This is a work of fanfiction, drawing from the worlds of "Naruto," created by Masashi Kishimoto, and "The Gamer," created by Sung Sang-Young. This work is not for profit, and I do not claim any ownership over "Naruto," "Dungeons & Dragons," or "The Gamer." There are also references to other popular sources, which are written here in parody. Thank you, and please enjoy!

…

As he shared the details of his life with the leader of his village and his teacher, Shikamaru couldn't help but remember an ancient adage: "Three things cannot stay hidden for long: the sun, the moon, and the truth." As such, considering he was speaking with a man renowned as one of the most powerful in the entire shinobi world, he was exceptionally truthful. And for several hours, he shared his story. Every level, every statistic, every quest, every opportunity, every dungeon. Every victory, every loss. Every insight, every question. He shared until he ran out of things to share, and then the questions began. And he answered those until both Asuma and Hiruzen Sarutobi ran out of questions to ask.

At some point, Hiruzen had stepped out of the office and instructed one of the chunin assistants to fetch them some food. And so, late in the evening, Shikamaru found himself sitting on a couch in the Hokage's office, slurping shio ramen from Ichiraku's Ramen Shop, enjoying a few moments of silence and the sense of a great weight having been lifted from his shoulders.

Asuma broke the spell. "So... does team training do anything for you at all? I mean, I can see Ino's and Choji's growth, but I honestly have no idea with you."

Shikamaru finished chewing, paused, and pondered. "... It helps. The conditioning sometimes improve my vitality and strength. But the fastest way for me to improve is from gaining experience from fighting and leveling up."

"How about sparring?"

"I gained experience today, but that was because I received quests from the Game, telling me to win the spars. Without the quests, I wouldn't have gained anything."

"Hmm. Do you receive a quest with every spar, Shikamaru?" Hiruzen interjected.

The genin paused. "... I'm not sure. I've received several quests for spars, but haven't tested that out."

"How many times have you tested things out? I mean, how far have your experiments taken you?"

"I know that I only need an hour of sleep to be fully rested. And that if I need to, I can skip that. Same for food and water- I can survive every day on a single item of food, like an apple, and a small bottle of water. And if I'm injured, I'm usually healed after a few hours. If I sleep, I heal injuries even faster. According the description in the game, I might be able to regenerate any injury with enough time sleeping in a bed."

"But you obviously haven't tried that yet," Hiruzen observed. He set his empty bowl down on the coffee table and stretched. "I do believe I am out of questions for the moment. Anything else, Asuma?" He glanced at his son, who shook his head. "Well, I do believe that I owe you some explanations as well. Perhaps what little I know will shed light on your abilities. Normally, when a young shinobi of this village discovers or creates a new ability, we do not confront them, and let them reveal their power to their superiors as they become more comfortable or proficient in them. This reinforces the trust we have in our shinobi and our faith in the Will of Fire. It also allows their creativity to flourish uninterrupted and unstifled, and gives them time to develop enough understanding of these abilities in order to accurately articulate them. Unfortunately, due to recent incidents, we do not have that luxury with your powers. Shikaku."

A poof of smoke enveloped the potted plant on the floor next to the sofa, revealing the Head of the Nara Clan standing there, stretching out his neck. "Ugh. Not used to being still that long anymore."

"Dad?"

Shikaku smirked. "Yo. We weren't sure you'd tell us everything if you knew I was here. Kids act differently around their parents, but as Commander I needed to know."

The Sandaime stood up and stretched, picking up his pipe from his desk and igniting it with a snap of his fingers and a touch of fire manipulation. "This was the easiest way to brief him. Do you have any insights?"

Shikaku finished stretching and sat down, picking up his bowl of ramen. It was at that moment that Shikamaru realized that the Hokage had ordered four entrees, not three. "Should have picked up on that..."

"I'm sure I will later. But for now, I think we should fill him in."

"Very well." Hiruzen took a deep pull from his pipe and exhaled slowly, collecting his thoughts. "First, what you are most concerned about: Shikaku encountered a masked shinobi not affiliated with our forces on the Nara clan's property last night. Somehow, that ninja was able to break free from his binding jutsu, at night nonetheless, and escaped. While we are not certain, we believe that this enemy was gathering intelligence on you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru clenched his fists, his mind racing as he took this information in. "And you're saying he or she was powerful enough to break free of your jutsu?"

