Fox Fire 6

by swirlheart

Two months after their mission, a certain king contacts the Leaf, which leads to another adventure. One which no one wants to go on because it involves the return of an old enemy, which threatens the lives of both human and kitsune. Things get more complicated when Boruto decides to take matters into his own hands, forcing Naruto into a precarious situation. R&R please!

15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Lying flat on their backs, Naruto and Shikamaru looked up at the sky, exhausted. They had been traveling constantly since leaving the seaside kingdom, taking trains and running with very little rest, all to reach the land the coat of arms led them to. It was far and they still hadn't reached it yet, even with their endless travel.

After short ferry ride, the two arrived on a new stretch of land the locals claimed was owned by the people baring that coat of arms, though they had yet to see any sign of civilization in hours.

Shikamaru craned his neck back to look at Naruto, limbs tingling with fatigue. "Naruto… I know you don't want me to say it…"

"Then don't."

"Admit it, Naruto," he told him, the barren soil shifting and crumbling under his head. "We need to go back to the village. We can't be away for this long."

"This is official business," Naruto told him.

"The longer we're away from the village, the longer it's vulnerable. Not to mention the pile of work that'll be waiting for us when we get back."

"We're closer to this place than we are to the village. It makes no sense to turn back now."

"It's a hunch, Naruto. We're chasing clues that might not even be clues. We've never been to this place before and know nothing about it. We're in over our heads. Let's go back to the village and send squad out to gather intel on this place and report back to us. We'll decide where to go from there."

It made more sense than wandering aimlessly and hoping to stumble across something.

The king did business with many people throughout the land. A letter with a piece of cloth in it was hardly proof of something they needed to be concerned about. It could have been nothing and they were chasing their tails. They had no idea what it meant, if anything, and it might not have been pertinent to their situation.

Naruto turned his head to the side to make sure his words were heard clearly. "And if we did, what would we tell them? Any squad we send out will want to know why they're going to this place and what they're supposed to look for. I don't see how we can do that and keep it a secret."

"We don't have to give them the details. Just tell them to do it. One of those 'because I said so' type of deals."

"And if we do, no matter how much we tell them, they'll eventually figure out why and we can't have that. They'll learn about Boruto and what we're doing. We could endanger the kitsune."

"A bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

"You're a smart guy, Shikamaru. You tell me. If we send a squad to research this place and they turn out to have connections to Kai and the kingdom, how good are our chances of them finding out about Boruto and what happened to Kai and what we've been tasked with reversing?"

Shikamaru frowned and sighed. "Well, ok, you got me there."

"I want to keep this between us. And Ryosuke said he'd help us and we've already met the cat spirit. We're aware of the spirits living hidden in this world. We can't risk someone doing something to them for personal gain. The kitsune trust me. That cat spirit trusts me. I don't want them to lose faith in humankind. Besides, it's not like any squad we send will understand this as much as we do."

"Sakura, Sai, Kakashi… Pretty sure they all know about the kitsune and what goes on. And Gaara. We could send any of the three from the Leaf to do this."

"I don't want to involve them."

"But I'm involved," Shikamaru said with a scoff. "Lucky me."

"You know a lot about this and I trust you. I trust them, too, but it's different."

"Yeah, yeah…" Shikamaru knew it was. It was both flattering and troublesome to be honest.

"I know we're tired and hungry and frustrated, but we can't give up. If your son were in there, I'd be fighting just as hard to get him out and I know you wouldn't send someone else to do it for you."

Shikamaru chuckled lightly. "I knew that was the other part of it. It's not just about keeping the spirit stuff quiet, it's because of family. It's equally important to you."

"I can't risk sending someone else to work on something that's supposed to be between us."

"I get that." Shikamaru rolled onto his side, dirt sticking to his clothes. "It's just so troublesome."

They didn't really know what they were looking for and they couldn't explain themselves for being in this strange land. Spying would take time they didn't have and even then, there was a good chance they wouldn't find anything useful.

Limbs shaking under his weight, Shikamaru pushed himself up into a kneeling position and looked around. Flatlands of dirt surrounded by a horizon of trees. Chances were, a town or village laid beyond those trees.

"Better get back to it," he said with a groan. "Sooner we find it, the faster we get this done."

They started walking towards the trees, every muscle in their bodies aching. Going through the forest was the shortest and fastest way to get to the other side, but the forest was dense, the twisted branches blocking out most of the sun. It smelled heavily of wood and dirt and moss.

