Shikamaru was tired.
Not just physically, mentally and emotionally too. Ever since the Sasuke retrieval mission, the boy had been out of it. That had been his first mission both as a Chunin and leader, and he had failed... miserably.
One of his teammates, his best friend actually, had come back with severe food poisoning, his other teammate, a Hyuga, had come back with a very wicked piercing, and he didn't mean that in a fun way. The Hyuga clan had been absolutely livid and only the Hokage's draconic temper kept them from lashing out on everyone.
But the worst was Naruto.
Shikamaru had only gotten a glimpse but it had been more than enough. Whatever had happened during the fight between the two genin of Kakashi of the Sharingan, Shikamaru was sure the outcome was a lot worse than what he imagined.
The blood.
Heavens there was so much blood.
Lady Tsunade, the best medic in the whole world, had spent close to an entire week in that medical room, personally attending on the blonde knucklehead. And when she stepped out, her expression looked worse than it had been at the beginning.
Of course, given the circumstances, they should have been considerate and waited for her to rest, but the worry that had been pressing down on them shred any bit of consideration they could have mastered.
He and his friends had bombarded her with questions before she could even breath the air outside the room, asking what happened and how Naruto was ...
Tsunade had given them one of the worst glares he had ever seen and stormed off, breathing fire and lightning from her nostrils. Shizune was the one who explained the situation to them. She began by assuring them that whatever they expected, the real deal was worse.
And she was right.
How Naruto was still alive at that point was nothing short of a miracle. His abdominal area had suffered severe burning and many of his internal organs had been in the process of shutting down before Lord Jiraiya had brought him. Sasuke had gone full demon on him. The blood that had been pouring from his belly was from Sasuke's move, the chidori, a technique taught to him by Kakashi Sensei.
The third and last news was the worst of it.
Naruto's chakra pathway system had been completely destroyed, meaning the blonde knucklehead was no longer going be a Shinobi, since the core of being a Shinobi is the ability to wield chakra. Everyone had Chakra, but Naruto didn't even have that. It had been a miracle he was even alive until that point, but nothing on this earth could heal him.
Of course, it was later on discovered why they weren't allowed to visit him in the hospital after months of being out of it, which was also the moment all of them knew just why Naruto was treated differently.
The reason it had taken so long to find Naruto after his fight with Sasuke was because the criminal organization known as the Akatsuki, a group made up of S-rank missing-nins had swiftly kidnapped him right after Sasuke had run away and proceeded to extract the Nine Tailed demon fox from his body. It was unknown why they took it, but what was clear was that Naruto had been treated awfully all this time due to his connection with the nine tailed fox.
The village council was in a constant state of anger which was , once again, unfairly thrown at Naruto. For some reason, the entire council ,even his damn father, a full blown commander known for his smarts, agreed that it was Naruto's fault for loosing the nine tailed fox.
The paradox involved made Shikamaru's head hurt just thinking about it. The Hidden leaf populace hated the Nine tailed fox. It appeared fifteen years ago and nearly destroyed the entire village. The fourth Hokage saved everyone by not killing it but sealing it inside Naruto Uzumaki. Instead of taking care of the boy and treating him with utmost respect and reverence for keeping the demon at bay continuously for the last thirteen years, the villagers saw it fit to do the opposite.
And now, the Nine tailed fox was not there anymore. Still, Naruto was blamed for even that. Their argument being, if he had been strong enough, he wouldn't have gotten kidnapped in the first place. The Hidden leaf lost their military trump card. All because of a stupid blonde brat.
Even a new born baby could tell that unfair didn't even begin to cover the entire story.
He sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. " Shadow strangling Justu success." he spoke, his voice low and lacking the usual laid back tone. A dozen bodies fell to the ground, their throats indented by hand prints which lacked any finger prints. Two years ago, he couldn't pull that move on a single person. Now, a dozen was too easy. The brutal training they had been put through as a result of loosing the nine tailed fox was showing its fruits.
Those fruits were bitter.
"Done there Sai?" he asked.
His companion, a pale skinned infuriating excuse of a person, rose to his feet pocketing his scrolls and paint brush. With a smile that lacked any emotions, he waved him a two fingered salute " Sure thing Shikamaru."
"Good. Let's wrap this up and head back. I'm in need of a good cloud gazing." he said
"Lady Hokage." he said, standing still in the presence of his leader. Her usually angry brown but tolerable eyes were now coldly fixated on him. She was a far cry from the 'Granny' they all knew.