Shikaku growled. "I don't think it was power. This shinobi knew how our techniques work. Even the developments I've created since the last shinobi war. There was a seal on their body that released a blast of light that they could activate without hand signs to disconnect any shadows. Takes a lot of time and foresight to craft that. And knowledge about seals that we did not possess already. But that's not the only problem."

"At the same time last night, the tomb of the Nidaime Hokage was disturbed. Yet again, the enemy displayed advanced sealing techniques that enabled them to take a sample of my sensei's remains. We believe this to be a coordinated effort, and the two instances to be committed by the same group."

Asuma frowned. "Why would anyone want their remains? Their bodies would be too decayed at this point for any secrets to be discovered."

Hiruzen took a long draw off his pipe and breathed it out slowly. "Do not underestimate the darkest corners of the realm of ninjutsu, my son. There are several techniques that could be invoked. And none of them bode well for our village. What concerns me the most is that the number of shinobi in the world who could pull off such a heist are few and far between. Knowing the location of the tombs, and having the prowess to disable the seals protecting the coffins... it is quite troublesome. This is where you and your abilities come in, Shikamaru. My hope is that you will be able to unlock some of my predecessor's secrets, secrets that might help us circumvent the downfall someone appears to be plotting for us."

The Sandaime stood up and walked over his desk, grabbing a warn burlap sack and two of the scrolls that he brought out that afternoon. He walked back and handed them to the Nara with a smile. "These... were my sensei's. What can you tell me about them?"

"Observe. Observe. Observe."

Tobirama's Bag of Holding

The interior space of this bag is significantly larger than its dimensions should allow. It can hold up to five hundred pounds, and the total volume may not exceed sixty-four cubic feet. Regardless of its contents, the bag weighs approximately fifteen pounds. The amount of oxygen within the bag is finite and related to the volume of the bag left empty, and is only restored after a long rest. Only an individual permitted by the Dungeon Master may access the contents of this bag.

Jutsu Scroll: Instant Dungeon Creation

Jutsu Scroll: Yin Release: Vicious Mockery

Shikamaru relayed his observations, when suddenly the Bag of Holding began to dissolve in his hands. "I'm... I'm not doing this!"

You have unlocked Key Items! Key Items may be viewed in your journal and do not take up space in your inventory.

You have received a key item: 'Tobirama's Bag of Holding.' Inventory has increased to 80. Items within the Bag of Holding have been added to your inventory.

Shikamaru recited his alerts and winced as the bag dissolved in its entirety as the Hokage looked on in irritation. "Do you have access to its contents? That was the purpose of this exercise," Hiruzen demanded. Shikamaru quickly opened his inventory, noting its expanded size, and began pulling the new items out, setting them on the coffee table.

Asuma looked on in confusion as the items began appearing. "Can you tell us what these are? I've never seen anything like this before."

"Observe..."

"Various gemstones, worth different amounts: obsidian, quartz, pearls, black pearls, alexandrite, blue sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, rubies... this is called a Ring of Feather Falling that protects the wearing from damage if they fall from high up, a Ring of Mind Shielding that protects against mind reading and mental suggestions, a potion that makes you breath fire, a potion of healing that, well, heals you a little, armor called dwarven plate that looks like it's for a short person, and the giant hammer is called a dwarven thrower. There's also a lot of coins that I don't recognize. They're made of gold, silver, and platinum."

Hiruzen chuckled. "We knew there were items in the bag, but whenever anyone looked, it always appeared empty, and we could never find any seals on it. Try with the scrolls."

Shikamaru picked them up and received the options to learn them, which Hiruzen permitted.

Learned: Instant Dungeon Creation Jutsu (Lv. 1): A means of creating an instant dungeon, or small pocket dimension. The user uses chakra to focus the power of the Gamer to create the dimensional space within his or her current reality. The user cannot be engaged in combat when using this jutsu. Items obtained in instant dungeons are not real and will not exist in the real world. (CP: 100)

Current Dungeons Available: (1) Empty (2) Zombies

Learned: Yin Release: Vicious Mockery Jutsu (Lv. 1): The user releases a string of insults laced with chakra at a target within sight and within audible range. If the target can hear the insults and is not wise enough to resist them, it suffers minor spiritual damage and has a disadvantage on its next attack (CP: 30, Range: L-)

"Very, very interesting. My sensei's 'trash talk jutsu,' we used to call it," he laughed. "I never realized it was an actual technique. I just assumed him to have a way with words. And the instant dungeon... explains some things."

