Happy post-holidays everyone. God… I'm so tired from dealing with people for the past three days. I hate inlaws. Anyways! Enough griping! You came here for a good time, and I'm happy to give it to you!
Shikamaru: Checkmate.
*Stares at the chessboard* W-We just started!
Shikamaru: So?
*groans* Okay, set it up again while I read the comments! I will beat you!
Shikamaru: This is the eighteenth time we've played. Maybe you should give the Gamer power to yourself.
You mean a self-insert? Well… I've kinda been thinking about doing it, but I don't know what the public reaction would b-
Shikamaru: Weren't you reading reviews?
OoOXylionOoO: Thank you! I hope that you stick around for a while!
Merendinoemiliano: Well, that's honestly not how his power works. See, the other gamers can invite people to their party. In this one, his team will be his party at all times. And he can't add anyone to it. Seeing as this is technically the first version of it, there will be a few kinks.
Blazing heart frigid soul: While Shika has an IQ of 280, he is still a kid. He doesn't see things as an adult would. He simply doesn't have the experience to see. Sasuke believes he has pull, but as usual, they're using him as a puppet so they can get his "precious" Sharingan. Think about it this way. Everything before the first episode is about the same outside of Konoha. Neji's still a prick, Hinata was still almost kidnapped, everything. That includes Gaara killing his bastard uncle. Inari… I feel bad enough for that kid, but condemning him to a life of brooding? That's too cruel. Though kudos for the great idea. Haku and Zabuza… they both died unjustly. Though it was used in the future as a source of strength for Naruto. That coin toss is still up in the air because of that.
HitGamer22: If you are talking about the Gamer power being hereditary, the power isn't gene-based. So Shika doesn't need to worry about the CRA.
MattKennedy: Thank you! I felt like while the gamer HAS to have the party system, it wouldn't make sense for it to be that interactive, as it's still only stage 1. And as for Sasuke, that was a setup for drama and vendetta shit that all Uchiha's do.
Uriil: I won't forget about Choji. I did for a bit, but I have a plan on how to bring him and Ino back into this. Though InoShikaCho won't be happening, they'll still be paired up on missions. And it wasn't my idea to use Ami. Originally, I was going to use Hinata, but Frigid heart blazing soul explained to me how malleable the Ami character is. She's a canon character who can really be molded into anything. Though right now it looks like a mini Anko is coming. Well, I doubt that it will be like that until Shippuden. And for the stats, sure! Why not? Keep in mind, as the rest of the team aren't part of the Gamer just yet, they won't be put in the end.
Flamarow: Yeah, I felt that a crafting system would be very important, though I kinda flubbed it up on my first try. The good thing about Gamer stories is that whenever you do something that you don't really like with the OS, you can just write an update to fix it! And that dungeon is kinda like the DLC dungeon in the actual Manhwa, but also… not. See, this is a less advanced version of the other ones that I have in place, and there will be a few… well, if it were an actual game, I would call them coding errors that players can exploit to access places without the necessary requirements. Anko won't turn them into sadists, so don't worry. And as for the boss, the skill scroll is a rare boss drop, kinda like how you're grinding for a specific item and you just can't seem to get it because the game somehow knows when you're grinding for that item and changes the drop rate of said item exponentially! ...I have a bad history with item grinding, let's just say that.
Fear Z Deadpool: Thank you! I try to write it in that way, but sometimes I fall short of it, well, probably a lot of the time. And I like Anko as well, which is what tipped the balance between her and Kakashi really. They're both what I'm looking for, but Anko is just better for the situation. And I chose Shika because let's face it, he doesn't get as much screen time as he deserves. He's supposed to be one of the main characters but half the time he's being lazy or not fighting, and even when he's fighting, he gets taken out quickly half the time as well.
Shikamaru: Checkmate.
We weren't even playing!
Shikamaru: Yeah. We were. Your hand was moving on its own. You lasted three more rounds.
Ugh. Anyways people, enjoy!
"Speech"
'Thought'
"Telepathy"
"Bijuu/Gods"
"Jutsu"
Windows/Skills
It has been a few weeks since Shikamaru hired Anko to get a suitable Bunshin replacement for Naruto and they had made decent progress. Shika felt really bad for not hanging out with Choji for an entire month, so he cooked him something to apologize. He got the [Cooking] skill to level six while doing that, so that was good. Though the game didn't have a cooking menu for some odd reason. He was sitting next to Choji on the roof of the school eating a lazily put together meal for himself while talking to Choji. "So that's why I haven't been hanging out with you for the past month. The Hokage gave me the job to get Naruto out of the Dead Last position, and he needed a major overhaul. I actually needed to make an effort to do it."
Choji was munching on the delicious curry and rice that Shika had made for him. "Wow! This is really good! And if you actually had to use energy to do something, it must be important! Also really difficult for you!"
Shika sighed. "It's been… very troublesome, to put it mildly, but I can't exactly refuse a direct order from the Hokage. Otherwise, my mother would never let me relax again." He then looked up at the clouds. "I want you to join us for training. Not for any other reason than to hang out. We can get better as well, but I miss us just relaxing and talking about anything that comes to our minds."
