Naruto: Madara is my Daddy

"The fifth match is between Tenten and Temari. Will the competitors please step forward."

Tenten unfurled her scroll, instantly summoning a large arsenal of ninja tools that hovered in the air around her. Across the arena, Temari snapped open her massive iron fan, a confident smile on her face.

"Begin!"

Tenten attacked first, unleashing a torrent of shuriken and kunai that flew toward Temari. But with a single, contemptuous wave of her fan, Temari summoned a powerful gale that blew the weapons away as if they were nothing more than leaves.

"Wind Style: Great Sickle Weasel!"

Temari waved her fan again, and a huge, swirling vortex of wind and sand formed in the center of the arena. Tenten tried to control her remaining ninja tools with steel wires, but it was impossible to aim in the raging winds.

"It's over." Temari's voice suddenly came from directly behind Tenten, the edge of her closed fan pressed firmly against her back.

"The winner is Temari."

For Tenten, a weapons specialist, Temari and her wind style were a natural predator. She had no way to fight back. From the stands, Might Guy sighed regretfully. "Alas, I can only say that Tenten's luck was very bad today."

"The sixth match is Nara Shikamaru versus Kin Tsuchi. Please step forward."

Shikamaru yawned, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he slowly shuffled onto the field, looking completely listless. Kin Tsuchi, the kunoichi from the Sound Village, clenched her fists, staring at him fiercely.

"Hey, kid," Kin sneered, "looking at how lazy you are, you should just forfeit now before you get hurt."

Shikamaru scratched his head and sighed. "What a drag… Why did I have to get matched with a girl from the Sound? Can't we just settle this peacefully?"

"Quit your whining!" Kin snapped. "What's wrong with being a woman? You'll find out how powerful I am soon enough!"

Gekko Hayate looked between the two of them and coughed. "Begin!"

"Ninjutsu: Shadow Imitation Technique!"

A black tendril of shadow shot out from under Shikamaru's feet. Kin, already expecting it, easily dodged. She knew this technique; as long as she could see the shadow's movements, there was nothing to fear.

Whoosh whoosh!

Kin threw a handful of senbon needles.

Jingle jingle…

"!" Shikamaru turned his head away from the sound, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hmph. So you're using an old feinting tactic. I assume you're throwing senbon with bells and senbon without them at the same time. When your opponent dodges the sound of the bells, the silent needles hit their mark. Am I right?"

Kin just sneered. "You talk too much, boy!"

The bells rang again, but this time, to Shikamaru's surprise, the sound came from behind him. "What's going on?" he thought, quickly turning to check. He expected a senbon attack from the rear, but the sound was coming from the two needles that had already landed.

"This is… ninja wire!" he realized. "Damn it! The senbon are attached to wires!"

He had been caught in a double feint. While he was hesitating, three new senbon shot from Kin's hands, embedding themselves in his body.

"Gah!" Shikamaru fell heavily to the ground, struggling in pain.

"Heh, it's over," Kin said, shaking her hair with a contemptuous sneer. "As long as I avoid your shadow, you're helpless. Stop playing dead. Now for the final attack!"

As she raised her hand to strike, she suddenly found that she couldn't move. "I… why can't I move my body?"

"Hmph. Idiot. The Shadow Imitation technique was a success," Shikamaru said, slowly getting to his feet as he pulled the senbon from his body.

"Impossible!" Kin exclaimed. "I can't see your shadow! How can the jutsu work without it? Wait! Could it be…?"

"You guessed it," Shikamaru said, holding up the three thin steel wires connected to the senbon. "These wires may be thin, but they still cast shadows."

Kin's face turned ashen. "Damn it! You actually used my own wires to control me! But don't get too happy. We're linked now; we can only perform the same movements. I don't believe you can do anything to me!"

Shikamaru completely ignored her, taking a shuriken from his pouch.

"Are you… insane?! Our movements are identical! If you attack me, you'll get hurt too! Hey!"

Before Kin could finish her sentence, Shikamaru threw the shuriken. As forced, so did she.

"In that case, we'll both lose!"

"Hmph. I'm not that stupid," Shikamaru muttered. "Behind you… is a wall."

At the last possible moment, as the shuriken flew toward him, Shikamaru bent backward, twisting his body to avoid the projectile. Kin, bound by his shadow, did the exact same thing, but with no room to maneuver, her head slammed hard against the wall, knocking her unconscious.

Shikamaru stood up, dusting himself off. "Heh. A ninja must always understand the surrounding terrain before a fight. That's basic common sense."

As Shikamaru was enjoying his moment, Gekko Hayate checked on Kin and announced, "Winner: Nara Shikamaru. Medical team, move in."

"Alright!" Ino raised her arms excitedly. "You were so cool, Shikamaru!"

Choji nodded in agreement. "Our opponents only know that the Nara clan's talent is their shadow jutsu. They don't know that this family's true talent is their brain."

In a corner, the Uchiha trio watched. Sasuke leaned against the wall, his expression one of pure disdain. "Hmph. What a boring battle."

Izumi blinked her large eyes, looking genuinely curious. "I don't understand. What was the point of throwing the shuriken at the end? Since the Shadow Imitation was a success, couldn't Shikamaru have just leaned back and made her hit the wall anyway?"

Shiro chuckled. "There's only one reason. If you don't throw the shuriken, it doesn't look as cool."

"Ah," Izumi said, nodding. "That makes sense."