At Tazuna's house, Ino and Chōji had already left. Only Shikamaru, Tsunami, and Inari remained. However, compared to Shikamaru's calm demeanor, Tsunami and Inari were clearly uneasy. After all, Shikamaru, being a ninja, had the strength to protect himself.
"You two go upstairs," Shikamaru spoke as he casually leaned against the balcony. The atmosphere in the house was somewhat heavy, and seeing their tense expressions, Shikamaru couldn't help but smile. "They haven't arrived yet, but I'm worried that during the battle, I might not be able to protect you both."
Tsunami nodded, and she pulled Inari upstairs.
"If I don't call you, don't come down!" Shikamaru called out, making it clear that he didn't want them caught in a hostage situation.
Looking through the window, Shikamaru noticed that the heavy fog was beginning to thin under the gentle sea breeze. With the fog clearing, sailing would become much safer. If it were still as thick as before, with visibility reduced to just a few meters, sailing would be far too dangerous, and the risk of ending up at the bottom of the sea would be high.
"The two samurai should be almost here," Shikamaru muttered. By capturing either Tsunami or Inari as hostages and heading to the bridge, they would be able to meet up with the ship crew, including Kado and the others. This would allow them to threaten Tazuna, and without solid proof, they would be forced to resort to direct conflict. With this in mind, Shikamaru quickly formed hand seals and muttered, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Meanwhile,
The two wild samurai under Kado's command finally emerged from the woods. They looked toward the residential area by the sea, where Tazuna's house stood at the outer edge. It was easy to spot from a distance.
One of the samurai, a middle-aged man with braids, a black eye patch, and a goat-like beard, licked his lips and smirked, his remaining eye wide and bloodshot. "I wonder how different the sensation will be when the blade cuts through a ninja's body compared to an ordinary person's."
"Hey! Come on!" His companion, slightly younger, chuckled helplessly, brushing his katana's hilt. "Didn't you already try out your blade just now? Why are you so excited?"
"How could it be the same as cutting a ninja?" the older man sneered. Leading the way, he charged toward the target house, and his younger companion followed quickly.
Although the two had trained in chakra use, their control was still rudimentary. They weren't able to walk on water, so despite their speed, they were still running along the wooden path, single file, until they reached the front of Tazuna's house.
Knowing that there were ninjas inside, they didn't attempt to use their sword-drawing technique to break through the wall. The essence of the sword-drawing technique was to attack with deadly efficiency as soon as the sword was drawn, making it impossible to break through the wall and still have enough momentum to maintain the technique's effectiveness. Even though they hadn't received formal training, they had enough combat experience to understand this.
Bang!
Shikamaru, who had been sitting on the balcony, noticed the two samurai's approach the moment they arrived outside. He turned to the door and heard a loud crash as the front door was kicked open. A young man with green hair, wearing a cloth hat, entered the house, his eyes quickly scanning the room. His gaze fixed on Shikamaru standing calmly, and then on Tsunami, who stood a few paces behind.
"Finally, you're here!" Shikamaru muttered with a faint smile. He suddenly tensed, his body coiling like an arrow ready to be fired, and he lunged at the green-haired samurai.
"Damn!" The green-haired samurai's heart skipped a beat. The door was narrow, and as he entered, his companion was blocked behind him, unable to get in. Shikamaru's sudden attack forced him to halt and face the incoming ninja alone.
The green-haired samurai took half a step back, lowering his body slightly and placing one hand on his sword's sheath, while the other held the handle, positioning himself sideways to face Shikamaru.
"Drawing the sword technique? Horizontal slash?" Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. He recognized the attack stance, instantly recalling the sword-drawing technique taught at the ninja academy. It was important to be familiar with the techniques of various weapons to prepare for any future encounters.
As the green-haired samurai slowly drew his sword, Shikamaru suddenly kicked off the wall, leaping into the air with chakra concentrated in his feet. He flipped and landed solidly on the ceiling, just as the samurai's sword flashed with cold light as it was drawn with incredible speed. Had Shikamaru continued his forward rush, he would have been sliced in two. But now, the attack missed, exposing a gap in the samurai's defense.
