Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 221

With Shikamaru's team's help, the unconscious Sumaru and Hokuto were taken back to the training grounds.

Natsuhi requested that he and the others not tell Sumaru about the events that had transpired. Shikamaru agreed.

On the way back to the village, Ino and Chōji asked Shikamaru how they should report back to Akahoshi. After all, Akahoshi was the client for this mission, and the ninja code emphasized responsibility to the employer.

Shikamaru calmly replied, "Akahoshi didn't explicitly commission us to guard the first meteorite. Remember what he said when we first arrived in the village?"

Ino suddenly recalled, exclaiming in surprise, "That's right! He assigned us to protect the second meteorite, not the first. The first wasn't our concern."

"But now the second meteorite has also been destroyed, so our mission is technically a failure," Chōji remarked grimly, dampening Ino's excitement. A failed mission would affect the entire team's future evaluations and promotions.

"No, that meteorite hasn't vanished completely," Shikamaru said.

"What are you talking about?" Ino questioned.

"Ah, nothing. Let's just report back for now," Shikamaru deflected.

In the village chief's office, Shikamaru began his report to Akahoshi.

Although Shikamaru had promised not to reveal to Sumaru that the attacker was his mother, Natsuhi, he hadn't made any such promise regarding Akahoshi. Thus, he reported the incident from a neutral outsider's perspective, detailing the strength of the thief and their mastery of Hoshi's Mysterious Peacock Method.

Akahoshi's expression darkened, his grim demeanor becoming even more severe. Shikamaru could tell Akahoshi had likely deduced the identity of the thief. However, Shikamaru believed his approach was appropriate—it adhered to the ninja code while avoiding entanglement in the internal conflicts of Hoshi.

What concerned Shikamaru more was the mystery of the missing meteorite. Still, to avoid revealing that he suspected the thief's identity, Shikamaru withheld his theory about why the meteorite disappeared.

After leaving the village chief's office, Shikamaru instructed Ino and Chōji to return to their lodging while he stayed behind to investigate.

"Where are you going, Shikamaru?" Chōji asked, worried.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just be nearby. I won't stray far," Shikamaru assured him.

"But—"

"Relax. I'll be back before it gets completely dark," Shikamaru said, waving them off before leaping onto a rooftop and vanishing, leaving Ino and Chōji confused.

Alone, Shikamaru headed to the crater where the meteorite had fallen.

The meteorite was gone, and there were no guards from Hoshi present. he leapt into the crater, examining the scorched ground for clues.

It didn't take long for him to find something unusual—fragments resembling pieces of shattered porcelain. These fragments were slightly curved and had distinct diagonal ridges.

Picking up one of the fragments, Shikamaru applied a bit of pressure. It shattered with a faint crack, disintegrating into powder. In that instant, a faint, powdery purple light emerged from the fragment, only to dissipate quickly into the air.

Shikamaru collected more fragments, testing them similarly. Each time, the result was the same—the fragments crumbled into dust, releasing the same mysterious purple glow.

Clearly, these weren't ordinary pieces of porcelain. They were remnants of the missing meteorite.

Based on his reasoning, the meteorite must have contained some kind of energy. The fragments seemed to have been part of a curved, spherical structure that served as a vessel for this energy.

The energy, however, appeared to dissipate easily in this world, leaving the meteorite brittle and fragile. Once its energy dispersed, the meteorite could no longer maintain its integrity.

He hypothesized that the purple light he observed was a manifestation of the meteorite's energy.

However, he also knew that energy doesn't simply vanish—it transforms from one form to another.

Perhaps, in this case, the transformation caused the energy to be absorbed by the local tomatoes, making them appear appetizing while actually tasting terrible.

If that were the extent of it, he wouldn't be overly concerned—it would just mean avoiding the tomatoes.

But what truly worried him was the possibility that this energy might have far more dreadful effects on other aspects of the world.

Some irreversible, non-renewable effects.

Shikamaru stopped focusing on the fragments of the meteorite in the deep pit and turned toward the forest behind the farmhouse, dashing into the woods.

