The Nara family is known for two things their intelligence and their laziness. But when shikamaru was born he only had one of these.
Today shikamaru finally starts the academy, he turned 8 two months ago and was allowed to enroll. He woke up with a jolt and ran down the stairs "Good morning shikamaru" Yoshino says while cooking.
"Morning" he replies yawning
"Are you exited for your first day" She asked "Yeah" he said happily. They start putting food on their plate's as his dad walks in half asleep. "Why are you so tired you've been up for an hour" yoshino says as she fixes his plate "I had to work last night the hokage needed help on something"
"So shikamaru it's your first day right" Shikaku asked him "Yeah finally" he smiles "well that means it's time to start your training"
"Really" shikamaru asked happily
"Yes we'll start after school" he replied "now hurry or you'll be late"
Shikamaru rushes out the house to get to school on the way he runs into his friend choji "Hey choji you excited for our first day"
"Yeah cant wait"
When they arrive they go to their home room and sit down. The teache stands up and begins speaking "hello my name is Iruka and I will be your teacher until you graduate so you better listen"
"Today we will start with introductions then move on to the fundamentals of being a shinobi"
It had been four years since the academy started and shikamaru was finally graduating. " I will now announce the teams" Iruka said " Team 7 Naruto uzumaki Sakura haruno and sasuke uchiha. Team 8 Kiba inuzuka shino aburame and Hinata Hyuga. And finally team 10 Shikamaru Nara ino yamanaka and choji Akamichi. Please wait for your sensai's to arrive." As Iruka Sensai finished people started complaining about their teams. "Why does an amazing ninja like me have to be put with someone like sasuke" Naruto yelled
"Because sasuke has the top scores of this year and you have the lowest." Iruka replied annoyed
That made naruto shut up as he sat down pouting
"Hey it's a good thing we got put on the same squad right shikamaru." Choji asks from beside him "Yeah, if my grades were a little higher I would be stuck with those two." Shikamaru says as he points to naruto and sakura.
"Well the only reason sasuke beat you is because of your genjutsu score" choji says "It's the one thing you refuse to train."
"It's boring and it's not like I'll need it anyway." Shikamaru says defensively "Yeah I guess your right" Choji says.
The bell rang and they were dismissed for lunch as shikamaru and Choji were walking together naruto and kiba caught up with them over the years the four of them had become friends while ditching class together and pulling pranks. After they talked for a while and naruto complained about sasuke a lot. They got lunch and sat down outside on some benches.
They ate and talked for a while before they heard a loud group of people moving twords them.
"Who wants to bet that's sasuke and his fan girls" kiba said almost jealous
"I feel bad for him he can't even eat in peace" shikamaru said laughing
As sasuke walked into sight followed by every girl in class except for hinata. Sakura and ino were in the front of the girls fighting over who gets to walk beside sasuke.
"Well good luck naruto you have to deal with Sakura fawning over him every day" choji said
"Well we have to deal with ino always praising him like a god" shikamaru said.
"Man your lucky Kiba you got the only normal girl on your squad" choji said while finishing his food.
"I wouldn't call hinata normal the only difference is that she like someone besides sasuke" kiba said
"Yeah but at least she's normal about it" naruto said after he was done glaring at sasuke. With that the bell rang and they went back to class. The rest of the day Iruka explained about squads and missions but shikamaru stopped listening instead he wondered what his sensai would be like.
The next day they went to the classroom but instead of learning their new life starts they were instructed to wait for their new instructors.
After a while the only squads left were squad 7, 8, and 10 ino and Sakura were glaring at each other while inching closer to sasuke who was sulking in the corner. Shino was sitting at one of the desk talking to a bug or something he didn't really want to know hinata was watching them and blushing. Shikamaru naruto choji and kiba were playing blackjack but since Iruka had yelled at them for betting money they settled for food.
Just then a woman in a weird dress with red eyes and black hair walked in
"Hello I'm kurenai yuhi I will be the instructor for team 8" she introduced
Then a tall man with dark hair and a cigarette in his mouth walked in "and I'm asuma Sarutobi I'm the instructor for squad 8"
Everyone but squad 7 packed up and left walking with their new instructor to a nearby park.
When they got their asuma introduced himself and his hobbies "now it's your turn starting with you ponytail" he said pointing at shikamaru.
"My names shikamaru nara and my hobbies are shogi and cloud watching"
"Alright next" he pointed to choji
"My names choji akamichi and my hobbies are eating and trying new foods"
"And finally you" he pointed to ino
"My names ino yamanaka and my hobbies are gardening and talking to sasuke" everyone sighed at this and asuma continued "alright now that that's over meet me at training field ten tomorrow at six a.m.