"What kind of things, if I may ask?" Asuma inquired. "We know almost nothing about these abilities. I honestly know very little about the Nidaime in general."

"Well, he was before your time," Hiruzen admitted. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. Back to the founding of the village, while the world was still wild, when clans shed far too much blood for little gain."

He sighed. "The Senju and the Uchiha clans were at the center of it all. The two most powerful, most famous clans on the continent. If one were hired for a task, the other would find themselves hired opposite them on the battlefield. And so, for generations, the two clans fought and killed each other, enacting vengeance time and time again. Butsuma Senju, a leader of the Senju clan, had four especially talented sons: Hashirama, Tobirama, Itama, and Kawarama. Tajima Uchiha, a leader of the Senju clan, had five talented sons: Izuna, Madara, Yosuke, Byakuya, and Kurei. Somehow, in the midst of all the wars, the Uchiha and the Senju set up home bases not far from where this village sits today, here in the Land of Fire. And it was here, in this place, that the most unlikely of friendships began: that of Hashirama and Madara."

Hiruzen stood up and walked over to the windows, gazing to the Shodai Hokage's head on the Monument. "I actually remember as a child, seeing Hashirama and Madara standing where the Shodai's head was later chiseled in. It was there that they built their vision of this village, and there that they dreamed of the end of their conflict." He sighed. "Sadly, the Senju killed all of Tajima's sons but Madara and Izuna, and the Uchiha killed all of Butsuma's sons but Hashirama and Tobirama. Eventually, the two leaders killed each other in battle, and Hashirama became the leader of the Senju clan, while Madara became the leader of the Uchiha. Around this time, Hashirama came into his powers, becoming the first person in known history to possess Wood Release ninjutsu, the power to build upon life itself, as well as the first known person in history since the Sage of Six Paths to became a sage and harness the power of nature. With the deaths of their siblings, Madara and Izuna Uchiha unlocked the famous Mangekyo Sharingan, the highest level of power known to their clan. Great power, but coming at great cost."

"The Senju and Uchiha drew into conflict again and entered into a fierce battle, during which Tobirama slew Madara's brother, Izuna. Consumed with grief, Madara engaged Hashirama with vengeance in his heart, and their battle was so intense that the rest of their clans threw down their weapons and retreated in fear of their lives. In the end, Hashirama triumphed, but instead of a final blow, reached out his hand to help his friend to his feet, and then offered him his own life in apology for the death of his brother, if that was what it would take for the cycle of violence to end. Madara embraced him, and the Village Hidden in the Leaves was born."

Hiruzen walked back towards the two sitting on his couch and sat down in his favorite arm chair. "A lot of history, but very relevant to understanding Tobirama Senju. After the founding of this village, other nations followed suit, the greatest being the Village Hidden in the Mist, the Village Hidden in the Clouds, the Village Hidden in the Sand, and the Village Hidden in the Stones. The newly elected Shodai Hokage, Hashirama, dispatched Madara and Tobirama to gather allies. He sent Madara to the new great villages, and Tobirama to contact other clans in the area, among them the Sarutobi, the Nara, and Yamanaka, the Hyuga, the Akimichi, the Aburame, the Inuzaka, the Kurama, and the Uzumaki. Tobirama also happened upon a small village in the Land of Bears, a village that called itself the Village Hidden Among Stars. The village utilized an interesting technique that depended upon the remnants of a shooting star, what we would now call a meteorite. While there, he was allowed to attempt to learn what he could of their unique jutsu, but was unable to master it."

"When he returned from his mission, two distinct changes occurred. First, it was discovered that Madara had attempted to create peace by intimidating the other villages, nearly inciting the first Great War just by his abrasive personality and bloodlust alone. Second, Tobirama was not the same after his visit to the Village Hidden Among Stars. Hashirama ordered his younger brother to take an extended holiday, believing him to be suffering from a stress disorder. In hindsight, I believe that this is the time that he received powers not unlike your own," Hiruzen stated.

