Naruto: La nuova era nel sequel del manga di Kishimoto

Village of Konoha

Since when did I stop saying things were troublesome…?

That was the thought passing through Shikamaru’s head as he gazed up at the blue sky. Even though the wind wasn’t that strong, thin clouds were hurrying along one after another, passing in and out of his line of sight. Their flustered state seemed similar to Shikamaru’s own. He laughed derisively at himself for the thought.

At any rate, he was busy.

Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, the world was finally starting to regain its stability. The Kage Alliance that had come into existence when the war broke out had continued to this day, and the world of Shinobi was drastically different than it used to be.

The alliance might have started between the five hidden villages, but after the war, small neighbouring countries started to declare their participation in the alliance as well. It had come to the point the organisation that had started out as an alliance was developing into a Shinobi Union, one that involved every shinobi in each participating nation.

Contracts that had been undertaken individually by villages prior to the union’s existence were now being brought towards the Shinobi Union collectively. Each village who participated in the union had shinobi representatives assigned to every other village for discussing negotiations over contracts. In this way equilibrium of labour between villages was guaranteed, the disparity between villages was revised and the Shinobi World could finally greet the era of peace with open arms.

“Haa…”

Shikamaru’s sigh disappeared up into the sky. His back was absolutely freezing thanks to lying down on the cold stone floor beneath him, and if he stayed like this, then he was probably going to end up catching a cold. But he had his reasons for not getting up.

Work was waiting for him.

So much work it wasn’t even funny.

It was only because Shikamaru was intending on a short break that he was allowing himself to laze around in the afternoon like this to begin with. But he also knew that the moment he so much as sat up, his mind would slip back into work mode. And when that happened, Shikamaru was perfectly aware that he wouldn’t get another chance to rest like this again.

And so, he refused to move despite the cold, stubbornly intent on resting as long as he could. Until somebody found him out, Shikamaru didn’t intend to move an inch from this spot.

‘This spot’ was the roof of the Hokage Residence.

You could see generations of Hokage’s faces carved into the mountain parallel to the round roof Shikamaru was sprawled out on. In order from the left, there was the first generation’s legendary Hashirama, then his brother, the great ì Tobirama. There was the Third who had died during Orochimaru’s Konoha Crush plot, Hiruzen, and then the ‘Yellow Flash’, Namikaze Minato. The Fifth was a legend along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, she was one of the three Sannin, the medical ninja Tsunade.

There were all past Hokage.

Now, the face of the man who was the current Hokage could be found carved next to Tsunade’s.

A pair of sleepy looking eyes peeking out from underneath wire-like hair could be seen, as well as the bridge of his nose, while the rest of his well-defined features were hidden under a mask.

The Hokage was a symbol of Konoha. It was a position that couldn’t be obtained unless you were acknowledged by every single shinobi in the village. Even though that symbol’s face was supposed to be carved into the mountain as a commemoration, to still keep the bottom half hidden under a mask…

Hatake Kakashi: that was the name of the current Hokage.

The teacher of the two young men who had lead the way to victory during the war, there wasn’t a single person in the Shinobi World who didn’t know his name and his skills as a shinobi. Shikamaru on the other hand, knowing both that great man and his students personally, was far from star-struck. There were fans who adored and fawned over those three, saying they were ‘heroes of legend’ but in reality he felt like none of the three were really types to fit the term “legend”.

Kakashi, while certainly a man who got his things done during moments of crisis, after the great fights of the war turned back to his usual role, when it came to everyday life: a no-good adult who didn’t feel like doing much of anything.

And not only he, but the other two heroes had similar problems as well. One was an abysmal idiot. The other, abysmally stubborn. It was because the rest of the world didn’t know about the hopeless sides of those three that they were being hailed as ‘living legends’, Shikamaru thought while mumbling.

“What am I even doing…?”

The words left Shikamaru’s mouth without him really thinking about it.

He himself was the type of person who would never become anything close to a hero. He never wanted to be one in the first place.

If you said he wanted to be one of those ninja who practiced vigorously to improve their ninjutsu, you’d be wrong. He certainly never thought about studying medical ninjutsu and becoming a specialist in the vanguard back-up, either. If you said he wanted to be someone with a high rank in encryption or in medical surgery, you’d be wrong too.

He just…wanted everything to be average. That was Shikamaru’s dream. He wanted to be an average ranked ninja who’d have an average job, marry an average wife and have an average child, and then, after an average elderly prime…

Well, everything came to an end one day.

Was there any greater happiness to be found than in a life plan like that? He didn’t think so.

On days with good weather, lying down like this and watching the sky, seeing the clouds floating past and taking your thoughts with them. On rainy days, having shougi pieces as your company would be more than enough. There would be no pressure from people’s expectations. No stress, either.

Wasn’t that a wonderful sort of life?

“Haaa…”

It was a deep sigh, issued right from the bottom of his stomach. The bastard called “reality” was a really tough opponent.

If the thing you were fighting was a human being, then at least there’d come a day where you would win against them. Even if they were a god-like person, they had to have a weakness somewhere. The enemies in the war had been abominations, and yet all the shinobi had focused their powers together and won against them, hadn’t they?

You can win against an opponent in front of you. However…

Reality is an opponent without substance that you can never, ever defeat.

No matter how Shikamaru kept wishing and wanting otherwise, reality callously kept sending him towards the exact sort of fate he did not want. Shikamaru, who had wished so badly to be ‘average’, was now someone the Shinobi Union couldn’t do without.

He had so much work. All the jobs taken on by each nation’s Daimyo and citizens had to be classified from A to D rank, and then each village’s characteristics had to be carefully taken into account to figure out which one was most suitable for the allotment of labour – and then there were the Chiefs of the Union, the Five Kage’s consultations. They used him for everything, to the point where he even ended up being a shougi partner for the old Tsuchikage.

“The Shinobi Union’s Shikamaru of Konoha.”

There were people who even went around calling him that now.

Even though Shikamaru didn’t want to stand out, even though he didn’t want to succeed at anything, even though he fought and fought against it, his surroundings kept pushing him until he rose above others.

His first mistake had been at the Chuunin Promotion Exams. The Chuunin Exams, started by the villages of the Five Kage and including even the genin of other small countries. In the midst of the chaos of Orochimaru’s plotting and the Third’s death, for some reason Shikamaru was promoted to the rank of chuunin.

Amongst all the applicants, he was the only one to get that promotion. It was the kind of situation where Shikamaru felt that yelling ‘what have you done?!’ would have been more than appropriate.

His fatal mistake had been in the part of the exam where genin were paired off to fight against each other. His Kagemane jutsu’s success had greatly shocked his opponent, a sassy kunoichi carrying an absurdly large fan that created giant gusts of wind, but at the end of their stalemate, it was Shikamaru himself who threw in the towel.

It was this forfeit of Shikamaru’s that was so highly valued.

Being a Chuunin included not only strength and skill but also leading subordinates. That was why the ability to precisely analyse one’s situation was the one most highly valued. The examiners approved of Shikamaru accepting that he was cleanly defeated, and gave him the highest evaluation.

It was a really unwelcome evaluation.

It was an examination he hadn’t wanted any part in, one that he’d been forced into entering by his teacher’s, Sarutobi Asuma’s, insistence. He hadn’t intended on such on evaluation, hadn’t felt the slightest desire for one either. But reality had still lead Shikamaru to becoming a chuunin, as well as to everyone in the village looking at him differently.

And ever since then, Shikamaru’s life plan had started to slip out of his grasp.

When Sasuke left the village, Shikamaru was assigned as a Team Leader working together with his classmates to try to bring him back, and after that as well, he was given the most missions out of all his classmates. He resisted and protested, but reality just kept bringing Shikamaru higher and higher up in rank.

Since the Fourth Shinobi World War… it’d been two years.

Shikamaru had become 19 years old. It was an age where he could no longer be called a child.

He wondered just how grateful you should be for people expecting great things from you. Was being someone who others depended on really such a wonderful achievement? The answer went without being said. There was a plain example in Shikamaru’s friend, Naruto, and how his desire to be relied on by everyone had turned him into the whole village’s– no, rather, the whole Shinobi World’s hero.

Shikamaru knew very well that people were living things who would end up needing one person or another. That’s why despite his misgivings, he didn’t feel any hateful feelings such as ‘if only you didn’t exist’ towards the people who depended on him. And no matter how much he was against the idea of being needed, he had never once cut corners on missions.

It had been 19 years since he’d been born into this world, and yet he already had so many obligations and entanglements he’d gotten himself involved in.

The group who had intended to take over the world, the “Akatsuki”, had killed his teacher Asuma. Asuma’s girlfriend Kurenai had been pregnant with Asuma’s child. That child was now two years old. Her name was Mirai. To become Mirai’s teacher…it was a promise that he absolutely had to keep. As troublesome at it could have been.

Shikamaru’s father, Shikaku, had been tasked with being the Alliance’s main strategist at the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War. When Obito used the destructive power of the resurrected Ten Tailed Beast to aim for the Alliance’s Headquarters, his father had died, alongside Ino’s father, Inoichi.

Even now, his father’s and Inoichi’s last words were still ringing clearly in Shikamaru’s ears.

["We are always within you. Never forget that!"]

To become as great a man as his father… it was a promise he’d made to the man who had helped to bring him into this world.

And then, there was… Naruto.

Honest to a fault, the hero of Shinobi who believed wholeheartedly that he’d become Hokage, who never doubted the fact for even a moment…

During the fight with the Ten Tails, Shikamaru had been on the brink of death. While he was being healed by Sakura, Shikamaru had this thought:

Nobody is more suited to being his advisor than me…! If Naruto became the Hokage, then Shikamaru would be his right hand man. It was a dream.

He had so many obligations already, he didn’t even want to count them. There was no mistake that it was all because of that same force that kept pushing him forwards. It was a good thing to be needed, and he should be grateful for everyone’s opinion of him allowing him to live as he was.

He should be grateful, but…

He got tired sometimes.

Shikamaru’s real self wasn’t the man everyone thought he was. His real self was a man who thought everything was troublesome, who wished for an average life. The kind of man that could be found anywhere. And the greater people’s expectations of him became, the more he wanted to run away. That was the truth behind the man that was Nara Shikamaru.

In the old days, all his comrades had fully understood how full of complaints he was, how much he didn’t feel like accomplishing anything.

Since when had they started to misunderstand him? Since when had he stopped calling things troublesome?

Logically, both of those things must have started around the same time.

“When did it start…?”

As he gazed up at the clouds, deep furrows came into Shikamaru’s brow. His eyes narrowed as he thought hard on the subject, until he could only see a little bit of the sky. A single hawk came into his line of sight…

The hawk was flying West, where parts of the sky were already beginning to be dyed a light pink from the setting sun. It spread out its wings and slowly started to circle. Shikamaru happened to be right in the middle of the hawk’s arc. No – the correct thing to say was that the hawk was circling around the Hokage Residence.

Shikamaru didn’t just sit up. He leapt right to his feet.

His mind that had been dwelling in depths as deep as the sea was sharpening again, and his eyes locked onto the hawk, not glancing away for a moment. Jet black…

The hawk was so pitch black, it could’ve been painted with ink.

No – it really was a hawk painted with ink.

Super Beast Imitating Drawing…

Sai’s jutsu.

Sai was the man who had joined Naruto and Sakura on team 7 as a replacement for the missing Sasuke. His specialty was the Super Beast Imitating Drawing Jutsu, painting ink animals and giving them life and movement.
The hawk flying overhead Shikamaru was definitely from Sai.

“It’s finally come…”

In Shikamaru’s field of vision, he could see the hawk stop going around in circles and start to descend.
Shikamaru ran towards the stairs that went down from the roof. As soon as he reached the bottom of those, he’d be at the Hokage’s office. The hawk would definitely end up going there.

The moment Shikamaru had reached the stairs, the hawk also disappeared behind the side of the Hokage Residence, as a shadow would flit over one’s face. Shikamaru leapt down the stairs, running down the hall to the Hokage Office.
He opened the door without even bothering to knock.

“Oh, Shikamaru.”

It was Kakashi who spoke. He was standing behind a desk cluttered with piles of books and documents, reading an open scroll.

“Did Sai’s hawk just…?”

“That’s right.”

Kakashi turned the scroll over to Shikamaru so he could see. The messily written sentences on the white paper of the scroll flitted in and out of Shikamaru’s sight. It looked like a very hastily written message.

“The situation seems to be even graver than we’d thought.”

Kakashi’s gaze met Shikamaru’s as he spoke, the look in his eyes even more solemn than Shikamaru had dreaded it would be. Even the usual vague way of speaking the Hokage had was now entirely replaced by a sombre tone. Kakashi’s whole attitude was giving him an awful sense of foreboding.

Shikamaru’s eyes followed the handwriting on the scroll. While most of the message was written with very small, delicate writing from a fine brush, the last sentence alone stood out, thick and violently written:

“I don’t know who I am anymore.”

Addressed to the Sixth Hokage,

There is not muchtime, so I must write briefly.

Our investigation intothe matter of your concern has been completed up to the degree you specified.However none of my 10 comrades have returned, and I have been left on my own.