"What will we be doing" ino asked
"That's a secret" he said before disappearing.
As shikamaru got to the field he realized he was the first one their so he decided to do some training "you might want to conserve your energy" a voice said from behind him. Shikamaru wiped around "Asuma sensai when did you get here"
"I've been here the whole time you should have noticed." Asuma said "how would I have noticed" Shikamaru replied "Sense my chakra, I wasn't trying to hide." He said.
"So what are we doing today."
"I will explain when the others get here" he said as he jumps out of the tree.
Ino and choji arrive soon after and asuma starts explaining the drill. "So they haven't told you yet but only 9 students can graduate every year, the rest are sent back to the academy for more training."
"What" Ino yells "They never told us that"
"Yes I know" Asuma replies "They didn't want you to know until now."
"So who decides who passes and who fails." Shikamaru asks
"We do, so you better impress me." Asuma says laughing
"So how will you decide" Choji asks
"A test, if you can immobilize me for 5 seconds you pass" Asuma smirks "But if you can't you'll be back in the academy"
"Immobilize, how." Ino asked "Trap me, injure me, or knock me out it doesn't matter as long as I can't move, but I will tell you you won't win unless you try to kill me." He said with a smile
"Now that you know the rules you may begin." He began reaching into his pocket as everyone jumps away and hides. "Well at least you understand how to hide" he says as he lights his cigarette. "Oh I forgot to mention you have until noon to pass."
Shikamaru began to weigh his options he could wait for a distraction to catch him in shadow possession but it would be better to work as a team. Asuma probably chose this test because we are meant to be a catch and interrogate team. Shikamaru had his shadow paralysis jutsu a few basic earth jutsu some paper bombs, shuriken, and Kunai. His taijutsu was decent but not good enough to fight a jonin. He knew that choji was stronger and had body expansion jutsu and ino had mind transfer jutsu. He had to think of a plan with this in mind.
When shikamaru made up his mind he went to find choji and ino. They were both hidden in the woods but not very well. When he told them about his plan ino complained and didn't think it was a good idea while choji agreed almost instantly. They eventually convinced ino to go along with it so next they went to were asuma sensai was by now he had finished 3 cigarettes and was lighting his fourth but hadn't woved at all. choji began sneaking up behind him when shikamaru gave the signal choji activated his jutsu and his fist grew to a giant size he punched right were asuma sensai was standing but hit nothing.
"So we're finally starting, I was wondering how long you were going to wait. Choji charged forward again and continued punching and missing as asuma effortlessly dogged everything. After a few seconds Ino threw multiple shuriken from the woods which surprised asuma as he was nearly hit but he landed in the perfect spot "headhunter jutsu" Shikamaru yelled as he grabbed asuma sensai by his legs "Pretty good" Asuma said as he prepared a jutsu but shikamaru subsystem himself with a nearby log covered in paper bombs already lit
As everyone regrouped after the explosion they went to check on asuma "wow you almost got me" asuma said from a tree "What how did you get out of that" Ino yelled
"Your not the only one who can use substitution." He said
"Figured it wouldn't be that easy time for plan B." Shikamaru said as he readied a Kunai "Right" choji said as he got into position.
"So you have more plans huh" asuma said lighting another cigarette. "Of corse" Ino said as she threw two Kunai with paper bombs. The explosion gave of a small smokescreen that choji and shikamaru took advantage of as they charged at asuma. They started to fight asuma together as Ino threw kunai from a distance.
This plan was working so far now it was time for phase two "now" shikamaru says "partial expansion jutsu" choji yells and punches at asuma but misses and hits the ground creating a big crater in the ground.
"Your going to have to do better than that." Asuma says laughing carful not to put out his cigarette. As he was about to counter he realized he could not move "shadow possession complete" shikamaru said grinning
"So you used choji to make a hole into the tunnel you dug earlier and sent your shadow through it to the end you blew up to trap me." Asuma said laughing "Well done."
"So do we pass." Ino asked excitedly
"Yes you do." Asuma says "we will start missions next week for now we will start training."
"But we spent 4 years in the academy training" Ino complains "You spent that time learning the basics and things everyone can do we will focus on your individual talents and clan jutsu." Asuma explained.
"We will start tomorrow but for now we should get something to eat."
The next week was filled with training we improved our clan jutsu as well as our taijutsu "Every ninja needs a strong taijutsu foundation if you want to build off of it that's up to you but you won't survive long without knowing a little." Asuma said when Ino complained about getting her clothes dirty. Every day after training ended asuma and shikamaru stayed late to play shogi which shikamaru won every time
"Wow shikamaru your almost as good as your father" asuma said after he lost for the 3rd time that night
"I've never been able to beat him" Shikamaru responded "Give it time I'm sure you will." Asuma said
"So how did you come in second in the academy." Asuma questioned "When your this smart."
