The days flew by in a blur. If Hiroshi's intensive training leading up to the Exams had made him a harsh taskmaster, Shikaku's personal instruction made him a torturer. Every morning he had several other Nara attack me in unison, throwing projectiles and sending jutsu at me. All the while, he tried to catch me with his shadow. He hadn't been this hard on me when I'd trained with him before, but we'd mostly been working on improving my shadows then. Without Hiroshi to work on my fundamentals, Shikaku seemed to take that duty onto himself.

I hadn't left the compound since I'd gotten back. I hadn't seen Misaki either. Shikaku told me her clan was likely doing the same thing with her that the Nara were with me, not letting her out of their sight and working her to the bone to prepare her for the finals.

My life devolved into a cycle of wake up, train, eat, train some more, then sleep…or at least try to. I was having nightmares. Some were of me holding Kenji's head in my hands, others were of a bolt of lightning tearing through my chest from behind me. Clearly, I wasn't in the best headspace, and that caused my mind to wander.

Mostly, I focused on Kenji's death. Despite Shikaku's warning about 'what ifs', I ran through different scenarios where he lived, trying to find out the reason why he died and if there was something I could have done to prevent it. Initially, I worked out a dozen possible ways all three of us could have made it out of that fight, but then I started wondering what would have happened if we hadn't needed to fight to begin with.

That led me down a convoluted rabbit hole fraught with paranoia. Why were we sent to exams so early? Why were we sent to an enemy village's exams? Who was behind everything? In my head, I immediately blamed the root cause of all problems in Naruto fanfiction – Danzo. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized it didn't really matter.

So what if it was Danzo? So what if it was Hiruzen that orchestrated things for me to get sent to Iwa? What could I do about it in either of those scenarios? Maybe it was Joe Jonin from accounting. What could I do to impede his will?

Short answer? Jack all. I was a no-name genin surrounded by titans who only cowed when faced with a superior force. There wasn't much I could do. The way I saw it, I had two options moving forward.

My first option was to not play the game. Konoha ran by the will and rules of whoever was in charge, and I was definitely not in charge. So, I could leave, but that was stupid from every angle I looked at it. To start, I would have no backing in a death world where everything wanted me dead. I would have turned on my village, causing my one time allies to want me dead in addition to everyone else. Maybe I could seek refuge in an enemy village, but if I did that, I was liable to be tortured for the secrets to the Nara jutsu, used as a breeding bull, then disposed of. Even if I somehow managed to avoid all my pursuers, that wouldn't be much of a life. Running from town to town, never staying for more than a week at a time. The only way I could make something like that work in the long-run was if I was so strong I could sit in a village for months at a time and not need to fear an attack because everyone would be too afraid to engage me. I was not that strong.

My second option was to play the game. I could climb the Konoha ladder through one avenue or another. I needed strength no matter what I chose, and strength was a path to at least being listened to, if not making decisions. So I'd get strong, and I'd try to cultivate some other power while I was at it. As much as I loathed the idea of involving myself in politics, if I wanted to have any say in my future going forward I needed political clout. The Hokage listened to the clan heads because they represented a large portion of Konoha's fighting force and its economy. I doubted I would be able to garner as much influence as Shikaku had, but the more prominent a figure I was, the less people would be able to tell me what to do.

Regardless of what I chose, I needed to get stronger, and the only way for that to happen was for me to be in a somewhat safe environment…besides, I really wasn't all that interested in going missing nin.

As screwed up as Konoha was, it was undoubtedly one of the best places to be in this hell world. I liked Shikaku. I liked Misaki. I liked the Nara Clan's deer. I liked having my own house. I'd lose all of that if I ran, not to mention I'd lose out of Konoha's resources – blacksmiths on every corner, training from stronger ninja, food that didn't taste like dirt from one of several restaurants all within walking distance. I didn't want to leave when I would struggle to find living conditions even close to equivalent to those in Konoha elsewhere. I hadn't done a lot of sight-seeing in Iwagakure, but from walking through the village, it was easy to tell that Konoha was a few steps ahead of Iwa on both the technological and cultural trees.

