I neglected to revise this chapter as it felt rather unnecessary to do so. It's rather straightforward, but if there are any complaints, then I might fix it a bit.
"What the..." Shikamaru and his father stared at one another, dark eyes meeting dark eyes. "Who the hell are you?" Shikaku demanded.
Shikamaru swallowed hard, holding back the emotions that were threatening to welt out of him. Father...there's so much I had wanted to tell you before you died... Instead, the ANBU pushed away his feelings, and narrowed his eyes at his father. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me."
Shikaku's hand shot out to grasp Shikamaru around his throat. "Your name - I want it now." His voice sounded dangerously quiet.
Shikamaru managed to choke out a laugh despite Shikaku's tight hold around his neck. "Always cutting straight to the point, don't you, Shikaku?"
His father's eyes widened and he released Shikamaru, shoving him against the memorial stone. "Secure him tightly," he ordered. "And take him to the Hokage."
The ANBU looked at their captain in surprise. "But, Deer-taichou," one said. "Wouldn't Ibiki be-"
"Shut up! Take him to the Hokage now!" Shikaku barked.
The ANBU scrambled to obey their captain's order; they had never seen Deer this unsettled.
"And tell him it's an emergency," Shikaku continued. "Hurry back quickly."
Shikamaru felt two strong hands force him into a kneeling position. Then the surroundings him whisked away and he found himself in a familiar-looking office. He was shoved into the ground, hands tied behind his back and his head facing downwards.
"What is it?" A gruff voice suddenly asked.
The ANBU besides Shikamaru bowed. "Sorry about the intrusion, Hokage-sama, but Deer said it was an emergency."
"Emergency?"
Shikamaru forced himself to look up at the speaker. His eyes went wide as the color drained out of his face. "Sandiame..."
Hiruzen frowned at Shikamaru's reaction. "And what exactly does Deer want me to do with him?"
"Deer wants to report that this intruder was caught on the outskirts of Konoha. He can use Shadow jutsu as well as Deer and even knew his real name. I guess Deer wants you to interrogate him."
"Without Ibiki's permission?" The Third Hokage grumbled. "Alright. Thank you for the information. You may leave now." He waved the ANBU out.
Shikamaru watched the Sandiame warily as Hiruzen raised himself from his desk. "Alright then...I don't know why Deer didn't send you to Ibiki first...but, I'll start with a few simple questions. Answer them truthfully and I won't have to call in a torturer," the Hokage said.
Shikamaru nodded in response.
"I need your name, who you work for, and where you came from."
Shikamaru bit his lip. How much could he reveal to the Hokage? "Hokage-sama," he began slowly. "My name is Shikamaru Nara. I work for the Rokudaime and I come from Konoha."
"Shikamaru…Nara?" The Sandiame ran the name through his head. "You're…Shikaku's son?"
"Correct."
"And…did you say Rokudaime?"
"I did."
"May I ask who that is?"
"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki," Shikamaru said cautiously.
Hiruzen drew in a surprised breath. "Na-Naruto…?"
"Yes, the holder of the Kyuubi," Shikamaru confirmed.
Hiruzen frowned again. "And Konoha…what year?"
"2026, Hokage-sama."
At this, the Sandiame's eyes widened. "2026…? That's sixteen years into the future!" He began pacing around his office, deep in thought. "So he ended up using it…?"
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama?"
"One last question." Hiruzen returned to his desk. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-eight years old, Hokage-sama."
The Third Hokage sighed heavily. "Twenty-eight years old, eh? You sure stirred up a lot of commotion, Shikamaru."
"I understand. But I can't be seen; there are currently two of me running around Konoha."
"That proves to be a major problem. And you used the Hokage's Scroll to get here?"
"I did. The Rokudaime gave it to me personally."
The Sandiame rubbed his head tiredly. He still had a huge stack of papers to finish signing before he could go home; he really didn't want to deal with another problem. What was he to do with the boy? By time traveling, he had already broken the rules of time and dimension…and they were both dangerous things to mess around with.
"Please, Hokage-sama, would you grant me the privilege of exploring and staying in Konoha so that I may fulfill my task?"
"What task?"
"Carrying out the Rokudaime's orders…and…" Shikamaru trailed off. His memories of this time were beginning to come back slowly. If he was here, maybe he'd be able to prevent some horrible things from happening…such as Sasuke's betrayal of Konoha.
"You may not, Shikamaru," Hiruzen said firmly. "Not in your current state. Altering history is a dangerous thing. By coming here, you have already disturbed the regular flow of time."
"Wha-what do you mean?"
"What mean is, if you were to get involved in any political or major happenings, you would bring utter destruction to Konoha with your knowledge."
"Hokage-sama-!"
"Utter destruction, Shikamaru," the Sandiame repeated. "I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about."
"I promised the Roku-"
"No is no! I'm the Hokage in this era, and as ANBU, you must obey those higher in authority. I'm sorry, Shikamaru. There's nothing you can do now, and you know it."
