The Strategy… Failed?!

Worn down from being forced to unleash the second stage of their cursed seals against Konoha's earlier pursuers, the Sound Four pause to recover their energy. Watching from cover, the retrieval squad reasons that Sasuke must be sealed inside the coffin the enemies keep close. They edge forward and are met with a fast counterattack, but the quartet soon discovers that they themselves have been pinned in place by Shikamaru's shadow.

Sakon breaks free of the hold through means the team cannot explain, and Jirobo immediately buries the pursuers inside a dome of solid earth they have no way to shatter. While the rest of the group presses on toward their destination, Jirobo stays behind. Neji quickly works out the reason: the heavyset ninja is siphoning the trapped shinobi's chakra straight through the prison walls.

The Sound Four rest after having to activate the second level of their cursed seals. Shikamaru's team concludes Sasuke is hidden in the coffin and moves to intercept, catching the enemy with the Shadow Imitation Technique. Sakon frees the quartet, Jirobo seals the pursuers in a rock prison, and Neji realizes Jirobo has stayed behind to absorb their chakra.

The chapter belongs to the Sasuke Recovery Mission and was collected in volume 21. Viz Media trimmed its title down to Failure…?! It debuted in issue 43 of Weekly Shonen Jump for 2003, dated October 6, 2003.