All that wasn't even mentioning the fact that the world would end soon. I did not have the chops to match Eternal Mangekyou Rinnegan Madara on my own, which I would be if I went missing nin. He could probably beat me even with his eyes still in Pein's head. Conceivable, if I had gotten good enough with my shadows by that point, I might be able to block out all of the light sent by the moon with my shadows to keep myself out of the genjutsu, but then I'm fighting an actual god with no support. I needed to be in a position where I could direct my allies and hopefully eliminate all of the major players to stall events before they even began. I'd need to be able to take out Sound to get rid of Kabuto and coordinate the manpower to take down most if not all of the Akatsuki, Obito at the very least. I was not naive or arrogant enough to think that I could do any of that on my own. I was getting good, but I was nowhere near good enough to accomplish any of that.

So that left me stuck with the task of becoming someone important. If I wanted to matter enough to be able to have autonomy going forward and to have people follow me to Oto to raze it to the ground, I needed to be both strong and someone who had friends, but I had to be careful. If I started stepping on toes too fast, people might not like the direction I was moving and try to stop me, so I had to be patient for a bit. I was still a genin so most would probably dismiss me out of hand if I tried to maneuver around them. I needed to make jonin as fast as I could, for which I needed to get stronger.

It all came back to strength. That needed to be my focus right now, but I could set the groundwork for the future.

In the interest of that, I petitioned Shikaku to work with me in the evenings on jutsu. When he first agreed, he'd initially wanted me to try to work out a third technique to use with my Boil Release, but after I'd given him my outlined plan for the new genjutsu I'd thought of after losing Kenji, he switched gears almost immediately, doing everything he could to help me make my new technique. We worked on shadow techniques as well, but the majority of our evenings were spent on the genjutsu. It likely wouldn't give me a leg up in the Chunin Exam finals, but I needed to finish it. It felt like I owed it to Kenji to finish it and distribute it to Konoha's ninja. Not to mention that it would make me a named player among some powerful people in the village if it worked out the way I wanted it to.

A week before I was scheduled to leave for the finals, I finished it. Shikaku and I tested it together, and I'd never seen him smile so wide when I cast it on him. He swore me to secrecy about the genjutsu and immediately hauled me out of the Nara Compound for the first time since I'd gotten back to the Chunin Exams.

It was so late in the evening that the sun had fallen over the horizon, but apparently being Konoha's Jonin Commander meant Shikaku could go pretty much wherever he wanted whenever he wanted to. We arrived in the Hokage's office just as the man stood up to leave for the evening.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took one look at the serious expression on Shikaku's face and sighed, slowly sitting back down behind his desk. "What is it, Shikaku? You would not arrive at this hour were it not important." His eyes flicked between Shikaku and I, seeming to try to puzzle out what Shikaku's visit had to do with me.

Shikaku closed the door behind him and bowed deep. "Hokage-sama, I respectfully request a private audience with privacy seals."

I didn't know what to do, so I kept my mouth shut and copied Shikaku's bow.

The Hokage was frowning at Shikaku, his eyes narrow. "The Autumn Leaves." he said randomly.

"Bring life and color to the trees before making way for the next." Shikaku responded immediately.

The Hokage huffed and said, "Leave us." There were several rushing sounds as ANBU appeared out of the ceiling and hidden compartments in the walls and floor to all leave through the door. The moment they were gone, the Hokage wove hand signs faster than I'd ever seen anyone else be able to and touched his index finger to a bronze spot on his desk. Dozens of lines of dark script spread away from his finger like spider webs, gliding across the floor and up the walls to cover the entire room.

"What is this about, Shikaku?" Hiruzen said seriously, his gaze intently focused on my Clan Head.

Shikaku looked down at me and pressed a hand into my back, gently shoving me forward. "Hokage-sama, would you allow Shinto to affect you with a harmless genjutsu?"

The Hokage's gaze fell on me. His lips were pulled into a thin line. Gone was the grandfatherly aura he'd had when I met him last. In that man's place was a highly intelligent ninja who had lived to his twilight years. This was the man known around the world as The Professor.

Hiruzen nodded at me. "Go ahead, Shinto."

I swallowed nervously, slowly, intentionally weaving hand signs to make sure I didn't screw up and have to cast the genjutsu again. It was still new, so I hadn't yet worked out a way to cast it sealless like I could False Barrage, but it was only a matter of practice before I would be able to. The genjutsu connected, and the Hokage's eyes widened in shock.