I do not know if theyare dead or alive. However, I think that there’s no mistake the enemy has sensed us.

I will get straight to the point.

The internal affairs of this country are far, far worse than you had feared them to be. If we leave it be, then the Shinobi Union is going to end up in a predicament. No, in fact, I believe that the very framework of the world could end up changing.

There is a man who is shaping this country.

His name is Gengo.

This country is here because Gengo is, and Gengo is here because of the country.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this entire country only exists for the sake of Gengo.

‘Enchantment.’ That is the word that describes Gengo the most suitably.

Gengo may end up becoming an existence that will change the world.

I’m not sure if I don’t want it to change.

The living things called Shinobi don’t really have a saving grace to them, do they?

Because we endure, we are shinobi.

But is that really a good thing?

Hokage-sama.

No, Kakashi-san.

I don’t know who I am anymore…

Lifting his head from reading Sai’s letter, Shikamaru let out one small exhale

Kakashi was seated at his desk in front of him, his elbows leaning against the surface. He was wearing the hat that all Hokage’s must wear during official business or otherwise. It weighed down on his hair that had grown out in the last few years. Every part of his face that lay below his nose was hidden behind a mask as always.

Cradling his jaw with both hands, he was quietly watching Shikamaru’s reaction.

“What are you thinking?” He asked, with a very clear voice.

There was no one other than them inside the Hokage’s Office.

“I’m thinking…why would Sai send back a Beast Imitation, instead of returning himself?”

“That is indeed a thing to wonder.”

Letting go of his chin, Kakashi leaned back thoughtfully. Tilting his jaw to look up at the ceiling, he let out a louder and bigger sigh than Shikamaru had.

“And I’m thinking that, looking at the letter, it seems that all except Sai have fallen into the enemy’s hands and been killed, doesn’t it?”

“It does look like that.”

“Sai was leading a team made up of ten of Anbu’s most skilled members. I don’t think any of them could have made a foolish move that would expose themselves to the enemy. So it seems that the enemy is very skilled as well.”

“Yes…” Saying so, Kakashi began to slowly spin around in his chair. He spun around once, so Shikamaru was faced with the back of his chair, before slowly turning around again. Kakashi was the kind of man who kept his shoulders slouched in even the most serious of circumstances.

Normally, when a person was faced with this kind of a situation, their body would freeze up along with their thoughts. Kakashi was purposely making such seemingly carefree movement to stop his thoughts from freezing up. He had learned to always keep his body moving from his years as a capable Shinobi who saw so much shocking, bloody carnage.

Shikamaru was looking at Kakashi with an anxious expression on his face. He opened his mouth to speak.

“At the moment Sai realised he had lost all of his comrades, there’s only one course of action he could have picked.”

“Escape, right?” Kakashi said, still watching the ceiling.

“Yes.”

Kakashi gave a nod to Shikamaru’s immediate reply. Although he should have been directing his face to look at Shikamaru, he was still staring up at the ceiling.

“And yet he sent this kind of letter, instead of coming back to the village and reporting directly to you, Hokage-“

“How many times have I told you that just Kakashi-san is fine?” Kakashi said, finally turning to look at Shikamaru. “Since when have you gotten so stiff? It was nice when you used to have your shoulders slouched all the time.”

“I wasn’t going to stay a kid forever.”

“Even now, Naruto still acts ‘like a kid’.”

“Naruto’s Naruto.”

“Oh, I see…”

Somewhat of a sad look entered Kakashi’s eyes. He spread out Sai’s scroll on his desk, eyes going over it again.

Sai could transform his handwriting into an ink beast and send it to far away locations, where the ink beast would turn into handwriting again when it come into contact with a blank scroll. The hawk that Shikamaru had seen on the roof was the ink beast form of Sai’s handwriting he saw now.

“The situation is ‘far worse than I’d thought,’ huh…”

“It sounds like it’d be reasonable to say that the shinobi who went missing in action during the war, as well as those who’ve been disappearing lately, are all in that country.”

“That does seem to be what Sai’s confirmed.”

“The Country of Silence…”

The whole matter had been snowballing since two years ago.

Many lives had been claimed during the Fourth Shinobi World War started by Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito. Faced with the power of abominations outside the category of people, the shinobi of the Five Great Countries had gathered all their power and stood together. Finally, the person manipulating Madara, Ootsutsuki Kaguya, had been defeated and the war ended.

As every village entered into a period of peaceful recovery from the war, the details of figuring out who had been killed in battle and who was missing in action had turned into an urgent matter. The war had been a fierce battle that even ripped apart the continent’s terrain. If someone’s corpse could be found, it was considered a stroke of luck.

Compared to the number of shinobi that were concluded to have died in battle, the number of shinobi that were unaccounted for was far larger.

The Five Great Shinobi Countries had lost roughly 10,000 shinobi…

10,000 shinobi were the victims of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Their enemies in the war could have wiped out the whole world. Many said it was a great stroke of fortune for them to have ended the war with ‘only this many lost’.

But that wasn’t how Shikamaru saw the matter.

Even one victim was one victim too many.

In the last war, he had his lost his friend Hyuuga Neji. Shikamaru didn’t think the pain of Neji’s loss was the only case out of ten thousand. A similar pain to losing Hyuuga Neji must have been felt for every other one of those victims.

In the death of only one person, there were emotions you couldn’t separate yourself from by simply by saying they were “just one sacrifice”.

It was for that reason…

It was for that reason that war couldn’t ever be allowed to break out again.

“I wonder just how many of those missing shinobi could’ve gone to the Country of Silence…” Kakashi muttered the same thoughts that were going through Shikamaru’s mind.

It was exactly as Kakashi said. Within all the shinobi who had been lost during the last war, there must have been a small amount who had survived but stayed out of reach.

The Shinobi Union’s Headquarters had been the first one to notice that.

Since it was Headquarters who handled all forms of requests for help and such, they were the first to notice any patterns. One such pattern had started to emerge about a year ago.

The requests for Shinobi dispatches had sharply decreased.

Since the Five Great Shinobi Coutries had decided to from a union, the Daimyo had had remarkably less fighting in the outer lands they ruled as well. Thus, it was a very natural thing for dangerous A-rank or B-rank mission requests to decrease.

However, the matter didn’t end there.

Even the relatively easy C-rank and D-rank mission requests had decreased in exactly the same way.

Shikamaru had heard of this matter relatively quickly, since he had a place at the Shinobi Union’s Headquarters as well. But it wasn’t like there was something they could do to solve the sudden decrease of missions. The Union had said it was a brief change brought along by the times, and closed the matter.

However, there was a man who said he could put an end to the problem of the declining missions, as well as one other problem that had popped up since the end of the war.

That man was Kakashi.

The other problem Kakashi was intent on solving: the cases of missing nin within the Five Great Shinobi Countries that had been going on for a year.

Since about a year ago, every village had been losing one Shinobi per month. That made 12 missing-nin for every village up to now. The Five Hidden Villages had had 60 shinobi disappear in total. Furthermore, they were all young, single, male Shinobi.

Abandoning your village was a grave crime. Of course, each village had sent people in pursuit of the deserters, but somehow, not a single one had been found.

“I probably did the wrong thing asking Sai to continue the investigation when he asked for back-up.” Kakashi said. “I should’ve pulled him out of the situation and gotten him mentally prepared before sending him to the Country of Silence.”

“Regretting it now isn’t going to change anything.”

“That’s true.”

Sai, who had been sent to investigate the cases of the missing-nin, had sent them notice of finding a lead about a month ago. Kakashi, who believed the increased missing-nin and the decrease of mission dispatches were related, had told Sai to continue the investigation with the anbu as back up.

The lead Sai had found was the Country of Silence.

The Country of Silence could be found in the far west of a continent that rivalled the Five Great Shinobi Countries as well as the countries surrounding them.

It was a country that had never made contact with any of the Shinobi Villages – or any other foreign country, for that matter. It was thus called ‘the Country of Silence’ by outsiders. The only details known about it was that it was a country with samurai who kept its citizens in line, and a Daimyou who ruled over the samurai. However, anything further than that was a complete mystery.

According to what Sai had relayed, it seemed that somehow Konoha’s missing-nin had run towards this country.

And those weren’t the least of their concerns. There was also the matter of the Konoha Shinobi who had gone missing in action during the war.

The Country of Silence was collecting shinobi who had gone missing in action as well as shinobi who had deserted the village…

For what reason?

Kakashi could see the reason as clearly as he could see the answer to the decrease of dispatches coming into the Shinobi Union.

“What do you think happened to Sai?” Kakashi asked.

“He’s alive.”

“Well, I agree with that.” The bottom of Kakashi’s mask moved as if he was smiling. “When you look at his obsessive sounding praise of this ‘Gengo’ he mentions in his letter…” Kakashi touched the fine, delicate handwriting on Sai’s message.

Seeing what he was thinking, Shikamaru kept speaking.

“It’s not something I want to believe, but we can’t discount the possibility that Sai’s been taken in by this man called Gengo.”

“Sai’s so pure, after all…”

“If Sai’s alive, we can’t just not save him.”

“That’s true…” Kakashi’s left scarred eye seemed to darken with despair.

Shikamaru could tell precisely what he was going to say without needing to hear it out loud.

This situation had a greater and more important matter than that of saving a comrade.

Shikamaru himself forced out the words.

“If the internal affairs of the Country of Silence are really as Sai’s reported, if the goings-on within are as you’ve guessed, then we have to take action immediately.”

“I know that.”

Shikamaru didn’t stop talking.

“It’s been two years since the war. All the villages have finally regained their stability, but the status of the country as a whole is still less than half as strong as it used to be.”

“We couldn’t possibly withstand another war.”

“Exactly.”

Letting out another huge sigh, Kakashi stood up from his chair. He stepped around his desk covered with scrolls and books and came to stand next to Shikamaru.

“It seems like you’ve come to the same conclusion that I have.” Kakashi said.

“Yes.”

“Then do you understand what I think of it?”

“You want to go and do it yourself, don’t you?”

Kakashi had a lot of experience from his youth spent in the anbu. He stood out amongst the anbu, whose specialty were shady missions, as a very capable soldier.

Shikamaru could see those thoughts on his face, and let out a sigh.

“Hokage-sama. I understand your feelings more than enough, but you must already know that what you want isn’t going to happen.”

“Heh. Your thoughts flash through your mind almost at the same speed as Minato-sensei’s jutsu, do you know that?”

Shikamaru simply gave Kakashi a long stare as an answer. Kakashi continued speaking in the face of Shikamaru’s silence.

“Anyway, going on what Sai said, the leading force behind that country is this man called Gengo.”

“Yes.”

“As long as we do something about him, then there won’t be any further problems.”

“That’s what I’m thinking as well.”

“Well then…”

Putting his hand at the middle of his back and giving a great stretch like an old man, Kakashi said, “Who do you think should be sent?”

“I’ll go.”

“Huh?” Kakashi’s eyes widened. “You’re Konoha’s representative. You have a lot of duties to the Union as well. There’s no need for you to go on an assassination mission at this time.”

Assassination…

Kakashi had finally put it into words. The thought that had been going through both of their heads was now out in the open.

If the Shinobi Union and the Country of Silence went to war, then the Union they’d spent so long maintaining would be disrupted, and possibly even rupture. Each nation was still exhausted despite all their recovery so far – there wasn’t a single person who wished for a war.

If Sai’s letter was to be trusted, then assassinating this ‘Gengo’ would be quickest and most effective way of stopping the Country of Silence from disrupting the world’s hard-attained peace.

“We have to keep the circle of people who know about this matter as small as possible.” Shikamaru said.

“But I’m telling you, for you to go is…”

“One of my comrades has been taken. Please allow me to go.”

Kakashi stopped talking when he saw Shikamaru’s determination.

As Kakashi said, there was no real need for Shikamaru to go. It would’ve been more proper to find another capable person and entrust the matter to them.

And yet, Shikamaru himself volunteered.

He himself didn’t understand why he did it.

But he just couldn’t stay still.

“And with that, this month’s meeting is over. Does anybody have any questions?”

Shikamaru closed his eyes as he listened to the dispassionate voice addressing the gathering. The bespectacled man speaking was Chojuro, a shinobi from Kirigakure. Shikamaru knew him from the war as one of the Mizukage’s bodyguards.

“If nobody has anything to ask,then, Shikamaru-san…” Chojiuro spoke with an imploring tone from where he was seated next to him.

Shikamaru opened his right eye toglance at Chojuro, then slowly opened both.

Ten shinobi were seated around thecircular table; both men and women could be found, all generally aroundShikamaru’s age.

They were in the Country of Iron; the Shinobi Union’s Headquarters.

The country had a multitude of strong samurai, and thus, not one single shinobi was needed. Before the war, the Kages of the Five Great Hidden Villages would comfortably hold meetings in the Country of Iron, and now it was the Headquarters for the Shinobi Union founded by those Five Powers. The roots of the Union’s headquarters had been set in the same Country of Iron where the alliance had initially begun.

All the leading villages of the Five Great Nations had some of their shinobi gather at the Union’s Headquarters and, whether night or day, continue their hard work for the sake of the expansion of the Shinobi World overall.

