At the ROOT headquarters.
Bang
Danzo slammed the innocent door again and again because he was annoyed.
He sat in his chair, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
Phew
"..."
Danzo looked at the report on his desk.
"5/10? Heh!" Danzo saw the score Souji had just received.
"Hiruzen, how can you want to make him your student if he can't even throw a shuriken properly?" Danzo said in confusion.
What potential did Hiruzen see in that boy?
Was there something Danzo didn't know?
'Making him your student, huh?'
Danzo became annoyed again, he hating Hiruzen even more when he remembered that. If Hiruzen really wanted to make him a student, then Hiruzen must have wanted to make that boy a Hokage candidate.
But then Danzo thought that, even if the boy became a candidate, that didn't mean he would be elected. Souji was still young, which was a strong enough reason for him to fail to be elected.
However, Danzo remembered when Minato became Hokage, even though Orochimaru was also a strong candidate at that time.
'Heh! That doesn't mean the boy is Minato. Even when he was at the academy, Minato's skills were solid.' Danzo had to admit that.
"What's their next class?" Danzo asked the ROOT ANBU who had suddenly appeared.
"Taijutsu." The ANBU replied flatly, without emotion.
"Pair him with Uchiha Sasuke." Danzo ordered.
"Hai." The Anbu responded, then disappeared.
"..."
Danzo wanted to see how Hiruzen would react when his student was humiliated by Sasuke, An Uchiha.
Danzo knocked twice on his desk.
Another ROOT Anbu appeared.
"Spread the word that Souji is Hiruzen's student." Danzo added, "I want this information to spread throughout Konohagakure before the academy's break ends."
"Hai." The Anbu responded and then disappeared.
"..."
Can't get rid of him? No problem. He just needs to destroy the boy's reputation before he grows up, and then he'll get rid of him at the right time.
Danzo believed that Souji had a hidden motive for approaching Naruto. He thought that Souji would try to manipulate Naruto to make him his weapon.
He will not let that happen.
In this case, Danzo's intuition was correct. Souji did have a hidden motive toward Naruto. Unfortunately, no one will ever know what it was.
"..."
Danzo is the most skilled at sabotaging problems like this, even in the shinobi world.
Don't call him the darkness of shinobi if he can't be a nightmare to his friends. He is Shimura Danzo.
'Hiruzen, you'll regret this.' Danzo thought.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
At the academy during break time.
"Ah, this is really delicious." Ino said, trying Souji's oni-giri.
"I agree." Chōji said. Shikamaru just nodded.
"I told you, ttebayo!" Naruto said happily.
"Well, that's nothing. I just make them often, that's all." Souji responded to the praise he received.
"Besides, my onigiri is nothing compared to Zoro's." Souji said.
"Zoro?" The four of them asked.
Souji nodded. "Yes, he's the Oni Giri expert."
"Wow..." They were amazed.
"Can we meet him?" Choji asked.
Souji shook his head. "That's impossible unless he comes to you himself. If we look for him, we'll never find him."
"Is it that difficult?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yes, it's really difficult."
"Dad, have you ever met him?" Naruto asked.
Souji nodded. "Yes, I accidentally met him. I learned how to make onigiri from him." Souji lied to Naruto, and Naruto believed him. Poor Naruto.
"Do you still remember what he looked like?" Shikamaru asked again.
"A little. What I remember for sure is that he had green hair. At the time, he was wearing a white shirt and black pants." Souji added, "The most striking thing is that he carried three swords with him."
"Three swords?"
"Yes, he's a three-sword user."
"..."
Naruto tried to demonstrate what was on his mind.
"So, I carry two swords. What about the third?" Naruto asked, confused.
"It's impossible to hold it in your mouth, right?" Shikamaru said in a joking tone.
"..."
Shikamaru looked at Souji, who was staring at him.
"..."
"Did he really put it in his mouth?" Shikamaru asked, just to be sure.
"Yes, another one of his swords is in his mouth." Souji replied.