Shikamaru scowled and curled his hand into a fist. It was unlike him to lose cool so fast, but it was Naruto's last wish, and he had to fulfill it no matter what. But the Hokage was right – it would still be several years before Naruto became Hokage. The scroll took him to a time much earlier than that and he could do nothing now but wait.
"Shikamaru, I will allow you to work as an ANBU under me for now." The Third Hokage handed Shikamaru an ANBU mask. "You will be replacing Kakashi Hatake as Wolf from now on. Do not ever reveal your true identity to anyone else and do not use any Shadow jutsus."
"Kakashi…?" Shikamaru's hand shook as he stared at Kakashi's old ANBU mask in his hands.
"You will be an ANBU under Cat," the Hokage continued. "I'm not doing this to harm you, Shikamaru. You know you can't do anything right now…"
Shikamaru barely heard the Hokage's words as he continued to stare transfixed at Kakashi's mask. "Kakashi-sensei…" Images of how Naruto sobbed into the night after Kakashi was killed flashed back into the Nara's mind. Naruto had been both physically and mentally depressed for over a month…
"Wolf!" Hiruzen's voice startled him out of his thoughts. "Snap out of it. This is Cat. You will be addressing him as captain from now on."
"Understood, Cat-dai-" Shikamaru looked up and froze. That's…Tenzo! His death and Kakashi's death had been closely linked together. They both had died protecting Naruto-sama, and the Rokudaime had been devastated.
"Anything wrong, Wolf?" Cat's voice held a hint of concern.
"No, it's nothing." Shikamaru stood up slowly. All the memories of his friends' death were beginning to haunt him again. His heart suddenly felt like it was being weighed down by a million burdens.
"And WOLF!" Shikamaru barely glanced back at the Sandiame. "I'll be watching you. Don't do anything out of hand."
"Understood."
As the Nara followed Cat outside, he considered his options. He came here to help Konoha out; now he was caught by the ANBU and now had to directly under the Sandiame himself. Dangit…there had to be something he could do!
"Wolf, eh? So you're replacing Kakashi-senpai?" Cat said cheerfully, patting Shikamaru on the back.
Shikamaru stiffened at Tenzo's touch. Blood flashed before his eyes as he remember how the ANBU had died.
"Wolf! Hey, Wolf!"
Shikamaru had buried his face in his hands without realizing it. He leaned against the wall, forcing himself to take deep breaths, and unable to control the shaking in his body.
"Would you like to rest?" Cat suggested. The new ANBU seemed so fragile and disturbed; he had hoped he was good enough to replace Kakashi.
"No, no, I'm fine." What else could Shikamaru say?
"I hope so. I'd like to have a small spar with you, just to know the full extent of your skills." Tenzo brought Shikamaru outside the Hokage building to a grassy field. He stepped several yards away from the new ANBU and formed a hand sign. "Now, let's begin."
Without warning, dozens of wooden branches erupted out of the ground and towards Shikamaru. He quickly pushed away his haunting memories and formed his familiar hand sign.
"…and do not use any Shadow jutsu!" The Third Hokage's words suddenly came rushing back to Shikamaru. He cursed and pulled out a kunai instead, dashing towards Tenzo through the masses of wood and slashing any that got in his way.
Cat frowned. He thought he had recognized Wolf's hand sign as Nara Clan's Shadow Jutsu. What had Wolf done instead? He parried Wolf's attack with a kunai of his own and forced Wolf back to long distance with another round of his wood.
Shikamaru was forced to retreat as Tenzo released another round of his wood. He had the advantage to this; he knew most of Tenzo's fighting style from all those times working with him, but how much could he reveal? And the only weapons he could use were basic ninja tools.
He slashed a branch of wood away from him and pulled out an explosive kunai from his back pouch. This is Tenzo's second way of fighting. He plans to surround me with his wood, force me on defensive, then finish me with the wood he had set up in a circular area around me. He tossed the kunai onto the branches beside him, and parried a few more coming towards him. Shikamaru then drew a second explosive kunai, tossing it to the branches on his left.
The instant Tenzo raised his hand to command all the branches to come together, Shikamaru tossed one last kunai in front of him. "Katsu!" The Nara launched himself into the air just as the wood exploded all around him, burning to pieces.
"Alright, we're done sparring this round," Cat called. He frowned to himself as he lowered his hand. He knew...my strategy? Only the people I've worked with know this tactic of mine! "Apparently, I was offensive, and you were defensive. Let's switch the roles this time." The ANBU Captain was now more curious than ever as to who Wolf exactly was.
"Um, Cat-taichou...I don't really have any offensive techniques." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I only have my ninja tools."
"What? No jutsus?"
"The only jutsus I can use is Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu), Bunshin no jutsu (Clone Jutsu), and Kawarimi no jutsu (Subsitution jutsu)," Shikamaru said. "Excluding some basics from Academy."