This meeting was full of people who would bear the burden of the next era’s world of shinobi. It was a place where the future of Shinobi was discussed. Shinobi sent to this meeting were the most capable ones in their villages, considered as candidates for kage as well as other positions. Of them, Shikamaru and Chojuro were the youngest.

Besides Shikamaru, and Chojuro, who was chairing the meeting, there was Temari of Sunagakure, and Omoi of Kumogakure as well.

Shikamaru had been charged with being the leader of this gathering of shinobi. Obviously, he hadn’t volunteered. This was the result of everyone recommending him for the job.

“Shikamaru-san?” Chojuro sounded like he’d become worried by Shikamaru’s long silence.

Shikamaru cleared his throat, and looking at all the members, opened his mouth to speak.

“I believe we don’t have any new topics of discussion for this meeting. I hope for more meetings at a comfortable pace like this. With that, see you next month.”

As he said that, Shikamaru rose to his feet and gathered all the scrolls and documents that had been spread across the table. Folding them under his arm, he turned to leave.

Confused by their leader’s cold attitude, the other members got ready to leave at haphazard paces. Everyone milled out into the two hallways leading left and right out of the room.

Even though so many shinobi were restlessly walking down the hallways, not a single echo of their footsteps was heard. They were shinobi, after all. Other people’s footfalls could be heard, but not a shinobi’s. That had been one of the basics of the basics, back at the Academy.

“Oi.” A voice called out to him from behind.

Shikamaru anxiously clicked his tongue. Right now, the owner of that voice was the person he didn’t want to talk to the most.

He stepped forward as if he hadn’t heard.

“Hold it, Shikamaru!”

The voice that hit his back felt like a flying kick.

“What is it?” Shikamaru turned his head to look over his shoulder at the woman behind him.

Temari of Suna. Her hair had gotten shorter since two years ago, and was now tied into two bunches on either sides. Her face looked a little bit more like an adult’s, and her eyes were even calmer than they’d been in the old days.

She was older than Shikamaru. Rather than say she looked like an adult, it was more like she had already grown into a splendid adult.

“What’s wrong with you?” She asked.

It was possible that the corners of her eyes had drooped a little, since the old days.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’ve been acting strange lately.” Temari’s slender hands reached out to Shikamaru’s shoulders, turning him to face her.

Troublesome…

The word rose up to his throat, only for him to frantically swallow it down.

“Like your cold attitude at the meeting.” She said, “You’ve been making decisions without saying a word or giving an explanation, and it’s made everyone nervous. The atmosphere was so strained.”

“Oh, did that happen?”

“You didn’t even notice that…?” Temari’s eyes widened slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…”

“It’s something you won’t even tell me, is that it?”

Temari’s gaze was pained.

Since the war had concluded, he’d been working with Temari at the Union for two years now. She was an understanding, good partner. They both shared the sentiment of not wanting all the shinobi who had been gathered together during the war to separate again, as well as the intention to work together and make the Union as good as it could be.

When you added that to the strong bond between Naruto, who intended to become Konoha’s Hokage, and Gaara, Suna’s present Kazekage, that easily made the bond between Suna and Konoha the strongest amongst all the villages united under the Union. With such external forces at work as well, it was natural that Shikamaru and Temari had reached a stage of existence where both was the other’s biggest support within the Union.

“Something must be happening in Konoha, right?”

Temari had made a very good discernment. However, she’d missed the mark a little. The situation wasn’t in Konoha, though the situation did affect all of Konoha’s shinobi. Temari’s theory was half-right, half-wrong.

If there was one thing that never changed about the life of shinobi, it was that anything which passed the borders of your own village had to be jointly carried out with other villages. This was a basic principle of the Union. The course of action that Shikamaru and Kakashi were taking was a blatant violation.

And yet, despite that unspoken rule, Shikamaru still had no intention of telling Temari about it. It wouldn’t be a wise move to get the whole of the Union involved with the business of the Country of Silence.

Konoha would handle it by themselves…

He’d firmly resolved on that.

“You can’t depend on me for anything at all?”

“No.”

Shikamaru’s sharp tone made Temari lower her eyes.

"It’s like that…”

The punch came in the next moment.

It had been one split second where the hurt look on Temari’s face had morphed into righteous fury. There had been no time to avoid it. Before Shikamaru even knew what was happening, his body was already flying.

He rolled onto the hallway’s floor before coming up into a sitting position. He silently raised a hand to touch his stinging cheek, already red.

Before him, Temari was glaring at him with an outraged expression on her face.

"I never could have believed that I’d misjudged you all this time!” She shouted with such force, her words turned to wind that slammed against his face.

“I- I’m sorry…”

The apology came without conscious thought.

His father would come home as late as sunrise on some days, and get yelled at in the house’s entryway by his mother. Somehow, Shikamaru had found himself suffering that same scolding from Temari.

She strode past him with swift, large steps, and disappeared over his shoulder.

Those eyes of hers had looked slightly wet…

*

“You’ve stopped eating.”

The voice came from Chouji who sat in front of him, both of his cheeks puffed up with food. Ino was sitting next to him.

They were at Yakiniku Q.

In the two years since the war, his two friends had become quite the adults. Chouji was still as chubby as ever, but there was a masculine look in his eyes now, and he now had a goatee. Ino had been growing out her hair more and more, abandoning her ponytail for leaving it loose, and looked more like an adult compared to before as well.

“Did you eat something before you came here?” Chouji opened his mouth wide to drop in even more meat, chewing and swallowing it down.

“Shikamaru and I’ve stopped growing a long time ago, so we’re not eating ridiculously the way you do, Chouji.”

“Hey!” Chouji’s eyes widened in indignation.

Shikamaru laughed without thinking. A calming breeze was blowing through his heart. It’d been a while.

“I came specifically to eat lunch with you two, so how could I have eaten something beforehand?” So saying, Shikamaru extended his chopsticks towards a piece of beef that looked like it was about to burn.

Another pair of chopsticks intercepted him.

“Hey, that’s the meat that I put on the grill!” Chouji protested.

“Alright, alright.”

They’d gone through this many times before. Shikamaru let go of the beef, and turned his gaze on the piece next to it. He glanced at Ino, who gave a nod of permission.

“It’s been a while since you invited us out, Shikamaru.” She said.

“Yeah,” Chouji chimed in, “Lately, I haven’t been able to see you unless we set a time to meet like this.”

“Shikamaru’s got his job at the Union and well as being the Hokage’s Support. He’s super busy, Chouji, he can’t always hang out with us anymore.”

“I understand that, but…” Chouji laid his arms on the table, his cheeks puffing out as he pouted.

While there was a part of Shikamaru that was happy they’d noticed his absence, another part of him also felt lonely, like a new distance had come with their separation.

If he wanted to be an adult, then he had to stop thinking like a child. They were long out of the Academy. Things weren’t the same as those days when he could while away time playing with his friends till dusk.

The same way Shikamaru was swamped with work from both the Union and his responsibilities in Konoha, Ino and Chouji had struggled through the last war and become fine, reliable chuunin. While they said it was because Shikamaru was so busy, his two friends had just as little free time as he did.

And yet, they’d come to meet up with him without a word of complaint, simply because he said he wanted to see them.

They were his oldest, closest friends.

“What’s up?” Ino asked when she saw how Shikamaru’s chopsticks hovered in the air, not moving.

“It’s nothing. I’ve just wanted to see you guys for a while.” Shikamaru put a tiny pit of meat into his mouth.

“Ah, kay.”

Ino didn’t ask whether there was anything more to it. Chouji continued happily stuffing his mouth with meat.

Then, the three started to talk. It was a light-hearted, silly conversation.

Chouji’s eternal love of food.

Ino’s usual talk about her love life.

And then, the memories about Asuma…

Shikamaru could feel the distance between him and his friends shrinking. It was almost like he’d gone back to that moment when Asuma had first brought them here.

That time, he’d been full of complaints about how things were ‘troublesome’…

Looking at how Chouji and Ino had grown up, Shikamaru could feel his heart grumbling about how they’d never be able to return to those old days.

-

Shikamaru went home alone.

At the end of the day, he hadn’t been able to tell them.

He’d thought that if he’d go to the Country of Silence, then he’d go with the two of them. He’d invited them out to eat with that purpose in mind. But seeing their smiling faces had somehow made him unable to say anything.

The road he was taking was a dark one.

For Konoha’s sake, for the Union’s sake, for the sake of every single shinobi, one man had to be killed.

It wasn’t a victory that could be gained from playing fair. And so, he had to be killed in secret.

Assassinated.

It wasn’t like assassination was anything new to shinobi. Growing up, you realised sooner or later that things like that were necessary in this world.

But, still…

It was still good to have as few people as possible get their hands dirty. He didn’t have the heart to drag Chouji and Ino into the darkness too.

“So, it’s the Anbu after all…”

Shikamaru looked up at the night sky, and couldn’t see a single star.

Shikamaru was in Kakashi’s office.The Sixth Hokage was surrounded by mountains of documents as always, his handhurriedly signing papers as if it was just waiting for the time it could goslack with exhaustion.

The window across the room had been thrown open, and youcould see the streets of Konoha outside. The city seemed to glow under the sunshine of the bright morning, all wrapped up in a gentle, peaceful atmosphere.

“I’ve made you wait.” Kakashi said as he straightened out a sheaf of papers on his desk. “What business do you have with me today?”

“The Country of Silence.”

“Ah, that…”

Shikamaru still hadn’t finished his report about the Union’s meeting the other day. There wasn’t anything particularly special to report, so he’d left it alone.

“Everything’s the same as ever at the Union. It’s made up of a collection of capable people, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“You’re one of those capable people too.”

Was he really? Was he really someone who was fit to represent Konoha?

“Do you really intend to go?” Kakashi asked.

“Yes.”

Kakashi let out a great sigh at his answer.

“Is it really necessary for you to go?”

“Sai’s been captured. Our village has lost a large number of shinobi, both those who went missing during the war and those who ended up disappearing after. Whether they really left the village of their own free will, or ended up being captured by Gengo is something that we have to verify.”

“You’re really determined, huh.”

Shikamaru silently nodded.

Kakashi closed his eyes and shook his head. He looked at Shikamaru again.

“I get it. I won’t say anything more. Who are you thinking of taking? You’re not planning on going all by yourself, right?”

“Could you spare me two people from Anbu?”

“Huh…” Kakashi was cradling his chin in one hand, his elbow resting against his desk. There was a serious look in his eyes. “Wouldn’t Ino and Chouji do?”

“The InoShikaChou combination can be used for sneak attacks, however I don’t think it fits the requirements for this mission.”

“Because it’s assassination, right?”

“Furthermore, infiltration is a great part of this mission. I want people who can hide chakra.”

“Hmm…”

Kakashi closed his eyes and thought. He was taking Shikamaru’s proposal and comparing it to all the other options inside his head.

“The one who deals the killing blow won’t be you, right?”

“I intend to use my jutsu to bind the target.”

“Then you’ll need someone for the killing blow.” Kakashi concluded ahead of any explanation. He understood what Shikamaru was thinking.

Two Anbu…

One that could manipulate chakra, and conceal their presence. Another that held a jutsu which could deliver the killing blow.

“I have suitable people.” Kakashi said.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll make the arrangements.”

“You don’t have anything to tell me about my other duties?” Shikamaru asked.

“None of your other duties are more urgent than this matter.” Kakashi said, and you could feel in that moment that he really was the Hokage.

He calmly assessed the relative importance of various matters, and made quick, firm decisions on which were to be carried out. It was because he was capable like this that shinobi could work under him without worry, and give their all for the village. Shikamaru thought they wouldn’t be able to function without him.

He didn’t have any thoughts like ‘I want to be Hokage’. But, it would’ve been a lie to say he didn’t feel the slightest bit motivated to grow. In front of a man like Kakashi, Shikamaru was still young and inexperienced, unable to compare to him, and it felt frustrating.

“I’ll tell the two I have in mind to return quickly. You can wait a little longer, right?”

“Please do it as quickly as possible.”

“I get it.” Kakashi smiled under his mask and stood up. He turned his back to Shikamaru to gaze out the open window.

“You don’t have to burden yourself so much, you know.” Kakashi murmured.

Shikamaru didn’t answer.

Burdening himself…

Perhaps he was.

In a way even he himself couldn’t understand, Shikamaru had somehow ended up carrying many, many burdens.

Even though he found things bothersome, he’d somehow ended up behaving unlike himself, and carrying so many things. Even though all these burdens were getting far too heavy for him to bear, he couldn’t throw any of them away, either.

Shikamaru was scared to.

He got the feeling that he could end up throwing everything away, and losing himself in the process. He’d started out as someone who found everything bothersome. If he put down all his responsibilities and burdens for just one moment, then wasn’t it highly possible that he wouldn’t ever pick them back up?

And when that happened, then wouldn’t it be the case that nobody would need him anymore?

The thought alone was unbearably frightening.

“You know, I’m going to tell you what I really think now.” Kakashi lifted his left hand into the air, letting tiny but scaring bolts of lightning crackle in and out of existence. “Right now, I really want to abandon all my duties as the Hokage, and go to the Country of Silence to end this.”

