Chapter 158 Ghost

Ino's eyes widened and sparkled with excitement, a bright smile spreading across her face, quickly dispelling any previous confusion.

"Yes! It's finally started! Shall we start now?"

"It's just reconnaissance," Shikamaru reminded her patiently, "but yes, we're starting now."

Ino jumped up excitedly, pumping her fists and cheering, almost losing her balance from the excessive excitement, Sakura smiled and supported her to prevent her from falling.

"awesome!"

Shikamaru snorted, smiled, and shook his head, taking a step back so she could turn around.

"We can form a team," he said.

Ino blinked, a little surprised.

"Can I choose?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"You're the expert, and this is your team," he reminded her.

He trusted her judgment, and more importantly, he trusted her intuition.

Ino blushed slightly with pride and looked at Sakura curiously. Sakura tilted her head to the side, her pink ponytail swaying, and smiled apologetically.

"Keeping a low profile isn't really my style, Ino. But if you need my help, just let me know."

Ino smiled.

"Oh, I know. I just feel bad that I can't take Sasuke away from you." She bit her lip gently and thought, "I must take Shino and Hinata with me."

Shikamaru nodded and closed his eyes again, adjusting his plan.

"Is there anyone else?"

Ino shook her head.

"They are enough. The fewer the better."

Shikamaru nodded and turned to Sakura.

"Can you and Ya provide backup??"

"Of course." Sakura answered without hesitation, she put her hands on her hips and gave a feral smile, "Do you have a way to contact me in an emergency?"

Shikamaru did not answer, but reached into one of his many thigh pockets and pulled out three jade beads, about the size of large pearls. The fourth bead remained in Shikamaru's pocket, as it was not needed yet.

Each bead has a circular sealing spell on it, with thin black lines winding across the green surface and a symbol in the center, representing the four sacred beasts.

The beads were one of Naruto's finest achievements in the art of sealing, and were the first step in their long-term plan, at Shikamaru's request.

They corresponded to the chakras of nine people respectively. If they encountered the chakras of other people, they would become blank and lose their function. When Shikamaru touched them, they lit up.

War Talisman.

It was originally used by the special operations team of the Uzushiogakure Village, but was transformed by Naruto's powerful sealing technique to become unique.

Shikamaru handed the Phoenix Talisman to Ino and the Kirin Talisman to Sakura, who twirled it absentmindedly between her fingers.

Hisui grew warm from Shikamaru's body heat, the sealing jutsu pulsating softly against her skin, in sync with her senses, heartbeat, breathing, nervous system, and adrenaline levels.

She saw Ino rubbing the amulet in her hand like her, and the light inside flickered for a moment, then dimmed again.

Shikamaru himself had left behind the White Tiger Talisman, and he rolled it over the backs of his fingers, feeling its sync with his own.

"I will be responsible for locking down the safe area together with Choji." Shikamaru said calmly and seriously.

From this moment on, they entered a state of high alert, using secret codes, carrying out missions and operations.

He nodded and continued:

"Tonight, neither Sasuke nor Naruto are part of the plan. This is to be expected. Ino." Ino straightened up, her eyes sharp and focused, "You are a ghost. From dusk to dawn tonight, you, Hinata, Shino..." Shikamaru gave her an almost arrogant smile, he was full of confidence in Ino, "None exist."

Ino smiled back, as if facing a pack of wolves of her own kind.

"A phantom of the night." She whispered, placing the amulet into a small pouch on her belt. The Phoenix is the most concealed amulet, it can weaken the aura of the person who synchronizes with it, and smooth out the fluctuations of chakra, increasing the team's ability to move to the extreme, like a sharp knife tip. It is very suitable for scouts, infiltrators, and of course assassins.

---

The interior of the Black Temple was completely dark, save for the gem-like light of the chakra battery itself, which softly illuminated Sasuke's aching eyes and swollen head.

He was reclining in a pool of water in the golden room that Naruto and Shikamaru had quickly and intently rebuilt in the weeks since he first met Orochimaru.

After spending the first few hours in the temple, working off the negative effects of the curse that had built up in the white room, the pool had become a welcome place to go - he could feel the restorative chakra flowing through his skin, tiny bits of life force flowing with purpose as Naruto's complex sealing techniques guided him.

Naruto was working on the jutsu now, sitting one level above Sasuke, moving his fingers over the controls embedded in the floor.

There are two sealing techniques on the back of his hand: one extends from wrist to knuckles, used to focus chakra, specially tailored for Sasuke's high density of chakra.

Another stretched from knuckle to fingertip and consisted of five thin geometric lines that controlled chakra, allowing him to draw and construct sealing techniques directly on the surface without the need for ink to guide him.

This doesn't work on living things, as chakra interactions within them are more complex and still require a medium, but it is great for constructing and modifying sealing jutsu on walls, ceilings, and other objects that don't have high concentrations of chakra.

He ran his fingers over the rows of complex jutsu, watching them ripple and shift at his touch, changing their purpose at Naruto's request.

Sasuke felt the change almost immediately - tiny particles of chakra began to move purposefully, seeking out the curse lurking deep within his veins, carrying it along specific pathways and expelling it from his body through acupuncture points.

"Are you feeling better?" Naruto asked.

"Much better." Sasuke replied.

Naruto leaned towards him, and the lines on his hands turned black again.

Naruto sat quietly, watching the sealing jutsu flow around the pool, watching each line, making sure everything was working the way he wanted.

Then, for the first time in hours, he finally spoke - a long, painful groan.

"Which one is he?" Sasuke asked after his dramatic sigh.

"Shukaku."

"One tail?"

Naruto snorted again and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Yeah." Sasuke responded, then he paused and asked, "I thought you would be angry."

"Of course I'm angry." Naruto raised his head and retorted,

Sasuke pointed to the complicated sealing techniques around him.