Not only was Shiranui Genma shocked.
Everyone in the stadium, the spectators who were ready to cheer and celebrate Shikamaru's victory, the Jōnin instructors, even the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage in the VIP stands, were all stunned at this moment.
They stared at Shikamaru, who stood casually below, with confused and disbelieving faces.
Under the bewildered gazes of thousands of people, Shikamaru just spread his hands in a resigned gesture and said in a tone that sounded very convincing (though it was a lie),
"Well, as you can see, I've used all my strength and best strategies to trap her. My chakra is also completely drained from maintaining this shadow technique. And look," he pointed to the small scratch on his cheek,
"I'm also quite badly injured. I don't think this shadow technique can be maintained much longer. I'll definitely lose badly if this fight continues like this. So, yeah, I'll just give up. It's troublesome to faint in the middle of the arena."
As if to prove the truth of his lie-filled words, right as he finished speaking, the black shadow connecting him and Temari suddenly broke and returned to its original state at a very, very opportune moment.
As if his chakra was truly depleted.
Temari, who suddenly regained control of her body: "…"
She was still a little confused about what had just happened.
She clenched her fists tightly, the fire of anger in her eyes growing larger and blazing:
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! ARE YOU UNDERESTIMATING ME NOW, HUH, YOU DAMN PINEAPPLE-HEAD?!"
she shouted, her voice trembling with anger.
He only used the shadow technique two or three times, and most of the time just hid behind a tree or bush without moving much.
And now you say you have no strength left? Chakra depleted?
Do I look that stupid to you that you can boast like that?!
Genma Shiranui actually wanted to ask Shikamaru the exact same question.
He really wanted to shout, "HEY, BRAT! DO YOU THINK WE'RE ALL STUPID OR WHAT?!" But his professional ethics as a neutral referee prevented him from asking or commenting directly.
Instead, he could only bite the senbon in his mouth harder and say word by word in a suppressed tone,
"Nara Shikamaru... are you really sure you want to admit defeat in this condition?"
"Of course, I'm sure, Mr. Referee,"
Shikamaru ignored the murderous glare from the angry Temari and just waved his hand with an indifferent expression on his face, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
"You can announce the end of this troublesome game now."
Genma Shiranui could only look at him resignedly: "..."
'This kid... really...'
He swore, in all his life as a referee, he had never seen anyone admit defeat in such a fresh, unreasonable, and annoying way.
And he looked too lazy to actually care about the final result.
No, is winning such an embarrassing and troublesome thing for you, huh, Nara brat?!
Shikamaru himself actually felt very helpless having to do this.
Winning wasn't an embarrassing thing for him, but he really didn't want to fight or deal with the strong people left behind him anymore.
No matter if it was the noisy Naruto, the arrogant Uchiha Sasuke, the quiet Aburame Shino, or even the other Sand Ninjas who looked very dangerous and troublesome at a glance.
He felt he wouldn't be able to defeat any of them easily, and he didn't need to look for any more criticism or attention.
And most importantly, he didn't actually need to win this match.
As long as he had shown that he had tried his best and used his brain (even though the result made his opponent even more annoyed), his strict mother at home would definitely not beat him up or nag him endlessly later.
Regarding his father, Shikaku Nara, I'm sorry, he had absolutely no say or right to interfere in household matters and his wife's decisions.
Genma Shiranui also felt very helpless now, but since Shikamaru had clearly and consciously used his right to surrender, what else could he do as a referee? He could only let out a long sigh and say in a very tired-sounding tone,
"Nara Shikamaru from Konoha Village has admitted defeat. The winner is... Temari from the Hidden Sand Village."
Wow!
The entire stadium immediately erupted in cheers, although most of them probably felt a little confused and dissatisfied with the anticlimactic end of this fight.
On the spectator balcony, Choji Akimichi ate the last piece of potato chips from his bag while smiling contentedly and patting his bulging stomach:
"See? What did I tell you. I knew Shikamaru would do something like this. He's always like that."
Ino Yamanaka's face looked very unhappy and annoyed. She clenched both her fists tightly:
"That damn lazy Shikamaru bastard! How dare he give up just like that after making us all tense! I'll tell his mother later!"
A drop of cold sweat was seen trickling down Sakura Haruno's forehead.
Although she was very surprised and amazed that Shikamaru was actually able to turn an imminent defeat into a brilliant strategic victory, she was even more surprised and couldn't believe that this person actually casually admitted his own defeat at the last moment.
Truly strange.
However, Sakura then lowered her head slightly, her thoughts turning to something else:
"Next... next is Sasuke-kun's fight, but..."
Uchiha Sasuke hadn't arrived yet.
Ino, hearing Sakura's mumble, was stunned for a moment, then quickly apologized while smiling awkwardly:
"Ah, that's right! But it's okay, Sakura! Don't worry! Sasuke-kun will definitely come on time! He's Uchiha Sasuke! He wouldn't possibly miss such an important opportunity! You don't need to worry at all!"
But Sakura just smiled faintly and shook her head slowly without answering.
Deep down, she also felt very worried.
At the same time, in the Jōnin stands, Kurenai opened her mouth in surprise again, pointing towards Shikamaru who was casually walking out of the arena below with an expression of disbelief:
"He... he really just gave up like that?!"
Asuma could only cover his face with both hands, feeling extremely embarrassed:
"Yeah... that's how it is, Kurenai."
"He gave up right when he was actually about to win?!" Kurenai still couldn't believe it.
"Although the main purpose of this competition is only to see if the participating contestants can be promoted to Chunin or not, so winning or losing in each match isn't actually too important. But, winning in a fight like this would surely add a lot of assessment points and increase his reputation, right?"
Asuma nodded with a wry smile:
"Shikamaru... he probably just fears the trouble and hassle that would come if he won and had to fight again in the next round."
Kurenai was speechless, unable to say a word. Giving up just because of fear of trouble and hassle? This... this was truly very disrespectful to the spirit of the Chunin Exams and everyone who had come to watch.
But there was no other way.
The referee's decision, Genma Shiranui's, was final and could not be contested.
And Shikamaru himself had casually walked towards the contestant preparation seats, completely indifferent to the murderous and resentful glare from Temari who was still standing in the middle of the arena.
Even if he or anyone else had objections or protests, there was no point in expressing them now.
However, on the other hand, Shikamaru's assessment of tactics, strategy, and the battle situation he demonstrated earlier truly managed to surprise everyone who understood ninja battles, including Sarutobi Hiruzen who was sitting in the VIP stands.
The Fourth Kazekage (Orochimaru in disguise) turned towards Sarutobi Hiruzen sitting next to him, his snake-like eyes narrowing slightly.
"The tactics, strategy execution, and adaptability shown by that kid earlier... truly worthy of the legendary Nara clan's name, Hokage-dono."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly, a faint smile on his lips.
"I've seen his academic transcript from the ninja academy before. And for every subject he took, his grades were always just above the minimum passing mark. He never once failed any subject, but he also never once ranked among the top in his class. An interesting child."
Meanwhile, on the contestant balcony, despite feeling very annoyed and exasperated because Shikamaru had whimsically admitted defeat, Naruto had to admit in his heart that the tactics and strategy Shikamaru used to trap Temari earlier were indeed truly brilliant and clever.
"Did you see that, Naruto-kun?" Hana whispered softly from behind Naruto's seal, her voice gentle yet full of meaning.
"Take that fight as a valuable lesson for you. Physical strength and great jutsus are indeed important, but a mature brain and strategy can sometimes be the true key to victory."