"My genjutsu scores were some of the worst." Shikamaru responded "why" asuma asked "It was boring to learn and I didn't think I'll need it anyway."
"Well not everyone uses it but it's still an important skill to have." Asuma said "Well I think that's enough for today, but you better rest tonight your first mission is tomorrow." With that he disappeared leaving shikamaru to clean up "What a drag." He mutters as he cleans.
For the next month they did nothing but d rank missions and train "When are we going to get an actual mission" Ino started complaining after we had to chase a cat around the village. "We will get a harder mission when you are ready but for now you have to do these missions" Asuma said "but why us" Ino complained "Because you are new Genin and you take the d rank missions" asuma explained. "When will we start c rank missions" she asked "When I think you are ready" Asuma answered.
"For the rest of the day we will start a new form of training" asuma told them after they got lunch "What are we going to do." Shikamaru asked "elemental training." He answered "I thought people don't learn that until they are chunin." Choji said "Yes most wait but I think it's better you learn now". Asuma said
When they reached the training yard asuma began "now before we begin we must find out your chakra nature"
"How" choji asks
"Chakra paper." Asuma states he pulls out a piece of paper and channels his chakra into it and it cuts in half "my chakra nature is wind so it was sliced in half."
"If it's fire it will catch on fire if it's water it will get wet if it's earth it will turn to dust and if it's lightning it will crumble". He explained.
"Now you try" he said as he handed each of them a piece of paper for both for Ino it crumpled and got damp for choji it turned into dust and for shikamaru it got damp caught on fire then turned into dust. "Wow it's rare for someone to even have two different natures let alone three." Asuma said amazed. "But anyway there's not much I can do for you I do know a few fire jutsu but they are too advanced for you."
"You can find some scrolls in the library that teach you more about each individual nature or you can ask your parents." Asuma said "but that's it for today."
Shikamaru went to the library before going home to rent some scrolls on fire, water, and earth chakra. He also planned on asking his parents when he gets home. But before he could get there he ran into naruto. "Hey shikamaru it's been a while." He yelled as he ran closer. "Hey naruto how are you" shikamaru said " good but we've only had boring missions." He answered "yeah same but today we started elemental chakra control" shikamaru replied "really I wish kakashi sensai would teach us that but we are going on our first c rank mission soon, so I hope something cool happens on that." He said. "Anyway I should get home see you naruto" shikamaru said "by shikamaru see you soon"
After a week of training and d rank missions team ten finally received their first c rank mission. "Our mission is to find a merchants lost merchandise, he lost a lot of his supplies in a storm and has hired us to find it." Asuma explained.
"Wouldn't team 8 be better for this mission." Shikamaru asked "yes but they are busy right now and so is team 7 so we got this mission." Asuma responded
"How long is it going to take" Ino asked "around 2-3 weeks" asuma said "we will leave tomorrow."
The next day shikamaru walked to the gate wondering what it will be like. He had never left the village so he was excited. He would even get to leave the land of fire and travel to the land of tea. When he reached the gate asuma and choji were waiting. "So are you still waiting for ino" shikamaru asked. "Yeah she probably doing her hair." Choji joked. "So how long will it take to reach the land of tea" shikamaru asked "about five days" asuma responded.
"So were will we meet the merchant"
"There's a tea shop near the border he said to meet him their."
"Hey so are you guys ready" Ino yelled as she came running up
"Yeah let's go."
Once they left the village they travelled for three days without any issues. On the third day they ran into a group of bandits. There were five in total each had a different weapon "So are you supposed to be ninja" the biggest one said. He carried a staff that was almost as big as him. "What's it to you." Asuma said cautiously. "Well we can't have you get away we'll get good money for your heads." A smaller one with tonfa's said. "Good luck, my students could beat you without me" asuma said. "Just try" he yelled as he jumped at asuma taking out his tonfa. As asuma blocked the attack the rest charged.
The big one charged at asuma leaving one for each of the genin. Shikamaru stood across from a kid about three years older than him holding a sword. Shikamaru new he could not take this lightly the boy was older and more experienced than him. Shikamaru was waiting for his opponent to move when he saw a knife fly towards him. He substituted himself only to find another knife in front of him.
He was barely able to doge it. When he looked at his opponent he realized he was gone. He frantically looked around to find him and realized he was above him about to strike.
Shikamaru pulled out a Kunai and blocked but the older boy was stronger than him and was able to push him off balance. Shikamaru used a smoke bomb and hid in a nearby bush. He used shadow possession to try and catch him but the boy noticed the shadow and dodged to the side. when he landed shikamaru threw a Kunai with a paper bomb.