Shikamaru looked off to one side and told Naruto to wait a moment while he used the bushes. Naruto stood and waited, knowing that if he sat down, he wouldn't be able to get up again. The longer Shikamaru took, the more difficult it became to hold himself up.

"What is he doing, building himself a litterbox?"

It was taking longer than it should have but Naruto didn't want to look for him.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru screamed from the trees. "Naruto, help!"

Naruto dashed in the direction of his scream but couldn't find him. "Shikamaru, where are you?"

"Up here!"

Naruto looked up into the trees and saw Shikamaru being carried off by what appeared to be vines. Then he realized Shikamaru was tangled in vines but they weren't what was carrying him away. It was something with a striped tail but he couldn't get a good look.

Shikamaru kicked and thrashed, trying to get away but the strange creature had a solid grip on him. "Naruto! Help!"

Shifting into fox form, Naruto chased after the odd creature in the trees from below. Leaves were shaken from the branches, bombarding Naruto in a blizzard of green. He tried for the high ground, dashing up a tree and pouncing from branch to branch until he managed to catch up to the creature and tackled it.

All three of them tumbled out of the tree and across the forest floor. Shikamaru tried to untangle himself as he rolled to a stop but was dragged off by a second creature grabbing the vines and running. The first creature took off after them and Naruto was hot on their heels. Using a trick he learned from Ryosuke, he used one of the tree trunks to launch himself ahead of the group, a technique the kitsune often used to cut off prey while hunting.

The two creatures stopped and stood large in front of him, the size of humans and the girth of a bear. Naruto bared his fangs at the two and snarled viciously.

"Fox Fire!" Naruto conjured up two clones of blue-green flame to stand with him and intimidate the two creatures looming over him, their faces hidden by shadow.

"Kitsune!" cried one of the creatures and jumped back in alarm.

The other one stood its ground and came rushing at Naruto, who jumped up and bit it on the arm.

POP!

The large creature shrank down, becoming smaller than Naruto's fox form and backed away, holding its arm.

"Huh?" Naruto stopped when he saw the creature's true form. "A raccoon?"

"Raccoon dog, you fool!" snapped the creature.

The other one popped, too, shrinking down to stand at the same height as its friend.

Shikamaru kicked himself free from the vines and pulled himself to safety, cat ears on top of his head. "Raccoon dogs? Another legendary creature that's actually real?"

In the spirit hierarchy, kitsune outranked raccoon dogs, though they shared similar abilities. Kitsune grew more powerful the more tails they grew while raccoon dogs would always have the one and never gain new abilities, making kitsune more powerful. Because of this, the two didn't usually get along. Rather than target each other out of spite, they avoided each other, living far away from the other's territory and never approaching to start trouble. It was an unwritten agreement the two species came up with centuries ago which was why they were rarely seen together. They avoided each other so well, they didn't know where the other race lived, which suited them both just fine, and never got involved with the other's lives.

Naruto was the first kitsune they had ever seen and discovered quickly that he wasn't even a real kitsune, just under one's curse. Because of this, they were more willing to have a conversation with him and Shikamaru, viewing them as another type of spirit rather than a kitsune or as a human. For the most part.

They weren't shown where the raccoon dogs actually lived, just a part of their domain they called home to maintain their privacy. It was surrounded by bushes heavy with berries and fallen leaves. They said that they were the only two left in the forest and knew the land well. They even went into the human city to pull pranks from time to time.

"Then you know where it is and the people who live there."

"It's not like we know their names," said one of the two raccoon dogs.

"Have you seen a coat of arms that looks like this?" Shikamaru drew in the dirt with his finger, remembering the insignia well.

They nodded. "That belongs to the rich man in the city. Wearing robes and struts around. He's hardly ever in the city except when on business. That's what the humans say."

"He's probably a noble and not a king," Shikamaru muttered to himself thoughtfully.

"Does he do trade with a king by the sea?" asked Naruto.

"We don't know."

"We only go into the human area to have fun. Otherwise, we stay here and don't bother anyone."

"Then why'd you grab me like that?" Shikamaru asked. "What did I do?"

The raccoon dogs grinned. "A prank. We were trying to scare you so you wouldn't come back. This is our home, after all."

Shikamaru sighed and grumbled.

Naruto grinned at the two raccoon dogs, getting an idea. "Say, you guys are very good with transformation, aren't you? Maybe you can help us out with something."

They folded their arms defiantly. "We don't normally help humans."

"Mess with them, not help."