Shikamaru could clearly hear the screaming frustration of Kakashi’s heart: how the man wanted to abandon everything to go and kill Gengo with his own two hands.

But the responsibilities of a Hokage’s position couldn’t be abandoned so easily.

“Honestly,” Kakashi said, “I think it’s inexcusable of me to burden you with this.”

“Naruto and me, and every other one of our peers, we’ve already all attained positions with burdens and responsibilities. There’s no need for you to carry them all by yourself.”

“Is that so…”

The lightning in Kakashi’s left hand melted away into nothing, and his rage disappeared to the usual melancholic smile.

“Shikamaru.” Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the Nara. “I wonder what it means to be an adult, sometimes.”

“Please don’t look to me for the answer to that. “ Shikamaru sighed.

-

“I’ll come back again.” Shikamaru said to the gravestone. Turning away, his eyes caught on the name engraved into the stone: Nara Shikaku.

Naturally, he’d wanted to visit his father’s grave after his meeting with Kakashi ended.

What did it mean to be an adult? It felt like he could find the answer to Kakashi’s question here, if anywhere.

In the Fourth Shinobi World War, his father had been with the Five Kage at the alliance’s headquarters. After the Five Kage had gone to the frontline of the battle due to the severity of the fight, Ino’s father and Shikamaru’s father had taken charge of giving directions to the whole army.

Then, Obito had resurrected the Ten Tails and made it send its explosive Tailed Beast Balls in order to cause chaos amidst the Union’s army. As the killing blow had approached, Shikaku’s last moments were spent thinking and conveying further strategies for the army.

He had been a Shinobi to the very end.

No…

The truth was that in his very last moments, Shikaku had been a father. Although the only one who knew that was Shikamaru, as his son.

What was it to be an adult?

Shikamaru thought about that for a while.

Saying goodbye to his father’s grave, Shikamaru’s feet took him to the next person he wanted to visit.

His teacher’s grave.

Sarutobi Asuma…

He was a man who had turned down the path of an elite that he’d been entitled to as the Third Hokage’s flesh and blood, and instead constantly stayed on the frontlines.

After Shikamaru graduated from the Academy, it was under Asuma’s care that he’d been raised into the shinobi he was today. Along with Ino and his best friend Chouji, the three of them had constantly been chasing Asuma’s back, struggling through missions.

Asuma, who’d gone through any crisis with a cigarette in his mouth and his same easy going attitude, had been everything Shikamaru aspired to be.

And yet, that Asuma could no longer be found in this world.

He’d died, in a battle against the ‘Akatsuki’ group who had been making schemes to take over the Earth.

He’d died for the sake of letting Shikamaru live…

Asuma had understood they had no chance of winning against the inhuman abilities of the Akatsuki member they had been faced against, and died while risking his life to protect Shikamaru and his other comrades.

He, too, had spent his last moments thinking of others.

Shikamaru had yet to find anything he would sacrifice himself to protect.

Of course, the people of his village and all his comrades were extremely precious to him. But it felt like those feelings were different from the extent of fierce protection that his father and Asuma had displayed.

Perhaps that meant that Shikamaru still hadn’t become an adult.

He thought that in the first place that ambiguous word ‘adult’ referred to a child who’d at some point simply become trapped in their own body.

In that case, even Kakashi was a child at heart.

But Kakashi already had something he’d trade his life to protect.

‘For a Hokage, every person in the village is his child.’ Those were the words of Asuma’s father, the Third Hokage Hiruzen.

Maybe when Kakashi chose to become Hokage, he’d become an adult.

He wasn’t sure about anything anymore…

“Shika niichan!”

Shikamaru was roused out of his pensive thoughts by the sound of that carefree voice reaching his ears.

A plump toddler was tottering towards him. Swaying left and right with clumsy little feet, she made her way towards him step by step.

“Mirai.” Shikamaru called her name, his voice naturally turning fond and cheerful. His tense features softened, and his mouth moved to turn into a smile.

“Gyaa!” Mirai finally came to where he stood, and clung onto his legs with her short little arms. “Shika niichan!”

The toddler looked up at him with dazzling bright eyes, her tiny face splitting into a wide grin. The toddler’s smile felt like the sun, and Shikamaru could feel his frozen over heart thawing with its warmth.

“It’s been a while, Shikamaru.”

“Kurenai-sensei.” Shikamaru greeted the dark haired woman that was Mirai’s mother.

“I’m not a sensei anymore, so you can stop calling me that.” She said, laughing.

Sarutobi Kurenai…

Originally, she was a jounin leader along with Kakashi and Asuma, in charge of a team made of Shikamaru’s other classmates. But now she was a mother who had devoted all her time to parenting.

“You came to visit Asuma’s grave?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“And your father’s grave?”

“I’ve just come from visiting him.”

Listening to their conversation and still clinging onto Shikamaru’s leg, Mirai smiled and lifted her head.

“Shika niichan! Met Papa!”

Although the toddler could only manage halting sentences, she was bursting with the need to convey everything she could. Looking down at Mirai, Shikamaru’s heart warmed up.

To become this child’s teacher…

It was a promise he’d made to both Asuma and Kurenai.

“I see, you came to see your Papa, huh?” Shikamaru crouched down so he could speak to her eye to eye.

Mirai gave a delighted nod at being understood.

“Wow, how great of you, Mirai.” Shikamaru said, gently patting her head. The soft feel of the toddler’s still downy hair seemed to travel along his arm and all the way to his heart, turning into a calming breeze that soothed his insides.

“Grow up soon, okay?”

“Mm.”

“You really love your Shikamaru niichan, huh Mirai?” Kurenai said.

Mirai nodded so hard she almost pitched herself forwards, and Shikamaru reached out to catch her with both hands.

For the sake of this child, he really couldn’t go and die just yet…

“Right!”

Mirai babbled the word with such timing, it almost felt like she’d read right into his heart.

“Well, thanks for liking me.”

Shikamaru picked up Mirai and lifted her into the air. As the two year old shrieked with delighted laughter, Shikamaru thought to himself one more time, much stronger than before:

I absolutely cannot die.

Standing in front of Shikamaru weretwo new, white faces: a cat and a monkey.

Of course, the animal faces wereonly masks, and from the neck down the two Anbu were completely human. Theywore jet black uniforms that clung to their skin, as well as the recently redesignedflak jackets of Konoha.

The old flak jackets used to have pockets on both sidesof the chest for shinobi to keep scrolls or ninja tools, but the new design haddone away with those and kept itself relatively simple. It was a side-effect ofthe peaceful era that had come into being after the end of the war.

Where there would have been eyes painted on the two Anbu’s masks, holes had been pierced like deep, dark caves. Both the maskshad thin mouths painted on, curving from cheek to cheek. The cat’s mask had thin red markings under its eyes. The monkey’s mask had thickly drawn red eyebrows that made it look like it was scowling in temper. Both the Anbu had their hands linked behind their backs, and the eye slits of their masks gave off such a feeling that Shikamaru felt like he was being sized up.

“If it’s these two, I think they can do everything you’ve been hoping for.” Kakashi said from where he was seated behind his desk.

From where Shikamaru was standing, the cat-masked Anbu was on the right, and the monkey-masked was on the left. The two Anbu had a very large height difference. The Monkey was 176 cm, slightly taller than Shikamaru, while the Cat barely came up to Shikamaru’s shoulders.

So, monkey-mask was male, and cat-mask was female…

Even without the height difference, their body structure made that much evident.

“Both of you, take off your masks.” Kakashi instructed.

The Anbu’s hands both lifted to reach for their masks at Kakashi’s command, slowly lowering them to reveal the human faces below.

It was an Anbu custom to wear the masks with animal faces. Since they mainly dealt in shady missions such as assassination or causing disturbances in foreign countries, they loathed to let anyone know of their identities. Even most of Konoha’s own citizens didn’t know who was and wasn’t in Anbu.

‘People who come and go from the village without eating anything are Anbu.’ There were lots of rumours and speculations like that.

“The man is Rou, and the girl is Soku.”

The two Anbu bowed their greetings to Shikamaru in time with Kakashi’s introduction.

“To have such a young girl in Anbu…“

“It’s unthinkable, right?” Soku cut into Shikamaru’s murmuring. “But in the world of Shinobi, competency is everything, and I entered the Anbu by proving the worth of my abilities, y’know.”

“She’s right.” Kakashi agreed with Soku.

Shikamaru couldn’t deny that he was surprised. Soku was extremely young. She was at least 5 or 6 years younger than Shikamaru, and must’ve only just come out of the Academy. She had slightly red cheeks, plump with baby fat, but also a thin mouth set in a grim frown that radiated determination. Her thin eyebrows were arched, and her eyes shined with self-confidence.

Something about her made Shikamaru feel like this was what Temari had looked like as a child.

“Hinoko was recognised for her abilities and scouted into Anbu the minute she graduated from the Academy. Despite only being 14 years old, she’s accomplished a great number of missions.” Kakashi said. “She’s very relied upon in the Anbu.”

“It’s not good to judge someone’s abilities based solely upon their appearances, y’know.” Soku said, puffing out her cheeks a bit. “And, Hokage-sama, I keep telling you not to call me by my real name, y’know.”

“Hinoko… It’s a very nice nam-”

In a blink, Soku had disappeared from Shikamaru’s line of view and before he knew what was happening, a finger glowing orange with barely restrained chakra was pressed against his forehead.

“I hate being called by my real name, y’know. Be careful not to do it.”

Shikamaru could feel a sort of frizzing static from the edge of Soku’s index finger.

Chakra was bursting from the edge of Soku’s fingertips…

“Stop that at once, Soku.”

The one who spoke was the man who’d carried the monkey mask. Kakashi had introduced him as Rou. He had thick eyebrows, a strong jaw and stubborn, one-lidded eyes that were glaring at Soku in disapproval.

“I have to make this clear from the start, y’know.” Soku retorted. “I won’t allow being looked down on for being a kid, y’know.”

“My bad. I’ll be careful in the future.” Shikamaru gave a simple apology. There was no need to aggravate the situation any further, and he didn’t have the time to deal with the young girl’s temper.

Soku turned her gaze away from Rou and back to Shikamaru.

“As long as you understand, y’know.” She turned her back on him and stomped back to where she had originally stood, taking on the same position with her hands behind her back.

“Rou can freely manipulate the quality and quantity of chakra; both his own, as well as that of anyone he targets and recognises.” Kakashi said, and Rou gave a small nod.

“Does that mean you can increase chakra as well?” Shikamaru asked.

“A smart question.” Kakashi commented.

“The chakra which I can change is only that which is perceived by others.” Rou said. “To explain, if I increased your chakra, Lord Shikamaru, I would not be able to change the actual fighting potential in the least. Your chakra would only seem larger in the perception of other persons. In other words, my jutsu cannot be efficient in the practice of deceit if the subject of my chakra manipulation does not participate in the deception.”

Rou had a very old-fashioned speech pattern, and coupled with his round, boulder-like appearance, he seemed more like a samurai than a ninja.

Shikamaru gave the man a nod to show him he understood his explanation, and then opened his mouth to speak again.

“When you say you can change the quantity of perceived chakra, does that mean that you can completely erase it as well?”

No matter how you looked at it, Rou was definitely in his forties. He was at least twenty years older than Shikamaru.

“That is certainly possible. I can make the chakra of any target disappear in the manner you’ve described, while also allowing you to trace them, Lord Shikamaru.”

With the man’s old fashioned way of speaking, Shikamaru had half-expected the word ‘track’ instead of trace, and felt a little fazed at the random modern word.

“I thought his jutsu would be the best suited for this job, but what do you think?” Kakashi asked.

“It’ll work. And the little one?” Shikamaru asked, turning to look at Soku.

The girl’s eyebrow twitched at being called ‘little one’. The child didn’t seem to be aware that she was a child. Shikamaru wasn’t sure yet if that was a good or bad thing for how useful she’d be on the mission.

“A demonstration would be good, wouldn’t it?” Kakashi said to Soku.

The girl nodded and turned around. She stretched out her left arm so it was facing the open window across Kakashi’s office. In line with the direction she was pointing, Shikamaru could see a single swallow flying outside.

“My jutsu is all about Chakra needles, y’know…” Soku murmured, and an orange flash of chakra burst out of her index finger.

At that moment, the swallow which had been startled by the loud sound had quickly swooped to hide behind a pillar outside the window.

If Soku had fired her chakra with this timing, there was no way she could hit her target. Her chakra would hit the pillar and just leave a scratch on its surface instead.

But…

There wasn’t a single scratch on the pillar, and from outside, the swallow gave a shrill, sharp cry.

Shikamaru hurried to the window. Leaning out and twisting his neck around, his eyes searched the ground around where swallow had been flying, and found the bird on the ground. It did indeed look dead.

“I don’t want you to misunderstand, y’know. I’m against a meaningless waste of life.” Soku spoke from behind him.

As she spoke, Shikamaru stared as the swallow slowly came back to its senses, waddling to its feet and getting up. Soon, it’d taken off again, flying even higher than before.

