The days in Konoha flew by, and the improvements inside the Academy were nothing short of impressive. Shikaku Nara had taken it upon himself to teach at least one lesson per day to explain the materials in detail that the aspiring shinobis needed to know, and he even varied things up by recounting stories on his own early missions outside the village.

Saturo was impressed with his adoptive father's quick action to remedy a serious problem within the Academy. He could recall the dress down he had given Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and his own son Shikamaru Nara; even Sasuke Uchiha was not spared, which had served as a wake-up call to the rest of the students and everyone involved.

-Flashback-

Shikaku had just entered the classroom, and because the students already had a class before hand, everyone had been gathered and sat on their seats. Shikamaru didn't need to call out each name because Iruka had already gone through them.

Sakura Haruno could be spotted making eye contact with Sasuke Uchiha from across the classroom.

Ino Yamanaka was flashing her long hair at Sasuke Uchiha, attempting to catch his attention.

Naruto Uzumaki was spotted glaring daggers at Sasuke Uchiha for being the best student of the year.

Shikamaru Nara was taking a nap on the desk, unaware that his father was in the room.

Sasuke Uchiha's eyes tightened as he attempted to ignore the two obvious fangirls and Naruto Uzumaki's gaze at his back.

Shino Aburame sat calmly, watching Shikaku take his place in front of his desk, leaning against it with his arms over his chest.

Saturo was the only one who seemed concerned about Shikamaru, but he recognized he couldn't protect him from this.

Choji Akimichi paused his chewing and returned his snacks to his bag, fully aware that this was an important moment.

"There are a few things I need to address before I begin my class," Shikaku stated calmly and collected. "When I call your name, you should stand up and stay there until I say otherwise," Shikaku instructed calmly as his gaze went over the classroom. Saturo could feel his gaze lingering on him, causing a shudder to go up his spine; he knew that look meant "just watch, but don't say anything."

"Shikamaru Nara, Wake up and stand up!" Shikaku spoke forcefully, his gaze fixed on his sleeping kid. Choji had to poke Shikamaru with his elbow to stir him awake; tired and unfocused, he stared at Choji. "Stand up, Shikamaru," Shikaku said again, making Shikamaru pale and standing up faster than anybody had seen Shikamaru react.

Shikaku let his sight rest on Shikamaru for a lengthy minute before moving on. "Ino Yamanaka, stop flirting and stand up!" Shikaku said in the same calm voice as previously, but it still caused Ino to almost fall out of her chair and fight to stand. No one knew what Ino was thinking, but the fact that her hands were shaking indicated that she realized she was in serious trouble.

Shikaku then directed his gaze towards Sakura Haruno. "You should also be standing up, Sakura Haruno, regardless of whether you come from a civilian family," Shikaku stated as Sakura was ready to speak up. Sakura eventually found herself standing up in spite of Shikaku's serious expression.

Shikaku began to say "Naruto Uzumaki" but was interrupted by a voice inquiring. "Hallway?" Naruto inquired almost automatically. "No... but I need you to stand anyway," Shikaku answered more calmly.

Naruto was stunned, and it showed as he slowly stood up, possibly thinking he would have to leave the classroom like the previous occasions when he had been called upon.

"Last but not least, Sasuke Uchiha, stand up," Shikaku ordered, his gaze falling on Sasuke, who was astonished. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, but he knew not to dispute with the Nara Lord. Sasuke stood up slowly.

Shikaku gazed at each person who was standing up for many seconds, a method he was all too familiar with. To leave the individual, or individuals in this situation, guessing what Shikaku would say, was it good or bad? Did they do anything to deserve to be called out like this? Shikaku could see the questions running through their youthful brains.

"Ino Yamanaka, do you know why I told you to stand up?" Shikaku asked quietly, yet the tone of his voice was clear as day.

"No, sir," Ino answered faintly, although she could already figure out why she was called upon. She hoped nothing reached her father's ears.

"No, really? Didn't you just try flirting with Sasuke Uchiha? Shikaku asked carefully, but disappointedly.

"Yes, sir," Ino responded, her voice dropping in volume as she shivered.

"You, an heiress from a shinobi family, have been reduced to a mere self-observed fangirl, and I have not seen any papers in your Academy folder indicating that you have made any effort to improve yourself. Where is the family jutus? How much do you know about your family history? No, instead of focusing on it, let us concentrate on getting into someone else's pants. You, Ino Yamanaka, are seven years old, and you have been reduced to nothing more than an embarrassment to your entire family, who expected you to make them proud!" Shikaku was being completely honest with his remarks, and Ino was shaking frantically.

"But sir!" Ino began to respond, only to be cut off. "But no, I will be talking to your father after class and you will have to learn to take this seriously other wise I will make sure you fail or fall behind!" Shikaku spoke seriously.

"But... but..." Ino began to grasp at anything that could save her. "Sit down," Shikaku ordered, not wanting to hear the justifications, and Ino sat down on the school chair, head down.