Choji sighed softly. "Well, I would really like too Shika, really, but then I'd have to bring Ino. For some reason, she's started following me and demanding that I take her everywhere."
Shika chuckled. "Maybe she's being forced to because her parents believe that we'll be on the same team." He then fell onto his back and stared into the endless sky. "They're probably not wrong. So you can bring Ino if that means we can hang out again."
Choji smirked knowingly. "But don't you think that all blondes are troublesome?"
Shikamaru nodded. "I do, and they are. But if I can handle one without you, two should be easy."
Choji sighed as he laid back as well. "You say that now Shika, but you haven't been around Ino outside of class."
Shika shrugged as he closed his eyes. "Well, I've been wrong before. It'll come as a surprise, but I won't be mad."
Shikamaru was very, very wrong. If it wasn't for [Gamer's Mind] he likely would've punched Ino in the face with Ami's claws equipped. It wouldn't kill her, just… send her to the hospital as a vegetable. It would be a mercy, seeing as her title was 'Uchiha Fan Girl' instead of what he saw as Inoichi's when he visited. That one was 'Mental Puppeteer', which was strikingly similar to his father's' 'Puppeteer of Shadows' title.
Ino pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. "What is that living fashion disaster doing here Shika?! He's already messed with my clothes one too many times! And why is he wearing black?!" She then made a noise of understanding. "I see. You want to be more like Sasuke-kun, so you thought that starting with the color of his clothes was a good start!"
Naruto gagged. "Oh HELL NO! Why would I want to be more like that duck butt teme?! I'm fine just the way I am! Shika and Ami just made me get these and I couldn't change back into my orange jumpsuit because they burned all of the ones I had!"
Ino heard angels sing. "You mean that those orange monstrosities are gone!?"
Ami groaned as she stood next to Naruto. "Yeah, don't pay her any mind. She's a bitch. Her dad's a nice guy though."
Naruto deadpanned as he watched Ino begin to dance in joy. "Yeah, I didn't notice…"
Choji stepped in between everyone. "Okay, guys! Aren't we here to train?" He looked at Shikamaru. "That is why everyone's here, right?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know about Ino, but everyone else is, right Naruto?"
Naruto nodded. "But you have to agree to stop holding my ramen hostage!" He then ducked under a punch from Ami. "Hah! You missed!"
Ami shrugged and cracked her knuckles. "Your instincts are getting better Naruto." She then sent him to the floor with a quick leg sweep. "But there's a reason why I'm the second best civilian girl in Taijutsu. And it's because I don't want to deal with the pink haired banshee screaming that I somehow cheated." She then sighed. "Though I think that she's more obsessed with that Uchiha than becoming a ninja. Probably hoping to be one of his bitches in the CRA."
Anko grinned as she watched the group from the trees. She knew why they kept coming to Training Ground 1, but she didn't know why the fellow pineapple head brought friends. She then flipped upside-down on the branch she was crouched on and attached her feet to the tree with Chakra. She pulled out a sealing scroll, which had four scrolls in it. "Now, how to deliver these… Oh! I know!" Anko grinned evilly and then launched the scrolls that were in her arms at the heads of the brats with her full strength.
Shika saw a window pop up for [Sense Intent] and looked up to see a large scroll flying towards him. "Shit! [Kagemane no Jutsu]!" He quickly possessed Naruto and Ami and then jumped back as far as he could, the scrolls that were flying towards them becoming embedded into the ground.
Naruto looked up as Shikamaru looked. "M-Mitarashi-san! W-What brings you he-"
Anko appeared behind Naruto and hit him in the back of the head. "No formalities. I hate them. Just call me the Great and Sexy Mitarashi Anko!"
Shikamaru groaned as he dropped the jutsu. "That's a formal title…" He then grabbed one of the scrolls. "So is this the Tree Walking technique that I told you to get?"
Anko suddenly kicked Shikamaru in the gut, sending him flying. "Stop being such a Nara, Nara. And I got the job done, so don't worry. Also got something for the Uzumaki brat."
Ami looked at the scroll. "Wait, you went ahead and got us these Shika?"
Shikamaru nodded. "The Hokage wanted Naruto out of dead last, so I figured this would help." He then looked at Anko as he stood up. "How much would it take for you to get two more by the end of today?"
Anko balanced a suddenly empty skewer on her finger. "Not much. About 400 Ryō."
Shikamaru sighed and then pulled that money from his pocket. "Here. Get it done."
Anko smirked as she took the stack of bills and nodded. She then disappeared, leaving falling leaves in her place.
Choji stared at the empty air. "Did….that just happen?"
Ami nodded as her fear of Anko faded. "Y-Yeah… she's crazy, but she's also reliable, so the Hokage decided to have her oversee our combat training."
Naruto grinned as he stretched. "Speaking of, should we get started?"