“I made my chakra revitalising when it pierced through the target this time, so that swallow probably feels much more energetic than it did a while ago, y’know.”

“How did you get it past the pillar?” Shikamaru asked, taking his hand off the window sill and turning to face Soku.

The little girl let out a delighted laugh that sounded her age for once, sticking out her tongue in childish mockery.

“Once I’ve aimed at my target, it doesn’t matter if they go out of my sight or not, my chakra needle will follow it anywhere, y’know. My needle won’t ever stop in its path until it hits its target.”

So.

Rou’s jutsu would erase their chakra’s presence, and let them infiltrate the enemy’s ranks undetected. When they came within reach of Gengo, Shikamaru would use his kagemane to bind him. And then the killing blow would come with the foolproof aim of Soku’s chakra needle.

It was alright.

They could really do it…

“Can I just ask you one thing?”

“You can, y’know.” Soku gave a smile brimming with confidence.

“Can you stop tacking ‘y’know’ onto the end of your sentences?”

*

They were coming.

The enemy.

Oto-nin.

Orochimaru’s underlings.

No, wait…

Since when was I being chased?

I was the one who was supposed to be chasing someone.

Someone who had to be saved.

Uchiha Sasuke.

A classmate who could do anything perfectly, with a nasty personality.

…But he was a comrade. He absolutely had to be saved.

I was leading a team for the first time. Failure wasn’t an option.

My comrades…

My comrades were being felled down, one after another.

Chouji.

Kiba.

Neji.

And then Naruto…

We were surrounded by sneering oto-nin.

I’m sorry…

I’m sorry, everyone.

Next time, I won’t fail again.

So please- please don’t die-

“PLEASE!”

Shikamaru woke up to the sound of his own desperate shouting, twisting out of his covers in a panic. His whole body was drenched with sweat.

He’d been dreaming…

It had been his first mission after making chuunin: to retrieve the missing-nin Uchiha Sasuke who’d left the village under Orochimaru’s guidance.

His comrades had been several classmates, and Neji. They’d lessened, one by one, as they chased after Sasuke. Shikamaru had made the decision to entrust everything to Naruto and take on a sound-nin in a fight.

And the result of that decision had been Sasuke leaving the village, and all his comrades sustaining serious injuries.

As a chuunin, as a leader, his first mission had ended in despairing failure.

Shikamaru placed a palm to his sweat soaked forehead, and slowly took in a deep breath.

Why did he see a dream like that?

Until now, he’d never seen those events in a dream.

Although, it was a fact that scars from that incident were still left in his heart. Shikamaru saw the Sasuke Retrieval mission as his biggest disgrace, and never failed to think of it whenever he was judging himself.

He’d never again been cornered like he had been on that day…

Dreams were a manifestation of your subconscious.

Then, do I feel like I’m being cornered right now?

“It’s alright…it’s alright, Shikamaru…”

Although it was unlike him to try and soothe himself, the words slipped out of Shikamaru’s mouth before he could stop them. His heart was still hammering, blood roaring against his ear drums like a steady warning bell.

It didn’t look like he’d be able to fall sleep again tonight.

They were going to set out at sunrise.

A bunch of ten year old boyscrossed the street, laughing with seemingly endless cheer. In the distancebehind them, a grim-faced man in his thirties was hurrying somewhere.

The children were probably headingto the Academy, while the man was likely going to work.

On the side of the street, therewas a store that sold side-dishes in the early mornings, its storefront surrounded with housewives gossiping with animated gestures.

It was a usual morning’s usual scenery.

On this peaceful morning, Shikamaru was striding along the main street that started from Konoha’s wide open front gates and continued straight to the Hokage Residence. The street ended behind the residence, at the Hokage Monument where all the past generations of Hokage were carved into the mountain.

Shikamaru’s destination was the latter. He had some business there.

Usually, when shinobi received missions outside the village, they left Konoha through the main gates. There wasn’t any particular regulation that said they had to, but it was somewhat of a tradition.

The Anbu were the only exception. They dealt with many top secret missions, so in order to keep their departures unknown to Konoha’s citizens, it had been arranged for them to leave through the back gates found in the mountain behind the Hokage Residence.

That back gate was Shikamaru’s destination. This time’s mission was being kept a secret from everyone in the village. The only ones who knew were Kakashi, a handful of senior shinobi, and, of course, Shikamaru himself as well as the accompanying Rou and Soku.

He’d left the business of covering up his absence from the village to Kakashi. If anyone asked where he was, they’d be told Shikamaru had Union business outside the village bounds.

The ideal scenario was to sneak out of the village without anyone noticing his departure, and come back before anyone was bothered by his absence.

“Hm?” As Shikamaru quickly made his way to the back gate, he noticed a blonde haired man in his field of vision.

The blonde noticed him as well.

“Yoo, if it isn’t Shikamaru! What’re you hurrying for?”

You wouldn’t have believed the two were the same age, by the childish grin that lit up the man’s features as he hurried to his friend. His cheeks had three whisker-like lines across each side, and his blue eyes were free of any doubt or hesitation.

“That’s what I should be asking you. What’re you doing up this early, Naruto?”

Uzumaki Naruto.

He was the hero who had shown everyone the way to ending the last great war, the son of the Fourth Hokage. The Nine Tails had been sealed into him as soon as he was born, and he grew up facing prejudice from his surroundings, and yet he’d never once wavered in his goal to become Hokage, and kept on walking down his path. That was the kind of man Naruto was.

Right now, he was a strong candidate to become the next Hokage after Kakashi.

“I couldn’t really sleep last night,” Naruto said, “So when I woke up this morning I went to eat some ramen at Ichiraku’s straight away, and now I’m heading back home.”

“You went to that shop this early?”

“Lately, they’ve been open for business 24/7.” Naruto looked incredibly happy about the fact.

“No, I mean, you’re eating ramen so early in the morning…”

“I’m always good to eat ramen, whether morning or noon or night!”

“Hey, that’s not something to be boasting about.”

“Half of my body’s probably made of ramen.” Naruto seriously said, puffing out his chest with pride.

Shikamaru let out a sigh.

“You’re now known as the hero who ended the war. Try and look after your body more.”

“Heroes are heroes, and ramen is ramen!”

“…That reasoning makes no sense.”

“Hahaha.” Naruto laughed, sheepishly rubbing a finger across the bridge of his nose.

That behaviour of his hadn’t changed a bit since the Academy. Naruto always lived his life with a very pure, straight-forward outlook. It was that outlook of his that had changed his surroundings- even changed Shikamaru.

Naruto, who had been seen as the bane of the village, had kept his pure heart and slowly made more and more comrades that stood by his side.

In the end, Naruto had even managed to save his friend Uchiha Sasuke who had fallen to the depths of darkness, full of resentment towards the whole world.

Saving him wasn’t an easy feat.

No…

Rather, it was something that no one other than Naruto could have done.

The dream Naruto had been holding close to his chest ever since he was a child was only one: to become Hokage.

He had had no relatives to give him a kind word, and the only way he could get attention from others was by his repeated pranks, but still he kept insisting that he would one day become Hokage.

In the beginning, nobody had believed Naruto could ever do it. But now, there wasn’t a single person in the village who thought anyone but Naruto would be the next Hokage.

Naruto was the sun.

He had a brilliant flame within him that never so much as flickered, constantly burning. It was because of how brightly he shined that he was the sun. Everyone who saw that passion of his opened their hearts to him, and became his comrade.

Up until now, and till the end of time, Shikamaru felt like Naruto would continue moving forwards without that flame of his ever wavering.

And that was the way it should be. Someday, Naruto would be Hokage, gain even more of the village’s trust, and then keep shining, brighter and brighter still.

For the sake of that brightness, something like the sun couldn’t know about the darkness in the world.

Until now, Naruto had waged war against countless people who’s hearts had swayed towards darkness, but he himself had never gone crooked.

‘No matter how far someone sinks into darkness, a part of their heart will long for the light.’

Naruto fought because he truly believed that. Shikamaru had seen him change the hearts of his enemies with that same ideal many, many times.

No matter how much darkness surrounded him, Naruto never lost his light.

That’s why Naruto didn’t really know the true meaning of ‘darkness’.

There would always be darkness in the hearts of human beings. Thinking you could save everyone was an impossible ideal.

No matter how frantically you reached out to save people and lead them towards light, there would always be those few who slipped through your fingers, continuing down the path of darkness. It was the way of the world.

But Naruto didn’t think like that. No matter how hopeless the situation, he would never give up on saving everyone from that sort of fate.

That was the kind of man Naruto was.

And Shikamaru didn’t want him to change.

Naruto was someone who was supposed to stay pure and straightforward, a shining sun.

The more the light shines, the darker the shadows grow.

But as long as there was someone to take on the burden of those shadows, it would be fine.

Shikamaru thought that it was his duty to be that ‘someone’.

Wasn’t it only natural for a shadow jutsu user to take on the burden of darkness?

Naruto would become Hokage, and Shikamaru would support him as his right hand man. That was Shikamaru’s dream: to stay by Naruto’s side and sort out any shadows that could interfere with his light.

The moment that thought passed through Shikamaru’s head, he suddenly understood himself.

Why had he been so stubborn about volunteering to go to the Country of Silence?

It had been for Naruto’s sake, of course.

If the Country of Silence continued to grow more powerful, then Naruto would eventually end up suffering. The Country of Silence would be a huge obstacle for him.

That’s why Shikamaru was going to go and nip it in the bud.

He had decided to bear all of the shadows that would try to interfere with Naruto’s light, after all. That included dealing with future obstacles as well.

“So, what’re you doing out?” Naruto asked, breaking into Shikamaru’s reverie.

“I’m taking a walk.”

“This early in the morning?”

“Naruto,” Shikamaru deadpanned. “Me taking a walk is nowhere near as weird as you eating ramen at this hour.”

“Well, that’s true.”

They both laughed.

“Do you have the day off?” Shikamaru asked.

“No way. Because a certain someone keeps giving me pain in the neck missions, I haven’t had a day off in half a year, you know. I’m going on another mission at noon.”

That ‘certain someone’ was, of course, Shikamaru.

“They’re missions I’m picking out for your sake, so stop your complaining.”

“But I still want to take a break for just a biiit.”

“You’re being eyed as a candidate to be the next Hokage. It’s too important a time for breaks. Be more self-aware, Naruto.”

“I get that… But just one-”

“No buts.” Shikamaru said, like one would scold a child. “Everyone in the village approves of you. But it’s exactly because they approve that you need to take on even more missions, so people can think ‘ahh, what would we do if Naruto wasn’t here’. It’s already been two years since the war ended, you can’t naively think everyone’s approval will be guaranteed with your actions from that time.”

“Alright, alright…” Naruto pouted just a bit before giving a great stretch. “My stomach’s full, so I’ll think I’ll go home and sneak in a nap.”

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t oversleep.”

“I won’t.” Naruto laughed at the serious look on his face, and started walking back.

“Oi, Naruto.” Shikamaru called over his shoulder.

“What?” Naruto turned around.

“You’re the man who’ll become Hokage. Don’t forget that.”

“I never go back on my word,” Naruto promised. “That’s my ninja way.”

“Never going back on your word.” Shikamaru paused. “It’s my ninja way too.”

“Yeah.” Naruto raised his right hand in a great wave, and then turned to go on his way.

After watching his back for a while, Shikamaru turned around to go on his own path as well.

“I’m definitely going to make you Hokage.”

Shikamaru had long decided he wasn’t ever going to go back on those words.

-

“I made you wait, huh.”

Shikamaru was directing the words towards Rou and Soku.

This time’s mission involved infiltrating the country as well as assassinating the target. It wasn’t something that could be done completely under the radar. That’s why the two weren’t wearing their masks.

“We have several mission objectives.” Shikmaru said. “Surveying the situation in the country of silence. Searching for Sai and the 10 Anbu who we lost contact with. But the highest priority goes to assassinating the man named Gengo.”

The pair silently nodded.

Kakashi hadn’t come to see them off. The three shinobi were the only people near the closed back gates. It was hidden within a cluster of trees at the base of the mountain. Despite it being a bright morning, the gates looked wet and gloomy.

“Ah well, since we will be carrying out assassination, then we must make sure there’s no observation…” Rou’s nostril’s flared as he emphasised ‘observation’.

Shikamaru stared at him, bewildered at what he could mean.

“Your joke totally fell flat, y’know.” Soku told Rou.

The man looked flustered, an embarrassed sweat drop clinging to his forehead.

“He was trying to make a joke, ‘know.” Soku explained to Shikamaru with an ‘I’m so sorry about this’ look on her face. “You were talking about us surveying the situation, and since surveying has a similar meaning to observing, he made that joke about our assassination not being observed, since it’s secret…Basically, this old man tends to make bad jokes like that every now and then, so it’d be a good idea to watch out, y’know.”

Shikamaru swallowed down the urge to make a witty retort, and cleared his throat, trying to reclaim the serious atmosphere.

“When we go past the gate, we start running, alright?”

“We’re aware, y’know.” Soku cheerfully answered.

