A thin wind blade managed to graze and cut Shikamaru's face slightly, leaving a small, stinging bloody mark.
Shikamaru wiped the blood on his cheek with the back of his hand and then looked up at the bright blue sky above the arena with eyes that looked lifeless and full of resignation:
"The sky today is so blue... and those clouds look so white and free..." He began to ramble.
Temari in the middle of the arena couldn't clearly see Shikamaru's position hiding behind the bush, but the spectators sitting in the upper stands could see the whole situation very clearly.
Asuma Sarutobi really wanted to find a hole to crawl into and hide right now.
Really, that... that was so embarrassing, you know.
He actually had great faith in Shikamaru's abilities, but his student's current performance truly made Asuma, as his supervising Jōnin, look very useless and like a failure in education.
Kurenai Yuhi, sitting next to him, almost burst out laughing seeing Asuma's frustrated expression and Shikamaru's strange behavior.
She shook her head slowly, trying to wipe away the tears of laughter that almost escaped from the corners of her eyes.
She looked at Shikamaru, who still looked unenthusiastic behind the bush, and said to Asuma,
"If it weren't for that legendary Ino-Shika-Chō formation from your clans, you probably would never have let a lazy kid like this pass the Genin exam, right, Asuma?" Kurenai said this to Asuma in a slightly teasing tone.
However, unexpectedly, Asuma shook his head with a helpless yet also slightly hidden proud expression:
"No, Kurenai. Actually, the kid I'm most optimistic about and whose abilities I trust the most in my entire team is Shikamaru. His talent, intelligence, and ability to strategize are far beyond your imagination or anyone who only judges him by his lazy outward appearance."
"Huh? Really?" Kurenai was stunned and slightly doubtful hearing Asuma's confident statement.
"Are you serious saying that, Asuma? With an appearance like that?"
She didn't mean to underestimate Shikamaru, but Shikamaru's appearance at that moment was indeed truly terrible and not at all convincing.
The spectators in the field had even started to curse and shout at him to just give up.
And Shikamaru himself didn't seem to be in the right condition to effectively perform the Nara clan's signature shadow control technique.
He seemed to have no choice but to continue passively receiving blows and attacks from Temari.
Asuma truly looked helpless seeing his student's condition, but he still tried to chuckle a little:
"I think... well, it's almost the same."
"What do you mean by 'almost the same'?" Kurenai didn't understand the direction of Asuma's conversation.
"Just wait and see, Kurenai," Asuma said with a knowing smile.
"This kid, Nara Shikamaru, will truly surprise you and everyone here later."
Asuma had great, great faith in Shikamaru's potential.
Not only himself, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru's two teammates, also had the same immense trust in Shikamaru.
The three of them were perhaps the only three people present in this stadium who weren't mocking Shikamaru or thinking that Shikamaru would definitely lose badly against Temari.
"Ino, look at that slacker Shikamaru! He's definitely going to lose embarrassingly!"
Sakura Haruno, sitting next to Ino, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Shikamaru's 'suffering' show.
Ino Yamanaka propped her chin on her right hand, her face showing a slightly disappointed yet also hopeful expression.
"This guy... he definitely won't lose that easily! I'm sure he has a plan! If he loses in a ridiculous way, I swear I'll go to Aunt Yoshino Nara's house and complain about him!"
Choji Akimichi, who had just been discharged from the hospital a few moments ago and was now back to munching on a large bag of potato chips with gusto, his face looked very calm and full of conviction:
"Shikamaru might lose later, but not in the way you think or hope, Sakura. Shikamaru... he might admit defeat himself after he manages to render his opponent helpless."
"Ah? Really?" Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief. "Isn't that even worse and more annoying?"
"NO." Choji shook his head firmly, a very faint glint of intelligence in his usually listless eyes, a glint too small for ordinary people to see.
"He will first utterly defeat his opponent and make everyone fall silent, then he will casually admit defeat right when everyone already thinks he's going to win. Because only in that way can he use the classic excuse that his chakra is depleted and he's too tired to continue. If he doesn't do that, Aunt Nara, Shikamaru's mother, might actually break both his legs later at home."
Sakura still didn't believe Choji's strange explanation:
"How is that possible? Shikamaru has been like that since we were still in the academy. His academic scores were never good, his physical abilities were also average, and his ninjutsu wasn't anything special either. His opponent this time is a strong wind-using genius from the Sand Village, and you're saying such strange things... Right, Ino?"
Sakura unconsciously wanted to get approval or support from Ino, her best friend and rival.
However, unexpectedly, Ino this time didn't agree with her with a grim face or join in mocking Shikamaru.