Genjutsu were, when you looked at them fundamentally, ways to alter the target's view of the world around them or to create sensory input that wasn't actually there. The reason genjutsu were so commonly used in combat was the same reason chakra in general was used for combat in this world: Everyone else was doing it, so you had to do it too or you would end up dead.

This insistence on combat-applicable uses, in conjunction with the difficulty of creating chakra techniques in general, limited the creativity of what types of genjutsu were created. No one thought to make a genjutsu that wouldn't help them kill their enemy, because that would be a waste of time, right?

Wrong. If I'd had this genjutsu a month ago, I would have been able to communicate with Kenji before he struck and maybe called him off or come up with a better plan that could have saved his life. I'd never know, because I'd thought to make this genjutsu too late.

The Hokage was frozen as he heard the words, 'Hello, Hokage-sama. I am speaking only to you. There is no actual sound involved in this technique.'

'Telepathy' I'd named the jutsu. It wasn't true telepathy because instead of speaking directly in your target's head you were creating fake auditory cues for them to pick up, but it let you speak to your target, or multiple targets, without anyone being able to listen in, so I felt the name was appropriate. Since the sounds produced were all created by a genjutsu, it was impossible for anyone other than those who'd had the genjutsu cast on them to hear what was said. This made it perfect for ninja to communicate with one-another on missions where they couldn't make a sound and were somehow impeded from using hand signs. It also required very little chakra to use due to the minor effect it created, so anyone would be able to use it with enough practice.

"Where did you learn this technique?" The Hokage asked, his hands steepled in front of him. The entirety of his attention was centered on me.

"I created it, Hokage-sama." I answered promptly, standing tall under his gaze. "Shikaku-sama helped, but–"

"Shinto created the technique with very minor assistance from me." Shikaku interrupted me.

The Hokage had a considerate expression on his face. "This is an extraordinary accomplishment for one so young, Shinto. You have my congratulations and my thanks.

I bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"I am sure you are aware that the creation of a technique like this would bring a large amount of attention down on yourself, Shinto."

"I am aware, Hokage-sama." That was one of the reasons I wanted it distributed. In addition to saving lives, it would earn me a lot of goodwill I would need in the years to come.

The Hokage was expressionless as he said, "I believe you would be safer if, for the time being, I assumed credit for the creation of… What did you say the technique's name was?"

I didn't react. I didn't flinch. I didn't frown. I was very careful to remain perfectly still. "I decided to call the technique Telepathy, Hokage-sama."

"An interesting name. Back to my point, I fear for your safety if you become known as a jutsu creation savant before you are strong enough to defend yourself."

"The Nara Clan are capable of protecting our own." Shikaku said, not seeming to be too put off by the Hokage's suggestion.

"Forgive me, Shikaku," The Hokage said. "It was not my intent to slight you. I was thinking ahead to Shinto's career as a ninja. If other villages learn of his talents he will be targeted when he is away from the village."

Shikaku frowned. "Provided he is able to be credited for the technique when he reaches the rank of jonin, I see no issue with your plan, Hokage-sama."

The attention of both men fell on me.

Despite my great desire to glare at the Hokage, I maintained my respectful demeanor. There wasn't really much I could do here. Going against the Hokage was a great way to end up on the entire village's shit-list when you lived in a military dictatorship like Konoha. I'd need to be careful about showing around any techniques I made in the future, but for now, I was over a barrel.

I bowed. "If that is what you think is best, I will submit to your greater wisdom, Hokage-sama. I created Telepathy to aid Konoha, not for personal glory." Though some personal glory would have been a nice bonus. I needed to get stronger so I didn't have to put up with being pushed around like this.

I forced myself to look at the positives to get my mind off the irritation I felt. Hiruzen was right that I would have attracted attention if people knew I could make new jutsu easily. I didn't want Danzo getting any ideas. I'd originally planned to leverage my position in the Nara Clan to keep him away like when Aika protected me after my parents died, but I wasn't looking forward to putting Shikaku in that position. This would buy me more time to hone my skills and make friends before Danzo inevitably moved against me.