Rou, who’d turned somewhat red-faced with embarrassment, also gave a nod.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

And with that, the three of them finally heaved open the back gates.

Temari stood behind Gaara’s back,watching his crimson hair swaying in the wind. Looking at him, she thought toherself that her little brother had really grown splendidly.

They were standing on top of ahill, gazing down at the brilliant view of Suna from above. The people in their village called this hill “the wind’s reading spot” because the wind never stopped blowing up here, all year round. Temari knew very well that Gaara was the only one who came up here despite the strong wind to enjoy the view of the village.

“Do you need anything, nee-san?” Gaara asked. He tilted his head back to look at her, and Temari could see the lone kanji for ‘love’ that was tattooed onto his forehead.

Several years ago, if anyone in the village had heard the name “Gaara” they would shudder in fear. But look at her little brother now. He was the leader of Suna, and a vital authority in the alliance holding all shinobi together. Gaara had become an existence the Shinobi World couldn’t do without.

It was all thanks to Naruto.

Gaara had a bijuu inside him ever since he was born, all throughout his childhood. He used to believe in “loving only oneself” and had accepted the rest of the world to be his enemy, not letting anyone near. The old Gaara hadn’t even let his elder sister Temari or older brother Kankurou anywhere near entering his heart. Even if he didn’t say it out loud, his whole body, his actions of losing himself in the throes of bloodlust, all the things he did transmitted those words loud and clear.

Naruto was the only one who had managed to reach Gaara.

Naruto simply couldn’t abandon Gaara, not when he was a fellow jinchuuriki who’d lived the same life he had. After exchanging blows in a fierce battle that surpassed the limits of normal humans, the two slowly came to understand each other. When Gaara’s bijuu was removed from his body by the Akatsuki and he was on the brink of death, Naruto had pumped as much of his own chakra into him as he could, not holding back in the slightest. Gaara had recognised him as a ‘friend’.

Gaara had been changing ever since he met Naruto. His cold demeanour disappeared. The way he treated and spoke to Temari and Kankurou changed. His attitude towards the village changed. His feelings towards the people in their village changed.

And in the end, Gaara was recognised by everyone.

Temari was eternally grateful to Naruto for that. She thought that the village of Konoha overall was likeable. Their villagers held a strong pride as shinobi, and many of them were logical people.

Suddenly, that guy’s face flashed across her mind. There was a stinging pain inside Temari’s chest all of a sudden, and she irritably clicked her tongue.

“Is something wrong, neesan?”

“Eh? No…”

Gaara was looking at her, worry transparent in his eyes. Temari could feel his concern so keenly that it hurt, and looked away from his gaze.

The village of Suna was always parched for water. Being right in the middle of the desert, it never rained. And sand always got mixed in with the wind as well.

“I got a little sand in my eye, that’s all.”

“That’s rare.” Gaara mildly said. “That doesn’t usually happen to you, neesan.”

“Th- that’s true…”

Those born in Suna were accustomed to the relationship between its sand and wind, used to handling it. Even in a dust storm, no suna-nin’s eyes would ever sting because of sand.

Temari’s line about ‘sand getting in her eyes’ was a blatant lie and excuse.

“Shikamaru…” Gaara suddenly said that guy’s name, and Temari was caught so off guard she couldn’t stop herself from stiffening.

Although his sister had stiffened up as if in response to an enemy attack, Gaara didn’t say anything about her sudden guarded posture, and simply went on speaking indifferently.

“I feel like he’s been behaving strangely lately. The last time I saw him at the Union’s Headquarters, it seemed like his heart wasn’t in his actions. I got the feeling he was working himself too hard.”

“You think so too, huh.” Temari said.

Gaara nodded. “I used to not care about other people, but now I’m extremely careful to take notice of others’ behaviour and appearances. Maybe that’s why I’m sensitive to the movement of other’s hearts.”

Of course, her brother was, at the root, a very serious person. Once he believed he should do something, he put his all into diligently carrying it out. It was because of that he was able to open his heart to everyone so completely.

It wasn’t a surprise that her brother should notice the subtle changes in Shikamaru’s behaviour, when he was so careful about reading others in general.

“He’s hiding something.”

“Mm…” Temari let out a sound of agreement.

“He’s someone who thinks about the future of the Union and shinobi over all more seriously than anyone else.” Gaara said. “I don’t think he would do anything that could threaten the Union.”

Gaara was referencing the fact that each hidden village participating in the Union had the duty to report any problems inside or outside their jurisdiction. He was also referencing the fact that both he and Temari had noticed Shikamaru was holding back reporting some situation happening in Konoha. Any problem that made him act like that was very likely a problem that affected all the shinobi villages.

“Do you have any idea what he could be holding back, neesan?”

“I wonder if I do.”

It was natural that Gaara would ask her. Temari was the one who worked with Shikamaru the most within the entire Union.

“It’s not that I don’t have an idea what it is…” Temari said. “I’m just not sure if I’m right.”

Gaara nodded, silently listening.

“He’d been seriously investigating the shinobi who went missing in action during the war, and the recent cases of missing-nin in the villages.”

At Temari’s reply, Gaara took his eyes off her and gazed down at the village again. A furrow came between his brows.

He was thinking.

The wind suddenly picked up. Bits of sand scraped across their foreheads, a familiar pain.

“Let’s ask Naruto.” Gaara murmured. “Will you go, neesan?”

“Yes.” Temari was startled by how eager her voice sounded.

“Of course, you should ask Kakashi too, but he’ll definitely find a way to avoid answering, so ask Naruto about Shikamaru first.” Gaara said, “If it turns out that Shikamaru’s confronting a grave situation, then we must do nothing less than try to save him with our full strength. If you feel like shinobi from Suna are needed, take as many with you as you need.”

“…Shikamaru’s a shinobi of Konoha, you know?”

“We’re long past the era where we care about things like ‘Suna shinobi’ or ‘Konoha shinobi’. He’s a man who’s necessary to the Union. It’s natural that we would support him.”

“…Thank you.”

“This isn’t something you need to thank me for, neesan.”

One small tear had slipped its way down Temari’s cheek. Impatiently wiping it away, she looked at her little brother with a wide grin.

“Somehow, the sand keeps getting in my eyes today.”

*

“Hey Sakura-chan, are you listening?” Naruto irritably asked, leaning his elbows against a pile of books that came all the way up to his chest. He was speaking to Sakura’s back as she was rushing along the length of the bookshelf that covered the wall.

“Ya know, Sai hasn’t been around for over a month now, and Shikamaru’s suddenly turned incredibly cold and stiff around me. Hey, don’t you think he’s hiding something from me?”

“I don’t!”

Sakura’s exasperated voice made Naruto wince.

“What happened to your mission?”

“It ended today.”

“Then quickly go to Ichiraku’s, eat some ramen, head home and sleep!”

“Whaaaaat, but it’s been so long since you stopped by the Hokage Residence. You’ve finally shown your face…You’re acting so cold as an original member of team 7.”

Sakura furiously turned around to face her pouting friend.

“Right now, I’m already overwhelmed with working with Tsunade-sama on developing a system for medicinal jutsu, as well as working on the structure of the Union’s system. I’ve got to go through documents left over from Tsunade-sama’s time as Hokage! I don’t have any free time! I can’t listen to your gossiping! Understand?”

Huffing, she turned back to face the shelves.

“Besides, haven’t you been hanging out with Hinata lately? Wouldn’t it be a better idea to go and have her listen to you properly instead of bothering me?”

“What? Are you jealous?”

Sakura turned around with a furious expression, her fist slamming against Naruto’s head.

“Obviously not! I decided to wait for Sasuke-kun, you know!”

“Y-yes ma’am…” Naruto answered. Suddenly his eyes changed to look a bit more serious, and Sakura, noticing, paid a little more attention to what he was saying.

“But lately, ya know, I’ve just had this really bad feeling.”

“Is the Nine Tails making a fuss?”

The Nine Tails was still living inside Naruto. There were also remnants of the other 8 bijuu inside him as well. In that way, you could say he was a human pillar for the power of the Ten Tails. In the last war, Obito had become a human pillar for the Ten Tails and gained chakra rivalling that of the Sage of the Six Paths. Naruto, who’d taken the bijuu into him as well, had some of the Sage’s power even now. His ‘bad feelings’ were different from a normal human’s, and Sakura knew it too.

“Don’t you think you’re misunderstanding something?”

“You’re cruel, giving my judgement zero trust…” Naruto muttered, flopping onto the floor in a sulk.

“It’s because if you are rightly worried, there’s nothing you can do. Both Sai and Shikamaru are brilliant shinobi. Even if they end up in a situation where need your help, then they’ll ask for it. And if they can’t, then the Hokage will tell you to go save them.”

“Ehhh, I can’t trust Kakashi-sensei to know when to do that.”

“You’re much worse than he is!” Sakura exploded, giving him a kick in the shin. Naruto shot back to his feet, wearily keeping a distance.

“Stop talking about things you can’t help, and concentrate on your missions. That’s what Sai and Shikamaru would both want you to do. Especially Shikamaru. He’s been working himself to the bone in the Union and the village so you can become Hokage! You can’t let all that be in vain.”

“I know he’s working for me…but that’s exactly why I’m worried, ya know.”

Sakura let out a sigh.

“Get a hold of yourself. They’re comrades who’ve believed in you all this time, they’re not gonna die meaningless deaths.”

“Don’t talk so ominously about death!”

“Oh, for goodness sake! I say one thing you get upset, I say another you still get upset. You’re being a real pain, ya know!” Sakura used Naruto’s own phrase against him. “Go home and sleep!”

Sakura threw Naruto out of the room.

Shikamaru’s team ran for three days regardless of whether it was day or night, before they finally reachedthe Country of Silence.

The Country of Silence was a relatively small country, located towards the West of the continent. Most of it was surrounded by mountains and forests, and the remaining land was dotted with fields. None of the towns in those fields were anywhere near the size of a village in Fire Country. The Country of Silence would have felt like a rustic and rural countryside even to the three original founders of Konoha.

The country’s capital, Curtain Village*, was located almost in the very centre of the country. Since they were sneaking in from the country’s borders, Shikamaru and his team had to constantly run through hills and valleys. By the time they reached Curtain Village, it had been about four days since they’d left Konoha.

Although it was a poor country, the capital still had all the splendour of a metropolis. While rest of the country’s villages had had houses with straw thatched roofs, even the smallest home in the capital had a tiled roof. There were many buildings made with reinforced concrete, and the streets were clean and well landscaped. Roads spread out around the city in the same shape as a spider’s web, expanding in radials from the centre of the city. In the little sections separated by those roads, houses and apartments were lined up side by side.

One very large building out in the middle of the city. If one were to look at the city from a distance, this building would be the only one to stand out from amongst the others. It was around 10 storeys high, with a crimson tiled roof, and on the left and right edge of the roof were two gold-coloured lion statues.

“Ahh, this must be the country’s castle which we seek.”

“There’s no need to sound so smug about stating the obvious, y’know.”

Shikamaru half kept an eye on the castle, and half listened to Rou and Soku’s conversation as they walked down the main street.

Of course, they had all long changed out of their Konoha flak jackets.

Just as the customs of every country are different, so is the clothing. Rou and Soku had advised that they should procure their clothing locally so as not to stand out during their infiltration, and Shikamaru had bowed to their experience as Anbu. Along the way to the capital, they’d stopped at the richest looking mansion they could find and gathered clothes for the three of them.

The clothing worn by the people in the Country of Silence was very simple, without any patterns to speak of. The top was an uwagi** robe, wrapped around the chest and tied with a cloth belt. From the waist down, there were wide hakama**, with their cuffs stuffed into laced up boots which came up to the shin.

The clothes’ colours were as droll as the design. Everyone who walked in the Curtain Village wore either black or brown or grey. Even the stores on the streets didn’t have any bright lights or neon signs, their advertisements dull and sombre.

There wasn’t a single bright thing to be found in the entire city.

“Have you noticed, Lord Shikamaru?” Rou asked from his position in front.

Shikamaru was stuck between the two Anbu on their insistence. Rou was their front guard.

The man’s question was very vague. He wasn’t specifying what it was that Shikamaru was supposed to have noticed, so there was no way of replying to him.

“We have yet to see a single one of the Daimyou’s attendants.” Rou specified.

“That’s true.” Shikamaru agreed.

As the two conversed, they were heading towards the direction of the castle. It wasn’t with any intention to start the operation now, but simply from the habit people had of walking towards the largest building in the vicinity. Shikamaru had absolutely no intention of rushing or rashly leaping into the middle of things and risking the mission going south.

“All the people we have seen on the street so far have been the country’s citizens. It is extremely strange to not have seen a single attendant.”

Rou’s observation was right on the mark.

The rulers of countries within their continent were always, without exception, Daimyou. Unions within the Shinobi World were all very well, but shinobi never, ever took the front stage of politics. And Daimyou’s always lived in the capital city of their country, with their places of residence brimming over with the attendants who served them.

Those attendants differentiated themselves from the country’s citizens with great pride, from their colourful clothing to their overbearing and arrogant attitudes. They were always rushing about the capital where their Damyou lived, going around on errands for him.