"You're...kidding. Then how did you pass your jonin and genin tests?"
"I used my brain." That was half-true. With a bit of thinking and his basic Shadow jutsus, Shikamaru had defeated Temari in his Chunin exam sixteen years ago. In his jonin test, he had defeated all his opponents using similar tactics. Take away his Shadow techniques, and Shikamaru would barely be disabled. He still had his familiar ninja tools.
Cat exhaled heavily. "Listen up, Wolf. Our job tomorrow is to guard the Chunin area. Arrive early at 7 A.M. and report to your post. You have been assigned to guard the entrance to the main battle arena."
"I understand."
"And-" Cat pulled out a set of keys. "The Hokage wishes for you to stay in the apartment two blocks from his house. He's already ordered a room to be set up for you."
Shikamaru nodded his thanks as Tenzo handed him the apartment keys.
"Don't be late, Wolf!" Tenzo called as he walked away.
Shikamaru was the only ANBU at his post at 6:30 in the morning. He leaned against the walls of the great structure, glancing warily into the battle arena. The Nara sighed heavily as he drew out a polished kunai and stared at it.
It had been a personal gift from the Rokudaime when he had graduated to ANBU. The kunai was made from an expensive metal and Naruto had carved his personal signature into it. With this one weapon, he had blocked hundreds of attacks, protected thousands of people...and killed...countless amounts of people. It had never failed him nor rusted.
Shikamaru drew out a cloth from his back pocket and began polishing the kunai. He was so intrigued in the task he didn't notice someone sneak up behind him.
"Hello, Wolf!"
Shikamaru gasped and nearly dropped the kunai. He quickly stuffed away the kunai and turned around to find Cat staring at him.
"Startled you a bit, didn't I? Sorry bout that, you seemed to be really into your job. Glad to see you arrived early for the job." Tenzo glanced around the arena. "The people are beginning to come in already. I'll be at my post on the roof of the building. If you need anything, feel free to come up and ask." Cat disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Shikamaru exhaled heavily and leaned back against the wall. He scolded himself for getting careless.
As the Chunin exams began, he settled into a comfortable position behind the pole of the main entrance. Unlike how he acted sixteen years ago, Shikamaru watched each fight with great passion. It took all of his effort not to call out each of his old friend's name as they battled each other on the arena.
Naruto finished off Neji with a great move. His younger self gave up halfway through the fight. Shikamaru smiled under his ANBU mask at how lazy he was all those years ago. Sure, he still watched clouds every now and then and said "Troublesome" a lot, but his job was had been protect the Hokage, and he needed all his attention and effort to fulfill that job.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" The ANBU jerked out of his thoughts in surprise as his young self and Naruto walked past him. "Why'd you give up man? You could have beaten her."
"Naw. I was running out of chakra. Besides, I never really wanted to be in the Chunin exams. It just makes my life more troublesome." Shikamaru trailed the two unnoticed as they walked down the alley to the stairs.
A sudden feeling of bloodlust overcame him. A few feet ahead of him, Naruto and his younger self had also stopped walking. Moments later, Gaara walked into the alley, his sand leaking out all around him.
"Kill...I must kill!" Shikamaru caught the words being muttered from the jinchuriki's mouth. "KILLL!"
Without warning, the sand gathered in the air and soared at Naruto and his younger self. Shikamaru threw himself forwards, pushing Naruto off to the side and bear hugging his younger self. He crashed onto the ground painfully, the sand seemingly brightening around him.
Shikamaru shut his eyes as white light overwhelmed his vision. He didn't open them until someone began shaking him violently.
"Hey, Shikamaru. You alright?"
Was he alright? He hoped his younger self was. He had probably failed in his ANBU duty.
"Hey, SHIKAMARU!" He was thrown against the wall violently. As he coughed and opened his eyes, he noticed Naruto staring at him. "Luckily, that sand guy passed us without anymore attacks. You okay?"
"Me-me?" Shikamaru blinked in confusion at Naruto. Why was he calling HIM Shikamaru? He was an ANBU...
Wait. Where was his younger self? "Where's Shikamaru?"
"You silly! Should I take you to a doctor or something?" Naruto helped Shikamaru to his feet. It was then the ANBU realized that HE was Shikamaru. He was his younger self...
"No, no, sorry. I'm fine." Shikamaru stared down at himself, a bit stunned. Perhaps, when I made contact with my younger self, this is what happened. But what about Tenzo? Now I'm missing from my job...
"I'm going back up to see the rest of the exams." Naruto dragged the Nara up the stairs. "Sasuke's going to fight so I gotta see it."
Sasuke? Shikamaru frowned. Now that he was in this body...it made things easier for him.
Maybe he could prevent Sasuke's betrayal to Leaf. And prevent Asuma's death by Hidan.
Maybe...
And he still didn't what had happened.
Man, this was all troublesome.