It didn't take long for him to notice something unusual.

A forest near a human settlement wouldn't usually be teeming with wildlife, but it shouldn't be entirely devoid of life either.

Yet, this forest was eerily silent. There were no sounds of squirrels scampering or insects chirping.

The entire woodland was blanketed in an unnerving, oppressive silence.

Shikamaru crept through the dim forest path and eventually came upon a small pond.

The area around the pond showed no signs of human activity, suggesting that animals likely frequented the spot to drink.

But now, the pond was unnervingly still. Shikamaru's sharp eyes caught sight of something unusual on the water's surface.

These things couldn't easily be noticed during the day. It was only now, as the sun dipped lower and the forest grew darker, that they became fully visible.

A shimmering pink-purple phosphorescence emerged on the surface of the water, evoking an indescribable sense of unease.

It was a feeling of impending doom, surpassing anything Shikamaru's conscious mind could rationalize.

The strange colors didn't just glimmer—they surged upward from beneath the water, bubbling up like geysers.

The effect was both mesmerizing and horrifying, pulsating rhythmically, almost like a beating heart.

Oddly, however, these surges didn't create any bubbles or disturb the water's surface. Not a single ripple formed, as if the colors themselves lacked any tangible presence.

The water remained unnervingly calm, the stillness affirming the intangible nature of the glowing hues.

The phantom-like colors began to rise, inching closer to Shikamaru's feet. They moved with an eerie fluidity, like two tendrils reaching to ensnare him.

Reacting on instinct, Shikamaru leapt backward, landing in a spot where the creeping colors couldn't yet reach him.

It was then that he heard the sound—heavy, labored breathing.

Turning toward the source, his gaze locked onto the creatures emerging beside the pond.

What he saw defied explanation.

The animals resembled wolves, or at least some distorted version of them. Their faintly discernible features hinted at their original form, but they were far from natural.

Each creature had a single wolf head at the top of its body, but as if dissatisfied, they bore an additional neck sprouting from their back, capped with another wolf head.

Both heads snarled ferociously, baring fangs with an intensity that was the most menacing Shikamaru had ever seen.

While Shikamaru stared down these monstrous two-headed wolves, their grotesque, oversized tails began to unfurl.

Like a peacock spreading its feathers, the tails split and expanded.

From the inner ends of the tail segments, clusters of writhing snake-like heads emerged, squirming like maggots.

Due to the constraints of time, the Color Out of Space phenomenon in this world was taking effect at an accelerated pace.

On these "wolves," there were also features of serpentine creatures. They could no longer be considered a single animal—nor even a monster—but were utterly deformed freaks, or grotesque aberrations.

Moreover, in the ferocious eyes of these grotesque forms, Shikamaru saw that peculiar hue from the surface of the water flowing within their pupils.

For some reason, he didn't feel particularly surprised at this sight.

The water sources here had been contaminated, so it was hardly unexpected that the animals would also be affected by this strange color.

What he hadn't anticipated was that the peculiar "pinkish-purple" could have such a profound effect on living creatures, merging them in ways beyond human imagination in just three short days.

What if humans were also affected by this color?

The terrifying implications made him dare not think further. Right now, the priority was to escape from this place, as the grotesque forms around him were already growing restless, preparing to pounce.

Before he could draw a kunai, one grotesque form lunged at him like a starving tiger.

Reacting instantly, Shikamaru dodged with a sideways roll, evading the attack. But before he could regain his footing, another grotesque form lunged at him. Forced into a series of consecutive rolls, Shikamaru narrowly avoided their strikes.

After several evasive maneuvers, he noticed something.

These grotesque forms were primarily built around the bodies of wolves, meaning their physical abilities should closely match those of wolves.

But in reality, their leaping distances and striking power far exceeded that of normal animals, rivaling even ninja hounds.

Had he not been a ninja with decent physical capabilities, he would have been unable to avoid their bites and swipes.

A glance at the rock shattered into pieces by a single swipe of a grotesque form's claw left him trembling with fear, swallowing hard as nervous saliva pooled in his mouth.