Instead, she clenched her fists tightly and looked at Shikamaru, who was still hiding behind the bush, with a hopeful gaze:
"If that slacker Shikamaru really dares to deliberately admit defeat after going through so much trouble, I swear I'll really go to his house and complain about him to Aunt Yoshino!"
Sakura could only remain silent: "..."
'What's wrong with these two? No, where did you two get such great confidence in that slacker Shikamaru?'
Beside her, Choji, still engrossed in munching his potato chips, suddenly said in a flat tone,
"Shikamaru's academic scores were actually never bad."
"What did you say?" Sakura was stunned, turning towards Choji.
Choji glanced at her briefly and forced a faint smile on his chubby face, which was full of chip crumbs:
"It's not because Shikamaru's grades were bad, Sakura. But because he would feel very disturbed and troubled if his grades were too good and attracted too much attention."
Meanwhile, on Naruto's side, Hana, who had also been observing the fight intently, said to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, pay close attention to this fight between Temari and Shikamaru. Although Shikamaru looks very lazy, he is one of the best strategists of your generation. You can learn many things about how to use your brain and tactics to defeat an opponent who might be physically stronger than you. This will broaden your understanding of various ninja fighting styles."
Naruto nodded in understanding, his eyes now more focused on observing every move and decision made by Shikamaru in the arena.
The fight between Shikamaru and Temari unfolded in a very unexpected way for most of the audience.
After a series of clever strategies that made Temari continuously move according to his wishes, using the shifting sunlight's shadow and even a tree felled by Naruto's fight in the previous match, Shikamaru finally managed to perfectly trap Temari using his Kagemane no Jutsu.
Temari's giant iron fan slipped from her grasp, and she now stood frozen, mimicking Shikamaru's every move.
However, compared to the cheers and complex emotional expressions shown by the spectators in the stands – a mixture of admiration, confusion, and slight annoyance – Shikamaru, the main protagonist of this strategic victory, felt nothing at all.
He still maintained a confused and slightly lazy expression on his face, while casually touching the back of his head as if he had just finished a troublesome homework assignment.
Due to the effect of the shadow technique, the trapped Temari was also forced to make the exact same dazed and head-scratching movement as Shikamaru.
"See? What did I tell you," Shikamaru muttered softly to himself, sounding more like a complaint than a declaration of victory.
"It's so troublesome to have to think this much."
Of course, compared to the annoying and seemingly indifferent expression on Shikamaru's face, Temari's face was now beet red with anger and embarrassment. She could almost shoot destructive laser beams from her eyes if that were possible.
'HOW DARE YOU PLAY ME LIKE THIS, YOU DAMN LAZY PINEAPPLE-HEAD!' she screamed inwardly, as her body couldn't move according to her will.
Shiranui Genma, the referee, walked closer and now stood right between the two of them.
He first glanced at Temari, who looked like a volcano ready to erupt, then his gaze shifted towards Shikamaru.
Compared to the indifferent and professional attitude he showed when looking at Temari, Shiranui Genma was now filled with satisfaction and a little admiration as he looked at Shikamaru.
There were four matches scheduled for today.
Five finalists were from Konoha and three were from the Hidden Sand Village.
What made Shiranui Genma, and perhaps also most of the Konoha spectators, feel satisfied was the fact that Konoha had so far won both matches against the Sand Ninjas.
Naruto defeated Neji (fellow Konoha, but still a victory for Konoha), and Shino won by Kankuro's default.
Although the Sand Ninja, Kankuro, voluntarily admitted defeat in the previous round, everyone with eyes could clearly see that the Konoha Ninja, Aburame Shino, would most likely have successfully defeated that Sand Ninja if the fight had actually happened in this round.
What? You're saying that if one doesn't experience defeat directly in the arena, can a ninja still be considered to have fought directly?
Who are you looking down on with such a question?
Everyone involved in the shinobi world knew that a true ninja's fighting style was to use all possible means, deceitful or overt, and fight directly or indirectly to achieve victory or complete a mission.
They were ninjas, not samurai bound by rigid codes of honor and fair one-on-one duels.
Shiranui Genma was very satisfied with the strategic choices and the final outcome shown by Shikamaru.
He raised his right hand high, preparing to declare Nara Shikamaru as the winner of this match.
Then at that very moment, or more precisely, just as Genma was about to open his mouth, Shikamaru, who was still controlling Temari, also raised his right hand at the same time, and spoke first before Genma could utter a single word:
"Mr. Referee, I... I admit defeat in this match."
Shiranui Genma's face, which was already prepared to announce the victory, immediately froze: "..."
'Wh-what did you just say, brat?!'