Naruto chuckled lightly and went on. "Yeah, but I was wondering, just for the sake of argument, if you could do a little something. It's ok if you can't. I mean, not even a kitsune can do it."

They glared at him. "We're just as good as any kitsune," they said spitefully.

"Then let's say a human was transformed after eating spirit food. Would you be able to change them back?"

The two looked at each other before looking back at Naruto. "Of course, we can."

Naruto and Shikamaru felt hope swell within them again. There might have been a way for them to pull this off after all.

Raccoon dogs could transform themselves if they wanted to, just like kitsune. If they had the power to change people as well, all they would have to do was have the raccoon dogs disguise themselves as humans, come to the palace and change Kai back into a human. There would be no need for them to bother with the cat spirit who required them to bring Kai to a specific location.

"Would you be willing to come to a human area to do it?" Naruto asked.

"That depends," said one of them. "This human you want to change back… Is he virtuous?"

Naruto hesitated. "Uh…"

"And this ruler of this human area," said the other. "Is he just and unselfish?

"Uh, well…"

They leaned closer to Naruto, giving him a look. "Just why are you doing this anyway? What reason do you have to change a human back after consuming spirit food?"

Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged looks.

Naruto decided to tell them the short version, leaving out a lot of details, including the location of the seaside city. He didn't even use real names, just to be on the safe side.

"So this ruler is keeping one of your kin in chains until you change a human of his choice back into his natural form? The human refuses to see reason and won't negotiate?"

"That's the gist of it," said Naruto.

The raccoon dogs exchanged looks with each other, having a silent conversation. They nodded and looked back at the two seated in front of them.

"There might be another way to do this. A more direct way."

Naruto and Shikamaru gave them questioning looks in answer.

"Sounds to me like a lot of people don't want this human changed back. Seems he was a bit of an issue."

"Sounds like this ruler isn't very good either. He's being unfair and unreasonable."

"Instead of changing the human back in exchange for your kin…"

"We could use our power to persuade the ruler to let him go."

Shikamaru looked at them in surprise. "You can do that? How?" He was suspicious. "You're not going to do anything underhanded, are you? No threats or harm done to anyone involved?"

The two raccoon dogs shook their heads. "We can't do physical harm to humans. We're not strong enough, and it would be against our code."

"Yet you could carry me off through the trees, huh?" Shikamaru frowned again.

The raccoon dogs went on as if they hadn't heard his remark. "Our powers of persuasion are different. Physical harm will gain nothing because people will admit to anything just to make the pain stop so it's pointless. Pretending to be someone else like a tricky fox is pointless as well since humans talk to each other. If they do something one minute then have no knowledge of having doing that, people will know something's up. They'll know it wasn't the real them."

"Then what do you do?" Shikamaru asked them.

"We simply use our power to change their minds."

Shikamaru blinked. "Change their minds? So you take control of them? It's brainwashing?"

"No, no," said one with a wave of its little paw. "Unlike kitsune, we can't make someone do something against their will. Possession isn't a thing we can do."

"However," said the other, "we can cause a human to rethink their actions. Self-reflection."

"Lots of humans act first and consider things later," said the first. "They're impulsive and act on anger."

"Then are too proud to go back on it," said the second. "They carry it out, knowing that it is foolish, simply out of pride. Even if it ends up ruining them."

"What we do is make a human enter that state of mind where you're reconsidering your actions. They calm down and consider the consequences and end up amenable."

"Amenable?" Shikamaru repeated. "Sounds to me like they're put in a suggestive state. How is this not brainwashing or a type of hypnosis?"

"Because we're not implanting anything into their brains. After we leave, there's no memory lapse and they don't go back on their word so you know there's no deception," said the raccoon dog.

"We're basically wearing the human down in the time in would take to spell your name. Our powers allow us to do something that would normally take months or even years for humans to achieve with diplomacy, and you won't have to worry about them going back on their word. We're persuading them to see things from your perspective."

"But it's not brainwashing?" Shikamaru asked again.

"It's self-reflection," they insisted.

"So let me get this straight," said Shikamaru. "Using your power, you can make a person reconsider their actions. So actions made out of fear or anger they'll want to change? Willingly?"

"It's a peaceful solution," said one.

"No fighting and the human will make these actions of their own free will," said the other.

"It's like rehabilitation."

"They're thinking about things they normally wouldn't and acting accordingly. They're thinking things through and not making impulsive decisions."

"They'll want to listen to you and not ignore important issues."

