"You four…"
Shikaku stared down at the Truancy Quartet. His gaze locked onto Shikamaru, veins pulsing visibly on his forehead, making the scars on his face look even more ferocious.
He twitched a brow.
"Shikamaru. Explain."
"I heard around noon that there was going to be a duel here this afternoon, so I just wanted to come see…"
Shikamaru kept his head lowered.
He knew his father well. Lies would only fuel the fire; it was better to be direct.
Shikaku narrowed his eyes at him. "Only Special Jōnin and above were informed of this assessment duel. Where did you hear about it?"
Shikamaru didn't answer, simply meeting his father's gaze.
Realization dawned on Shikaku. He slapped his forehead, pointing a finger at his son for a few seconds before letting his hand drop, his expression shifting to one of exasperation.
"You little brat… you use all your smarts on this?"
Shikamaru bowed his head, waiting for the lecture.
Inuzuka Kiba and Chōji didn't dare make a sound.
Naruto, however, scratched his head, oblivious to the tension. "Are we not allowed in here?"
"Of course not!"
Shikaku glared at him, but remembering it was Naruto, his anger deflated into helplessness.
"This is a combat arena. It's usually only opened during major events, and even then, never fully to the public." He swept his gaze over the four of them. "The only reason there wasn't a strict patrol today is that everyone inside is a Jōnin. Otherwise, you four would have been detected and thrown out before you even reached the wall. You were lucky."
He stopped himself, shaking his head.
"I just guessed it might be a teacher's test, so I climbed in," Shikamaru answered listlessly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered. Too much effort."
He was exhausted. He had nearly died just climbing up here.
He shot a glare at Naruto and Kiba.
If these two idiots hadn't started arguing, they could have slipped away quietly before the battle ended. They wouldn't have been caught red-handed.
'Pig teammates!'
Shikamaru sighed internally. He hadn't yet experienced the specific helplessness Masahiko described as "having wisdom without power," but he was deeply learning another painful truth:
'Sometimes, you can't trust your teammates' intelligence. You have to prepare for them to be sufficiently stupid in advance.'
He exhaled slowly. "Father…"
"Take them away!"
Shikaku waved his hand, ordering the nearby ninja to seize them.
Regardless of the excuses, he intended to let these four cool their heels in confinement for a while.
Back at the Hokage's side, Shikaku's face was filled with embarrassment. "Hokage-sama… this was a failure of my duty."
"Hahaha, think nothing of it. Shikamaru is a sharp one; you can't treat him like an ordinary child." Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed heartily.
He stood up and added, "No need for harsh punishment. They're just children, after all."
Shikaku shook his head, his expression serious. "This isn't the first time they've skipped class."
He pondered for a moment, glancing down toward the arena floor, and a faint smile touched his lips. "However, Masahiko is the Acting Head of the Education Unit. I assume we won't need to worry about handling this ourselves."
"Haha, true enough!"
Outside the restrooms, Masahiko finished washing his hands and stepped into the corridor. A voice called out from the side.
"Congratulations, Jōnin Yagyu Masahiko."
"Pure luck."
Masahiko smiled, straightening up to look at the speaker. "When are you applying for the exam?"
"Not for a long time!"
Mitarashi Anko rolled her eyes at him. "We can't all be like you—so fierce you get promoted again in less than half a year."
She loved sweets, yet her words carried a sour tang of jealousy that made one want to laugh.
Beside her, Yūhi Kurenai pursed her lips, though she couldn't hide the amusement dancing in her eyes.
Masahiko suppressed a chuckle. "You'll have to do your best. If the day comes when Kurenai becomes a Jōnin and you're still a Special Jōnin… well."
"So what if I'm a Special Jōnin?"
Anko acted as if she didn't care, tossing back a retort before stomping off toward the restroom.
Kurenai laughed softly. "If she really didn't care, she wouldn't have sought you out just to say all that."
"I noticed."
Masahiko grinned, then glanced at Kurenai, raising a brow playfully. "Becoming a Jōnin really isn't that hard, you know."
"Tch!"
Kurenai rolled her eyes at him—a look that was somehow both nasty and beautiful—and decided she didn't want to pay him any attention either.
