Summary: Short drabbles about Ino-Shika-Cho – the new gen of my favourite team! Chapter titles will follow the order of the alphabet.
Ability
Their team was in high demand ever since the Chunin exams the previous year. At first, it was supposedly due to how he performed during his matches. Later, it was because of their performance during the missions assigned to them. They currently had a high-performance rating and many repeat clients - a fact that made them very proud. As the heirs of their respective clans, they were determined to showcase their abilities.
For this month and the next they had decided to take a break from any new assignments so that they could concentrate on their training. It was recently announced that the Chunin exams would be held at the end of next month. Normally, the exams are held twice every year, however because of the attack that happened last year the Kages decided to cancel the second one in anticipation/preparation of more attacks. After more than a year, and without anyone further incidents, the exams were back on.
This year's exam was to be held in Sunagakure no Sato. To say that his okaa-san was excited was an understatement. Shikadai now had daily training with either her, his team or with his aunts and uncles.
Okaa-san keeps saying that he deserves a promotion. She felt that he could have actually gone all the way in the last exam if not for Boruto – this time she wanted to ensure that he went the way.
Personally, he thinks that a small part of her wants to stick it to the elders of her homeland.
Whenever they visited, the elders put more pressure on his Uncle Gaara to conceive a heir and caused more resentment in his Okaa-san to build up. He would never be the Kazekage – he knew that, his Okaa-san knew that too – but she still felt as if they were looking down at her choices with every whispered comment thrown at Uncle Gaara. Personally, he was relieved. He was already expected to be clan head! Running a village?! No, thank you. That was way too troublesome. He's seen his Otou-san come home stumbling through the door too many times to know that no type of government position is suitable for him. He's still not sure what he wants to be, but it'll definitely be something that allows him enough time to sleep in and play games.
"You need to showcase your abilities. You don't need to outpower anyone. When we had our exams, your dad forfeited his match against me and still made chuunin. If you can outperform, out maneuver, outsmart them – you will be promoted."
Okaa-san wanted him to showcase his abilities and he wanted to do the same. He may be his father's son, but he definitely had his mom's determination.
Most, if not all, of his upcoming opponents would know of his intelligence and his Shadow Ninjutsu Technique. He, himself had already gotten his hands on all the available information of his opponents. He also knew that in order to be able to better manipulate them, he needed them to believe that they had the upper hand. Shikadai trained in his otou-san's technique his whole life, now it was time to learn his okaa-san's.
The ability to preform wind release would be extremely advantageous in the upcoming exams. Shikadai knew for a fact that he and his team weren't the strongest going in. Heck, they weren't even the strongest from their village. That title went to Team 7. With an Uzumaki, an Uchiha and Mitsuki, theirs was a powerhouse team. Their bloodline abilities, raw power and high intelligence made for an intimidating combination. After every mission, they seemed to get stronger and stronger. He has never seen Mitsuki's true strength, but even half-assed he takes down his opponents almost effortlessly. Sarada, was an exceptionally skilled and intelligent kinouchi with over 100 ninjutsus under her belt. Last year she was able to take out one of her opponents in just 3 seconds! That was beyond amazing. Boruto had a naturally high chakra count, a kami seal and a power eye. Boruto – he was sure that they would be facing off again this year and the Uzumaki was as determined as ever to make his father proud. He truly wished the best for his friend. He knew how hard the boy worked, how tirelessly he's been preparing himself for the upcoming exams.
He saw how Inojin worked to stretch out his mind manipulation power. He saw firsthand how he can now control multiple people with a single thought. He's seen the glint in ChoCho's eyes that screams of determination. He realizes how powerful her attacks are now. How even the power of a simple punch has been multiplied 100 fold. He sees how she's manipulating her calorie levels and creating stronger and stronger ninjustsus.
He acknowledges how strong his team mates, friends, opponents have gotten. He knows that their abilities have increased, he knows that his needs to improve. With all this in mind, he quickly formed seals with his hands sending razor sharp wind strikes towards his mom. As she jumped out the way he raises runs forward, his next thirty moves already planned out in his head.