"Nonetheless, while Hashirama was distracted by Madara's antics, Tobirama developed his skills. The younger Senju brother was always a brilliant shinobi. He was not, however, anywhere near the prowess of his older brother. But he had s sharp mind, and a fierce devotion to perfection, a devotion that suddenly became obsessive. He had played with inventing powerful techniques before, among them what would later become the Yondaime's Flying Thunder God Jutsu. It was the same technique he used to defeat Izuna Uchiha. It was far from perfect, however, and he had all but abandoned developing it further, citing it impossible. But after his return, he was suddenly able to use the technique without issue. He had also always been skilled with water manipulation techniques, but suddenly the sheer number of ninjutsu he possessed and the might of them made him the most powerful water ninjutsu master in the known world, even mightier in those techniques than the Mizukage. Tobirama was quite famous for being able to use his water techniques without a source of water nearby; he claimed he drew moisture from the air, but knowing what we are currently discussing, I believe that his abilities made accessibility to water needless for his jutsu."

Hiruzen took a sip from his cold coffee and cleared his throat. "Tobirama-sensei would sometimes disappear, only to reappear in the same place later looking as though he'd been through a fierce battle. By that point, he was responsible for a genin team, me among them. He would tell us that he was practicing his teleportation, but took a wrong turn on his way back."

"He suddenly would possess unique items that he claimed he created, such as the Sword of the Thunder God, or a potion that would allow him to breathe fire without the consumption of chakra. Or this bottle of brandy that he gave me as a gift when I became a jounin. He also began revealing techniques that had never seen the world before, such as the Shadow Clone technique, another jutsu that severed souls from their bodies that could only be performed once per day, a jutsu that made it possible to bring back the dead temporarily at the cost of another's life... Techniques the world had not seen, and that he also struggled to share with others. It wasn't until he learned a jutsu that allowed him to copy knowledge onto scrolls that he began to share some of the techniques. Some of those scrolls, however, always appeared to be blank to the observer. We would watch him write in them, only for the text to disappear whenever a shinobi of the village tried to read it. Tobirama would scoff at them, and read it to them, but some skills he could not share. Others that could be read, the costs were so extreme that one of my first acts as Hokage was to forbid their use. The two you learnt tonight were among the ones that appeared to be blank, and the rest of that pile are more examples of jutsu that I believe are accessible only to those with your powers."

"One night, only a few years before the first Great War, sensei took me with him to get drinks to celebrate the birth of his nephew. He didn't want to drink alone, and quite frankly, he had few friends, even among his family. After a few drinks, he started laughing uncontrollably, before suddenly stopping and turning towards me, seemingly suddenly sober. He told me that he had a mission to convince me of something important. He pulled out a scroll and set it before me, and asked me what I saw. I unrolled it, and it was blank. He insisted that on it was text that only he could see, that on that page was a picture of him, his name, and then a list of numbers that made up his strengths and weaknesses. He called it his character sheet, and that further on in the scroll was a list of everything he was wearing or carrying, details about his abilities, jutsu, proficiencies... His description of that page is actually identical to the format he later ordered the intelligence division to use for our published Bingo Books."

"He told me that all of the world was nothing but a game, that everything hinged on the roll of the die. He said that there was a voice whispering in his ear, someone called the Dungeon Master, who gave him instructions. Terrible things befell him if he did not heed the directions. He claimed his character had reached its fullest potential, and that eventually his campaign would end and a new one would begin. At that point, I assumed that he was in fact quite drunk, and ordered some water from the bartender. He told me that the rules for the next campaign would likely change, as he was currently only on the second edition."

"The game called itself Shinobi Quest 3.0," Shikamaru commented. "That implies that there were two other Shinobi Quests."

"Indeed," the Hokage acknowledge. "And your game has a vastly different format than what we know of Tobirama Senju's. So we can infer that either he was the second and you the third, or that the different interfaces suggest that there are multiple iterations of each version."

"I have not experienced anything resembling a Dungeon Master," Shikamau commented. "The only reference to dungeons have been the ones I've been entering."

"And we have no idea of anything else Tobirama-sensei experienced in this game. The only time he mentioned it was on this night, and he never brought it up again. He did seem to have plateaued in terms of skill around that time. A few years later, the various villages in the world struck alliances and went to war. Hashirama sacrificed himself to protect the village from an invading army, and Tobirama became the Nidaime. He launched himself into battle with fury, and became known as a second coming of his brother, who had been renowned as a God of Shinobi. The Village Hidden in the Clouds dispatched their most powerful shinobi to trap him, and, consequently, myself and the other members of my team. We fought as hard as we could, and in a brief respite, he pulled us together and named me the Sandaime Hokage, before taking off and engaging the enemy on his own, enabling us to escape at the cost of his own life."