"Oh, so that's how it is." Naruto said, fantasizing that he was a three-sword user.
Souji then changed the subject: "Ino, aren't you hungry with the bento you brought? You know, there's very little."
The others nodded in agreement.
"I...I'm on a diet. I don't want to get fat." Ino replied.
"Fat? Like Cho—" Before Naruto could finish, Shikamaru covered his mouth.
"Hmph... mmmhh..." Naruto protested. Shikamaru whispered something to Naruto, who then nodded.
"..."
"Hehehe... Just forget what I wanted to say earlier..." Naruto said with an awkward laugh.
"..."
"Ino, if you don't eat properly, your body will look like a bamboo stalk." Souji said.
"Pfft." Naruto, Shikamaru, and even Chōji tried to hold back their laughter.
Twitch
Ino's forehead twitched as she looked at them.
"You guys." she said coldly.
"I'm not laughing! I swear!" Naruto said quickly, and Shikamaru and Choji nodded in agreement.
"Hmph..." Ino responded to the three of them.
Souji, who witnessed this exchange, could only smile and ask, "Ino, do you consider me your friend?"
"Eh? Um... Yes, I think so..." Ino replied shyly.
"If that's the case, can you at least eat enough? If you're afraid of getting fat, you just need to exercise more." Souji said.
"... "
"Alright." Ino replied.
Souji smiled at that, making Ino's cheeks blush. "All right then. Here, take more of my onigiri."
"Thank you."
"Um... what about me?" Choji asked.
"You've already eaten a lot, Choji," Shikamaru said, making them all laugh.
"..."
"Does anyone know what the next class is?" Souji asked.
Yawn
"Taijutsu...troublesome..." Shikamaru replied.
"Oh! Dad, if you fight me, I won't hold back!" Naruto said.
"Heh? Me neither." Souji said.
"Aren't you guys afraid of hurting each other?" Choji asked worriedly.
"No." Souji replied. "Being a ninja is not a joke. You could die without realizing it."
"..."
They all fell silent after hearing Souji's words.
"I don't condone causing pain to others without a clear reason, but what we do is training. It's natural for us to experience pain because of it. It doesn't mean we're going to kill each other, right?"
"..."
"Moreover, training helps us prepare for the future. If you still take training lightly, don't blame anyone if you or your teammates die because you were unprepared."
"..."
What Souji said hit them right in the heart. Shikamaru especially felt his pride being stepped on by Souji's words.
He wanted to refute Souji, but no words came out of his mouth.
In his heart, he knew he had underestimated what had been taught in school all this time. He had considered it all troublesome without thinking about how troublesome the problems he would face would be, simply because he had taken training lightly.
"..."
"Maybe if you were the ones who died, you wouldn't have to think about anything anymore," Souji added, "But what if you're leading a team? What if, in a mission with your team, they all died, leaving only you?"
"What will you say to their families?"
"..."
From Souji's words, Shikamaru felt that he would have that responsibility.
No matter how Shikamaru tried to refuse leading a team, if it was the Hokage's order, he had to obey.
Shikamaru wasn't arrogant for thinking that way, he was just aware of his own abilities. That's why he thought the possibility could happen to him.
What Souji said was the worst possibility for the mission he would undertake.
"..."
Clap
Souji clapped his hands. "Enough with the worst-case scenarios. You still have plenty of time to prepare."
"..."
Naruto nodded. "That's right. I'll do my best, ttebayo!"
Ino nodded in agreement, even though she was clearly scared by what Souji said.
Likewise, if Choji was afraid and restrained himself from hurting his enemies, how could he protect his friends?
Of course, he couldn't immediately become brave, but he could endure the pain for his friends.
And Shikamaru?
There was no need to think too much, he would try to take the training seriously. He couldn't easily get rid of his laziness, but he could at least try during training.
Laziness has its time.
But not for training.
Without realizing it, Souji's ramblings became the spark that ignited the fire within them.
