Shikamaru had come to the realization that perhaps the orange loving blond was more trouble than she was worth. For the last month he had been studying her; watching as she interacted with people and villagers. He took notice of her facial expressions, her mannerisms, and her over all attitude. He had come to a few solid conclusions: 1) She was more cheerful then any other person he had ever met. She never frowned, only seeing the positives no matter how dire the situation. 2) The girl had an unparalleled determination. No matter how many times he knocked her down, no matter how many loses she took, she would just get up, dust herself off, and cheerfully ask for a rematch. It was insane, it was crazy, and he respected her all the more for it. 3) Someday, she was going to be an incredible Shinobi. Her determination, work ethic, and raw talent would make her incredibly dangerous. She used a jonin level technique easily, creating multiple shadow clones without showing a hint of exhaustion. This chakra capacity that she had, coupled with her ambition, would propel her to the top. 4) She was going to make a damn fine Hokage.

Shikamaru remembered how back in the academy, Naruto used to scream at the top of her lungs how she would be the next Hokage. No one had ever believed her, rolling their eyes at her stupidity. After all, how could the dead last ever be Hokage? But the Nara has been watching her very carefully for the last month, even joining her in troublesome spars and training sessions in order to observe her more closely. He knew she was going to be powerful; she already had the charisma needed in abundance, she had a will of fire that burned brighter then anyone's he's ever seen, and if he played his cards right, she would have all the political backing she needed.

Shikamaru was playing a very dangerous game, and from the moment he invited the girl into his home, he had committed to it. By ensuring Naruto as Hokage, he was ensuring a very long and comfortable life for the Nara Clan, as they would be her official backers. He had a plan, a very dangerous and long plan. It would take every bit of his intelligence to pull this off, but once he did, the shinobi world will live in peace. He was planning for the long term, all for the future well being of Konoha. It was his move, and Shikmaru was making a risky gamble.

This was what brought the young heir to his current predicament, standing in front of the Nara Clan Elders. Shikaku stood near his son quietly, allowing for Shikamaru to lead the discussion. Clearing his throat, Shikamaru began, "As you are all aware of by now, Uzumaki Naruto has been living under our roof for the last month. It was my sole decision to invite her in, and I would also like to offer her our clans protection."

One of the elders spoke, "Are you sure of your decision. Offering one clan protection means that the clan will protect the girl as if she were one of our own. Her mistakes could cost us much, and in extreme circumstances, could even drag us into war."

Shikamaru smiled deviously, "Yes, however her achievements would also benefit us greatly."

"Are you willing to risk everything on this move?" Another elder asked inquisitively.

"I have weighed all of our choices, and have drawn up every outcome. The Nara clan has survived this long not due to strength, nor due to powerful members, but because of the fact that we have planned and foreseen every variable. Naruto has no current allies, no friends to speak of. If we move now, all we would be doing is ensuring the loyalty of Konoha's greatest weapon."

The elders eyes all widened, taking in the significance of the boys assessment, "Very well, we will trust in our future clan head, like the ancestors before us."

"I thank you all." Shikamaru bowed slightly to his family members, before exiting the room. He was swiftly followed out by his father.

"How did you find out?" Shikaku asked, not completely surprised at his sons antics.

"That Naruto housed the nine tails? It was quite easy, once I knew what I was looking for. Demons cannot be killed, and the only container strong enough to hold the Kyūbi is a human. Naruto is the only person in Konoha to be born on that day, and it perfectly explains the villagers treatment of her, as well as the councils vested interest in her." Shikamaru explained.

Shikaku nodded, "I assume you have a plan?"

Shikamaru gave his father a wry look, "Don't I always?"

Leaving his fathers side, Shikamaru went up to the roof of his home so that he could watch the clouds. He was very glad that the elders of his clan were unlike the other clans in Konoha. His clan was notoriously lazy and liberal, meaning that they had a certain amount of trust in the Clan head, as well as the heir. Shikamaru has proved himself to his Clan time and time again. While the rest of Konoha was blind to the success of the Nara heir, his clan recognized his sheer genius, and gave him the respect he deserved. This was the first time Shikamaru has addressed the elders in such a way, as it was his first move in the political shogi board. Despite his youth and inexperience, the elders recognized his plan for what it was, and as such, gave the heir the power he needed to accomplish his goals.

Shikamaru supposed that he felt bad about his manipulation. He was starting to like Naruto, truly. She was an odd friend to have, and frankly, her carrying the fox made her a hero in his eyes. But now that he knew the truth about her, he knew more then ever that she will need all the help and protection she could get. He feared that she could be used as a bartering tool, perhaps even sold off to marriage. Anyways, she wanted nothing more than to be Hokage, and receive the respect she deserved; Shikamaru could help her accomplish this. All of this strategizing and scheming was done to help the blond Uzumaki; but if he was able to help his clan in the process, then it was killing two birds with one stone. After all, it was his job as a Nara to ensure the best possible outcome.