"In the end," Hiruzen commented sadly, "I believe that he was weary of this life. He had attempted to perfect a technique that resurrected the dead, but was never able to fully bring that person back to life. I believe that he yearned to bring Hashirama back, but lacked the means to do so. He became exceptionally paranoid, and started displaying obsessive and compulsive behavior. He became obsessed with gemstones; the degree to which I never realized until you found all of these today. My best guess is that he discovered a way to bring Hashirama back that utilized these gems in some fashion."

With that, Hiruzen sudden clapped his hands and stood up. "And that... is everything we know about Tobirama and his Game." He stood up and walked over to his desk, and started picking up some of the jutsu scrolls and tossed them at Shikamaru. "And now, let us see what how far your abilities match his own. Let's see if you can learn all of these hidden jutsu!"

Learned: Detect Bloodlust (Lv. 1, Passive): One can sense the presence of danger before the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Passively increases the ability to detect traps by 25%. (CP: 0) (Range: L)

Learned: Energy Shield (Lv. 1): Creates a clear, spherical shield that protects the user from impact. The shield can be reinforced at the expense of additional chakra. The user cannot move while the shield is active. (CP: 30, +3 per second)

Learned: Ring of Detection (Lv. 1): The user detects all enemies within range, whether hidden or unhidden. Current range is thirty feet. (CP: 20, +1 per second) (Range: 30 Feet)

Learned: Locate (Lv. 1): The user is able to sense the location of an object, person, or creature within range, and if it is moving, its movement of direction. Current range is one thousand feet. (CP: 40, +3 per second) (Range: 1000 Feet)

Learned: Leomund's Tiny Hut (N/A): A dome is created that encompasses the user and those within range; the dome dissipates if the user leaves its area. Outside creatures, beings, and objects cannot enter the dome or see within. Beings and creatures of a higher level than the user may attempt to destroy the dome with force. The space within the dome will stay warm and dry, regardless of the weather. This jutsu lasts for eight hours, and the current range is ten feet. (CP: 250) (Range: 10 Feet)

Learned: Amaneunsis (N/A): By sacrificing chakra, ink, and a blank body of paper of equal length, the user creates a copy of a text he or she has seen in its entirety, at a rate of 250 words per minute. Only the text may be copied; sealed items or other accoutrement will not be transcribed to the copy. (CP: 200) (Range: S-)

Learned: Mending (N/A): The user repairs a single break or tear in an object. All parts of the broken object must be present, and the object is repaired without any trace of the previous damage. (CP: 100)

Learned: Friends (Lv. 1): The user temporarily increases reputation (REP) with the target in range by twenty points for the duration of the jutsu. Current range is thirty feet, and current duration is one minute. If a wise target detects the technique, reputation is decreased by twenty for the next twenty-four hours. (CP: 30) (Range: 30 Feet)

Shikamaru recited the description of each technique as the scrolls disappeared one by one, adding themselves to his expanding jutsu list. Two or three he was unable to learn or even discern what they contained, and put them into his inventory for safekeeping. Hiruzen walked over with one last scroll, and a weary smile on his face. "Think of this as a reward for your forthcomings. This technique is a difficult one to master, and one that I admit I do not have much proficiency in. The jutsu uses lightning chakra to stimulate the nervous system, increasing your physical capabilities and ability to react, as well as adding a little... excitement to taijutsu. Tobirama-sensei claimed that he was able to use it to such a degree that he could speed up the synapses in his brain, making it possible to think so quickly that the world around him would slow to a crawl while his thoughts raced ahead. I believe that with your natural affinity, you will find this most useful indeed."

Learned: Lightning Release: Overdrive (Lv. 1): The user utilizes lightning chakra to speed up signals sent through the nervous system, magnifying the user's DEX and adding minor lighting damage to physical attacks. (CP: 50, +5 per second) (Range: N/A)

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. This will be incredibly helpful," Shikamaru stated.

Hiruzen smiled warmly at the genin. "You have much promise, young Nara. Asuma, I trust that you will add lightning manipulation exercises to Shikamaru's training?"

Asuma nodded. "That I can do. There is one thing I have to ask: where do we go from here? Do we just... carry on? These abilities are unlike anything I've ever seen. I'm not even sure how best to train him, or how this will affect missions."

"Indeed," Hiruzen acknowledged. "Shikaku?"