And yet, they hadn’t seen a single one of those attendants.

“It’s possible there isn’t a Daimyou, y’know.” Soku murmured.

That could be the case. Small countries did sometimes have cases where citizens of the country made it appear like they had a Daimyou in charge while handling matters themselves.

But this country was different. Shikamaru was very sure of that.

He turned around in Soku’s direction, his eyes glancing towards the castle they’d now left behind them.

“Sai’s message clearly said that this country is being controlled by a man named Gengo.”

“But it’s possible he’s not a Daimyou, y’know.”

“You have a point.” As Shikamaru said that, his eye fell on a man who was walking in front of the group.

He was wearing a long, black cloak, and had a sharp, cutting look in his eyes. His clothing stood out amidst the hamakas and uwagis worn by the other citizens.

The design reminded Shikamaru of the Akatsuki’s cloaks, although this man’s clothing didn’t have those red clouds, or the high collar to cover his mouth. There was no seam or fastener down the middle either, only five large, silver buttons.

“See that man in front of us? We saw some others dressed like him too. Don’t you feel like you’re reminded of something when you see them?” Shikamaru asked.

“I say, I noticed that as well, Lord Shikamaru.”

“Wouldn’t a person normally wait a bit instead of immediately agreeing…?” Soku asked.

“Those clothes…the clothes make the target, after all.” Rou made another one of his bad jokes.

“We all want you to shut up, y’know.” Soku groaned.

Ignoring their bantering, Shikamaru continued speaking.

“Rou, what about that man over by the side of the street? He doesn’t look familiar to you at all?”

As Shikamaru spoke, he inclined his head slightly towards a tea house on the busy street.

Rou looked over his shoulder to follow the line of sight Shikamaru was indicating.

“It…It can’t be…”

“Eh? What’s going on? I don’t understand what you two’re so worked up about, y’know…”

“So I was right.” Shikamaru grimly said. “I kept getting the feeling he was a familiar face.”

He and Rou were looking towards a man seated at one of the benches in front of the tea house, and drinking tea. He, too, was wearing a long coat that stood out.

As they watched, the man called out for the owner of the tea house. An old shopkeeper immediately rushed out from the tea house’s interior, bowing his head several times and gushing praise and excuses towards the man.

That style of buttering someone up was exactly how citizens usually behaved to the Daimyou’s attendants.

“He used to be in the Anbu,” Rou said, stunned. “His name is Minoichi.”

“That man…”

“Was supposed to have gone missing in action during the war, right?” Soku guessed, finishing Shikamaru’s sentence for him.

The three of them kept walking past the tea house, careful not to let their observation of Minoichi be noticed.

“It’d be fastest to get the answers to this incident firsthand, wouldn’t it?” Shikamaru said.

Fireworks were going off inside Shikamaru’s heart. His mouth twitched up in a smile.

-

“You won’t be able to move anymore.” Shikamaru drawled to the frantically twitching man in front of him.

They were in an alley between two of the concrete buildings. Shikamaru had specifically chosen this place because it wasn’t a hotspot, practically abandoned even in the middle of the day.

Rou and Soku were keeping watch at where the alley opened up to the main street. They’d blended into the shadows as expected of their experience in Anbu, staying completely motionless and concentrating fully on the task at hand.

A shadow even darker and deeper than the shade of the alley was extended from Shikamaru’s feet. It had crawled along the alleyway like a jet black snake, all the way up and around the body of the man in front of him. The shadow tendrils turned into dark hands around curled snugly around his captive’s neck.

The Kagemane Neck Binding Jutsu…

Shikamaru’s family, the Nara Clan, had been shadow jutsu users for generations. The Kagemane Neck Binding jutsu let you use your own shadow to stop your opponent’s movements. The Nara shadows were physical embodiments. Their jutsu didn’t stop at just binding with their shadows- they could inflict physical harm with them as well.

“Just letting you know.” Shikamaru dryly said. “I can very easily crush your neck with my shadow.”

“H-How…Wh-why’re you…bastard…”

“You don’t know me?” Shikamaru asked of the Anbu. “I know you, Minoichi-san.”

“I- I don’t know that name.”

“Don’t play dumb. You were originally a shinobi from Konoha, weren’t you?”

“I- I said I don’t know it.”

Shikamaru’s shadow moved along the man’s throat, dark hands tightening around Minoichi’s adam’s apple.

“Ugh…” He let out an anguished groan.

“You were born in Konoha.” Shikamaru said. “You must’ve heard about the Nara clan’s jutsu at some point, right? And what it can do…”

If you keep this up, I’m going to strangle you to death.

That was the threat Shikamaru was making.

“So why’re you, a Konoha shinobi, in a place like this, wearing clothes like that?”

“I-I’m not a shinobi, anymore.” Minoichi hoarsely said. “I am…an enlightened one.”

“Enlightened one? What do you mean by that?”

“P-people like you who sluggishly live in the…never changing world of Shinobi…could never understand our noble will.”

“Look at you babbling. I asked you who these ‘enlightened ones’ are.” Shikamaru willed a little more strength into the fingertips of his shadow around the man’s neck.

“Geugh…” Minoichi groaned.

“I’m fine with strangling you if you keep this up.” Even Shikamaru himself felt sick at the words coming out of his mouth.

His heart was getting covered in darkness…

“There’s no way you could understa- neugh!”

Shikamaru had tightened his shadow’s hold firmly around Minoichi’s bobbing Adam’s apple.

“If you keep up that idle talk, I’m really going to kill you.”

Shikamaru’s pupils had dilated to leave his eyes almost as dark as his shadows.

“I-I…understand…”

“Shouldn’t that be, ‘I understand, sir’?” *

“I…understand…sir…”

Shikamaru weakened his shadow’s hold, and Minoichi immediately began coughing and spluttering, tears in his eyes.

“Now, you’re going to answer me. Who exactly are you ‘enlightened ones’? What’re people who were originally shinobi doing gathered around here?”

Seeing the ruthless expression on Shikamaru’s face, Minoichi took in a deep breath, and started talking.

“We ‘enlightened ones’ rule this country. There aren’t any low born Daimyous around anymore. The title ‘enlightened one’ is earned when you are a shinobi who has opened their eyes to the noble ideals of Gengo-sama. Our goal is to create a true revolution in this world together with Gengo-sama. Anything you scum plot or scheme is powerless before him. Anything you hear from me won’t let you understand the truth of this country…!” Minoichi began to laugh, opening his jaws to bite down on his tongue in a suicide attempt.

“Stop!”

For a moment, Shikamaru was sure Minoichi was dead, slumped to the side from biting his tongue. But then, his eyes caught up with his brain.

In an instant, something had flown and pierced the side of Minoichi’s neck…

“I used a paralysing chakra needle for him, so he won’t be able to move for three days or so, y’know.”

It was Soku who spoke. She had come to stand at his side without Shikamaru even noticing.

“Feh, ‘enlightened ones’…that sounds both arrogant and annoying, y’know.” Soku said, glaring down at the knocked out Minoichi.

The ex-shinobi’s face looked disturbingly peaceful in his paralysed sleep.

-

Footnotes:

* Yes, Curtain Village is really the name. I couldn’t believe it either. I spent 20 minutes looking for a kanji that didn’t exist, lol.

** The clothing described is easier explained seen than read.

*** This is a little tricky. Basically, Minoichi said ‘I understand’ with casual language, but Shikamaru demanded he use polite inflections. Adding ‘sir’ was the closest I could get to that sentiment.