He held back a sigh. Nearly everything he thought about for the past two years drifted back to Naruto. He wasn't the same after that one mission, and with the emotional grip Tsunade had on the blonde troublemaker, it was obvious she was the most stricken out of everyone. There was a legend about Hashirama Senju's necklace bringing calamity and death to whoever wore it that was not Tsunade. The fifth Hokage absolutely believed that Naruto would be the one to overcome that curse and not fail her trust.
Then, Sasuke ran away.
The not- so- lazy- anymore Nara brought himself back to focus when someone else spoke.
"Not going to acknowledge your own father, boy?" Shikaku Nara asked. Shikamaru barely looked at him. He could tell that his father was hurt with the cold shoulder he had been receiving but the boy didn't care. If the hidden leaf wanted to be irrational then why not he too?
The narrowing of the Hokage's eyes made him deflate ever so slightly " Commander." he called out stiffly.
"Report, Jonin." Shikaku said after a moment.
It still sounded weird to him, even after a whole year of gaining the role. Nevertheless, he did as requested, gave a full account down the the previous second.
"So, they're all dead?" the Hokage asked.
"If they're not then they're critically burnt." he replied.
The response didn't amuse the Hokage, but she still nodded and leaned back on her seat. He missed the days where her eyes were warm and caring and gave a sense of familiarity when being addressed. The look he received now was the one you got when all your team members had been killed and you were on the verge of your death while having failed the said mission and invited war on your villages doorstep and-
He sighed.
"Dismissed, Shikamaru." she said.
With a shallow bow, he turned and walked out of the big red building. He was free for the rest of the day. With a pleasurable stretch and a loud yawn, he started marching towards his favorite cloud gazing spot.
Only to find himself at training ground three. He sighed. He didn't mean to come here, yet here he was staring at the desolate green land. The place Naruto and his team used to train.
"Hya!"
Correction, not so desolate land.
He only needed to catch a glimpse of pink for his mood to worsen. Without waiting for so much as a second to pass, he turned and started to walk way.
"Shikamaru."
He paused.
"Not even gonna say hello." he turned and faced her, hoping his anger wasn't visible. Yet again, why did he care about her feelings. She probably knew how he felt about being near her, and if the smirk on her face was anything to go by, she actually enjoyed infuriating him further.
"Hello." he said, wearing his usual Nara expression" Sakura."
"Lemme guess. You didn't want to say hi because of what happened two years ago, right? Still blaming me for the weakling's disappearance, eh?"
"Man, my luck has to be the most rotten in the world. Here I was hoping my Shinobi duties would actually kill me before I got to see you again, but here I am." he said with a really displeased grin on his face" how are you doing Sakura?"
"Good. Hear the news lately. They say I'm on the path to becoming the next Tsunade." she said pointing towards a tree that was fallen from the lower stem, lying on the ground" Did that with my finger."
He knew of the training medical ninja were put through, and how if they mastered precise chakra control, they could power up their cells and use their chakra to augment their strength. To think that she, of all people, managed to gain this ability. The world really was working overtime to ruin his mood. He tried to keep the awe from his face but he failed, seeing as the contented smile on her grew an inch wider.
"Impressive" he said through grit teeth. She was clearly not the weak bitch she used to be. Of course, no one was what they used to be but this, was was on a whole other level. He wasn't even sure he would win in a simple taijutsu brawl with her.
"Thank you. Been preparing myself extensively for the redo of the Sasuke retrieval mission seeing as the first one was..." she paused, giving him a long and insulting stare"... disappointing to say the least."
Shadow strangling Jutsu had never seemed so enticing as it did now. But, all he did was sigh. The council had been furiously advocating for the return of the last Uchiha, and only the whereabouts of Orochimaru kept them hindered all this time. Of course, if it all went according to them, Sasuke would have been found already. Jiraiya of the Sannin would have taken all the support given and within a year, the black haired brat would have been dragged back in chains.
A smile grew on his face. " Too bad then" he said" It would seem that Lord Jiraiya only answers to his own whims."
That smug look on her face disappeared. Before she could think of a retort, he turned and with an loudly exaggerated chuckle walked away from her, reveling in the grinding of her teeth.
' Find that blonde rascal soon will you Lord Jiraiya. His presence is needed here more than he knows.' thought the Nara as he gazed at the sky that afternoon.