The explosion knocked the boy off balance enough to give shikamaru a opening which he took. He threw som shuriken at the boy and ran forward with a Kunai ready. He stabbed at the boy but he was able to dodge. Shikamaru knew he was outmatched at taijutsu so he had to rely on ninjutsu.
He jumped back for some space "Donton iwa tounyuu no jutsu" he said as he threw a rock the size of his fist. The boy managed to cut the rock in half but shikamaru had planned for that as he kicked the boy in the head knocking him out. After the fight was done he looked around and saw choji had beat his opponent and was helping ino and asuma was just finishing his fight.
Went everyone was done they gathered "is anyone injured" asuma asked "no" everyone answered "good, well congratulations you all did very well"
"How do you know how we did" ino asked
"Because I was watching and if any of you were in danger I would have intervened"
"But how if you were busy" choji asked
"They were no problem I was more focused on your fights so I could offer you advice."
"Shikamaru you did well but you got distracted and we're almost beat. but you did well in avoiding his attacks and counterattacking."
"Choji you did well, your opponent was weaker than shikamaru's but you did well you were able to avoid his attack's and knock him out fast."
"Ino you did well but you need more offensive attacks. You did well in defending but you were not able to knockout your opponent."
After his explanation we tied up the bandits and continued to the land of tea there were no other problems during the journey.
When they arrived at the tea shop it was around midday on the day they were supposed to meat the client as they walked up to the register they noticed a man sitting in the corner he looked foreign with dark hair and skin. When they reached the counter asuma asked "excuse me we are the ninja from the leaf village we are supposed to meat a merchant here" The woman responded in a raspy voice "he is the man sitting in the corner." Pointing at the foreign man.
As they walked up to him shikamaru saw that the man was studying them but mainly shikamaru. This man was interesting he seemed to be more than a simple merchant.
When they reached the table they were greeted by a warm smile and a pleasant voice with a slight accent "hello you must be the leaf ninja I hired, my name is umaru yuuta."
"It's nice to meat you my name is asuma Sarutobi and these are my students shikamaru Nara, choji akimichi, and ino Yamanaka."
"So I assume you don't want to waste time talking, I was trading throughout the land of tea when a few weeks ago a terrible storm hit my convoy and I lost some very valuable merchandise."
"So why did you need to hire ninja to help you find your stuff."
"There are multiple reasons it would be faster easier and in case bandits are looking for it or already found it you would be able to defeat them."
"Very well so what merchandise are you looking for and we're did it disappear."
"I lost some important scrolls, some weapons, clothes, jewelry and even some rare snacks but the most important thing is a 2 foot tall golden dragon statue."
"So we better start looking for them we're did you lose them."
"Follow me."
As they started walking there was not much to see it was mainly fields and farms with an occasional tea shop on the road. "So why did you decide to trade in the land of tea" shikamaru asked the merchant "the towns have a lot of rich people and there is little interference with ninja villages."
"What's wrong with ninja villages." He asked. "well ninja often attract war and war is bad for business so I try to avoid it as much as I can so I go to the less militarized lands."
"We're are you from originally." He asked
"I was born in the land of silk but I have traveled since I was your age."
"So have you been all over the continent."
"Yes the only places I have not been are the land of water and the flower islands."
"Ah well it looks like we arrived, this is we're the storm hit me."
The area was pretty clear on one side of the road was a rice farm with a house in the distance and the other cut of sharply and went into a ravine. "I was not able to recover much only what was on the road but there should be things on both sides of the road".
"Alright" asuma said "Ino, choji help umaru search the farm and surrounding area, shikamaru you will help me search the ravine."
Him and asuma jumped into the ravine as ino and choji started searching the ground once they were a distance away asuma asked "what do you think of that merchant."
"He seems nice enough."
"We'll keep an eye on him."
"Why"
"He's lying about something and he's been watching us you especially but don't worry about that right now focus on finding the items."
They spent hours looking and were able to recover various things from scrolls to jewelry but we didn't find the dragon yet. "Well I think that's enough for today we'll start again tomorrow until then you three will train your chakra control."
"Why can't we rest tonight" ino started complaining "I'm so hungry" choji whined "well you can eat once you can do this." He began channeling chakra into his feet then ran in the side of the tree and stood upside down from a branch.
"Now you try" he called out. Shikamaru began channeling his chakra he thought about it if he put to much it would force him of the tree but if he put to little he would not be able to stay on it so he began trying to find the perfect amount once he thought he had it ha ran at the tree and started running up it only to get halfway up and start to fall down so he pushed off and landed on his feet.
