Episode Summaries

Despite Tayuya's efforts, Shikamaru devised a plan to defeat her creatures. Using his remaining kunai and shuriken to distract her and her giants, he triggered a flash bomb he had planted above her. The light from the flash bomb extended his shadows long enough for him to trap all three of her creatures with his Shadow Imitation Technique. He then tells her that he will be using her very own pawns against her, but Tayuya does not seem to care. Shikamaru tells her to at least arm herself, and she tells him that her flute is her only weapon. Shikamaru and her creatures charge at Tayuya, but Tayuya is able to dispel her creatures. Shikamaru voices his frustration, causing Tayuya to laugh at him for thinking he had a chance. However, just as she attempts to kill him, she finds herself trapped by Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique. He tells her that, just like in a game of shōgi, the first move is always a fakeout, whereas the second move is the final strike.

Trapped and unable to move, Tayuya advanced her cursed seal to its second state in order to use the strength and chakra it provides to break free of Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique. Shikamaru attempts to hold her in place with the advanced Shadow–Neck Binding Technique, which seems to work; however, while her body is kept bound by his jutsu, her fingers are free to move, and she uses her flute to place Shikamaru within a genjutsu. As the genjutsu causes Shikamaru to scream in pain, Tayuya picks up one of Shikamaru's kunai knives and rushes towards him to kill him. Just as she gets close, Shikamaru punches her in the gut. Wondering how he ever got out of her genjutsu, she notices that he had manipulated his shadow to break his own finger, and used the pain to break out of her genjutsu. Shikamaru then uses his Shadow-Neck Binding Technique on her again, telling her that the closer he is to his target, the tighter the bind his jutsu inflicts. As Tayuya berates herself for her carelessness, Shikamaru reveals that it was all according to his plan - once Tayuya revealed that her flute was her only weapon, he knew that once she thought she caught him, she would need to arm herself to kill him, and that she would pick up that kunai closest to her and come near him to finish him off.