Shika walked over to the group and cracked his neck. "I guess… Same rules as before, but with Choji and Ino joining our battle royal." He then pulled a kunai from a pouch on his side. "We all go across the field to make sure that none of us have the advantage, no jutsu, and no lethal blows." He then watched as everyone moved to their own places, then lifted the kunai. "I'm going to throw this into the air, and when it hits the ground we go, alright?!" When he received nods from everyone, he tossed the kunai high into the air, trying to arc it so that it would land in the center of the field.
Ami immediately stared down Ino. 'The weaker blonde goes first…'
Naruto was staring at Shikamaru. 'You're mine this time Shika.'
Ino was glaring at Naruto with a fire in her eyes. 'This will be easy! Sasuke-kun will help me win!'
Choji was just happy to be here and got into a fighting position.
Shikamaru sighed as he got into his relaxed fighting position. "I hate this part of training."
The kunai sank into the ground and the fighters immediately went after their targets save for Shikamaru.
Naruto dashed towards his pineapple haired friend with a grin on his face. "I'll get you this time Shika!" He rolled out of the way of a strike from Ino and then began to attack Shikamaru with mostly unpredictable strikes.
Shikamaru's face became devoid of emotion as he blocked and deflected strikes from Naruto. 'He's going all out huh? Fine.' He suddenly wrapped his arm around one of Naruto's legs, yanked him off the ground and quickly slammed a fist into the spiky blonde's solar plexus. "You leave yourself open to counter attacks. Pull your attacks back faster once it connects, or just hit faster."
Ami smirked as she ran up from behind Ino. She tapped the blonde fangirl's shoulder and then hit her in the back of the knees. She then flipped over Ino by using her shoulders as leverage and hit the girl in the face with a spin kick. "Honestly, aren't you from a shinobi family? You really should've seen that coming."
Ino growled and then quickly got to her feet. "You messed up my hair!" She rushed Ami and then began to attack her with an adapted Academy style. It seemed to be fairly rigid, but at the same time, Ino's body moved with the strikes so that she could easily chain her attacks together, quickly taking the offensive in her battle with Ami.
Choji ran towards Shikamaru, seeing as he looked like the greatest threat on the battlefield and then hit his best friend square in the chest, sending him off of his feet and away from him and Naruto. He then helped Naruto up and nodded at him with a smile.
Naruto grinned and then cracked his knuckles as he ran towards the downed Nara. He leaped into the air and then tried to finish Shika off with a blow to the head.
Shikamaru saw this coming and then tilted his head out of the way, making Naruto punch the ground. He planted his hands on the ground and then spun himself on them, kicking Naruto in the ribs as he got to his feet. He glanced to his left and then flipped out of the way of Choji attacking him. 'I really don't want to fight Choji, but I suppose I have to.'
Ami quickly moved her body to block Ino's fast attacks. And fast they were, but they had no real impact to them. She smirked and then stared into Ino's eyes. "Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me, shinobi girl!" Ani then took one of the hits so that she could counter with a jab to the blonde's stomach. She took a few steps back as she let Ino recover. "Well, that's what you get for dotting and stalking an emo prick instead of training."
Choji ran towards Shikamaru and began to attack his friend with fairly predictable attacks. Though that was the entire point of his attacks. To keep Shikamaru focused on him so that Naruto could get into position for an attack. He stuck to punches as he currently didn't want to actually fight his friend.
Ino soon recovered and suddenly had a fire in her eyes. "DON'T YOU BADMOUTH SASUKE-KUN!" She rushed Ami and began to attack the purple haired girl again, her strikes hitting much harder. She suddenly rolled her head and then whipped Ami in the face with her ponytail. She took advantage of her long hair as she wrapped it around Ami's face and then began to hit her rapidly all over her body. Sure the tugging at her scalp wasn't the best feeling, but nobody talks shit about her Sasuke!
Naruto's grin grew wider as he ran up behind Choji. He slid to the Akimichi's side and then hit Shikamaru hard in the side with a string of powerful blows, the final one sending Shika into the air slightly. "Choji! Hands out!" When the rotund ninja-to-be held his hands out, Naruto quickly jumped onto them and jumped into the air as Choji threw him. He spun around in the air and attempted to hit Shikamaru with a crushing axe kick.
Shikamaru looked up as he landed, and then blocked the kick with his arms.
HP: 745/775
That one really hurt. Shikamaru then grasped Naruto's leg and winced internally. "Sorry about this Naruto." He then hit him really hard in the crotch to stun him. He then slid out from Naruto, flipped onto his feet and then nailed the stunned blonde in the face with a solid punch to the jaw. "But I can't have you guys ganging up on me like that." He then stared Choji down. "Before we fight, you might want to stop Ino."
Choji looked over at Ino and gasped, then dashed over to the two female fighters and then held the two apart. "Hey! We aren't trying to kill each other, okay?! Calm down Ino!"
Ino glared at Choji. "THAT BITCH DISRESPECTED SASUKE-KUN! I CAN'T ALLOW HER TO LI-" She let out a choked sound as she fell to the ground, out cold.
Shika flicked away the pain as he stared at Ino's sleeping form. "Okay. Crisis averted. Let's continue." He then struck at Ami, who easily leaned out of the way of his attack and attempted to counter with her own, only to be dodged by Shikamaru as he cartwheeled out of the way.