Naruto was practically skipping as they walked to the Land of Waves. Her eyes were taking in the expanse of the forest, documenting each and every irregularity so that she can tell Shikamaru all about it when she got back. She was so busy taking in the sights, that she didn't even notice a random puddle in the middle of the road.

The team walked by it, the children and client not even suspecting anything to be amiss. Kakashi sensei however hung back, realizing the danger of an upcoming attack. Once the demon brothers were soundly defeated, Kakashi began to interrogate the old man. "Tazuna-San, the two ninja were obviously trying to kill you. Now tell the truth, why do they want you dead?"

Tazuna, fear covering his face, spilled the entire story; how the Land of Waves was taken over by Gatō, and how the bridge that he was building was their only hope. Kakashi was ready to turn around and head back to Konoha, when Naruto interrupted, "No way Kakashi sensei! They need our help! We can't just back out now!"

Sasuke nodded in agreement, while Sakura meekly hid in the background, not quite sure that they should be continuing this dangerous mission. After a rather grim display of strength and determination (Naruto cutting her hand open to let out the poison), Kakashi decided that the mission will go on.

"We will likely face more Shinobi. And the next one is sure to be a jonin." Kakashi warned his students, "If we are attacked by a ninja of this caliber, you are not to get involved. You will stay back and protect our client." Once the three Genin promised, they continued on with their journey.


With Naruto gone on a C-Rank mission, Shikamaru found a lot of extra time on his hands. He chose to use his new found free time to hang out with his old friend Chōji. It has been quite a while since they spent any time together outside of team training and missions.

Somehow, his planned solo dinner with his friend turned into a team outing (he blamed Ino and her damn eavesdropping). Sitting at a booth at their favorite barbecue restaurant, they patiently waited for their meals to arrive.

"Okay, I am officially sick of this!" Ino screeched.

Shikamaru winced, "What are you talking about this time Ino?"

"YOU! You've been weird and distant!" She exclaimed.

Shikamaru glanced at the other two members of the team, wanting to see if they agreed with the blonds assessment. Asuma smiled awkwardly, "Well… You have been a little out of it lately."

Shikamaru thought back to the last few weeks. He supposed he has been slightly distracted, especially since he found out about Naruto's little predicament. It took quite a lot of energy to come up with a plan to completely take over the political society of Konoha. "I've just been busy." He said vaguely.

"With what? What could possibly make the all time lazy Nara so busy?" Ino asked sarcastically.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get out of this without answering, Shikamaru sighed, "Clan matters. Father has been giving me more responsibility as heir."

All three at the table looked at him in shock, "Shikaku is already training you to be the Clan head?" Asuma asked incredulously.

"But- I thought most people don't start getting trained for the position until they're at least chunin." Ino revealed.

Shikmaru shrugged, "Father wants an early retirement. Knowing him, he just wants to push off all his work onto me so that he can spend the rest of his days playing shogi." Now, the Nara wasn't necessarily lying. Shikaku was in fact teaching him more of clan politics, however this had less to do with him wanting early retirement, and more with the fact that Shikamaru was essentially planning a political move so bold that the boy needed all the schooling he could possibly get.

"Huh, no wonder you haven't been around." Chōji remarked.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry about that."

Asuma just lit another cigarette, "And here I thought that the reason you haven't been around was because of a girl."

Ino let out a loud laugh, "Yeah right! What kind of girl would ever like Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru's mind immediately went to the blonde Uzumaki that took up the room next to his, "Troublesome blonde."


After the attack by Zabuza left Kakashi immobile, team 7 was forced to stay with the bridge builder and his family as they waited for their sensei to heal. Naruto immediately got along with Tazuna's daughter Tsunami. Naruto quickly offered to help out the kind woman in the kitchen, aiding her in the preparation of dinner. As they chopped vegetables, the two girls exchanged stories of their individual villages. The peaceful atmosphere reminded Naruto of when she helps out Yoshino in the kitchen. She felt a slight pang in her chest, as she began to miss her home.

Naruto stilled as she realized what she just thought of. Home. She had just referred to the Nara compound as home. She's only lived there for a month, yet she already feels as though she has stayed there forever. The Nara's have become her family almost. Yoshino was exactly how she always pictured her mother to be like; kind, beautiful, and loving. Shikaku was slightly distant, but he was always there at dinner to listen to Naruto's stories with an amused smile. Shikamaru… well that was a hard one. He definitely wasn't like a sibling, but she couldn't help but feel great affection towards him. If it weren't for his kindness that night, Naruto would have frozen to death on a bench in central Konoha.