"Self-reflection, like we said."

Shikamaru thought about it. It would be a good solution with minimal consequences. In a nutshell, the king was changing his mind. They weren't taking control of him and whatever he decided to do would be his choice. There was still the possibility of a worse alternative in doing this, but if they were only going to use this power to make the king release Boruto and not declare war on the Leaf, this was probably their best shot.

Shikamaru had to clarify though, just to be sure. "Using this power, you can make it so the ruler will release the kin in question and opt for the peaceful solution?"

"Yes," they said.

"And that's it? They're just changing their mind on this one thing we ask and nothing else will..?"

"If that is what you want," they told him.

Shikamaru looked over at Naruto who was giving this serious consideration.

Overall, it would be the best solution. They could wrap this up quickly, Kai would stay a donkey, Boruto would get to go home and there would be no war. Since the king refused to allow them to take Kai to the location of the cat spirit, it would be impossible to do as they were asked, and if they didn't fulfill the request, the king would keep Boruto and, wanting his way, escalate until he finally got what he wanted, even if it meant war.

Going to this new land was a waste of time. It was only a hunch and they could have had it all wrong. It would take even more time to investigate which meant more time away from the Leaf and more time Boruto was in a cell and more time the king was losing patience.

If the king wouldn't let them cure Kai the only way they could, this was the only other way Shikamaru could see.

The raccoon dogs also said that they could cure Kai if that was the route they wanted to take instead. This gave them options.

They looked back at the raccoon dogs to make their request.

"Using your powers, you can either fix the human so they're normal again or have the ruler change his mind so there will be peace?"

They nodded. "Either way you like."

Naruto swallowed. "Ok. Then we'd like it if you'd help us do that, please."

"Alright," said one. "We'll grant your request. But we'll need something in order to pull this off."

Naruto gave them a nervous look. "Like what?"

The raccoon dog gestured to the forest. "You see, we are limited in power, which is why we live here. And why only two of us remain."

"In order to fulfill your request, we'll need the return of something that was taken from us. An object containing some of our power."

Naruto looked intrigued. "A spirit item? Of course. You guys use that for your magic. Where is it?"

"Years ago, another spirit took it from us. We can help you find them. They travel but always come back to the same location."

"Without the item, we cannot fulfill your request."

"And it's ours, so we'd like it back. With your help, we'll be reunited with our stolen item. Our power will be restored."

"And we'll grant your wish as a thank you."

"We'd be helping each other."

This was perfect. Granted there were some flaws, but it was better than what they were doing before. They wouldn't have to galivant all over the planet on hunches and deal with a stubborn king who could not be reasoned with.

Plus, they would be helping someone in need which Naruto would always volunteer to do. If helping these creatures reunite with a stolen item of theirs got them what they wanted, Shikamaru couldn't see how Naruto could refuse.

"No way," said Naruto. "I refuse."

Shikamaru's jaw dropped. "Huh?"

"I won't do it. Forget the request. We don't want your help if that's what you're asking."

Shikamaru pulled on Naruto's arm. "Naruto, are you freaking kidding me? We…"

Naruto held up his hand, calling for silence. "I got this."

The raccoon dogs frowned at him. "Weren't you desperate to get help for this issue?"

"Not that desperate," Naruto told them.

The raccoon dogs looked angry and dismayed at Naruto's words. "What about us? Our item was stolen from us and you won't help us get it back? You won't fetch it for us?"

"No, I won't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not your item," Naruto said matter-of-factly.

Shikamaru raised his brow at Naruto. How could he possibly know that? He didn't even know what the item was they were supposed to look for. Shikamaru wondered if this was some kind of trick Naruto was trying to pull to get a better deal, but that didn't seem too likely.

The raccoon dogs were quiet when Naruto said this, staring with expressionless faces.

Naruto explained. "While it's true that some creatures require the use of spirit items, not all of them do. Whether or not I know you need them doesn't matter. You see, spirit items are connected to their owners. I can't explain it, but I do know one thing: spirit law."

Shikamaru raised his brow. He remembered hearing about that when Boruto had to search for his father in the spirit realm.

"A spirit cannot take something another spirit has ownership of," Naruto said clearly. "Spirit law prevents it."

One raccoon dog scoffed. "That's only in the spirit realm."

"But items in this world are covered by spirit law. One spirit cannot forcibly take an item from another if it is not theirs. Once abandoned, anyone can pick it up. However, if the original owner shows up looking for it, they can take it back." Naruto smirked. "To be clear, a spirit cannot take an item from another spirit unless it's theirs. So if this item is yours, no matter who has it, you can take it back because you're the true owner."