He had lost concentration and put to little chakra in his feet. Before he tried again he looked at Ino and Choji and both had tried more than him but with worse results. His second attempt he put the same amount into his feet but focused on maintaining it so when he tried again he didn't slip and made it all the way to the top. "Congratulations" asuma said from a higher branch. "You got it faster than I thought you would."
"Thanks"
"So have you been watching the merchant like I told you to"
"Yeah he's definitely watching us but he doesn't seem hostile more intrigued"
"Yeah and he's definitely interested in you the most"
"I wonder why"
"Well we can figure it out later for now let's get some dinner"
"What about those two" he pointed at Choji and Ino who were still trying to climb the tree with little success.
"They can take a break for now"
They began walking to the nearest tea shop which they could already see in the distance. The merchant walked up to shikamaru "you learned that technique quickly good job"
"Thank"
"So how long have you been a ninja"
"A month"
"Only a month and your already this advanced you will be very strong in the future" with that he went to talk to asuma
After they had finished eating asuma told Ino and Choji to keep practicing when he came to shikamaru "hey want to spar" he asked having nothing better to do he shrugged and followed asuma. When they got to a secluded area he explained the rules "no killing or wounding and try not to destroy the area to much"
"Sounds fair enough"
"Then let's begin" he began by pulling out his chakra blades as shikamaru used Ishi yoroi no ude to strengthen his arms "I see your improving at earth style what about the others"
"Their harder to use"
"So earth must be your main nature"
Before he could respond asuma charged at him but shikamaru blocked and threw a Kunai to gain distance. Asuma attacked again "Doton doroku Gaeshi" Shikamaru said as he lifted a large piece of earth out of the ground as a shield. When asuma destroyed it shikamaru was gone he had taken cover behind a rock and tried to use shadow possession on him.
When asuma noticed the jutsu he jumped out of range and when the shadow retreated asuma raced after it twirls it's user when he got there he was about to attack but shikamaru was ready "tou tou" he said as the earth moved him back. He knew he was using to many jutsu and was going to run out of chakra if he kept going like this.
He had to think of a plan taijutsu was a no go the gap was incredible. The only thing he surpassed asuma in was intelligence. He could lead him into a trap so he began setting it up. From his hidden position he used torappingu no jutsu after that was done he placed paper bombs around the area. After he was finished he went to asuma he charged at asuma with a Kunai in hand attacking him head on. He was not doing well during the fight almost losing an arm but keeping it thanks to his jutsu and asuma holding back.
After his futile attempt he began retreating but making sure asuma followed him. When he reached the trap shikamaru activated the paper bombs. "Doton iwa tounyuu no jutsu" Shikamaru said sending a small rock fist to knock asuma off balance knocking him back into his trap.
When asuma stepped back he fell into a deep hole. Before he could recover shikamaru used shadow possession jutsu. When he finally caught asuma he felt relieved "nice try" asuma a voice came from behind him. The one he caught vanished in a puff of smoke, a shadow clone. He must have done it when the paper bombs exploded.
"Well I guess you win sensai"
"But I haven't won yet"
"I used up most of my chakra on that last trap and if I'll be of any use tomorrow I should stop now"
"Alright, but you did very well today let's go check on the others"
Meanwhile why they were sparing choji and Ino had finally completed their training and were now asleep. "Well we better get some rest I'll take first watch" asuma said as shikamaru laid in his sleeping bag "goodnight"
They spent the next five days recovering the merchandise and training. By the sixth day they had searched everywhere they could have gone but they were still missing a few things. They had not recovered the golden dragon statue a few expensive weapons and some scrolls filled with jutsu.
During that time they had become friends with the merchant especially shikamaru. Every night they played shogi while the merchant told stories of his adventures. He said shikamaru reminded him of an old friend he had but that's all he would say.
After they realized they would not find the items by looking around they decided to go to the nearest town and ask around. It was a short trip with little to see along the way.
When they arrived it was a fairly small village with few people not much compared to a hidden village or a normal city. The people avoided the ninja as much as they could. They cast suspicion glances in their direction. "What's that about" ino asked the merchant "ninja are not popular in most places"
"Why not"
"Ninja are responsible for a lot of death during the last war there were few places left unscathed"
"So what are we going to do now" shikamaru asked as he caught up with asuma
"We should ask around listen for any talk of bandits or the merchandise"
They spent hours trying to find information when one shop owner told them about a group of strong bandits that live not far away. They decided they should check it out and it took them about an hour to reach the bandits camp.
They looked a lot stronger than the bandits that they fought on the way. "They are stronger than the ones we already fought be careful."