"Sakura Haruno," Shikaku remarked, his gaze shifting to Sakura, who glared at him.

"You can glareall you want, but Academy papers aside, I don't care if you're ahead of all the female students here. It doesn't give you the right to sit here and fantasize about being Sasuke Uchiha's wife, nor does it give you the right to hit others," Shikaku replied calmly, but the anger in his eyes revealed that he was far from calm.

"Uzumaki deserved it," Sakura remarked, seeking to justify her actions.

"No one deserve to be hit, its not only painful but it is very rude and unbecoming of a shinobi of Konoha." Shikaku replied coldly; this was not the response he expected from a top student.

Sakura's glare became more intense as her anger boiled inside her; what she did to Naruto was her own business; that freak deserved... her thought was cut short when Shikaku continued to speak.

"Your hits could be classified as an unwanted attack. If you were a shinobi right now, you would already be in jail for an attack with no real motive, your shinobi status would be stripped, your chakra would be blocked, and you would have to return home and learn your family business, knowing you had wasted two years of studying to become something you would never be able to be again," Shikaku said calmly but deadly, causing Sakura to pale.

When Sakura was instructed to sit, she did so carefully and thoughtfully. Her eyes appeared to become unfocused as she sat there thinking carefully about what Shikaku had said, which was good in Shikaku's opinion.

Shikaku took a long breath before looking away from Sakura and into the eyes of his own son, Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru..." Shikaku stated calmly and collectedly; he hated having to publicly bring out Shikamaru's failings, but it had to be done. "You didn't do anything except watch Ino Yamanaka make a fool of herself. Your failure to bring this to my attention or anybody else who could handle the issue reflects poorly on you," Shikaku said, to which Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

Shikamaru realized he had made a mistake when he saw how angry his father was the next morning, after Saturo had spoken with Shikaku about the situation at the Academy.

"You should be glad you are not yet a shinobi, because incidents like these will be recorded on your shinobi papers and will determine what missions you will be allowed to take," Shikaku explained before telling his son to sit down; he knew he would have a more in-depth conversation with Shikamaru when they returned home.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Shikaku stated as he turned his attention to Naruto. He saw Naruto shifting nervously where he stood. Shikaku understood Naruto had a hard time at the Academy, but there were many issues that needed to be addressed before Naruto could work on them.

"First and foremost, your pranks must stop," Shikaku began, but held up a hand when Naruto attempted to disagree. "I know what those pranks is really about and I don't blame you for it." Shikaku informed Naruto.

Naruto blinked, as if no one had ever told him they recognized the significance of his pranks before.

"Second, if you ever get tossed out of class again, don't just leave and claim it's your 'free time'. The hallway punishment exists for a reason; nevertheless, if you are booted out without a legitimate reason, I want you to either collect me or the Hokage, and we will figure it out," Shikaku stated honestly.

Naruto found himself simply nodding, relieved that someone was there to help rather than halting his studies for unknown reasons.

Shikaku glanced to Sasuke as Naruto sat down, his eyes narrowing slightly in fury.

"As for you..." Shikaku muttered in a low, deadly tone. "You are not even a shinobi and going around calling yourself an elite, your mother would be ashamed of you if she was still alive!"

When Shikaku mentioned his mother, Sasuke paled and stared at him.

"Not only do you sit there and allow two girls to hurl themselves on you, but you don't rebuke them or tell them you're not interested; you just let it happen. If you had made it plain that you were uninterested, they may have been preoccupied with their own shinobi studies," Shikaku replied, holding back from approaching Sasuke's desk and staring him in the eyes.

"Know this, Sasuke Uchiha: Life isn't about you. Life presents its own set of choices, ranging from good to terrible to worse. It's time for you to grow up and stop dwelling on the past. I don't care if Itachi Uchiha murdered your parents, or if the entire Uchiha clan was massacred. This is your life and your decision; nothing will be handed to you on a silver platter. It's time to work for it!" Shikaku snapped.

-Flashback ends-

Following that occurrence, the Shinobi Academy underwent significant changes, not only in terms of how it was conducted, but also in terms of the students' mindset. The most noticeable changes were that Naruto Uzumaki began to take his Academy studies seriously, and whenever Mitsuki attempted to throw Naruto into the hallway, either Hokage Sarutobi or Shikaku Nara appeared in an instant. It ended with Mitsuki losing his employment at the Academy due to the unfair treatment of Naruto.

The most noticeable of all was the four people sitting under a tree in the Academy's courtyard, talking to each other as friends. Shino Aburame, Saturo Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, and, most notably, Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke Uchiha did a lot of reflecting and recognized he needed to talk to a therapist about his ordeal, and he was feeling much better as the weeks passed. He wasn't totally recovered, but he wasn't pushing everyone away as he usually did, and Saturo and Sasuke discovered that they shared many interests.