The Nara paused, then shrugged. "He said the conditioning can help. So stick with that. And he gets rewards from D-rank missions, so there's no reason to stop those. Continue as you've been, until we think of more."

The Hokage placed his hands on his desk, preparing to retract the fuinjutsu sealing the office, but paused. "What we have discussed this evening... for now, we will treat it as a secret. This is an order - neither of you are to share information regarding these abilities with anyone. Is that understood?"

"Of course," Asuma said tiredly.

"Yes, sir," the genin acknowledged.

"Report back to this office tomorrow so that we may enact a plan on how best to proceed. Dismissed." Hiruzen extended his chakra into the seal, causing it to glow briefly before the text retreated back into a small swirl in the center of the desk. Shikamaru and Shikaku turned and left, closing the door behind them.

"... You okay, dad?"

Hiruzen laughed. "I should be asking you if you are okay."

Asuma smiled at him. "I'll survive. But I can see how tired you are."

"A lot of memories tonight," he admitted. "More than I wanted to dig through. And a whole host of other problems that I am not sure how best to deal with. I believe that I will not be able to get much sleep tonight. But such is the role of a kage. I will be alright."

"If you say so. You sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine. Thank you. Go home, Asuma. Go to sleep. We will come up with a plan tomorrow."

Asuma nodded before taking off. Hiruzen sat down in his office chair and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "It's always something, isn't it." He allowed himself one last splash of Flamebeard's Firebrandy before sealing it away. "Now... how do we handle this?" he murmured to himself.

…

Shikamaru panted as he struggled to stand with his SP hitting zero more frequently than he had ever experienced in his life. After returning from the Hokage's office, he found his mother standing insight the main entryway, fairly irritated with him for forgetting their taijutsu training. After explaining that he, his father, and Asuma had been with the Hokage, so slightly relaxed, before telling him how he could make it up to her- by training right then and there. His father had just laughed and told him to listen to his mother, and sent them on their way.

He did at least discover that his stats seemed to increase more rapidly under one of two scenarios: if he felt like his life was in danger, or if he continued with an exercise, entirely dependent on the SP he regenerated per minute in order to keep going. So far this evening, he received three points of VIT and one point of STR, which made it worthwhile. And his taijutsu had improved from level 3 to level 8 - another cause for celebration. He wasn't sure how he felt about the last stat that had improved- his mother made sure to give him a fair number of hard hits, and by the end of two hours of training, his physical endurance had improved from 4% to 11%. Gamer's Body or not, he was going to sleep well tonight, at the very least to hopefully get rid of some of the bruises.

When they finished, Yoshino bid him good night and chucked a water bottle at his face before going inside, making him groan as he realized that she was still pissed at him, so their next session would likely go the same way. As he greedily gulped down the water, he dismissed all the notifications the game gave him from their training and snuck a peek at his status screen, realizing that he had leveled up after completing his last quest and had three points to assign... which went straight into VIT, the next most likely-stat to hit 50. Shikamaru popped his neck and leaned back, utilizing Head in the Clouds to recover his SP more quickly so that he wouldn't continue to feel like he was about to pass out from exhaustion.

Once he felt a little bit better, he wandered inside and entered his bedroom, laying down on the bed and gazing out at the sky through his window to recover the rest of his energy. Once he hit his peak, he held his hand up in the air and breathed out a single command: "Instant Dungeon Creation Jutsu: Empty."

A wave of energy emanated out from his palm and coated his bedroom and beyond as far as he could see in a reddish hue. He got up and started exploring the house, and realized that he could interact with his home as though present outside of the jutsu. He could pick up and read books, sort through the items in his closet, and enter any room in the complex with ease. Other living beings didn't enter the dungeon with him, and the house was eerily empty. Consumable items, however, passed right through his hands as though they didn't exist. On a hunch, Shikamaru took a kunai and put a scratch in the floor under his bed, before uttering "Escape Dungeon Jutsu."

The world of red dissipated, and the young Nara glanced under the bed to see that the damage to the floor hadn't carried over into reality, meaning anything he did in the instant dungeon didn't carry over. With that knowledge in hand, Shikamaru paused for a moment, letting his chakra recover fully before experimenting again with a whisper: "Instant Dungeon Creation Jutsu: Zombies."