There were three in total they were sitting around a fire one was about 18 the other two were 12 and each carried a sword. The older one was almost as big as asuma the other two were both bigger than shikamaru. "Alright on my signal attack" asuma instructed as he snuck around the other side as they waited they started to get nervous this would be their most difficult fight certainly harder than the bandits the already fought.
Ino looked to be the most nervous she was not able to win on her own against a weaker opponent how would she do against a stronger one.
Before they could think about it anymore asuma set off a paper bomb signaling the attack. All three genin charged out of the bushes words the two younger bandits asuma was already fighting the older one. Once they reached each other the bandits swung at the genin but shikamaru and choji blocked their attacks.
Before they could do anything Ino threw some Kunai at them. This distracted them enough for choji and shikamaru to counter shikamaru knocked his opponents sword out of the way and tried to stab him but he was hit in the side the force of the blow knocked him back. The hit came from the other bandit who managed to doge choji and tackled shikamaru.
Before either of them could recover the ground beneath them collapsed.
When shikamaru regained his vision he realized he was in a cave surrounded by various valuables he must have accidentally fallen into the bandits stash.
Interrupting his thoughts he saw the bandit that tackled him stand up not far from him. The bandit had a slight cut an his forehead but other that that he was fine
"So is this everything you stole"
"we didn't steal it"
"You took something that wasn't yours, I call that stealing"
The bandit got angry at that and raised his voice
"This should have never been theirs in the first place it belonged to us"
"What are you talking about"
"Five years ago the land of tea was at war with the coral islands but neither had much military power so they hired mercenaries they promised those mercenaries wealth and land but when the war ended and the mercenaries came for their reward they were killed. Our parents were killed and ever since then yuuki took care of us. He made sure we had food and clothes he taught us how to fight and most importantly taught us to get revenge for our parents and take what is rightfully ours."
Shikamaru felt bad for the bandits they shouldn't be in this situation, but that didn't give them the right to rob innocent people and ruin other peoples lives.
"It doesn't matter what happened in the past you don't have the right to rob people that weren't involved with your parents."
"I've wasted enough time talking to you I'll get what I deserve one way or another."
With that he charged he was much faster than before and shikamaru was barely able to keep up but he somehow did, blocking every strike. They continued for a while flying around the room before the bandit began making hand signs "katon housenka no jutsu"
Five fireballs flew from his mouth "ohitsuji kashira" shikamaru said as a curved wall shot out of the ground and shielded him from the flames
While concealed from sight shikamaru went underground. When he reached the opponents position he grabbed his ankles and pulled him under ground. But before he could act the bandit disappeared in a puff of smoke "a shadow clone how many jutsu does he know."
Shikamaru created a earth clone to use as a distraction. The clone jumped out of the ground and charged the bandit. As the two were fighting shikamaru moved into position. As the fight carried on the bandit was gaining the upper hand until the clone slipped and the bandit stabbed shikamaru only for him to crumble into rock. Amid his surprise shikamaru sprang from the ground with shuriken prepared.
He threw the shuriken and charged in with a Kunai the second his feet hit the ground. The bandit was able to block the shuriken but was knocked off balance by shikamarus charge. Shikamaru continued his assault while the bandit desperately tried to regain balance. During his opponents sloppy retreat shikamaru saw an opining as he thrust his Kunai towards his opponents heart the bandit was able to move slightly and the Kunai got stuck in his shoulder.
"Damn that was close"
"Your going to have to do better than that if you want to kill me." The bandit pulled out a scroll and activated the seal. Dozens of weapons shot out of the scroll and landed around the room there was a large variety of weapons ranging from swords to a Morningstar.
"Get ready" he said as he dropped his sword and ran forward unarmed. But before he reached shikamaru he jumped right and grabbed a sword and swung at shikamaru who barely had time to dodge. The sword grazed his hair cutting the band that kept his ponytail up.
As his hair fell into his face the bandit darted away again and ran in a circle around shikamaru. It was hard for him to form a strategy because he didn't know what weapon the bandit was going to use and he had never fought against many of them.
As shikamaru was thinking the bandit grabbed a spear and charged at shikamaru. But before he reached him he jumped into the air over shikamaru and attacked from behind.
Shikamaru knew he couldn't block it so he dropped to the floor. "Gou no doro" he said as the area around him turned to mud. The bandit wasn't able to get away fast enough and got stuck. Shikamaru jumped away and threw a paper bomb at him.
The bandit threw his spear at the bomb stabbing it and pinning it to the ceiling. The explosion sent rocks falling down almost crushing both of them.
The bandit managed to escape the mud and run to the other side of the cave but the rock covered the only exit plunging the room into darkness and making shikamaru's best jutsu useless. He had to rely on his ears to win.
