Plan

In a forest clearing far from Konoha, the Sound Four appeared exhausted. Sakon leaned against a tree, expressing frustration at their lack of progress. "Resting now means we're wasting precious time," he grumbled. "And we didn't have much time to begin with," he added.

Tayuya acknowledged their dilemma, "It can't be helped. We lose too much strength after we use curse level two to fight."

Jirobo shared his concern, "What troubles me most is the fact that we can't use our bodies."

Kidomaru rationalized their actions, "There wasn't any other way against two jonin. If we tried to conserve our energy, we may have been defeated."

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Shikamaru gave instructions to Kiba, the Inuzuka, "Make sure you don't miss the timing when you use the smoke bomb."

"Understood," Kiba responded.

Shikamaru then directed his team, "Okay, let's divide into two squads."

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Kidomaru felt one of his strings twitch, alerting him to the presence of an enemy. Shikamaru, Neji, and Menma were hiding in the bushes, and it appeared that they had not yet been detected.

Menma whispered, "Huh, where's Sasuke?" while scanning the area. Neji activated his Byakugan to gather information.

"It seems like Sasuke is within that coffin," Neji said, analyzing the wooden box Tayuya was resting on.

"Is he dead?" Shikamaru asked, feeling slightly nervous.

"There seems to be some sort of barrier surrounding the coffin, and it's difficult to see through," Neji explained.

"However, I doubt they'd kill Sasuke in such a hurry, considering how much they wanted him."

Suddenly, a kunai whizzed past the trio. Menma realized it was tagged with paper bombs, grabbed Neji and Shikamaru by their collars, and jumped out of the bushes as the bombs exploded. The force of the explosion sent them crashing into the ground in front of the Sound Four.

"Eh?" Sakon said,"What's this? Poked the bush and got three bugs instead of rabbits?" He said in a mocking tone.

Jirobo lowered into a stance as shikamaru immediately raised his hands and said, "Wait! We aren't here for a fight, we came to negotiate!"

Kidomaru called his bluff by saying, "Negotiate huh? Then what are these!?" He says as he pulls out Naruto, choji and Kiba out of hiding with his strings.

Kiba acted quickly and threw the smoke bomb obscuring their veiw.

"Haha, what good is a smoke bomb? There's no escape from me." Kidomaru said,"These strings are thinner than wires, but also stronger and harder to detect. I've laid these all over that area." He explained.

"So you purposely made those two wires visible... Triple traps huh..." Shikamaru said

"What a blunder, I didn't even know there was such a technique." He said as a grin graced his face.

"You guys are all-" Kidomaru was interrupted when he realized he couldn't move his body, "Why can't I move!?"

"Nice job shikamaru, shadow paralysis success!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakon expressed his surprise, "What's going on? You mean you set traps while talking to us?"

Shikamaru explained calmly, "That's right. You should never let your guard down, especially during negotiations."

Sakon's smirk widened as he taunted Shikamaru, "You should take your own advice."

Shikamaru was caught off guard when a shuriken flew at him from his left, but Menma quickly intercepted it. This momentary distraction gave Jirobo the chance to use a jutsu.

"Earth Style: Clay Prison!" Jirobo bellowed, slamming his palms onto the ground. The earth began to crack, and rocks rose up to form a dome, trapping all six of them inside.

Jirobo declared, "I'll deal with these guys myself. I need to regain some strength, even if it's just a little."

Kidomaru urged him, "Make it quick and catch up with us once you're done eating. We're moving out."

Sakon added, "Hurry up alright, we don't have all day," as they departed.

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Shikamaru's frustration was evident as his eyes darted around, desperately trying to come up with a plan.

Naruto pounded his fists against the earthen walls repeatedly, while Kiba used his fang over fang technique to damage the walls, which regenerated almost instantly.

"This clay wall is different," Menma remarked, as he placed his palm on the wall attempting to restructure the wall but to no avail.

"I concur," Neji replied, activating his Byakugan as his brows furrowed in concern.

"What's wrong?" Choji asked.

"Our chakra is being drained," As Neji said this shikamaru fell to his knees and Naruto sat leaning against the wall as his chakra continued to be drained.

"This isnt looking good." Shikamaru commented as he sensed more and more chakra leaving his body.

Kiba took out a pill and instructed Akamaru to take it, but Menma intervened and stopped him from doing so.

"What's the point?" Menma said, looking at Shikamaru. "Using more chakra will only hasten our downfall."

"Hmph," Kiba snorted, eyeing Menma skeptically. "Do you have a better idea?"

"No," Menma replied, glancing at Shikamaru. "But our leader seems to be close to finding a solution."

All eyes turned to Shikamaru as he yelled out, "Listen up!"

"I want to speak to your leader!" he continued. "We no longer wish to follow Sasuke! Please release us!" he pleaded.

"What are you saying, Shikamaru!?" Naruto exclaimed, confused.

"Hmm, an internal conflict, how intriguing. However, all of you are my meal, I can't just let you go," Jirobo replied.

"In that case, just release me. I'm tired of all this fighting," Shikamaru said, leaving the others stunned.

"Do you even realize what you're saying!?" Kiba yelled.

"Hehehe, it looks like you're the leader, but you're begging for mercy!" Jirobo laughed. "When humans are faced with real danger, their true nature is revealed. A foolish leader like you doesn't deserve your position. You're abandoning Sasuke and betraying your comrades. And you call yourselves shinobi of the Leaf Village! You should all just die here. I won't release you." he finished.

Naruto shouted at Shikamaru, "I've lost faith in you! Come to the back of the room!"

Kiba interjected, "There is no 'back' to this room, you idiot! That's why we got into this mess in the first place."

Choji, fed up with their bickering, interrupted them with a serious expression. "Everyone, shut up!"

They all fell silent as Shikamaru assumed his thinking pose. "Everyone, talk quietly from now on," Menma instructed.

Shikamaru spoke up, "Neji, I'm sorry for the trouble, but please examine the wall behind you and Choji with your remaining chakra."

"Understood," Neji replied.

Menma covered Naruto's mouth and whispered in his ear, "Recall what Shikamaru said before we took off," he said to his brother.

Neji observed the dome and noticed a small part that had not regenerated fully. "I see it, over there," he said.

Naruto and Kiba were still confused, but everyone else seemed to understand.

"Menma, aim your dagger at that place. Choji, are you ready?" Shikamaru said.

Naruto's frustration was halted as Choji replied, "Yeah, leave it to me."

Menma readied his dagger and pointed it at the weak spot while Choji transformed into a large, round ball.

"Go!" Shikamaru commanded.

Menma threw the dagger at the weak spot as Choji used his body as a battering ram, breaking through the wall and creating a hole big enough for them to escape.

"Let's go!" Shikamaru shouted as they all rushed through the hole, finally escaping the clay prison.