Ami smirked and then began to attack Choji, the fa- err… heavy kid only able to block half of her attacks, but she could tell that they didn't really do much. "Ugh, what the hell are you made of?!"
Choji smiled as patted his stomach. "What everyone else is made of, I guess." His face quickly became serious as he began to strike back against Ami, his attacks slower than hers, but more powerful. He heard footsteps to his right and glanced over to see Naruto running over.
"Shika! I told you that you're mine!" Naruto vaulted over the two other remaining combatants and was about to hit Shikamaru again, but he saw his buddy throw something and he quickly held his eyes in pain. "GAH! WHAT THE HELL?!"
Shikamaru smirked as he hit Naruto hard in the gut. "Cheating is what ninja do." He then let Naruto fall and then scooped up two handfuls of dirt. He ran over to Ami and Choji and threw the dirt into each of their eyes. While they were blinded, he began to wail on Choji from all sides, not letting his friend know where he was hitting from. He dealt the final blow in the form of a palm strike against Choji's temple, knocking the boy out. He then stared at Ami, his eyes blank as he walked towards her.
Ami had just managed to get the dirt out of her eyes when she saw Shikamaru walking towards her. She jumped back to get some time to recover, then gasped when Shikamaru was right in front of her. She rose her arms to block a blow to the face, but it was too late. She was hit right in the forehead, making her head whip back. She then felt Shika chop her exposed throat. Ami held her neck as she coughed heavily.
Shikamaru smirked, then fell onto his back. "I won… troublesome…" He sighed as he stared up at the clouds. "The clouds are nice today."
Anko threw two more scrolls right in between Shikamaru's legs. "Quit leaving yourself open gaki! You're making me look bad!"
Shika hardly flinched. "I'm watching the clouds. No training can be done until they all recover."
Anko scoffed. "From that little playground scrap?" She then looked around. "Then again, you all are really flabby like that." She hopped from a tree branch and then looked around the field. "Some of you are more flabby than others, but hey! That's why I'm here! To torment you gakis until you get into fighting shape!" She then glared at Shikamaru. "Pineapple head! Give me as many pushups as you can do in five minutes! Now!"
Shikamaru groaned as he looked at the battle log to see what he got. "Can it wait?"
Battlelog:
[Detect Intent] has gained a level!
[Physical Endurance] has gained a level!
[Physical Endurance] has gained a level!
[Physical Endurance] has gained a level!
[Tactics] has gained a level!
Anko kicked Shikamaru in the ribs. "Stop griping and get to work before I tear a rib out and shove it somewhere… unpleasant."
Shikamaru shivered slightly as a window popped up.
You feel intense Killing Intent coming from right next to you!
Shika stared at the window, then shook his head as he flipped over and began to do pushups, seeing as Anko was completely serious. He felt a heavy weight suddenly appear, completely focused on the weak spot of his spine. Shikamaru looked up to see Ank standing on his back, eating a stick of Dango. "The hell are you doing?!"
Anko grinned. "I told you. I'm here to torment you. Keep going."
"No! Absolutely not!" A very deep voice rang out across the darkness. "I'm not going to allow you to begin this sick game Nyarlathotep!"
A little boy chuckled as he floated in the void. "And why not? It's not like you can stop me Kami. And stop trying to be intimidating and use your real voice. This is annoying enough for me to go over there and kill you."
There was a deep growl, then a groan. "Very well." A much more normal sounding feminine voice rang out. "Though I still cannot allow this to pass. I will fight you with every fiber of my being."
Nyarlathotep let out a childlike giggle. "How cute! You think that you can actually hurt me!" He then snapped and then the darkness was sent away with a pulse of light. "Tell you what! I'll only set things in motion IF you play with me until I get bored!"
A woman came into being across from Nyarlathotep, indescribably beautiful, her hair glowing in a holy light. "If I allow you this, will you leave this world alone?"
Nyarlathotep nodded. "I pinkie promise! Now, what should we play first?! OH! I know! How about some chess?" He snapped and then the floor under the two quickly became a checkerboard pattern. He snapped again and watched as inky black creatures began to form in front of him and to the sides of him. They were its minions, all of them wearing his mask.
Kami's eyes narrowed as she stepped into the King position and then snapped, her warriors forming on her side in various flashes of light. "Who has the first move?"
Nyarlathotep snickered. "Go ahead! It won't help you though!"
Kami glared at the visage of a little boy and then snapped. "Alright then! Pawn to C4." One of Kami's divine warriors stepped forward two squares.
The little boy hummed in thought. "It's always so hard to tell what you're going to do in the beginning, but if I had to guess, you're going to try to get your Bishop out as soon as you can so you can do a saving gambit with your rook. Naughty Kami!" He waggled his finger and then smirked. "Okay, I can deal with that! Knight to C6." He smiled as one of his inky creatures of darkness snarled in a way that would make a human go mad and watched it vault over his pawns into its place. "This is going to be fun!"