As he was thinking of what to do he heard step's almost next to him he jumped into the air and stuck to the roof just in time the bandit had found an axe and almost killed him.
Shikamaru was wondering how he found him when the rock beside him was hit with something and shikamaru jumped to the other side of the room just then he remembered something asuma said their first training session.
"You should have sensed my chakra"
So I have to sense his chakra how do I do that he thought he closed his eyes not that it made much difference and reached out trying to sense something. As he was about to give up he felt something running at him. He jumped to the side and a sword impaled the ground where he was standing.
He tried again this time he could see the bandit more clearly and was able to see his movements. The longer he kept it up the better he could see he was even starting to see the weapon's around the room.
Before he could think about it more he sensed the bandit run over to another weapon and pick it up. Shikamaru reached for a Kunai to defend himself only to realize he was out shit what now he thought as the bandit got closer he realized there was a weapon right beside him he picked it up and realized it was a tanto it was larger than a Kunai but he figured he could use it the same. Before he could think more the bandit charged at him and swung at his head.
The bandit was holding two short swords. After shikamaru blocked the attack he kicked at the bandit but missed sensing something attacking from his right he raised the knife and felt it connect with something. He jumped back "Doton iwa tounyuu no jutsu"
The bandit blocked the attack but shikamaru followed up with a punch he felt his fist connect and kicked forward. He hit something soft and if flew backwards. He heard something hit the wall followed by cussing "katon housenka no jutsu"
He jumped out of the way but the fire gave him enough light to asses the situation. The bandit was bleeding and looked tired. Shikamaru was not injured and had a decent amount of chakra left. He decided to move to offense he ran at the bandit who had recovered and met his swing.
They continued for a few minutes repeatedly swinging or blocking. Shikamaru was improving with the tanto but was still not as good as the bandit. The only reason he was keeping up was his opponents injuries and tiredness. The longer the fight lasted the bigger shikamaru's advantage his opponent must have realized this because he jumped away
"I'll have to finish this now" he said breathing heavily.
"Katon hi shinten no jutsu" his swords burst into flames as he stood up. Shikamaru jumped back to create distance. He must be low on chakra now it's time to finish this.
The bandit charged at shikamaru. The swords were much more powerful than before and the tanton couldn't block them anymore so he had to rely on jutsu. He had to use his most advanced jutsu's "Doton shuriken no jutsu" two rock shuriken shot at the bandit who had to block them with both swords the distraction enough to activate his next jutsu "iwa toge fushido no jutsu" spikes shot up all around shikamaru the bandit tried to run but he was hit in the leg and shoulder.
Shikamaru knew the fight was over the bandit couldn't walk or hold a sword. He walked to the entrance which was now covered by rocks "tsuchi tou tou" he used the last of his chakra to move the rocks out of the way. When he was finally out he saw that choji and ino had defeated their opponent with only minor injuries.
Asuma was still fighting his opponent who was much stronger than the other's but was still far outclassed by asuma. After a few more seconds the fight was over as asuma delivered a fatal blow to the bandits upper body.
As shikamaru watched the dead body fall to the ground he realized this was the first time he saw someone die. Even though he knew it was going to happen eventually he would have never been prepared.He would have to get used to it if he was going to be a shinobi he new but it was hard to look away, but eventually he tore his eyes away from the body and looked at asuma who was checking on ino and choji and securing their opponent, after he was done he walked over to shikamaru.
"Are you alright"
"Yeah"
"We need to find all the stolen items"
"There all in there" he pointed at the cave he just left
"Let's go he said" as they all made there way twords the room.
When they got there it was still very dark but they managed to find some torches and light them illuminating the room. It was the first time shikamaru had properly seen the room. There was a big empty space in the middle that had been destroyed by the battle. Surrounding it was everything from gold to food there was enough money for everyone in the land of tea. There was also weapons, scrolls, clothes, and enough food for a small army.
The bandit shikamaru had fought was laying in the corner looking at a a piece of paper with tears in his eyes. As shikamaru approached him he began to hear the sobs coming from the boy. When he reached him he saw that the paper was a picture of a man and woman holding a baby. The man looked very similar to the boy in front of him.
"Are those your parents" he asked after a second
"Yeah this is all I've ever had of them" shikamaru noticed some writing on the back. To Toru love mom and dad.
"I didn't want to fight you but you committed a crime and now you must pay for it"
"I know"
After a brief pause he asked with a shaky voice "are the others dead"
Shikamaru looked away and regretfully answered "the older one is but the other one your age is still alive."
The boy started crying again as shikamaru walked back to the rest of his team.