"Naruto! Kakashi sensei is awake!" Sakura called from the top of the stairs. Naruto dropped her knife, before running towards the room where her sensei was resting.

"Ah, all of my cute little Genin are here now." Kakashi said with that weird eye smile of his.

"How are you feeling sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I've been in worse shape. Listen carefully, unfortunately Zabuza is alive." Kakashi informed them.

"WHAT!" Cried Sakura and Naruto. Kakashi explained how the Hunter-nin was actually Zabuza's accomplice, and how he had used senbon in order to fake his death.

"Does that mean he's going to come back and attack?" Naruto asked.

"He's pretty injured. He's not going to risk fighting until he's healed, which would take about a week. Thankfully, by then I should also be back to top fighting shape. This time, I'll be fighting Zabuza, while you three take care of the hunter-nin. That means more training!" Kakashi informed them.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled (well, Naruto smiled while Sasuke smirked), happy at the idea of learning something new.


"Damn sensei, promises us actual training, and instead forces us to climb trees." Naruto muttered angrily as she was blasted away from the tree once more. Running up the trunk, she made it four feet up before she was blasted away again. Looking to her side, she saw that Sasuke was doing no better. Gritting her teeth in anger, she tried again, only to be blasted away even further away.

"How come Sakura got it in the first try?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke, panting slightly, replied, "She has less chakra then us moron. Obviously it would be a lot easier for her to control it."

Naruto grinned, "So what I'm hearing, is that we just have so much more chakra than Sakura? Awesome."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his blond teammate, watching as she was able to make it another two steps higher before falling off. There was a small, yet undeniable change in the Uzumaki since they passed Kakashi-sensei's test. She was getting better, stronger, faster. Naruto Uzumaki, the dead last, was actually turning into a formidable Shinobi. Sasuke couldn't help but be jealous of the girls progress, angry that she seemed to grow while his strength stayed the same. Perhaps the dobe was a worthy rival after all.


Ino was suspicious. There was no way that Uncle Shikaku was already training Shikamaru to be clan head. He was too young, and had just became a Genin. Plus, Shikamaru was the laziest ninja of all time, no way was he ready to take over a clan.

With determination and a steeled look in her eye, she approached her father; a man who has been friends with Shikaku for over 20 years. "Hey dad." Ino smiled sweetly as she entered her families flower shop.

"Hello Ino, how was your day?" Inoichi asked.

"Kind of crazy." Ino answered, taking a seat next to her father behind the counter, "You see, after our missions today, Asuma sensei took us out for barbecue. But Shikamaru has been acting really weird these last few days, seeming more out of it then normal. So when we asked him what's bothering him, he claimed that he's been busy because his dad was training him to be clan head! But that's impossible, since Shikamaru is way too young to start that kind of training, right daddy?"

Inoichi looked at his daughter, sighing at her intrusiveness, "The Nara clan has always been different. Shikaku himself took the position of Clan Head when he was only 19, perhaps he's getting his son ready for the unlikely outcome that he would have to do the same."

"But still! Shikamaru is twelve. Surely you don't think he's mature enough to train so early?"

"Like I said, the Nara clan is special. Their members are extraordinarily intelligent, so they tend to start delving into political matters at a young age. While I wasn't aware that Shikaku was already preparing his heir, I can't say I'm surprised."

Ino's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean... Shikamaru really is training to lead the clan?"

Inoichi sighed, "Shikamaru is much smarter than you think Ino. If Shikaku is training him this early, then Shikamaru must be even more intelligent then we had originally assumed. You would do well to remember that."


Sakura was bored. Oh so utterly bored. She was guarding Tazuna alone as he built the bridge, since her other teammates were still trying to climb the tree. She wished that she hid the fact that she was able to do it so easily, since maybe then she could spend more time with her love, Sasuke. Instead, all she succeeded in was alienating herself from the Uchiha.

Sasuke barely spared her a glance during the entire mission, instead, his focus seemed to be on their blond teammate. Sakura clenched her fist in anger as she thought of the Uzumaki. Naruto was strong, much stronger then Sakura at least. She was improving leaps and bounds from their time in the academy, and worst of all, she seemed to hold Sasuke's attention most of the time. The blond will often goad the Uchiha into some meaningless argument, or even a spar. Does she have a crush on Sasuke? Sakura was worried, she didn't know if she could compete with Naruto if she was in fact in love with Sasuke.

Quickly, Sakura snapped out of it. Sakura wouldn't lose Sasuke's love to anyone, especially not Naruto Uzumaki.