Shikamaru was nudged from his nap by Choji. He looked up to see the cause, a dark-haired boy. Not noticeably from any clan he knew, so likely a clanless student. So, why did Choji bother to wake him from his nap?
Choji knew Shikamaru didn't want to be woken for anything but the sensei or something interesting. Still, it was likely just another attempt to cozy it up with a clan.
"What?" He finally bothered to ask.
"I heard you were good at shogi. I decided I should train my strategic thinking, weighed my options, and figured beating my head against a brick wall trying to learn shogi against you was as good of an idea as any."
Shikamaru took a moment before sitting up. "If you're boring to play against, I'll go back to sleep."
He... wasn't bad. It was clearly his first time, but he wasn't an idiot. Understood the rules, made solid opening plays, and rarely made any moves that seriously cost him.
This was the eighth game Shikamaru had played. Shikamaru played the last move of the game and looked up to his face.
"What's your name?"
"Ichiro."
"You're welcome to sit around here, I'm going back to sleep but I'll be willing to play more later."
It was a little satisfying to beat up on a worse player.
Little did the Nara know, I read a fucking book on shogi before challenging him. Thank god for adult decision-making development because Shikamaru was a monster to play against. It was like fighting a chess bot on max.
Choji was nice, too. We talked about potential new food ideas. He really liked some of my hamburger ideas.
I had been sent to this world with one purpose: to save it. Armed with all the knowledge of my shitty fanfiction-based memory of Naruto and a brand new body, I was prepared to make the most of it.
And then I realized that I kind of sucked. I wasn't as dedicated as a Shinobi could be, and even though my chakra control was nice, the body of a clanless shinobi sucked ass.
Barely enough chakra to train with with none of the physical benefits. It would be hard fought to reach a level decent enough to pass the chunin exams, let alone actually matter once things hit Akatsuki level. How the fuck was I going to get the amazing reward I was promised?
Plan A, the plan of being an amazing murder-nin was shot. I'd still become a ninja for safety, but I may have to blow one of my legs off during a mission and retire. Maybe get a nice pension.
Thankfully, Plan B was good to go. All I have to do is make buddies with Shikamaru and incentivise him.
"Hey, Shika?" Ichigo caught Shikamaru's attention.
"Yeah?" Shikamaru paused from his cloud watching.
"What if I told you about a ninja art you could train with while laying down that would let you become an S-class? Your mom would hardly be complaining to you about training, then."
Shikamaru tilted his head. "Elaborate."
"What do the Second Hokage, Fourth Hokage, and Jiraiya have in common?"
He thought for a second. "Incredible jutsu knowledge?"
"Nah, well, close," Ichigo said, "I meant they were Fuinjutsu masters."
"Seals?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah. I was looking into them earlier. You can basically incorporate any effect you want with them so long as you prepare them beforehand. All you need is good calligraphy and to study how it works. I mentioned it because I was looking into seals earlier, and it mentioned that when Fuinjutsu masters fight each other, it's almost comparable to a strategy game."
"My first thought was "Damn, Shikamaru would kick my ass if we fought each other like that." My second thought was "Holy shit, Shikamaru would kick anyone's ass if he fought like that." As far as ways to make yourself incredibly dangerous while not having to put much physical effort goes, it seems like a good option."
Madara fought the shinobi armies gathered against him. It was a surprise to be resurrected by a technique he had never heard of, but great to be in a fight again. They were acceptable, forcing him to utilize his Soosanoo's ribcage.
After he casually stopped the Big Ball Rasengan, Madara took a moment to look around the field.
When were all those seals placed? Around the entire battlefield, shinobi had stopped and placed hundreds of seals, all in the seconds between the Rasengan being attempted.
The seals activated and burned away. Madara saw the chakra home in on him from every angle. That was the last thing he ever saw.
From everyone else's perspective, Madara simply stopped. His Soosanoo dropped, and he was stuck crouched even when the pillar of stone he stood on fell and Madara Uchiha simply floated in the air.
"That technique is scary," Naruto shivered. "Are you sure nobody can replicate it?"
"I'm certain," Shikamaru nodded. "Fuinjutsu of this level is irreplicable. Even if someone got ahold of my seal, they wouldn't be able to make sense of it. The temporal detachment seal array will not be used against Konoha."
And now Madara would never be a threat again. He was completely set apart from time. No chakra would be registered going in, so the Edo Tensei could not be dispelled. The spirit was trapped.
The Fourth Shinobi War didn't feel very hopeless. Shikamaru looked back to his team, Choji and Ino, and to his sensei, Asuma, and smiled. He would have to thank Ichiro for starting him on Fuinjutsu. Ichiro's restaurant was doing pretty well despite the destruction of Pain's assault on Konoha, which was pleasant news. Thankfully Ichiro was on a trip to pick up some rare ingredients during the month of the attack.
I gave up on the whole saving the world thing after I flunked out of the shinobi academy. Choji helped me start it up, fueled by all my otherworldly food knowledge and his family's endorsement. Thank Kami I learned how to make a bunch of Asian food in college.
Shikamaru was doing good for himself on that front, though. I wonder how the Shinobi war is going?
Suddenly, I was ripped from my thoughts by my surroundings warping into a black void, the same void I found myself in before my reincarnation.
"Congratulations on saving the world!"
I think the first thing I'm going to do with my immortality is live forever.