"Yueye, are you joking?"
"Wait! This... is the Shadow Imitation Technique?"
Yueye's joyful voice came through just as Shikaku was about to question him. But suddenly, the black shadow emerging at his feet silenced him immediately — it was the unmistakable sign that he had been caught in the Shadow Imitation Technique!
As Shikaku's shadow connected with Yueye's, even Choza looked stunned, clearly not fully understanding how Yueye's Shadow Imitation Technique had managed to trap Shikaku.
Only Shikaku, familiar with the technique, closed his eyes slightly to sense the situation. When he opened them again, his gaze fell on the nearby shuriken. He then turned to Choza and sighed with a wry smile:
"Choza, look—Yueye had this all planned from the start. His Shadow Imitation Technique has three layers. Your shadow was just one part of his strategy!"
"Is it really that powerful?"
Listening to Shikaku's explanation, Choza felt as if he were dreaming, looking at Yueye with disbelief.
Before the elders, Yueye naturally maintained a humble demeanor. After smiling slightly, he explained to Choza:
"Uncle Choza, it was my first time using the Shadow Imitation Technique. My main goal was to force Uncle Shikaku closer to you. See, the technique has a limited range, but if I connect my shadow to yours first, then connect yours to Uncle Shikaku's, wouldn't that force him to jump toward the shuriken I threw?"
As Yueye pointed at the shuriken behind Shikaku, Choza suddenly understood.
Those shuriken were the ones Yueye had thrown at the start, which posed no threat at all to a Jonin like Shikaku.
But who would have guessed Yueye's plan was so deep? Not only had he calculated exactly where the shuriken would fall, but he also forced Shikaku to jump forward to avoid the shadows, right into the shuriken's path.
Understanding the full reason behind Shikaku's defeat, Choza's gaze toward Yueye changed. Just like Shikaku before, he now looked at Yueye as if he were some kind of prodigy!
"Shikaku, your Nara clan's rise is not far off!"
With a mix of admiration and envy, Choza smiled bitterly, wondering why the Akimichi clan didn't have a genius like Yueye.
Meanwhile, Shikaku listened to Choza's words proudly and took out a scroll from his pocket. While smiling, he gave Yueye an approving look.
"Here, Yueye, even if you just got lucky this time, this scroll is yours. Remember to train hard, okay?"
"Okay!"
Taking the scroll from Shikaku, Yueye's eyes lit up with joy as he quickly stored it in his ninja pouch.
Just as Yueye excitedly prepared to go home and start training on the Nara clan's secret techniques, Shikaku's stern voice rang out again in his ear.
"But Yueye, remember, you only won by luck this time. You must train hard from now on. And although our Shadow Imitation Technique is powerful, if you get careless after binding someone with it like you did now... hmph! Then you'll be the one who loses!"
With a cold snort, Shikaku suddenly made the Shadow Imitation Technique that bound him break apart with a snap, causing a cold sweat to break out on Yueye's back.
It was at that moment Yueye understood why Shikaku said what he did after Yueye's victory.
Indeed, as Shikaku said, the Shadow Imitation Technique is powerful, but never underestimate the many strong warriors in the ninja world because of just one technique.
Take the original story's Nara Shikamaru—how many times did he nearly face life-or-death danger due to trusting the power of the Shadow Imitation Technique?
So Shikaku's stern warning was truly a wake-up call for Yueye. After hearing it, Yueye felt no resentment but rather secretly appreciated Shikaku's teaching.
"Uncle Shikaku, thank you for your guidance!"
"I promise I'll train even harder and strive to become a ninja like you someday!"
Everyone likes to hear kind words, and Shikaku was no exception.
As expected, after Yueye's earnest words, Shikaku smiled and walked up to him, giving his shoulder a firm pat.
"Alright, Yueye, you've trained long enough and must be tired. Go home and rest well."
"Okay, Uncle Shikaku!"
Rubbing his slightly sore wrist, Yueye admired the strength of the Jonin while silently sighing at his own weakness.
In truth, even if Shikaku hadn't warned him against complacency, Yueye already fully understood the gap between himself and a Jonin and planned to train hard to one day stand before them as an equal.
During the sparring with Shikaku, Yueye clearly realized his own shortcomings and the prowess of Jonin.
Originally, Jonin in the original story were almost like background characters, so Yueye couldn't help but look down on them a bit.
But discovering that Shikaku—the genius known for his intellect—could beat him with taijutsu alone, without using chakra, made Yueye somewhat dissatisfied.
With his "cheat code" powers, Yueye's short-term goal became clear: to become a Jonin as soon as possible.
Just as Yueye was about to head home after bidding farewell to Shikaku and Choza, Choza's voice called out, making Yueye stop in his tracks.
"Uncle Choza, is something wrong?"
"Nothing much, just a little something for you."
Listening to Yueye's question, Choza smiled and casually tossed him a scroll.
"I don't have anything fancy, but our Akimichi clan trains secret family techniques, so take this scroll as a gift. Listen to Uncle Shikaku first—train your clan techniques, then study what's on this scroll, okay?"
"Okay!"
Nodding seriously, Yueye was surprised by the unexpected gift.
Especially when he unrolled the scroll and casually glanced through it, discovering that it contained training methods for the Shadow Clone Technique, he immediately thanked Choza and eagerly ran home to start training on the so-called "cheat" Shadow Clone Technique.
After Yueye left, watching him disappear into the distance, Shikaku sighed.
"Choza, are you preparing for something with that plan?"
"Yes, since our Akimichi clan doesn't have a genius like Yueye, we have to plan early!"
Sighing, Choza recalled Yueye's performance and smiled again, teasing yet warning:
"Shikaku, remember to take good care of Yueye! We owe the Nara clan too much already, and Yueye's talent is extraordinary. If the Nara clan doesn't nurture him properly, don't blame the Akimichi clan for stepping in!"
"Hahaha, no way!"
"Starting tomorrow, Nara clan resources will favor Yueye!"
"Choza, you should go back and think about what geniuses the Akimichi clan has!"
As soon as Shikaku finished, Choza wore a worried expression, making Shikaku chuckle.
Meanwhile, back at home, unaware of the clans' discussion about him, Yueye quietly unrolled the two precious scrolls he had just obtained.