"Whoosh!"
The green-haired samurai's sword strike missed, and Shikamaru kicked off the ceiling, flying directly at him. In mid-air, he bent his body slightly, his right hand reaching into the pouch tied to his leg, pulling out a kunai. He straightened his body, using his waist, upper arm, and forearm in quick succession to power the kunai, which he threw forcefully toward the green-haired samurai.
The samurai was stunned and raised his sword to block, but the strike was too fast. His momentum was already leaning forward, and his longer blade couldn't match Shikamaru's speed.
Just as the attack was about to land, the middle-aged samurai outside kicked the green-haired warrior, sending him stumbling forward. In the chaos, the green-haired warrior attempted to draw his sword in retaliation, but his movements were clumsy, his balance off, and he wasn't able to execute the draw effectively.
"Ugh!" the green-haired warrior grunted as Shikamaru's kunai struck deep into his left shoulder, cutting through tendons and scraping against bone. Blood splattered as the weapon sliced through.
"Clink!"
A flash of cold steel cut through the door, and Shikamaru quickly pressed his left hand against the doorframe, gripping it like a suction cup to support himself in the air. He narrowly avoided the middle-aged samurai's horizontal slash, watching as the sword struck the wall, then released his grip, dropping to the floor just as the samurai's strike left him exposed.
Upon landing, Shikamaru immediately lowered his body and bent his knees, adopting a stance similar to a boxer's, as taught by Asuma. This stance was tailored for quick, close-range attacks and evasions. Despite being only twelve years old and shorter than most adults, this unique style of fighting gave Shikamaru the advantage against his taller, stronger opponents wielding swords.
"Such combat awareness!" the middle-aged samurai thought to himself, stepping back and drawing his blade to strike at Shikamaru, who had now positioned himself to the samurai's right. In a blur, Shikamaru pivoted and struck with his kunai, severing the samurai's right arm just below the shoulder. The samurai cried out in pain, his sword falling from his hand.
Shikamaru didn't hesitate. He used his kunai to slash at the samurai's thigh, causing another scream as the samurai dropped to one knee. Shikamaru smoothly shifted his position, moving behind him. He grabbed the samurai's hair and lifted his head, placing the kunai to his throat.
"Stop!" Just as Shikamaru prepared to finish him off, the green-haired warrior, his left arm useless and his body badly wounded, pointed his sword at Tsunami, sweat dripping from his brow. "Let him go, or I'll kill this woman!"
The two wild samurai, now bloodied and broken, had lost their earlier arrogance. In a matter of moments, the green-haired warrior had lost his left arm and the middle-aged samurai had been rendered almost immobile.
Shikamaru heard the threat but merely sneered, unimpressed by the hostage tactic. He wasn't fooled by such a tired move.
The middle-aged samurai, struggling to speak, pleaded, "Please, let us go. We'll leave immediately…"
"Snip!" Before the samurai could finish, Shikamaru swiftly cut his throat with the kunai, silencing him as blood poured from the wound. The samurai flailed desperately, but his efforts were futile, his life slipping away in an instant.
The green-haired samurai's eyes widened in horror. He rushed toward Tsunami in a final, futile attempt to stop Shikamaru, only to find that she had vanished in a puff of smoke. It was just a shadow clone technique combined with a transformation technique to confuse them.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Shikamaru appeared right in front of the green-haired warrior, who was now hopelessly outmatched.
As Shikamaru closed in, the green-haired samurai tried to thrust his blade toward Shikamaru's chest. For an ordinary person, the strike would have been enough to pierce their ribcage. But against Shikamaru, a seasoned ninja, the attack was laughable.
With lightning speed, Shikamaru grabbed the sword's hilt and twisted, using his foot to trip the samurai. The blade was ripped from his hands, and Shikamaru swiftly drove it into the samurai's abdomen, twisting it painfully.
"This is the art of unarmed combat…" the green-haired samurai gasped weakly, coughing up blood. "Ninjas are truly terrifying."