Shikamaru sighed as he performed chores in the house for his mother. He had been doing them all day, so he let Naruto and Ami have the day off. There was also the fact that there was graduation tomorrow. Naruto had made good progress. And while his technical classes like math and history were still… let's just say 'lacking', the practical classes like Taijutsu and Kunai and Shuriken Bukijutsu were more than enough to make up for his incessant need to sleep during Iruka-sensei's lectures. And the Academy Three Jutsu were completely set. He was eerily good at using the Henge and was as good as a Chunin when it came to the Kawarimi. His Bunshin still needed a lot of work, though they had found a substitute for him that relied more pure chakra density instead of control. It had taken Naruto all month, but he could make a good ten clones easily.
Shika then began to think about how Ami improved under his supervision, as that was all it really was. She had gained a better handle on her Taijutsu style, and could easily take Haruno and Yamanaka at the same time, seeing as neither of them trained at all. Her jutsu were already good, though she gained more control over her chakra, allowing her to create seven normal Bunshin with her low chakra reserves from her heritage. But throwing around fireballs and teleporting wasn't all that made a good ninja, and that girl was set out to prove it, focusing mostly on improving her proficiency with her claws. She was the only one of the group who had lethal weapons besides kunai and shuriken, and she could probably give an Inuzuka a good fight, though, at her level of skill and experience, she wouldn't win. But she was much more of a ninja than almost every girl in their year save for Hinata.
He then began to evaluate himself. He was still as lazy as he could be, which was great. He had gotten a fair amount of money from his job tutoring Naruto, also great, and he had this weird game ability. That was the dealbreaker. He almost didn't want to become a ninja after seeing that, but what was amazing about his power, is that it allowed him to get stronger by being lazy. For instance, his [Chakra Regeneration] skill, which he decided to not continue to level until he was a Genin to not arouse suspicion, gave him a passive boost to his Chakra Regeneration, which is at 8%. When using the ability, his regeneration is a whopping 16% of his Max Chakra a minute. And while he didn't have all that much in his Chakra pool, to begin with, if his regen is that high, he can easily keep up with Naruto's immense reserves. Mostly because Naruto didn't know how to use Chakra other than the three Academy jutsu. He had leveled his [Leaf Concentration] to a nice 35, and it was fairly useless as a technique in its own right, but the next stage of it required him to be at Level 20 with it, and he figured that the next step after that would be the same. He had also gotten his [Throwing Mastery] to level 20, and it said that he could not increase it anymore until he made Genin.
Shika sighed as he thought about his future. Either he was going to be paired with Ino and Choji, or he was going to be with Naruto and Ami. And while he didn't mind being on a team with Choji, him, Naruto and Ami already have their teamwork down. Sure, they aren't good at the actual attacks, but there hasn't been any major infighting because no one has been a major prick.
"Whatcha thinkin' about Gaki?"
Shika groaned as he saw Anko's very large breasts block his view of the clouds. "What is it with you and interrupting my cloud watching?
Anko smirked and then stomped on Shika's stomach. "No need to be rude!" She then sat down next to him. "So… guess who just got a promotion!"
Shikamaru faked thinking. "Was it Iruka? Because there's no chance that the Hokage promoted who I think you're implying got promoted."
Anko groaned and took off her vest, and shoved it into Shika's face. "Yeah. It was me. Called me in early this morning before I could eat my dango."
Shikamaru very quickly looked away. "Could you… just put that back on? And the trench coat?"
Anko smirked evilly. "Oh~! What's this?! Could the Gaki be embarrassed to look at my amazing body?"
Shikamaru groaned. "Yes. I also don't want to invoke the wrath of my mother."
Anko sighed and then put her extra clothes back on. "Alright, alright. Geez, you just suck the joy out of everything, don't you?"
Shika chuckled. "Only the things that you do, Anko."
Anko shrugged and then seemed to remember something. "Right. I'm supposed to give you something." She then pulled a scroll out of her jacket. "Here."
Shikamaru looked at Anko. "You didn't store that between your breasts like I thought you would."
Anko stared blankly at Shikamaru. "Why would I do that? It's impractical, not even mentioning uncomfortable." She then cleared her throat. "You gonna open it?"
Shika groaned as he sat up and took the scroll. "Fine." He opened it up and then stared blankly. "It's a nude painting."
Anko looked shocked, then quickly looked at the scroll before rolling it up. "Yeah, that's mine." She then pulled a much smaller scroll from her jacket. "This is yours."
Shikamaru took the smaller one with much more caution in his movements this time around, and slowly opened it to see that it was an order from the Hokage to see him as soon as possible. Shikamaru shrugged and then looked back up at the clouds.
Anko read the note as well. "Gaki, shouldn't you be going?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "The order said 'as soon as possible'. And it's not possible right now. Would you go if you got this during you dango time?"
Anko scoffed. "Hell no. You don't cut that early. It's sacred."
Shika nodded. "As is cloud watching to my family."
Kakashi sneezed loudly in the Jonin briefing room. He rubbed his mask covered nose a bit, then sighed happily. "Whoever is being lazy, I salute you."
