Chapter 389: The New Clan Rules of the Nara Clan
"Hokage-sama, I'm innocent! Wuu… Even if I were to make a move on Akamaru, I wouldn't go after men!"
Inside the Hokage's office, Inuzuka Kiba, the accused "underwear thief", lay sprawled on the floor, crying out in grievance.
The others, including the other "underwear thief" Aburame Shino, stood silently to the side.
"Have Shikaku and the others arrived yet?"
Tsunade rubbed her temples in frustration.
This matter wasn't exactly big, but it wasn't small either.
At the end of the day, it was just two people losing their underwear, it wasn't like they'd lost their dignity.
And the underwear had been found.
Taking a step back, at worst, it meant discovering two potential perverts.
Whether in the ninja world or just Konoha alone, there was no shortage of perverts anyway. It wasn't a big deal.
But if you looked at it from a larger perspective, it meant Konoha had produced two more "bond-type" ninja.
You had to understand, Uchiha Hikari and Shiromo's vision for the "new ninja world" was to eliminate the dominance of bond-type relationships like those of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, ensuring they would no longer be mainstream.
Kiba and Shino popping up like this was essentially going against the current.
The new ninja world allowed bonds to exist, but they absolutely couldn't be so openly displayed.
Konoha was already a hotspot for such relationships, so they had to be handled carefully.
More importantly, Kiba kept insisting he was innocent.
What if he really was?
Tsunade felt like a chunk of her brain cells was dying off.
"Tsunade-sama, we're here."
After quite a while, Nara Shikaku and Nara Shikamaru finally strolled into the Hokage's office at a leisurely pace.
Tsunade was irritated.
These two weren't confused when it came to major matters, but this time, they clearly knew the issue wasn't serious, just awkward, so they deliberately dragged their feet.
First Kakashi stalls, now you two as well.
And it seemed like every member of the Nara clan was a professional slacker.
That didn't align with the new ninja world's spirit of diligence and hard work.
Tsunade pulled out a scroll from beneath her desk and opened it.
This was an idea given to her by Shiromo.
The Nara clan's high intelligence was well known.
So whenever Tsunade wanted to slack off, her first thought was to call in the Nara clan to help.
But what happened?
Every single one of them worked half-heartedly and played dumb on purpose.
So Tsunade turned to Shiromo for help.
This scroll was what he gave her.
She had received it long ago but never used it.
Mainly because the idea was a bit…
How should she put it? Too ruthless?
But calling it ruthless didn't seem entirely accurate either, since it didn't really harm the Nara clan.
And besides, this wasn't even a scheme, it was an open strategy.
Regardless, Tsunade decided today was the day to use it.
Otherwise, the Nara clan continuing to slack off in the new era would be a complete waste.
"Shikaku, there's a troublesome matter here that I need you to resolve. But before that, I've decided to help your Nara clan solve a problem that has persisted since the Warring States period."
Tsunade tapped her fingers on the desk as she spoke.
"Please instruct us, Tsunade-sama."
Shikaku was momentarily stunned. No matter how intelligent he was, he couldn't immediately figure out what issue Tsunade intended to resolve.
However, regarding the matter Tsunade needed help with, Shikaku had already pieced together the general situation before arriving, after probing Anbu and seeing Kiba sprawled on the floor.
"Shikaku, you don't actually want to be clan head or Konoha's strategist, do you? You've only continued in this role out of duty and responsibility, right?"
Tsunade asked.
As soon as she said this, Shikaku's eyes lit up.
"Hokage-sama, could it be…?"
"Oh? You've already guessed?"
Tsunade was surprised. As expected of Konoha's chief strategist, he wasn't inferior at all to Shiromo, the strategist of the Akatsuki.
"Does that mean… if I complete this task, I can retire?"
Shikaku asked eagerly.
As for responsibility?
Konoha had already undergone reform, and the Five Great Nations had formed an alliance.
Whether he was there or not didn't make much difference anymore.
"…No."
Tsunade's smile froze as she flatly denied his guess.
At this moment, Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief.
What a joke, if his father retired, wouldn't the position of clan head fall onto him?
He was prepared to take over eventually and assist Naruto, but that didn't mean he wanted to start right now!
He still wanted a few more years of slacking off.
"I'm giving you, Shikamaru, and every member of the Nara clan a chance."
"From now on, your clan rules will be revised, when selecting the clan head, the entire clan must participate in a test of intelligence, and the final winner will be determined through it."
Tsunade revealed the first part of Shiromo's plan.
"… "
Both father and son showed troubled expressions.
In their view, this method was pointless.
No one would give it their all anyway, they'd just pretend to be incompetent again.
It would only add an unnecessary internal competition.
"The winner, from now on, will not need to handle any affairs of the village or the Nara clan, and will receive a monthly stipend from the clan."
"They can freely do whatever they want, whether it's living in seclusion in the mountains or traveling to the beaches of the Land of Water."
"As for second place…"
"They will become the Nara clan head, responsible for managing all clan affairs and serving as Konoha's strategist."
"The rest will be assigned roles based on their rankings."
By the end, Tsunade simply had Shizune hand over the scroll for them to read.
After all, this was an open strategy.
Once the Nara father and son finished reading, their hearts trembled.
They exchanged a glance.
"Tsunade-sama, you mean…?"
"That's right. Whoever from your clan can perfectly resolve this incident will become the one person in the Nara clan who is allowed to slack off for the rest of their life."
Tsunade dropped all pretense and said it directly.
"… "
The father and son exchanged another look.
At this moment, they had become rivals.
Leaving aside the fact that first place meant legitimate lifelong slacking,
Even second place meant becoming a more powerful version of the clan head.
Of course, what they valued wasn't power itself, but the ability to delegate troublesome tasks to others and still slack off.
"I've got this, Hokage-sama! Kiba and Shino are my classmates, they're my dear friends, my brothers! I will definitely uncover the truth and clear their names!"
Shikamaru patted his chest and made a solemn promise, then quickly signaled everyone to follow him out.
Seeing this, Shikaku's face darkened.
"You brat! Compete fairly with me!"
(End of this chapter)