The Tobishachimaru jumped up for a moment. Subsequently, the ship dropped onto a plank of ice that was produced by Kahyo’s Jisarenhyou.
その衝撃で、またゴンドラの一部が崩れ落ちた。 Due to that impact, another portion of the gondola crumbled apart.
華氷は、印を結んだまま、険しい顔つきで術に集中している。よほどの負担がかかっているのだろう、その腕はブルブル震え、髪は逆立ち、ぎゅっと結んだ口の端からは流血していた。 While Kahyo activated the seals, she had a grim look on her face as she was concentrating on the jutsu. Since it was probably a great burden that was dependent upon her (will), (Kahyo’s) arms shivered and trembled. Her hair stood on end. From tightly (clamping her mouth shut), there was bloodshed from end of her mouth.
チャクラをまとった氷の板は、まるで飛鯱丸の船底から生え出してくるかのように、その行く手にどんどんのびてゆく。 Because of the chakra embedded into the plank of ice, it seemed as though it was beginning to completely grow forth from the bottom of the Tobishachimaru. That path gradually continued to extend.
雲海に頭から突っ込むと、雲がブワッと押し広げられ、船を吞み込んだ。 Beginning to plunge into the sea of clouds, they were forcibly spread apart with a ‘buwa’ (/whoosh) sound. (The clouds) engulfed the ship.
気流に流されそうになるたびに、氷の触手が船体を強引に引き戻した。 Every time the air current (attempted to derail) the ship, tentacles of ice forcibly restored the hull (back onto the plank of ice).
「このまま船を着陸させる…」食いしばった歯のあいだから、華氷は言葉を押し出した。 “I will make the ship land as it is…” Through the space between her gritted teeth, Kahyo pushed out her words.
「絶対に成功させてみせる」 “I will certainly make it succeed”
雲の中は灰一色で、なにも見えない。 They could not see anything, aside from the single ashen colour from within the clouds.
急激な落下に、耳が気圧の変化についていけない。固唾を呑むと、耳をふさいでいた空気が抜けて、風の音が鮮明になった。 Due to the sudden drop, their ears could not adjust to the change in atmospheric pressure. They gulped the saliva that they were holding within their mouths due to the tense situation. Closing up their ears, the air escaped. Then, the sound of the wind became distinctive.
気嚢は、ほんの一分足らずで、ほとんど骨格だけになった。燃え残った骨組みが、黒くくすぶっている。 In just under a minute, the air sac had become merely a skeleton. The remnants of the burning framework (was emitting) black smoke.
The fire should still have things to burn through, as though it could invade further and towards the front. Overhead Kakashi and Kahyo, there was nothing but blue flames and grey clouds.
飛鯱丸は雲を突き破って、落下を続けた。右に左にぶれたが、そのたびに華氷がつららでガードを作って、船が板の上から滑り落ちないようにした。 As the Tobishachimaru continued to fall, it broke through the clouds. Each time the ship shook right or left, Kahyo produced guards of icicles in order to prevent it from slipping off the top of the plank.
大破した飛鯱丸は、ぐんぐん高度を下げていく。 The Tobishachimaru sustained serious damages. Steadily, the altitude continued to drop.
と、体がふわりと浮き上がるような感じがした。 Then, they felt as though their bodies were gently floating.
「！？」 「！？」
カカシの体は、実際、一瞬宙に浮いていた。 For an instant, Kakashi’s body was practically floating in mid-air.
「どうしたんだ！？」 “What’s happening!?”
「水分が足りない！」華氷が叫びかえす。「氷を作るための水分が足りないの！」 “There’s not enough moisture!” Kahyo shouted back. “There’s not enough moisture in order to produce ice!”
「！」 「！」
破れた厨房の床から下をのぞくと、それまで飛鯱丸をのせていた氷の板は、跡形もなく消えていた。 Peeking through below the torn kitchen flooring, (Kakashi saw that) the plank of ice that the Tobishachimaru was placed upon….had vanished. There were no longer even traces of it.
はるか下方には、黄色の大地が広がっている。紅葉している山々、そしてキラキラ光る川が流れていた。 Far away below, the yellow ground stretched outwards. The mountains were an autumn colour. And then there were glittering and sparkling rivers that were flowing.
氷の支えを失った飛鯱丸は、ほとんど垂直に落下していた。 The Tobishachimaru lost it’s supportive ice. It was almost falling vertically.
高度が五千メートルを切ったことは、待ちかねたように飛来した土影を見て、分かった。 As the altitude cut through 5,000 metres, (Kakashi) knew that the Tsuchikage would be impatiently waiting and come flying (towards them)
黒ツチと赤ツチをしたがえたオオノキが、飛鯱丸にならぶ。 Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi were accompanied by Oonoki. They lined up at the Tobishachimaru.
「おい、カカシ、どうやらこれまでのようじゃぜ！」土影が呼ばわった。「お前らだけなら助けてやれる……女、カカシ、飛び移れ！」 “Oi! Kakashi, one way or another, it seems like this is it!” The Tsuchikage shouted. “If it’s just you guys, I can save you…Lady and Kakashi, jump (onto us)!”
カカシと華氷は、眼を見交わした。 Kakashi and Kahyo exchanged glances.
華氷がうなずく。 Kahyo nodded.
それだけだった。 (That was the only thing he needed).
それだけで、カカシは彼女が自分と同じ気持ちであることが分かった。 With just that, Kakashi understood that they both felt the same way.
「なにをやっとる！？ さっさとせんなら、お前らごとその船を撃ち落とすしか。。。」 “What are you doing!? If you don’t (jump over) quickly, both of you might be shot down with the ship…”
が、 相手に最後までしゃべらせるほど、カカシは悠長ではなかった。 However, Kakashi deliberately did not let his comrades finish talking.
華氷の口から、あっ、という驚きの声が漏れる。 From Kahyo’s mouth, an ‘Ah!’ escaped with a surprised voice.
ドッと突進したかと思うと、カカシは破れた床板を蹴って、船外へ飛び出していた。 Suddenly thinking about whether or not to rush off, Kakashi kicked off from the torn floorboards. He leapt out of the ship.
その体が宙を舞った。 His body fluttered in mid-air.
カカシと大地の間には、数千メートルの、空っぽの空間しかなかった。風がその銀髪をなぶり、その眼には氷のように固い意志が宿っていた。 The wind tussled his silver hair. A strong will was dwelling within his eyes, albeit they were like frozen ice.
「よし、こい!」 “Alright, come!”
However, Kakashi suddenly jumped over Oonoki, who was leaning backwards. Kicking off Akatsuchi’s head with a ‘tonn’ sound, he jumped about again even higher in the sky.
「な、なにをやっとるんじや！」 “B-but Wha- What are you doing!”
「カカシ！」華氷も、土影に負けじと叫んだ。 “Kakashi!” Kahyo shouted after the Tsuchikage had also undauntedly yelled at him.
カカシは、全身のチャクラを右腕に集めた。「オレが絶対に雨を降らせる！」 Kakashi gathered all of his chakra into his right arm. “I will absolutely make it rain!” That's what he said to Kahyo.
「カカシ！」 “Kakashi!”
「あとは頼んだぞ、華氷！」 “I entrust the rest to you, Kahyo!”
まぶしいほど白熱している右腕を大きく後ろに引くと、カカシは渾身の紫電を雨雲にたたきつけた。 Grandly drawing back his right arm, which because of the lightning was becoming incandescent to the extent that it was radiant, Kakashi struck all the Shiden's power, with all of his might, into the giant rain clouds above.
「うおおおおおお！」 “Wuohhhhhhh!”
ドオオオンッ！ Dooooon! (Boom!)
そのあまりのすさまじさに雲が割れ、一瞬、青空が垣間見えた。カカシ自身、自分の技に、自分自身が吹き飛ばされたほどだった。 With the excessive intensity, the clouds parted. There was a sudden glimpse of blue sky. It was (a tremendous force), to the extent that Kakashi himself was blown back away by the power of his own technique.
土影が、眼を見張った。 The Tsuchikage’s eyes completely widened.
カカシの全身からほとばしった雷は、まるで触手のように四方へのび出し、雨雲を貫く。 たちまち雷が雷を呼び、雨雲が寄り集まって、バチバチと放電をはじめた。 Lightning surged forth from Kakashi’s entire body. Completely, as if they were tentacles, blades of purple lightning extended outwards in every direction and pierced through the rain clouds. Suddenly, the lightning caused thunder. The rain clouds gathered, and began to cackle with a ‘bachibachi’ sound from the electrical discharge.
「危ない、土影様！」赤ツチが叫んだ。「早くワイの影に隠れるだに！」 “We're far, but it’s still dangerous, Tsuchikage-sama!” Akatsuchi yelled. “Quickly, hide behind me!”
「いらぬ世話じゃぜ！」オオノキが一喝した。「まったく、木ノ葉のもんは無茶をしよるぜ…」 “I-I can watch my back alone!” Oonoki, still watching the Shiden's power in complete awe, yelled in a thunderous voice. “Seriously, the people of Konoha behave recklessly… I didn't expect ... even him....”
ゴロゴロと雷鳴を轟かせる雨雲。。。ピシャッと落ちた稲妻が、地上の楓の大木を、まっぷたつに引き裂いた。 The rainclouds roared with thunder with a ‘gorogoro’ sound. ..Flashes of lightning crashed with a slamming ‘pishaa’ sound. A large maple tree on the ground split in half.
「黒ツチ！あのバカを助けてやれ！」 “Kurotsuchi! Save that reckless fool!”
土影の命令に従って、気を失って落下してゆくカカシを、黒ツチが即座に追いかける。 降りだした雨の最初のひと粒が、黒ツチの頬に当たった。 In accordance with the Tsuchikage’s command, Kurotsuchi immediately flied after Kakashi, who at that point was falling back in mid air. There was one bead of rain at the onset of the downpour. It struck Kurotsuchi on the cheeks of his face.
ずいぶん気を失っていたように思えるが、実際にカカシの意識が飛んでいたのは、ほんの数秒のことだった。 Becouse of the extraordinary effort he put in the Shiden, however, he had actually lost consciousness for about a few seconds.
顔に降りかかる冷たい雨に、カカシは薄目を開けた。 Cold rain fell upon his face. Kakashi then opened his half-closed eyes
とたん、巨大な影が、目の前をかすめて飛んでいった。 .Just then, a huge shadow flew right before his eyes.
「！？」 「！？」
Kakashi opened his eyes. Within the torn gondola, (he could see) the figure of Kahyo, who was frantically making seals.
降りしきる雨が、地鎖連氷に呼び寄せられ、いまや残骸と化した飛鯱丸の船底に、氷の結晶を作ってゆく。 The rain down poured incessantly. Having invoked Jisarenhyou, now the bottom of the Tobishachimaru had changed into wreckage. (Kahyo) continued to make crystals of ice.
船底からのび出した氷の結晶は、 天空に輝く白銀の滑り台をどんどん継ぎ足していった。 The crystals of ice extended forth from the bottom of the ship. A sparkling silver slide gradually extended into the sky.
その上を滑走する、飛鯱丸。 Gliding on top of that was the Tobishachimaru.
船が通り過ぎるそばから、その軌跡がどんどん砕け散り、キラキラ輝きながら宙に舞った。まるで飛鯱丸が、ほうき星かなにかになってしまったかのように見えた。 As soon as the ship passed through, the tracks steadily broke apart. (The ice) glistened with radiance in mid-air. It seemed as if the Tobishachimaru had become something like a comet.
もしも天国への階段というものがあるとしたら…… If there was something to be called a ‘Stairway to Heaven’…
轟音を鳴り響かせて滑り落ちてゆく飛鯱丸を見送りながら、カカシは考えるともなしに、そんなことを考えた。きっと、こんな感じなんだろうな。 A thunderous roar resounded as the Tobishachimaru continued to slide. As Kakashi was seeing it off, he absentmindedly thought (about the ‘Stairway to Heaven’). He pondered such a thing. Surely, he thought that a (‘Stairway to Heaven’) would have such a feeling.
天空いっぱいに、青白い氷の結晶が、音もなく漂っていた。 The sky was full of pale crystals of ice. They were drifting about without a sound.
カカシは、黒ツチの肩にかかえられていた。 Kakashi was being carried on Kurotsuchi’s shoulder.
「こいつは、本気で死ぬつもりだったようじゃぜ」土影が言った。「どうもこうもあるか。 あの厄介な船は、どうやらワシらの里へは落ちてこん。じゃったら、こんなところに用はないぜ」 “It seemed as though this guy intended to die” The Tsuchikage said. “We had no other choice. It seems as though that burdensome ship won’t fall into our village. And so, we have no business in such a place”
「あっ」と 、赤ツチが素っ頓狂な声をあげた。「鬼燈城から、 なんか飛んでくるだに」 “Ah” Akatsuchi raised his hysteric voice. “Something is flying towards us from the Houzukijyou”
サイは無言で、鴻を黒ツチに寄せた。 Sai silently approached Kurotsuchi with his large bird.
土影がうなずくと、黒ツチが「あらよっと」と、カカシを鴻の背に放り出した。 The Tsuchikage nodded. “Arayotto” (/’Off you go!) said Kurotsuchi. She tossed Kakashi onto the back of the bird.
「戦勝気分もそろそろ終わりにしろと、綱手姫に言っとけ。ワシらもそろそろ次の世代に道をゆずる頃合いじゃぜ」 “Tell Tsunade-hime that the victorious feeling will also steadily end. Even we will gradually hand over our ways, in due time, to the next generation”
それだけ言い残して、オオノキは飛び去ってしまった。 After imparting only those words, Oonoki flew away.
このときはじめて、カカシはずいぶん地上へ近づいていることに気がついた。見下ろすと、白煙をあげている鬼燈城の中庭で、人間たちがアリのようにうごめいていた。 Then for the first time, Kakashi noticed that they were considerably approaching the ground. Overlooking (the scene), white smoke was rising from the courtyard of the Houzukijyou. The human beings were wriggling like ants.
城を取り囲むだだっ広い草原に、飛鯱丸は滑り降りた。鬼燈城の季節の過ぎた草原に、もうもうと土煙が舞った。 Surrounding the castle was a spacious meadow. The Tobishachimaru slid down and onto it. Seasons had passed through the meadow of the Houzukijyou. A dense cloud of dust fluttered about.
飛鯱丸は草の上を滑り、そして、前のめりになって静止した。 The Tobishachimaru slid on top of the grass. And then, the ship leaned forward. It then stood still.
城のほうがどよめき、すぐに小さな人影が城門を飛び出して、飛鯱丸に駆けつけた。それは、どうやらサクラのようだった。 The commotion was on the side of the castle. Immediately, a figure of a small person rushed out from the castle gates. It came running towards the Tobishachimaru. That figure seemed to be Sakura.
城の南側では、激しい戦闘が行われていた。旋風が巻き起こり、逃げ出した収監者たちがいっぺんに吹き飛ぶ。リーの木ノ葉旋風に間違いなかった。 On the South side of the castle, intense battles were being fought. A whirlwind arose, which blew away the escaped prisoners one by one. There was no mistaking (that attack), it was Lee’s Konoha Senpuu.
城の中庭で伸び縮みしている影を見て、シカマルが踏ん張っているのだと分かった。 収監者たちをなぎ倒してゆく大きな球は、チョウジの肉弾戦車だ。 In the courtyard of the castle, he saw an expanding and contracting shadow. He understood that to be Shikamaru, who was bracing himself. A large ball continuously mowed down the escaped prisoners. It was Chouji’s Nikudansensha.
城へと続く一本道を駆けてくるのは、綱手とシズネに違いない。 Dashing on a straight path leading up to the castle, (Kakashi thought that) they must be Tsunade and Shizune.
シノの蟲、テンテンの忍具、キバと赤丸。。。そんな仲間たちを眺めていると、熱いものが胸に込みあげてくるのを、カカシはどうしようもなかった。 There were Shino’s insects, Tenten’s ninja weaponry, Kiba and Akamaru…Gazing at such comrades, something hot began to well up inside Kakashi’s chest. It couldn’t be helped.
土影の言うとおりだ、そろそろオレたちが、道を受け継ぐ番なんだ。 As the Tsuchikage had said, it will gradually be time for us to inherit those ways.
カカシの中で、決定的な変化が訪れたのは、このときだった。 At this time within Kakashi, a definitive change occurred.
オレは写輪眼を失ったことを、火影という地位から逃げる口実にしていたんじゃないだろうか？ Since I lost the Sharingan, I suppose I was using that as in excuse to escape from being in the position of Hokage, right?
ふと、そんなふうに思った。 Suddenly, he thought of that in such a manner.
火影になるということは、守るべき者たちが増えるということだ。つまり、いつ何時、 オビトを失ったときのような悲しみに襲われるか、分からない。オレは、そんな悲しみを背負う覚悟を、まだ持てていないと思い込んでいた。 Speaking of becoming the Hokage, the number of people I must protect will increase. In other words, at any given moment, I will not know when I will be attacked by sorrow; (Grief) that will be similar to the time as when I lost Obito. I will be resigned to being burdened with such sorrows. I was under the impression that I was still unable to endure (those feelings of sadness).
里の仲間たちは、いま、この瞬間にも、黙っておたがいを支えているのだ。まるで朝が来たら眼が覚めるみたいに、当たり前の顔をして。ナルト、綱手様、シカマル、いの、ガイ、リー、テンテン、チョウジ、サクラ、サイ、ヒナタ、シズネ、イルカ、シノ、キバ 。。。 As for the comrades of the village, even now at this moment, they are silently supporting one another. It’s as if morning is approaching, and they are seemingly awakening (to the sunrise); they make (supporting one another) look (like a natural instinct). Naruto, Tsunade-sama, Shikamaru, Ino, Guy, Lee, Tenten, Chouji, Sakura, Sai, Hinata, Shizune, Iruka, Shino, Kiba…
。。。みんなの顔が、次々にカカシの胸中をよぎった。 …Everyone’s faces successively flashed across Kakashi’s mind.
そして、そんな木ノ葉隠れの里を、仲間たちを、心から誇りに思った。 And so, for such comrades and Konohagakure Village, I thought that I was proud of them from the bottom of my heart.
もしも、こいつらがオレを必要とするなら……と、カカシは思った。オレはこいつらの悲しみを、みんなまとめて呑み込んでやろう。そう、当たり前の顔で。そして、こいつらといっしょに、悲しみにのたうちまわってやろう。 And so, Kakashi thought:" If those guys need me, then I will swallow all of their collective sorrow. That seems right, (like a natural instinct). And then I will writhe in sorrow with them, together."
火影になるというのは、たぶん、そういうことなんだ...。 "Speaking of becoming the Hokage, perhaps that’s (the meaning behind) such a (position)..."