Souji had intended to encourage them, but he didn't realize the big impact he had on them.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
"All right, this time it's a taijutsu class." "Those whose names are called, please come forward." Iruka said.
"Akimichi Choji."
"Inuzuka Kiba."
"Heheh, this will be easy." Kiba said.
"Come on, Choji! Hit that dog's head!" Ino encouraged Choji.
"Who are you calling a dog?! Horse tail!" Kiba shouted at Ino.
"Hit his head harder, Choji! I'll give you potato chips in return!" Ino shouted.
'Potato chips?' Choji thought.
He couldn't possibly hurt someone just for potato chips, could he?
"That's enough," Iruka said, trying to stop Ino and Kiba.
"Choji and Kiba, perform the seal of confrontation."
"..."
"Begin."
Choji started by running toward Kiba and trying to hit his head.
"Slow." Kiba said, avoiding Choji's attack and counterattacking by hitting his stomach.
Punch
"Guh..." Choji felt the pain in his stomach. Before he could react, a kick to the face sent him to the ground.
"..."
"The winner is Kiba." Iruka said as he approached Choji to check his condition.
Fortunately, Choji was still conscious.
"Come on. Sensei will take you to the medical room." Iruka said. Choji only nodded in response.
His friends approached him to see if he was okay. He told them he was fine.
"Ugh... that damn dog..." Ino was annoyed at Kiba.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, Ino. If I fight him later, I'll make him pay for what he did to Choji."
"You better, Naruto." Ino said.
Souji and Shikamaru? They could only shake their heads.
Iruka was happy with Choji's development. Usually, Choji would be the passive party, but earlier, he had initiated, even though he had to lose.
"..."
After that, Iruka returned and continued the class.
"..."
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Nara Shikamaru."
"Eh? Shikamaru?"
"I'll be serious, Naruto." Shikamaru said. He usually followed this exercise half-heartedly.
Naruto, excited to hear that, said, "I'll get serious, too."
"Naruto and Shikamaru, perform the seal of confrontation."
"..."
"Begin!"
Naruto quickly approached Shikamaru, punching him in the face.
"..."
However, Shikamaru, who was taking this seriously, lowered his body and hooked his leg onto Naruto, causing Naruto to lose his balance.
Before he could regain his footing, Shikamaru pushed him to the ground, holding his right arm while pressing his knee against Naruto's neck.
Naruto tried to grab Shikamaru's face with his free left arm, but Shikamaru caught it easily. In the end, Naruto was locked by Shikamaru.
"The winner is Shikamaru." Iruka announced.
Iruka was happy with what Shikamaru did. Usually, Shikamaru would give up or lose on purpose so that the training would end quickly.
Now? Shikamaru still wanted to finish sparring quickly, he was just trying to win instead of losing on purpose.
And Naruto?
Naruto, was Naruto
"..."
"Perform the seal of reconciliation." Iruka said. Naruto and Shikamaru then performed it.
"Ugh, you're too fast, Shikamaru. Ending this already?" protested Naruto.
Shikamaru sighed. "You think I have stamina like you? Besides, defeating the enemy quickly is much more efficient."
"Well, Naruto, Shikamaru's right. Don't worry. We'll train together after school." Souji said.
"Eh? Really? Ehehe..." Naruto responded happily.
Shikamaru's forehead twitched upon hearing that.
In his opinion, Naruto's only weakness was his lack of intelligence.
Other than that?
Solid.
Shikamaru had to admit that. With Souji's help, Naruto could use his brain correctly. If that happened, then Shikamaru wasn't sure if he could easily and quickly defeat Naruto in a sparring match like before.
He could even be defeated.
Shikamaru sighed, It seemed he wouldn't have much free time.
'Troublesome...' He thought. But he smiled.
"..."
"Good job, you two." Ino said to Naruto and Shikamaru.
Shikamaru nodded, and Naruto replied, "Thank you, Ino."
"..."
Then, it was Souji's turn.
"Souji."
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"..."
'Fighting the final boss at the beginning of the game? Seriously?'
"..."
"..."