If that swipe had hit him, he'd have died instantly.

Not only that, these wolves, though now grotesque and unrecognizable, had not lost their innate cunning. Although none of their lunges had struck Shikamaru, they had unwittingly driven him into the center of their encirclement.

Looking at the grotesque forms slowly closing in and glancing at the large tree by the water's edge some distance away, Shikamaru calculated.

Theoretically, jumping to the tree could save him, but the distance was too great. Shikamaru feared he'd be pounced on mid-air by these grotesque forms with their abnormally enhanced physiques.

Staying put and fighting with kunai might work against one or two of them, but seven grotesque forms were surrounding him.

If these hulking beasts charged all at once, it would truly be the end.

It seemed he had no choice but to use that technique.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

Forming a seal with his hands, Shikamaru extended his shadow in seven directions, connecting with the shadows of the grotesque forms on the ground.

No matter how cunning these grotesque creatures were, they couldn't discern the nature of this jutsu. All seven grotesque forms were successfully restrained by his shadow.

Although their bodies twitched slightly, struggling, it wasn't enough to break free from the Shadow Possession's control

He secretly let out a sigh of relief, but the danger was far from over.

On the ground, both his shadow and the creatures' shadows were gradually fading. Glancing up at the sky, he realized that the sun was about to set.

Once the sun disappeared, the faint moonlight would be unable to penetrate the forest, rendering the Shadow Possession ineffective.

It was at this moment that he regretted his decision. Preoccupied with the matter of the meteorite, his impulsiveness had led him to investigate at a time when the sun was close to setting—a serious miscalculation.

Still, it wasn't entirely his fault. Before entering the forest, no one could have predicted the presence of these terrifying creatures lurking within.

Now, his only hope was to escape at the moment the Shadow Possession released its grip. He planned to leap onto the nearest towering tree before the creatures could react.

But as his gaze flicked toward the nearest tree, a more despairing sight emerged.

From the shadows of the forest, another pair of eyes glowing with an eerie light slowly appeared, peering out from the depths of the dense woods.

Another one!

A new creature slowly emerged from the forest. This one was larger than the previous ones, standing over a person's height. While it retained the traits of the other creatures, its sides also featured antler-like protrusions.

The sun had not yet fully set, and he tried to split his shadow again to restrain this massive newcomer. However, his shadow retracted before reaching it.

Damn! The shadow isn't enough.

One of the weaknesses of the Shadow Possession was that the shadow it extended could not exceed the total area of the caster's own shadow.

Watching the final creature lunge at him, Shikamaru resigned himself to fate and closed his eyes.

At that critical moment, a green, spinning ball flew in from the side, striking the creature and knocking it away just as its claws were about to reach his head.

He snapped his eyes open to find the source of the green ball—someone he knew well.

Chōji!

The massive spinning ball that had struck the creature immediately rotated counterclockwise, returning to Shikamaru's side and reverting to its normal form.

Standing on a treetop, Ino called out sarcastically, "Good thing we didn't trust you and decided to follow. Otherwise, you'd have left your life behind here!"

Chōji turned to Shikamaru and scolded, "Don't try to play the hero alone, Shikamaru. Didn't Asuma-sensei say we're a team?"

Shikamaru smiled faintly, but this wasn't the time for thanks. The surrounding creatures, now free from the Shadow Possession, regained their mobility.

At this close distance, the newly arrived Chōji and Ino finally got a good look at the grotesque creatures.

"Ah! What are these monsters?"

"Shikamaru, what's going on?"

Their simultaneous reactions of shock and fear were understandable given the terrifying creatures surrounding them. However, Shikamaru had no time to explain and immediately shouted,

"Forget about them! Run back to the village, now!"

Shikamaru had no intention of trying to defeat these creatures, especially with his Shadow Possession now unusable. Ino's Mind Transfer Technique could control a single creature at most, but it left her own body immobile, making it ineffective against such a large number.

Shikamaru's command jolted Ino and Chōji back to their senses. While the creatures were still deciding whom to target, the three of them leapt onto the towering trees and fled toward the direction of Hoshi.