The world tinged red once again, and Shikamaru pulled out two kunai and assumed a defensive stance. "Hmm... nothing in my bedroom... Is that... shuffling I hear?" Shikamaru peeked his head out of his bedroom door and noticed dark figures slowly meandering down the hallway, taking slow, unsteady steps, dragging their feet forward in their endless existence. "Observe."

Zombie Civilian (Lv. 10)

An animated human corpse, cursed to wander this world in endless pursuit of what it lacks: life. It hates living beings, and will attack immediately upon sight. Although slow due to decay, its strength has been magnified by its curse.

Shikamaru frowned as the zombie reached the end of the hallway and turned around, it's single open eye widening upon seeing the genin poking his head around the corner. It started making excited huffing sounds and picked up its shuffling pace, heading directly towards the young Nara. Shikamaru emerged from his bedroom and tossed a kunai at the creature, hitting it in the chest. It kept moving forward, not even reacting to the pain. Shikamaru leapt forward, taking the fight directly to it, using his new taijutsu to deliver three swift punches and a kick, driving the kunai further into it. It fell to the ground and began dissolving, leaving nothing but the kunai he had driven into it behind. Shikamaru picked it up warily, noting the alert that he received 50 EXP for the kill.

"So they're slow and weak, and it looks like the only 'loot' I can get from them is experience..." the Nara reasoned. His eyes narrowed as he heard more shuffling around him, and noticed three zombies coming at him from behind and two coming around the corner in front of him. "But there's strength in numbers. Time to cut loose."

He flipped his hands through a new seal sequence and grinned. "Lightning Release: Overdrive!" Sparks of electricity arced up and down his body, and he suddenly felt more alive than ever before. He raced towards the two in front of him, taking out the first one quickly with a flurry of punches before turning his attention to the other one, which had surprisingly moved quickly enough to grab his arm and throw him against the wall with a surprising amount of force.

"Gah!" Shikamaru growled as he noticed his HP drop by 30. He grabbed the arm holding his, watching as the arcs of electricity danced across his enemy, forcing its decayed muscles to spasm and release him. He struck it hard in the head, and it went down for the count. He turned back to the three moving towards him, and placed his fingers together in another experiment.

"Vicious Mockery Jutsu!" Shikamaru felt the chakra drain and waited... but nothing happened. The zombies paused, and noticing no effect, kept advancing. "What am I forgetting... Oh. Maybe I have to..." "Uh... you're so ugly, you prove there's a shallow end in the gene pool!"

He winced at his pitiful attempt, but grinned when he noticed the zombie in front pause and bring its hands up to its heart, as though the wound was in its soul. "Spiritual damage indeed," Shikamaru murmured. "I'm surprised I didn't injure myself with that insult..."

He peppered all three with shuriken, noticing the one he hit with the jutsu going down already. He charged the remaining two and took them out with his taijutsu, then pulled a bottle of energy drink from his inventory to speed up his chakra recovery. He closed his eyes and focused on his hearing, noting that there was still shuffling going on in the hallways around him. He slowly crept down the hall towards the stairs, peeking around the corner and noticed even more zombies patrolling the corridors. "There must be dozens of them; they're all over the place. It's a good thing they're so weak, or this could be a problem." He popped his neck and reactivated his new Overdrive jutsu. "Better get moving. EXP doesn't gain itself."

Shikamaru spent the better part of an hour clearing out every nook and cranny of his ancestral home of the undead, gaining 1800 EXP and not a single item from the zombies. After escaping the dungeon, he collapsed on the bed and let himself recover his energy again. He pulled up his status, and since had leveled up twice so far that evening, noticed that he had six stat points to assign, and put them all into VIT to get it closer to 50.

"So with natural dungeons, I can only enter once per day. With this jutsu... I have a feeling that as long as I have chakra, I can enter as often as I want." His energy recovered, he stood up from his bed and raised his arm once again. "Instant Dungeon Creation Jutsu: Zombies."

The world tinged with red once again, and the now familiar sound of their shuffling steps brought a smile to his face. "I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight."

…

The morning sun found the young genin perched on the roof of his bedroom, using his new Mending jutsu to repair his armor from the evening's festivities. He successfully cleared the zombie dungeon several more times before sunrise, giving him an impressive amount of experience and leveling him up to level 23. He also discovered, to his pleasure, that upon hitting level 20, he began receiving 4 stat points per level, not just 3. He placed even more points into his VIT, finally bringing it up to 50.