Shikamaru was being dragged to the Hokage tower by Anko. Specifically by his ankle. "Any reason why you're dra- ow, dragging me?"
Anko's eye was twitching. "Because you annoy me brat. And that's good enough reason to cause you pain as you meet the Hokage." She then lifted Shikamaru up to eye level. "But the Hokage also told me to drag you here if you're pulling a Nara. Which is cloud watching for hours after you get the order."
Shikamaru stared blankly, then pointed at Anko's face. "You got some red bean paste in the corner of your mouth."
Anko's eyes widened. She dropped Shikamaru on his head and then quickly wiped her face. "Thanks." She resumed to drag Shika to the tower, and up the stairs, making sure that he hit his head on every step. She kicked the door open and tossed Shikamaru in. "Package for the old man!" She then Shunshined out of the tower before anyone could talk back to her.
Hiruzen nodded. "Thank you, Anko." He took a drag from his pipe. "Shikamaru, I realize that you may only be a child, so I'll tell you what I expect of my ninja." He exhaled the smoke in the shape of a dragon. "Integrity to their village, punctuality, and effectiveness. No doubt most of my nin miss the mark on one of those, but they would all give their lives for the village." He then leaned forward as Shikamaru stood up. "That said, I don't think that I can allow another Kakashi to come forth."
Shikamaru nodded. "Alright. So, is he lazier than my dad or something?"
Sarutobi nodded. "By miles. It's actually quite amazing how he can be so lazy, and still be as effective as he is." He then sifted through his documents. "However, that is not why I called you here today." He then set pictures down of Shikamaru, Naruto, and Ami standing in one place, and then disappearing the next. "These were taken seconds apart from each other. Would you care to explain?"
Shikamaru dusted himself off. "Hey, every ninja has their secrets. This is just what I used to help Naruto and Ami become better at what they're training for. Speaking of, the tests are tomorrow. I would just like to ask if ninja have a more advanced version of the Bunshin, can they use that instead?"
The Hokage smirked. 'Well done. He effectively avoided the question while prying for his own answers.' "I don't see why not. And if any of your teachers do say that it isn't possible, just tell them that I said it was okay. Though I don't believe that Iruka will do that to you."
Shikamaru nodded in thought. "Alright. Well, is that all you needed me for?"
Hiruzen shook his head. "Not at all. And while I would like to know more about this method of yours, I would like to learn more about how Naruto's training has been going. Will he be ready for tomorrow?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know what is on the test, so I can't say for certain, but if it's just basic stuff like Taijutsu, Bukijutsu, and the Academy three jutsu, then you don't need to worry about a thing. And I don't know how heavily graded the Bunshin is, but if Naruto failed twice because of it, maybe you should balance the grading system out this year. I can understand the Henge and Kawarimi, but the Bunshin is next to useless. It makes no sound, doesn't cast a shadow, and can't hit anything. The only use I can think of it is for having it just stand there in a dark room to be intimidating, or as a way to get out of work for a good ten seconds."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, and then checked Naruto's files for the previous two years. "Well, it says here that he was lacking in all things ninja, but if what you're saying is to be believed, then I think that I have some Chunin to straighten out. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Shikamaru." He made a hand gesture and a small stack of Ryo poofed onto his desk. "Your payment for training Naruto for this month."
Shikamaru nodded and then pocketed the money so that he could covertly put it into his Inventory. "Thank you, Hokage-san. Is there anything else?"
Sarutobi shook his head. 'No, that will be all."
Shikamaru bowed, then walked out of the office. He closed the big doors behind him and then groaned. "Why is Naruto so troublesome…?" He shook his head, then looked up to see a blonde dashing towards him. He stepped to the side to watch as Naruto hit his face on the door. "Naruto, what are you doing here?"
Naruto held his face in pain. "Dammit! That hurt like hell!" He then flipped onto his feet. "I come by here every day to talk to Jiji! Why are you here Shika?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "Reasons." He then walked off with a smirk. "Oh, and watch out, Anko is in there."
Naruto paled as he gulped nervously. He then slowly opened the door and cautiously looked around. "I-Is the crazy snake lady here?"
Hiruzen smiled. "No, Mitarashi is not here right now Naruto. Please come in."
Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he walked inside. 'Prank the prank master huh Shika…? You just wrote a ticket to your grave!'
Shikamaru sighed as he flopped onto his bed. "Kami, why did you give me this? It's useful and all, but it's so troubleso-" He heard crashing in the next room. His face hardened as he equipped his kunai.
!QUEST ALERT!
Grand Theft Arson-y
Main Objective 1: Investigate the sounds in the next room
Main Objective 2: ?
Main Objective 3: ?
Rewards: ? Skill Scroll, 5000 EXP, 2000 Ryo
Failure: Intensive injuries, Possible permanent crippling, Hospitalization of Yoshino Nara
This Quest cannot be denied
'Mom?!' Shika leaped to his feet and dashed out of his room to see that there were three masked Ninja in their home, one was holding his mother hostage, and the other two were searching for something. Shikamaru nearly growled, but instead, he became cold. He slowly walked towards the three, and his analysis of them showed that he could take them.