Naruto learned about such things from Ryosuke the last time they spoke. He had learned a lot about spirit items and spirit law and passed that knowledge on to Naruto to help him. This way, in case a spirit ever tried to trick him into taking an item from another, claiming it was theirs, Naruto wouldn't be inadvertently stealing in an effort to help someone.

Ryosuke told him that spirits will often try to bypass spirit law by using a human. After all, spirit law only pertained to spirits. Humans could pick up spirit items and not be in violation. This was how many spirits of the past were forced into slavery. A human would find their item and request a favor from the spirit in exchange for its return. This was also how spirits managed to obtain an item belonging to another spirit. They would send a human to get it for them since they would be able to do so.

"You want me to steal an item belonging to another spirit because you know you can't take it for yourself without their permission," Naruto went on. "That's how I know the item isn't yours. If it were, you would be able to get it yourself if it were stolen. But I know that's a lie because they wouldn't have been able to take it from you. A spirit cannot take another spirit's item by force. Which is why you want me to do it for you."

Shikamaru was amazed at Naruto's knowledge of such things and was handling this exceptionally well. He was impressed, then embarrassed he hadn't noticed it himself.

The raccoon dogs frowned at Naruto, realizing he wasn't easily tricked.

"You want our help or not?"

"If it means taking something from someone else, then no. I'd rather do it my way, without you." Naruto was clear and firm, remaining steadfast but polite in the presence of the two spirits. He wasn't going to insult them and he wasn't going to raise his voice. He was just going to tell them no and make sure they accepted that answer.

The two raccoon dogs sighed and stood up. "Very well, suit yourself. Then we won't get involved. Leave our forest and don't come back unless you change your mind."

They weren't going to hinder their mission or harm them but weren't going to help them either. As with the kitsune, the raccoon dogs would just stay out of their way.

Naruto stood up as well and nodded. "Alright, well, thanks anyway."

Naruto and Shikamaru were given safe passage out of the forest where they found a road leading towards a city in the distance. Naruto changed back into human form and walked beside Shikamaru who was being very quiet.

Halfway between the forest and the city gates, Shikamaru stopped in the road. "Naruto."

He turned. "What?"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto calmly but seriously, having given something a lot of thought.

"One of us should go back to the village," he said. "And I think it should be me."

"Huh?" Naruto faced Shikamaru, giving him his undivided attention. "What are you talking about? You can't turn back now. We're so close."

"For now," said Shikamaru. "There's no guarantee we'll learn anything at this place and anything we do will take time. We've been over this. More time away from the Leaf is more time it's vulnerable. One of us needs to go back and check on things and, while it would be ideal for you to do it, I think I should be the one to go back."

"Why?"

Shikamaru heaved a short sigh as if annoyed but this was actually something hard for him to admit. "You don't need me for this."

"What are you talking about? Yes, I do."

"No, you don't," Shikamaru told him. "Let's face facts. You know more about this spirit stuff than I do."

"That's why I've been trying to teach you…"

"I saw the way you handled those raccoon dogs back there. I only heard spirit law mentioned in passing. You actually know about it. When those raccoon dogs posed that option, I was ready to take them up on it, not knowing that bit of important information. If you hadn't said anything, I would have made a major mistake that could have made things so much worse."

"Shikamaru, it's ok. Not many humans know about…"

"Exactly. I, the brilliant tactician, didn't see that because I was using what I knew. The idea of creatures being unable to take something they have the power to take because of some magic law never occurred to me because we don't have that. So my strategy never worked that in. I thought about other ways it could have screwed us over but that wasn't one of them. You saw it and you handled it perfectly. That's why I think you should keep going with this mission and I should go back."

"You're not a burden, Shikamaru. I need you. I can't do this without you."

Shikamaru shook his head. "This isn't like having a meeting with lords and nobles and other Kage. And even then, I was there. You were winning that king over just with your words and sincerity. You have a way of connecting with people I've never seen. You didn't need me to help you with that. And this is spirit stuff. You can handle it without me. You understand it better than I do and know how to connect with them."

"I can't do this without you," Naruto repeated.