The Hokage smiled warmly at me, his grandfatherly guise returned. "You are an incredibly talented young man and are very mature for one so young. It brings me great joy to know Konoha will be able to count on you to safeguard its future. If you create more techniques you would like to share, or simply wish to speak to me, do not hesitate to come to my office. I will make sure everyone knows you are always welcome."

I bowed deeply. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. You honor me." I;d definitely be keeping techniques to myself in the future. Or, at least, I'd focus on shadow or boil release. I was alright with Shikaku and my fellow Naras benefitting, and I was the only one who could really use boil release in Konoha.

"Shinto, would you mind waiting outside? I need to speak to Shikaku privately." Hiruzen said, a polite smile on his face.

I nodded. "Of course, Hokage-sama." I turned around and walked to the door. I was a little hesitant to touch it while it was covered in lines of seals, but, seemingly in response to my concerns, the seals pulled back, allowing me to leave the office unmolested.

I leaned against the wall and settled in to wait.

X

"Shinto is a bright young boy." Hiruzen Sarutobi said, watching the door the boy in question just walked through as the seals crawled back up its surface.

Shikaku nodded. "He is."

"Is he ready for the finals?" Hiruzen asked.

Shikaku smiled sadly. "He was ready when they left for the first stage. Losing his teammate shook his confidence, but he's recovered now. Making Telepathy helped him."

"So I did not mishear him. He has named the technique 'Telepathy'?"

Shikaku nodded. "He had the name prepared before he had perfected the technique."

Hiruzen had a small smile on his face. "This technique will help safeguard Konoha. I am sure you are proud of Shinto."

Shikaku nodded. "I am."

"Do you know what he intends to do when he becomes a chunin?"

Shikaku was silent for a moment, his eyes searching the Hokage's. "He hasn't really talked about it. I imagine he'll want to be put on a team with Misaki Hyuga, but I don't know anything more than that."

Hiruzen nodded. "That is to be expected I suppose. If you require anything from me to help Shinto, do not hesitate to ask. I will do all I can to assist in the elevation and protection of one of Konoha's brightest prospects."

Shikaku bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will." He pulled a scroll out of his jacket pocket and set it on the Hokage's desk. "This scroll details how to perform Telepathy. I'm sure you will be able to master it easily."

"I trust you will spread the technique around yourself as well?" Hiruzen asked as he picked up the scroll and began looking it over.

"I will. I plan to teach it to each jonin in the village and a select number of chunin. I'll trust the jonin to know whether or not their genin should learn it."

"A sound plan." Hiruzen complimented. "I will see to its implementation among the ranks of ANBU. I do not mean to dismiss you so suddenly, Shikaku, but you have created a lot of work for me, and I still wish to return home tonight."

"I understand. Have a good night, Hokage-sama." He nodded his head respectfully and headed for the door, pushing it open as the seals receded.

"Did everything go well?" Shinto asked as he entered the hall. Shikaku smirked at the slightly nervous expression on the kid's face.

"Everything went fine. The Hokage was just speaking to me about the details for the Chunin Exam finals." Shikaku said pointedly.

Shinto seemed to understand, not refuting Shikaku's claim. There were eyes everywhere in the Hokage Tower, and the sooner they started gossiping about his clandestine meeting to discuss details about the Chunin Exams, the less likely they were to draw their own conclusions.

"Are we returning to the Nara Compound then?" Shinto asked, falling into step beside him as he walked out of the Tower.

Shikaku nodded. "We'll cut your training back in the coming week. I want you rested for the finals."

Shinto stared at the ground, uncertain. "Am I ready?"

Shikaku laid a hand on his shoulder. "You're ready, Shinto. Just keep your head about you and don't underestimate anyone. You'll do fine."

Shinto was silent, saying nothing more for the entire walk back to the Nara Compound.

When Shikaku bid him goodnight at his door and started walking home, a frown pulled at his lips.

Shinto didn't have many friends. Kenji and Misaki were the only people his age he ever spoke to. With Kenji gone, only Misaki was left. Shinto didn't even have Aunt Aika anymore. With Hiroshi fleeing back to ANBU to avoid the responsibility of taking care of his genin, Shinto had next to no one anymore. Shikaku needed to find Shinto some other friends or get him a hobby.

He'd promised his dying Aunt he'd do what he could to make sure Shinto lived a fulfilling life, and he intended to keep his word.