?
Masked Assailant
LVL: 9
?
Masked Assailant
LVL: 12
?
Masked Assailant
LVL: 10
He glared and then held his hands in the rat sign. '[Kagemane no Jutsu]...' His shadow extended from his feet and then attached itself to the level nine enemy. Before he could say anything, he took his free hand and forced the man to grab a knife. He then began to make the man stab himself in the heart multiple times. He released the jutsu and then stared at the two remaining enemies, who just saw their colleague kill themselves. "You shouldn't have come into a ninja compound." He watched as the level ten enemy rush towards him and try to attack him with a kunai. Shikamaru easily dodged the attacks, then got tired of dodging, and then kicked the man's hand, forcing him to release their kunai. He grabbed it and then slashed their gut open. He saw them clutch their torso, making them hunch over. Shikamaru then drove the kunai into the man's temple and released the blade, making the man collapse, dead.
The level twelve man had fear evident in his eyes, so he pressed the kunai he had against Yoshino's neck harder against her, drawing blood. "S-Stay back kid! Or this lady dies!"
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, and he then used the [Kawarimi] without any hand signs, multiplying its cost by a factor of ten. Needless to say, he wouldn't be doing that often. He replaced himself with the knife his first kill dropped and then tossed his own kunai at the man, making it stab into his wrist. He cried out in pain as he dropped his own kunai and clutched his arm. Shika rushed in and swept the man off of his feet before slamming him into the ground with a very practiced palm strike. He pinned the man down with his own weight and used his shock to yank the kunai out of his wrist and drive it into his eye, the blade disappearing and the man dying instantly. Shikamaru took his kunai and the one on the floor. "Are you okay mom?"
You have gained a level!
Yoshino was clutching her throat. "S-Shika… y-you just-" She looked at the three dead bodies. "You just killed three people. And you're asking if I'm okay?"
Shikamaru nodded as he yanked the last kunai from the second corpse's temple. "I'll freak out later." He then heard yelling outside and he looked back at his mom. "Get to your room." He cleaned a kunai off with his pants and placed it into his mother's hands. "Stay in there. If anyone besides one of our clan goes in there…" He then began to walk outside. "Go for the throat." He dashed outside and saw two of his guards laying by the gate, dead. He glared at the man who caused this, then saw his level.
?
Masked Assailant
LVL: 15
The man looked over at Shikamaru and then scoffed. "Really? A kid?" He then chuckled as he flicked the blood off of his katana. "Look, just go back to your mommy and I can promise that you'll die quick."
Shikamaru gripped his dual kunai harder. He then pulled up his stat sheet and dumped all 20 of his points into his DEX.
Your Dexterity has broken the boundaries of civilian training and risen past 50!
You have gained the skill: [Chakra Dash]
Chakra Dash(Active): LVL: 1 EXP: 0.00%: CP Cost: 200: Your body has adapted to the high speeds of a ninja, as such, you may now boost your own speed.
For 5 seconds, you can multiply your movement speed by a factor of three
[?] Unlocks at LVL: 40
[?] Unlocks at LVL: 100
"?" Unlocks at LVL: 100
Shikamaru dismissed the skill, then activated it. He dashed towards the man, much faster than he ever was before. And he could guess that his new speed surprised the man as well, with the way his eyes widened. Shika saw a window pop up in the edge of his vision and saw that the man had the intent to cut him in half. He dismissed the window and then slid under the horizontal slash and rolled onto his feet. He activated the skill again and dashed past the man, slicing through the man's side and making him bleed dark red blood. He missed what he was aiming for. He looked back at the man and remembered that he had a bit of blood on his face. "Run while you can…"
The man scowled and then ran at Shikamaru, his blade gleaming. He slashed at the boy, but he moved out of the way. "Alright kid! I can ensure that you're gonna suffer before you die now!" He then made a string of hand signs and took a deep breath before yanking his mask down and shooting a large fireball at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru used his [Chakra Dash] to avoid the large fireball, then threw his two kunai at the man.
The man easily deflected the kunai and chuckled. "You'll have to do better than that kid!" He then tried to run forward, but he couldn't move. "...W-What…?"
Shikamaru held up a half rat sign that he hid behind his back. "Kagemane success." He walked towards the man, making the man move closer. Shikamaru stared up at the man and then made him drop the katana. "You have some nerve attacking a major clan unprepared." He then picked the katana up. "I mean, it's not like you could win. I'm not being arrogant, I mean this as a fact. An entire clan of ninja against four imitators." He then had an epiphany. "This is a distraction." He drove the blade through the man's legs, causing him to collapse. "You're going to tell me what's really going on." He slammed his foot on one of the stab wounds. "Or you're going to be the one to die a slow death."
The man visibly paled and then cried out in pain. "W-What the hell are you talking about kid?!"
Shikamaru stared into the man's eyes as he stabbed down into the man's elbow. "Spill it."
The man cried out again, then chuckled. "Y-You're ten years too young to get anything out of me!"
Shikamaru heard clapping behind him and then looked back to see Anko. "Why are you here?"
