concentration, whipped out a kunai with an explosive tag. With pinpoint accuracy, she hurled it at the remaining two attacks. The explosion neutralized both the wind and lightning jutsu, creating a spectacular display of light and sound.
One of the attackers, seemingly the leader, yelled out in surprise, "It's the Ino-Shika-Cho clan heirs! They have high bounties!"
The trio remained unfazed by this declaration, their teamwork seamless after years of training together. However, before they could counterattack, another voice piped up, this one filled with a sadistic glee that sent chills down their spines.
"Hehe, maybe we could torture them or we could-" The ninja's words were cut off abruptly as a water senbon pierced a spot near his voice box. More senbons followed in quick succession, embedding themselves in his limbs and causing him to collapse to the ground, immobilized and silent.
The sudden attack caught the other three off guard. They leapt back, trying to put some distance between themselves and this new threat. However, two of them weren't quick enough. In a blink of an eye, they found themselves in a similar predicament as their comrade, water senbons rendering them helpless.
The third ninja, having narrowly avoided the fate of his companions, let out a crazed yell. His eyes were wide with a mix of fear and desperation. "If I'm going down, I'm gonna take all of you with me!" he screamed.
Electricity crackled around him as he activated a lightning-style jutsu. The electric current spread out in all directions, threatening to electrocute everyone in the vicinity. However, to everyone's surprise, the lightning began to converge on a single point - a metal pole that Sora was holding.
"Thanks for charging my battery," Sora quipped, a mischievous grin on his face. "It's hard to find idiots these days." Before the shocked ninja could react, Sora opened his mouth and shot out a water senbon with incredible speed and precision. The senbon struck the man in a few pressure points, immobilizing him instantly.
Just as Sora was basking in his victory, he felt the cold touch of a kunai against his throat. "Kid, you shouldn't play ninja," a gruff voice whispered in his ear. "You might get your throat slit."
The kunai plunged forward, but instead of blood, there was a sudden explosion. The attacker was caught in the blast, killed instantly by the trap he had unwittingly sprung.
As the smoke cleared, it became apparent that the Sora who had been "killed" was actually a clone. Multiple Sora clones were now visible, each engaged in combat with the remaining Genin attackers. They moved with a fluidity that belied their young age, water senbons flying from their hands and mouths with deadly accuracy.
While the clones dealt with the genin, the real Sora found himself face-to-face with one of the chunin. Despite the difference in rank and experience, Sora held his ground, his small size making him a difficult target to hit.
The other two chunin, realizing that the genin were being overwhelmed, decided to focus their attacks on the cart. They launched C-rank elemental releases, hoping to break through and take out the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
However, Shikamaru had been busy while the others fought. He had already established a barrier around the cart, the complex seals glowing faintly as they absorbed the incoming attacks.
"Okay," Shikamaru muttered, forming a hand seal. His shadow began to stretch out, creeping towards one of the chunin who was assaulting their barrier with a fire-release jutsu.
The chunin, noticing the encroaching shadow, quickly formed hand seals and used the Body Flicker technique to escape. But Shikamaru had anticipated this. His real target wasn't the fire-user, but the chunin who was engaged with Sora, using poison techniques.
The shadow jutsu caught the poison-user from his blind side. Despite the shouts of warning from his comrades, he was too focused on Sora's clone to notice in time. The jutsu froze him in place for just a moment - but a moment was all the Sora clone needed. With lightning-fast movements, the clone immobilized the chunin and knocked him unconscious.
Realizing they were fighting a losing battle, the two remaining chunin attempted to retreat in opposite directions. However, they soon found themselves hitting an invisible wall. Shikamaru's voice rang out, tinged with satisfaction, "Not so fast."
The chunin realized with growing dread that they were trapped inside a large barrier. One of them clicked his tongue in frustration and began weaving hand seals for a powerful fire jutsu.
Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him. Turning slightly, he saw Choji, the Akimichi heir, with his arm enlarged to massive proportions. "Heh, you almost snuck up on me," the chunin smirked, thinking he had the upper hand.
But just as he was about to release his fire jutsu, a fist connected with his face from an entirely different direction. The punch, courtesy of Choji, caught him completely off guard. Unable to open his mouth due to the impact, the fire jutsu he had been forming backfired, exploding inside his mouth and killing him instantly.
"Damn," Ino cursed, shaking out her hand. "That was a basic genjutsu. I thought he was pretending not to notice Choji to catch us off guard."
Shikamaru nodded from his position by the barrier beside her. "Good thinking, Ino. Always expect the unexpected."
Meanwhile, the last chunin was desperately trying to break the barrier with wind-style jutsu. However, before he could make any progress, he found himself restrained by Sora, who had snuck up behind him while he was distracted.
With all the attackers either captured or neutralized, Shikamaru dropped the barrier and released a signal flare into the air to attract nearby ANBU or patrol teams.
As they waited for backup to arrive, the team took stock of the situation. The captured enemies were securely restrained, and Shikamaru was examining the battlefield with a critical eye.
"Two died, huh," he murmured, his tone neutral but his eyes sharp as he assessed the damage.
Choji was munching on his chips, a thoughtful look on his face as he gazed at the fallen enemies. Sora, meanwhile, had a neutral expression as he stared at the corpse of the ninja who had been killed by his clone's explosion. The reality of taking a life, even indirectly, was starting to sink in.
After a moment of contemplation, Sora broke the silence. "Was it really worth it to kill these guys?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically serious.
Shikamaru turned to him, his expression thoughtful. "Wasn't their death an accident?" he countered.
Sora's brow furrowed. "Does it really matter whether their death was accidental or not? Don't ninjas generally die from accidents?"
Shikamaru sighed, realizing the weight of the conversation. As clan heirs, he, Ino, and Choji had been prepared for the realities of ninja life from a young age. But Sora, despite his skills, was still just a child grappling with the harsh truths of their profession.
"It depends on your intentions," Shikamaru began, his tone gentle but firm. "Look at it this way: these guys who are captured now will be interrogated for information about their crimes. Then they'll be given a jail sentence or sentenced to death, depending on the severity of their actions."
He paused, making sure Sora was following along. "After their sentence is over, they'd go to a rehabilitation centre. Those who are fit to come back into society would be monitored for who knows how long. The rest would either be outright killed or released after being crippled so they can't harm people again."
Sora listened intently, his young mind trying to process the complexities of justice and punishment in the ninja world.
***
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