Chapter 215: Shikamaru Is Injured
"Sasuke, huh? This is going to be trouble..."
Kakashi muttered under his breath as he looked around, searching for a way to break through the encirclement.
"Sasuke, you came. Sorry to trouble you with something like this."
Right after, Sai jumped down from his ink hawk, followed closely by the Anbu members. Together with Sasuke, they formed a pincer formation around Kakashi.
"Hm." Sasuke nodded, his eyes fixed on the enemy before him. "Drop the Transformation Jutsu—and tell me why you came to the Hidden Leaf to steal the Sealing Scroll."
Kakashi remained silent. Instead, he quietly drew a shuriken, which crackled with violet lightning.
Seeing this, Sasuke understood at once. He activated Chidori Blade, channeling lightning-nature chakra into his Kusanagi Sword.
The two charged at each other. Kusanagi clashed against the shuriken, and their lightning intertwined with loud crackles and sparks.
As they deadlocked, Kakashi's free hand pulled another shuriken from his pouch and hurled it at Sasuke.
"Sasuke!"
Sai shouted a warning as he threw a shuriken at Kakashi from behind.
"Amenotejikara!"
Using his Rinnegan ability, Sasuke swapped places with Sai's shuriken and appeared behind Kakashi. He brought his Kusanagi Sword down in a vertical slash—but it only struck a piece of wood.
The real Kakashi had already leapt onto a rooftop and was now fleeing across the rooftops.
"After him!"
At Sai's command, the Anbu members gave chase.
Elsewhere, Shikamaru, who was hurrying along the road while listening to Ino explain the situation, suddenly stopped.
"If he really came for the Sealing Scroll, then after getting it, he should've retreated from the village as fast as possible instead of hanging around…"
"Shikamaru, what are you saying?"
Ino asked.
"A diversion. Just in case, I'm heading to the Hokage Building."
Shikamaru stroked the stubble on his chin. Three Anbu members assigned to protect him followed closely behind.
After all, as the current second-in-command of the Hidden Leaf Village, having Anbu protection was only natural.
Hokage's Office
The more Sarutobi Mirai listened to the sound of jutsu clashes outside, the more anxious she became.
"Where is it... where is it..."
Papers were strewn all over the Hokage's office.
"Found it!"
Finally, in an unremarkable corner, she located the large red scroll and slung it over her back.
"What did you find? Can you tell me…"
As she spoke, the lights in the office suddenly turned on. Shikamaru stood before her, his shadow linking the two of them together.
"Mirai?! When did you come back? Why sneak into the Hokage's office…? No—if you're here, then the one who stole the Sealing Scroll outside must be the Sixth?!"
"Shikamaru-sensei..."
Back when Mirai was just a Genin, before Naruto became Hokage and Shikamaru became his aide, Shikamaru had been Mirai's mentor.
"What's going on, Mirai?" Shikamaru asked as he glanced at the red scroll on her back. "And why are you carrying the scroll that leads to Mount Myōboku?"
"This jutsu… looks like Shikamaru-sensei hasn't been replaced yet."
"Replaced? What are you talking about, Mirai?"
Shikamaru stared at her in confusion. Though he didn't understand what Mirai meant, he had a gut feeling that something was wrong.
"Shikamaru-sensei, the Sixth and I discovered that many villagers in the village have been..."
Before she could finish, blood suddenly began to seep from Shikamaru's abdomen. With disbelief on his face, he looked behind him and said, "You guys..."
Because he was using the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu, both Shikamaru and Mirai were immobilized—giving their attackers the perfect opportunity.
"Shikamaru-sensei!"
Mirai stood protectively beside him, gripping the chakra blades Asuma had left her, her gaze alert as she faced the three Leaf Anbu who had attacked him.
"Why did you betray the village?!"
Shikamaru clenched his teeth and glared at the trio.
"Shikamaru-sensei, they're liquid-metal androids from S.H.I.E.L.D. in disguise!"
"What?!"
Shikamaru stared at them but couldn't spot any flaws. "Is this an ability similar to White Zetsu's...? Damn it—of all times, Naruto isn't here... If only he were, with his ability to sense good and evil..."
"Wind Style: Whirlwind Fist!"
Infusing her chakra blades with Wind Style chakra, the blue-glowing blades drove back the three impostors. Then Mirai helped Shikamaru to his feet.
"Shikamaru-sensei, let's get out of here."
"Right."
Shikamaru nodded.
Now that he understood what was going on, he grew more and more uneasy. Just how many S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives were in the Hidden Leaf? The terrifying thought even crossed his mind—what if his wife and son, the ones he saw every day, had already been replaced?
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village
"You made it out."
The Captain Hydra stepped forward upon seeing Mirai. His gaze shifted to Shikamaru, who she was supporting.
"Who's he?"
"He's the Hokage's aide—Nara Shikamaru."
Despite his serious injuries, Shikamaru extended his right hand.
"Hydra. Captain of Hydra."
Though he introduced himself, the Captain Hydra remained on guard.
"Don't worry, Captain. Shikamaru-sensei is trustworthy. He can also use the Nara Clan's secret techniques."
Besides using shared memories to expose impostors, another way to test for liquid androids was by employing unique jutsu or Bloodline Limits.
"Shadow Paralysis Jutsu…"
As if to prove himself, Shikamaru's shadow suddenly writhed unnaturally.
"Since you're with Hydra, you must know the secret code Hydra agents use to identify each other… Hail Hydra."
"You even know that, Shikamaru-sensei?"
"Well, Hydra and the Hidden Leaf have a cooperative relationship. As the Hokage's aide, of course I'd know."
"Now that we've recovered the scroll to Mount Myōboku, Mirai, signal Kakashi to withdraw," the Captain Hydra said.
"Got it."
Mirai fired a flare into the sky.
"The Sixth withdrawing from the village will be tough… It's not just the Leaf's Anbu. To prevent any mishaps, I even called in Sasuke to intercept him..."
Shikamaru added.
"What?!"
Mirai's expression froze in shock.
"You two wait here. I'm going to bring Kakashi back."
The Captain Hydra clenched the shield on his right arm.