Anko hopped off of a building. "Well, I was passing by to drag you off to some late night training, when I see you trying to torture this guy!" She walked over to the man and began to emit killing intent. "He's right though, you are ten years too young." She then pulled Shikamaru away and stomped on the man's crotch. "Let a professional take care of it!" She then pulled out a sealing tag and slammed it onto the man's chest. "This outputs lighting chakra, and it directly attacks the target's nerve points!" She then channeled chakra into the seal and watched as the man began to cry out in agony, spittle coming from his mouth and tears immediately flowing. "See? Much more effective than a sword!" She cut the flow of chakra and watched as the man gasped for air. "Now, you wanna talk, or should I up the shocks~?"
The man shook his head. "P-Please don't! I-I'll talk!"
Anko groaned. "Lightweight." He kicked the man in the side. "Okay, so talk."
The man panted softly. "W-We were hired to get anything we could use against the Hokage for someone! There was no name, just a note, a target, and a drop off point! I was meant to be a distraction, and then we were to burn wherever we attacked!" He then made a half ram sign and there was an explosion in the distance. "And I don't intend to leave without doing my job."
Shikamaru kicked the man hard in the temple, knocking him out. "There are three dead bodies in the main compound." He then ran towards the explosion to see their explosives storage ablaze. "Dammit!" He rammed through the door and then saw a ton of bombs, black powder, and explosive notes of varying yields. He then saw the roof of the building collapse, a large hole now allowing flames to get into the building. Shika looked around, almost panicked, then immediately calmed down. He nodded and then began to throw everything into his Inventory. He could feel the flames growing larger and beginning to whip at his back. Shika was about to get the last bomb into his Inventory when more of the roof collapsed, lighting the wick of the bomb. "Shit!" He quickly turned away and then cried out in pain as the explosion sent him flying, and hitting the ground hard.
HP: 50/875
Shika stared at his health, and then slowly stood up. 'I-If I wasn't immune to...being blown to bits unless my HP hits zero…' He slowly stood up, then collapsed as his legs gave out. "D-Damn…"
HP: 40/875
Shika saw this, then quickly tore his burning shirt off and threw it away from himself. "Right… f-fire… does constant damage… good to know." He felt the pain fade quickly, then stood up. "Alright." He stared at the now destroyed shed and then sighed with a smile. "I missed one, but my compound isn't burning down."
Anko rushed over and then cursed. "Dammit!" She then began to flip through hand signs and then clasped her hands together. "Fūton: Reppūshō!" Anko pulled her hands back and then threw them forward, a gale of wind being released from her hands, snuffing out the flames. She slumped over, panting heavily. "Son of a… that's what I get for not having the Wind Chakra nature, I guess…" She quickly caught her breath and then looked over at Shikamaru. "Well, you're pretty tough. Took out four guys, and survived an explosion. And I didn't know that you could enhance your speed like that Gaki. Have you been learning from other people on the sly? Don't worry, I won't tell your dad that you aren't being lazy."
Shikamaru slowly stood up and then sighed. "Anko… just shut up." He then walked inside and knocked on the door to his parent's room. "They're dead. It's safe to come out." He then walked into his room and locked the door as he flopped down onto his bed. "... I guess this [Gamer's Mind] thing keeps me from freaking out… Inoichi isn't going to be happy about that…" He glanced over at the windows that popped up.
[Chakra Sprint] has gained a level!
!QUEST COMPLETE!
Grand Theft Arson-y
Main Objective 1: Investigate the sounds in the next room
Main Objective 2: Defeat the assailants
Main Objective 3: Prevent your compound from burning down
Rewards: [Katon: Endan] Skill Scroll, 5000 EXP, 2000 Ryo
Shika sighed as a scroll appeared in his hands. "I don't feel like a winner, but thanks anyways game…"
You have gained the skill scroll [Katon: Endan]
Would you like to learn this skill?
[YES/NO]
Shikamaru tapped the NO button and stored it in his Inventory. "This...entire day… has been so… goddamn… troublesome.
Name: Shikamaru Nara
Title: The Gamer
Job: Ninja
Rank: Student (+ 20% EXP gain to all Academy Skills until they reach Skill LVL 20)
Affiliation: Konoha
LVL: 12 Next LVL: 0.00%
HP: 875/875 (Regen: 17.5 per minute)
CP: 1183/1183 (Regen: 95.11 (24.13 + 70.98] per minute)
STR: 33
VIT: 35
DEX: 56
INT: 41
WIS: 26
LUK: 14
Skill Points: 0
Ryō: 7781
Perks:
Nara Heritage: Allows usage of the Yin Release to manipulate Darkness
Genius: + 50% EXP gain to INT, when focused, answers come much easier
Shogi Journeyman: +25% EXP to WIS when playing Shogi.
So… this was kinda hard to finish, but I think that it's fine. I can't belive that it took so long to do though...And before people ask why a level 50 could be held hostage by a level 13, It's more like they threatened to kill Shikamaru and the reason she was in shock is because she just watched her son kill three people.
Shikamaru: Checkmate
Quiet you. So yeah. See you guys next time.