"What do we do about the other two"
We turn them over to the authorities"
"What about all of this" shikamaru gestured to the vast amount of wealth in the room. "Well we give umaru everything that belongs to him but the rest we hand over to the nearest feudal lord for redistribution."
"But can't we keep any of it we're the ones who got it back after all" Ino complained.
"Don't worry the leaf village will receive payment for recovering the items and we will also receive a share"
"So when will umaru get here he should be here soon he wasn't to far away. While they waited they treated the two surviving bandits wounds and determined that they would survive then they started moving everything out of the cave they were almost done when umaru arrived.
"Well I am pleased to see that you are all alive and well" he said as he walked up his eyes then fell to the pile of riches "I see you also recovered my lost merchandise and then some"
As they continued to move the rest of the gold umaru checked his items and made sure everything was there once satisfied he put his hands together "I could never thank you enough" he said "you may all take two items as thanks."
"are you sure" asuma asked "you already payed the leaf for this mission"
"Yes I'm sure you all did extremely well and I wish to reward you for that."
"well thank you"
They began going through the merchants items. Choji was the first one done settling for some rare snacks. Asuma finished next he picked a new lighter and some expensive cigarettes. Ino chose a necklace and a dress which left shikamaru who had already chose a scroll full of new jutsu but he hadn't decided on his last item yet. As he was looking around one thing caught his eye it was a blade very similar to the one he used in his fight only a little longer but it looked to be made out of the same material as asuma chakra blades so he chose that as his second item.
"Nice choice" asuma said
"What is it made out of"
"It's a special kind of metal that makes infusing chakra easier and stronger."
"So I can use this like you"
"No probably not I use wind chakra which you can't use but I'm sure you'll find another way."
Since they were all happy with their choices they returned to the village with the bandits and items in tow and were able to hand them over to the Garuda without any problems when shikamaru looked back he saw toru staring emotionless at the ground he still felt bad about what had happened to him but there was nothing he could do about it.
After that was taken care of they said their farewells to umaru. Who looked sad to see them go.
They had no trouble returning to the village but around two days from the village they met squad 7 who was also returning from a mission from the land of waves.
They decided to return together which made Ino especially happy because she would be close to her precious sasuke. Naruto choji and shikamaru started talking about their missions although naruto seemed quieter than normal. Before nightfall they set up camp and shikamaru approached naruto.
"what's wrong naruto" shikamaru asked "you seem quieter than normal you should've yelled about becoming hokage by now"
"it's nothing" he said looking down
"you've never seen someone die before right" shikamaru said
"yeah" he said looking away
"it's nothing to be ashamed no one is prepared for it"
"but haku shouldn't have had to died he was my friend"
"well now you just have to accept that pain because there will be a lot more if your serious about becoming hokage"
"I know but that won't stop me, nothing will" he looked up determined "I will be the hokage believe it"
"well we should get some sleep we're getting up early"
Two days later they reached the village and both teams went to the hokage's office team 7 went in first and after a few minutes walked out with naruto saying something about ramen and ino trying to talk to sasuke.
Then the asuma knocked on the door and a old voice rasped "come in"
When they entered the room it was a medium sized room with a desk directly in front of them there was paper work surrounding it and a few seats facing it. Behind the desk sat an old man wearing a white robe and a hat that signifies him as the hokage.
They gave their mission report which didn't take long but as we were leaving the hokage told asuma something the rest of them couldn't hear and asuma just nodded his head.
When they left they went to the barbecue place they frequently go to. As choji is ordering tons of food asuma asked
"so how was your first c rank mission"
"it was surprising it was the first time I ever left the village but I was always scarred when we had to fight." Ino said
"well that's normal for genin, what about you shikamaru"
"it was a lot I felt like I grew a lot and got stronger but I also feel bad for those bandits"
"yeah the world is unfair to most but that doesn't give someone the right to lash out at others because of what has happened to them" he sighed "I'm sure you'll experience more of this as you get older"
"what about you choji" he asked when choji had finally finished order which had been worrying asuma who had volunteered to pay.
"well I've always wanted to see the outside of the village and eat food from there and I was able to"
"well it's a simple reason but that doesn't matter"
they talked for a while until asuma said he had a meetin. So after he paid they began walking home and shikamaru thought back to their mission and remembered the gifts. He hasn't had a chance to read the scroll or practice with the knife.
When he got home he took off his shoes and yelled "I'm home" as he began to walk to his room he heard his mom yell "were have you been we heard you got back this morning"
"I went to report the mission and then asuma sensai took us out for barbecue"
"you should have at least stopped by so we new you were ok"
"sorry mom I will next time I promise by the way we're dad"
"he had a meeting he won't be home for a while"
"ok"
So that must be asuma's meeting. But anyway time to read that scroll.