Just as Masahiko was about to add a final quip, he decided to let it slide. He fell into step beside her, and they continued down the hallway toward the waiting area. Standing a short distance away, Shikaku picked up the sound of approaching footsteps and turned his head.
"Shikaku, got a minute?"
"Masahiko."
Shikaku immediately stopped his conversation and walked over to meet him.
Masahiko sighed helplessly. "I didn't want to disturb you, but that kid Shikamaru and his three friends skipped class and trespassed in the combat arena. I've had them locked in confinement."
"The other three were Naruto and his lot, right? I assume Shikamaru led the charge; the others don't have the brains for it."
Shikaku held back a laugh.
Kurenai, having lingered, asked, "Do they skip class often?"
Masahiko nodded awkwardly.
"It's not a huge issue," Shikaku said. "Just give them a scolding for skipping. No need to make it hard on the children."
"We can't indulge them."
Kurenai shook her head, disagreeing with the leniency.
Masahiko, however, had a look of expectation in his eyes. "Do you have an idea?"
"I recall tomorrow is Saturday?"
Masahiko smiled, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "I'll go back and ask which teacher has the class, and have him send a lot of test papers and books over to them. We wouldn't want them to be bored and lonely in that confinement room for two whole days."
"Makes sense!" Shikaku nodded in approval.
Kurenai was struck dumb.
She took back her previous statement.
If those four liked studying, they wouldn't have escaped class in the first place. Forcing them to solve problems for two days straight… that was indeed torture.
Inside one of the quiet confinement rooms.
Shikamaru's ears twitched. He tried to enhance his hearing with chakra and finally caught a sound.
The door was opening!
'Are they letting us go?'
He sat up straight, adopted a solemn expression, and posed in a stance of serious repentance.
A moment later, the door swung open.
However…
To Shikamaru's surprise, the person entering wasn't one of the usual guards, nor did it look like someone here to bail them out.
It was their Academy instructor, Iruka!
In Iruka's hands was a towering stack of textbooks and exam papers.
"Out of the Academy's spirit of care and love, Shikaku-senpai specifically asked me to deliver these books and papers, lest you get bored in here."
Iruka smiled radiantly. "You need to finish these by the end of the weekend. I'll be checking them on Monday."
???
Shikamaru looked blankly at the stack of papers, then looked up at Iruka, only to find the teacher had already turned around, left the room, and locked the heavy iron door behind him.
[Acting Progress: 45%.]
[Naruto: The Prequel - Episode 15 Filming Complete!]
[Editing in progress…]
[Production Successful!]
[Total Appearance Time: 8 minutes 48 seconds.]
[Screen Time Ratio: 42%.]
[Notification:]
Running his laps around the village, Masahiko was slightly surprised to see the subtitles scroll across his vision.
It had been quite a few days. He hadn't expected to finish an episode today.
Masahiko thought for a moment, vague ideas forming in his mind.
He checked the time…
Only one hour left. He needed to finish his hundred laps quickly.
Masahiko picked up the pace, sprinting forward.
That Evening.
He hurried back home.
By the time he finished showering, it was just past nine o'clock. Not too late.
Masahiko sat down, and with a thought, the System's light screen unfurled before him.
The opening scene on the screen wasn't Naruto in the Capital as he expected, but rather, it opened at the gates of the Kurama Clan estate.
It showed Kurama Yakumo bidding farewell to her parents and heading toward the Academy alone.
Yakumo walked through the streets, appearing quiet, demure, and gentle.
But then…
After walking a few steps, she stopped. Her gaze turned cold as she looked toward a specific direction.
She continued walking, but silently retrieved a small sketchbook and began to sketch the street before her.
A few moments later…
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three distinct sounds of heavy impacts came from behind her.
She turned around. Three members of the Kurama clan, who had been tailing her, were now sprawled on the ground, looking utterly wretched.
The three men instinctively huddled together, shivering. When they regained their senses, they looked at each other, their faces filled with terror.
Yakumo stared down at them, her eyes gloomy and laced with killing intent.
"What do you want?"
The three swallowed hard, shrinking back in fear.
Yakumo spoke, her voice chilling to the bone. "You've been tracking me for three days… This is just a warning. If you come to annoy me again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"We… we just wanted to…"
The three tried to argue, but Yakumo had already turned and walked away indifferently.
They exchanged glances, terrified, and dared not follow her a step further.