"Don't copy your father; you're acting all sloppy and unrefined. A three-year-old kid acting like a thirty-year-old man all day, looking like life isn't worth living. Perk up for me!"
Mrs. Nara stood with her hands on her hips and barked at Shikamaru—it was truly a pity; before marrying Nara Shikaku, she was famous within the Nara Clan for being virtuous, refined, and quiet. Everyone said she had a 'good temper' and was a traditional lady, gentle to the core. But marrying Nara Shikaku had forced her virtue and refinement into a lioness's roar, shattering twenty years of cultivation.
And now, she had a son whose temperament was exactly like his father's—practically carved from the same mold.
It had to be said that Nara Shikaku's genes were powerful; Shikamaru was simply a miniature version of him, as if he had been cloned directly from Shikaku's DNA. Not a single one of her maternal genes had been passed down.
One Nara Shikaku was bad enough, but now she had 'x2,' a double dose, and her temper had unknowingly grown a bit sharper.
Ino placed her small hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Did you hear that? Perk up. The more useless a person acts, the more useless they become..."
Shikamaru gave Ino a sidelong glance and said, "Ino, what does it have to do with you?"
"Of course it has to do with me!" Ino argued with Shikamaru, directly quoting Inoichi Yamanaka's words: "The Ino-Shika-Cho clans are linked together; we share in glory and loss. Every generation of Ino-Shika-Cho is a single unit. The Boar is responsible for scouting and decision-making; the Deer is responsible for analysis, interference, and restraint; and the Butterfly is responsible for execution and force—I am the Boar in charge of decisions! I'm like your monarch, and you are my strategist, so you have to listen to me. Unless the Ino-Shika-Cho combination ceases to exist... please recognize your status."
"What are execution and force?"
Choji, who wasn't quite as chubby as Shikamaru yet, didn't understand 'execution' or 'force'... Of course, he hadn't actually understood the long speech Ino had just given either!
Shikamaru explained to Choji, "It means fighting."
Choji nodded. "Execution and force mean fighting, and fighting means execution and force..." He repeated the phrase over and over to commit it to memory.
Ino said, "It's like this: I find a target—the person we need to fight—then Shikamaru says how to fight. He'll give a few options, I'll decide which one is good and if we should fight, and once I decide, Choji, you charge in and fight. Got it?"
"But why me?"
Choji's 'IQ' briefly went online—if you two are the ones talking about fighting, why am I the one who has to go up and hit people?
"Because you are the Butterfly!"
Shikamaru's answer was the 'official clan version.'
Choji said indignantly, "But clearly you two are the ones who want to hit people!"
Shikamaru emphasized, "I'm responsible for telling you how to hit them!"
"What about Ino?"
"Ino decides whether to hit them and how hard." Shikamaru let out a lazy yawn, then noticed his mom looking back as if she had radar, so he quickly forced himself to look alert. In terms of 'communication,' he was much more willing to talk to Ino, placing her on the same level as himself—Choji seemed too childish and could be easily fooled with a casual explanation. Shikamaru said, "This is the tacit understanding formed between the Ino-Shika-Cho clans since ancient times—Choji, don't think too much, just charge."
Choji:... This scene looked exactly like an emperor and a civil official conspiring together to trick a military general. Ino's pale blue eyes darted around; such a funny scene made her want to laugh all over—it was too hilarious.
However, the 'little treacherous official' Shikamaru's task completion didn't seem ideal; Choji expressed both a lack of understanding and a refusal.
Then the 'little foolish ruler' Ino came online... "Choji—in the future, we are all going to be Ninjas. Our three clans have a complementary relationship. The Butterfly thinks less, so they need the Deer's wisdom to keep from being sold out. You're also too kind-hearted, which leads to hesitation, but hesitation leads to defeat—in many situations, if you can't make a decision in time, you've already failed. So, you also need someone who can help you make decisions, and that person is—me."
"Shikamaru and I aren't as good at physical action, so we need you. We are one unit: scouting, strategy, decision-making, and execution—"
But it was all in vain... these words made even less sense to Choji.
However, the 'Ino-Shika-Cho' wives' trio understood perfectly. They chatted and shopped while listening to the three little ones' conversation.
The three women were somewhat surprised; they hadn't expected three-year-olds like Ino and Shikamaru to say such profound things and understand the bond between the three clans. Even Choji... actually wasn't being led by the nose by the other two... Choji's Mother raised an eyebrow at the other two, her heart feeling as refreshed as if she'd eaten shaved ice. A 'hope' had finally appeared in the Akimichi Clan!
In every generation of 'Ino-Shika-Cho' since childhood, wasn't it always the Akimichi kid who charged the hardest and did whatever they were told? The kids from the Yamanaka and Nara families were always the crafty ones, ordering the Akimichi around when doing bad things and snatching the credit when something good happened... Of course, this didn't mean the Akimichi people were stupid—they were just 'late bloomers,' the type who 'matured late' and 'cultivated internally.'
And here was Choji, knowing at age three not to be used as a tool... Mrs. Nara said, "Ino and Shikamaru are quite a match. The two little ones can really talk to each other; their constant chatter keeps things from being boring."
Shikamaru's mother let out a burst of internal criticism.
Mrs. Yamanaka said, "Then in the future, let's have dinner and go shopping together more often... the men are busy with work, but we can't be tied to the house doing nothing; we need to have our own lives too..."
"We should indeed visit each other more."
...Shikamaru had a look of 'no bright future' on his face. He didn't want to go shopping with his mom; he just wanted to bask in the sun at home.
Or wait until his dad was free to play Shogi with him; that was also quite fun. It was a rare diversion in his boring daily routine.
Thinking of Shogi... "Hey, Ino—" Shikamaru's form of address suddenly became a step more polite, "Do you know how to play Shogi?"
"Of course..." Ino took a long breath, "...not."
"Then how about I teach you? Shogi is very interesting." Shikamaru was eager to try—after all, there was only one Dad, and Mom definitely wouldn't play Shogi with him—and even if she were willing, her skill level was too poor to be interesting. He felt that Ino was on the same level as him and they could communicate well, so he immediately thought of teaching her. As long as Ino learned, he would have someone to play with.