Congratulations! Your vitality has reached 50! As a reward, you have unlocked the attribute: 'Larger Than Life': Boosts the HP magnifier by 100%. Boosts the SP magnifier by 50%. Increases the rate at which physical resistance improves by 50%.

He couldn't help but laugh in amazement. In one tumultuous evening, his secret had been revealed, he gained numerous new techniques, and he leveled up five times. While in the zombie space, he had been a little caught up in the moment. Rather than focus on leveling up specific techniques, he just let himself cut loose and, to a degree, have fun, using all of his abilities at will. For the first time in a while, he was playing the game. Not just living it, but playing it.

The Nara leapt down from his perch and meandered towards his team's meeting spot, feeling surprisingly at ease. Asuma greeted him just as he did every day, not a single word about anything revealed the night before. Team training proceeded as normal, and the genin received only one point in STR for their exercises. They took on two simple d-rank missions, one babysitting mission, and another dog-walking mission, from which he gained two attribute points each along with his standard pay.

Finally, the team dismissed, Shikamaru and his sensei found their way to the Hokage's office, where they were joined by an exhausted-looking Shikaku Nara.

"Hey, dad."

"Yo," Shikaku answered tiredly.

"You okay?"

Shikaku slumped down on the couch in the corner and groaned. "Tired. Kept sensing chakra flaring around the house last night and ended up patrolling all night, but never found anything."

Shikamaru winced. "Uh... that might have been me. I was testing out one of the jutsu I learned yesterday."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. "All night? Oh, right. You sleep differently now." He groaned. "Give me a heads up next time. I had Ensui patrolling with me until dawn."

"Sorry, dad."

"It's fine." Shikaku glanced up at the amused Hokage, who had approached and taken a seat next to them.

Hiruzen cleared his throat and smiled. "I take it you are enjoying these new techniques?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Thank you again for the Overdrive Jutsu, sir. It's already been very helpful."

"I'm glad to see it put to good use," Hiruzen replied. He turned towards his commander and nodded. "I've already enacted the privacy jutsu on this office. How do you feel it would be best to proceed with developing Shikamaru's abilities?"

"I had plenty of time to think about it last night," Shikaku chuckled. "After knowing what Shikamaru was up to all last night, I am further convinced of what our best course of action must be. That being said, we should do... nothing."

Hiruzen and Asuma turned to each other, blinking in surprise, and turned back. "Uh, what do you mean by nothing?" Asuma inquired.

Shikaku smirked. "We change nothing. Shikamaru spent all last night developing his abilities on his own, with myself and Ensui, another jounin, hunting for the source of the disturbances and failing to find him. As long as he doesn't do anything too stupid, which he's never been prone to do, he'll be fine. And if he does get cornered, he can enter one of his instant dungeons and disappear."

The Jounin Commander stood up and stretched. "In the past, shinobi who develop unique abilities in the Hidden Leaf Village were given time to master their abilities on their own. I believe we should act in the same fashion. He has plenty of material to work on at the moment, is driven to develop on his own, so his development is best in his own hands. At the same time..." he drew out. "He is also young, and needs to experience the same things that all shinobi of the Hidden Leaf experience. Working with teammates, learning formations, completing missions of slowly-increasing difficulty... igniting the Will of Fire within himself. Focusing on his unique abilities will cause him to miss on the lessons he must learn on the path he is already walking. If we give him many things to learn all at once, he will be a master of nothing, which will serve him little. So, again... we do nothing."

Hiruzen chuckled softly. "Yet again, Shikaku... you humble me with your insights." He turned to the younger Nara sitting next to his father on the couch. "Shikamaru... continue to develop into the fine shinobi we believe you will become. Master what you have been given, and ask your father, your sensei, or even myself should you need insight or if you have reached a plateau. The village is here to support you in your development. In response to our new knowledge that there appears to be an enemy watching you, I would encourage you to spend the evenings in your home or in the vicinity of someone of jounin rank."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," the genin acknowledged.

Hiruzen sighed. "Dismissed, all of you. Thank you."

The aged shinobi waited until Shikamaru, Shikaku, and his own son left the room before pulling back out the bottle of Flamebeard's Firebrandy, the delicious gift from his sensei. "I suspect..." he murmured to himself as he poured a small amount into a glass, "that the luxury of time my shinobi enjoy draws to an end." He took a deep pull of the whiskey, savoring the burning sensation as it warmed his heart. "But the Will of Fire burns on. The Will of Fire burns on."

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