"This involves spirits and your son. I know you need to see this through and I know you know how to talk to them. I'd just be in the way. I mean, those two tiny things were carrying me off. I needed you to help me. Ok? You don't need me for this. You can handle it. I'll just go back to the village and check on things there and…"

Naruto put his hands on Shikamaru's shoulders, looking into his eyes. "I can't do this without you," Naruto said again and Shikamaru felt the full force of his words pour into him. It was impossible not to want to give in. It wasn't just a sense of duty but a desire to help him. Naruto made him feel important and knew he'd feel guilty for leaving if he did decide to go back to the Leaf.

Shikamaru sighed, looking away. "But why?" he asked, not understanding why Naruto was being so insistent when everything pointed to this being the better choice. It made logical sense to have one of them go back and it should have been the one with less power and pull. Shikamaru wasn't necessary for this. Naruto could connect with these creatures in a way he couldn't and understood their ways better than he could. It was his son on the line and he was the leader. Shikamaru was just ballast.

"Because I need you," Naruto told him earnestly. "You can see the things I can't. You can advise me, just like back at the village."

"A lot of good that does if you don't listen to it…"

"We're partners for this missing, Shikamaru. I need you to help me."

"But how?" he asked. "What can I do that another shinobi couldn't in my place?"

He shrugged. "If I knew that, I wouldn't need you."

Shikamaru raised his brow. "Huh?"

"Hey, there's got to be a reason you're with me."

"Yeah, I drew the short straw," said Shikamaru. "I just happened to be with you when all this went down. Anybody else in the room would have stood the same chance as…"

"You know about the spirits, you give good advice, you're a brilliant strategist. I'm sure there's a reason you're here with me. All I know is I can't do this alone and I'm glad you're here with me."

Shikamaru looked back at him then looked away, humbled and annoyed at the same time.

Naruto chuckled. "Besides, you really want to go back to the village looking like that?"

Shikamaru reached up and felt the cat ears on top of his head. He frowned and groaned loudly. "I was going to ask the kitsune to reverse this before going back…" Then he said, "That's another thing. One of the kitsune is supposed to be following us. You don't need-"

"It will take a while for Seki to catch up and since this is raccoon dog territory, he probably won't be able to follow us here."

Shikamaru huffed and looked away again.

"Come on, we're almost there." Naruto smiled at him. "I'll treat you to a saucer of milk."

Shikamaru's eye twitched. "I'm going to be hearing cat jokes the entire time, aren't I?"

Though Shikamaru was admired for his brain and Naruto was often ridiculed for his foolishness, Shikamaru had to admit that Naruto wasn't as stupid as people often believed him to be. True, he did make a lot of stupid moves in his youth, but that was a lack of experience. Now, Naruto knew better and didn't make as many foolish mistakes.

Shikamaru also had to acknowledge that Naruto had good strategies, too. He was clever. From using a tunnel to win his match against Neji in the Chunin exams to making good use of his kitsune abilities now. Naruto knew that simply transforming himself into a guard to look around wouldn't be good enough because the real guard would be aware. If he knocked him out or held him back, the guard would know Naruto did something. If he used a clone, someone would see two of them. Using his fox magic to possess the guard was the best strategy because the guard would not only be unaware but if they required a badge of some sort, Naruto would have it on his person. Jumping out of his body made it seem like no time had passed and nothing was amiss to the guard, which made it a good move.

Shikamaru didn't have to advise Naruto about this; he just knew.

Incidents like this and realizing his lack of spirit understanding made Shikamaru think he wasn't necessary for this mission. Not seeing what the raccoon dogs were up to and nearly making a foolish mistake was also a jab to his pride. He felt foolish for not seeing it, even if it was something that wouldn't apply to most humans and therefore not his fault. He couldn't conceive of such a thing because humans weren't bound by such things and some of the spirit law matters were something that wouldn't pose an issue for a human and could be seen as laughable.

Naruto understood spirit restrictions and was trying to teach them to Shikamaru so he wouldn't worry if another spirit matter occurred but Shikamaru didn't need to be here to learn it and felt if that was Naruto's reason, this wasn't the time or place.

Having had practice talking with people in power, Shikamaru didn't have to babysit Naruto during interactions with nobility. He actually made more progress just being himself while talking to King Nita before Boruto's actions, proving to Shikamaru that he didn't necessarily have to be around while meeting with humans either.

Still, Shikamaru questioned his purpose for accompanying Naruto on this mission when it seemed clear to him that Naruto could handle this without him. Now that he was part cat, he felt like he was more of a hinderance than an asset.

Nevertheless, Shikamaru went with Naruto to the city to look for answers which he still wasn't sure were there.