Chapter 1: Conspiration
Chapter Text
Actually, it was not so much surprising as it was unexpected. Imagine: you fall asleep in your own room and wake up—not only in an unfamiliar place but also in an unfamiliar body!
What am I doing here? How did I get here? What happened? Where am I? And why am I... not me?
For a moment, I wanted to just scream. But the second I opened my mouth, I changed my mind. Who knows who lives in this house? What if it would only cause more problems? No, better not to scream.
Questions, nothing but questions. And most importantly, my memory was shrouded in fog. I knew for sure that I was Katya, sixteen years old... And I was absolutely certain that right now, I did not look like Katya. But I had no idea what had happened! Or where I even was! Stay calm, just stay calm...
Sitting up on the bed, I crossed my legs and began examining my surroundings. Alright, one bed—check. A wooden chair—check. A wooden table—check. On the table, a lamp. Nearby, a wardrobe and a nightstand. The wallpaper was a gentle shade of blue, a wide window with dark curtains, a white ceiling. The room was about three by three meters in size. Well, at least it didn’t look like a psych ward. That was already good. Though a mirror would have been useful.
Actually, the fact that the body wasn’t mine didn’t hit me right away. At first, I was trying to figure out why my vision was so weird, why my sight was flickering, and why my field of view seemed different. But when my gaze landed on my hands...
Tanned skin, thin wrists, long fingers... I ran those very fingers over my face, hoping that I was touching my real one.
When I tried to get out of bed, I nearly collapsed onto the floor. My legs barely listened to me, and everything felt strange. Everything seemed normal, but my body was moving in jerky, uncoordinated motions. What was wrong with me? Had I grown the wrong way? My muscles, my body structure, my skin… Everything. Even my proportions had shrunk. Everywhere. I was sure of it.
I could estimate my “new” self to be about six or seven years old. Maybe even five, considering how close the floor was to my eyes. Who knows?
Tell me, how could my body shrink by ten years overnight?! The conclusion was simple—this body wasn’t mine at all. That realization sent a chill down my spine. I understood nothing. And on top of that, my head was pounding, making it even harder to think.
I bit my lip, trying to decide what to do. I definitely needed to find a mirror and figure out who I was now, what had happened, whose house this was, and where I had ended up. In short, I was catastrophically lacking information. Where could I get it? Obviously, outside this room. But should I go? Should I leave the room, my last safe haven? What if some kind of monster was waiting out there?!
Technically, I could just lie back down, close my eyes, and let things take their course. Or I could step into the unknown. The first option was safer. The second was nerve-wracking...
I grabbed the door handle and peeked into the hallway. And why, at that exact moment, did my knees start trembling wildly, and I suddenly wanted to sink into the floor?
Alright, pull yourself together! Chin up, shoulders back, step forward! There are no monsters here. Probably... Ugh, why is walking so difficult?! My body just wouldn’t listen.
Moving quietly, taking tiny steps, I shuffled along the hallway wall. Hugging the wall—because I still didn’t feel steady. At least this way, I could lean on something if needed. Falling on my face or back was not ideal—both would hurt. Step—pause, step—stop, listen. Was anyone coming? A few times, my heart leapt into my throat when I heard a rustling sound somewhere. And I kept feeling like someone was nearby. It was unsettling.
Suddenly, the corridor ended, and I saw a staircase in front of me. I swallowed hard. I don’t like stairs. Why? First, it was long, with big steps. Second, there was something at the bottom. At least one person, judging by the clattering dishes and running water—someone was washing the dishes. Well, at least it wasn’t a monster. Next question: if I go down, should I tell this person that I don’t understand anything and that I’m not even me? They might send me to a psych ward for saying something like that... Alright, let’s keep quiet for now and play it safe.
My breathing quickened, and my stomach twisted. Damn, adrenaline again... Alright, here goes nothing!
Cautiously—words can’t describe how cautiously—I started descending the stairs, trying not to make a sound. Despite my efforts, my foot nearly slipped, my long nightshirt got tangled around my legs—what a strange outfit—and I was breathing too fast and too loud. My heart pounded like crazy, threatening to leap out of my chest. When only four steps remained, I suddenly tripped, my foot twisted, and I tumbled down.
Thud!
Footsteps. My forehead throbbed painfully—I probably had a lump now. And for some reason, I didn’t feel like getting up. Too much effort...
“Shikami! Are you alright?” A woman’s voice overhead. Someone’s hands gently lifted me off the floor. “What happened? Shikami!”
“I don’t remember, I don’t know...” I mumbled, struggling to grasp the situation. My head was buzzing, little imps danced before my eyes, and the world spun around me... Why was I called Shikami? Was that the name of this body? But I’m Katya...
“Shikaku!” A sharp yell near my ear made me flinch. “Check on her!”
“And who are you?” I finally managed to ask, fighting through my tangled tongue and looking at the two faces hovering over me. One male, one female. Both had black hair. Both had narrow eyes.
“Shikami?” The woman repeated worriedly. The man frowned. “Shikaku, why doesn’t she recognize us?!”
“Temporary memory loss, Yoshino... She must have hit her head very hard,” the man diagnosed. The woman gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Shikami!”
“How many fingers do you see?” A hand waved in front of my face.
“Four,” I answered honestly. Ugh, my head was spinning...
“You really don’t remember us at all?” Yoshino asked, worry evident in her voice as she placed a cool hand on my forehead.
“I don’t remember. Who are you?” A strange, heavy feeling washed over me, as if something was pulling me into darkness.
“We are your parents…”
“And who am I?” I asked, fighting with the pull of unconsciousness.
“Our daughter. Shikami Nara.” And with that, I lost my grip on reality and fell into the void.
When I woke up again, my mind had more or less cleared up, though my forehead was still throbbing painfully. While little spots and flickers danced in my vision, I managed to recall and analyze everything that had happened.
First of all, as frustrating as it was to admit, things had actually worked out for the best. By falling down the stairs and knocking my brains out, I stopped thinking rationally and blurted out whatever came to mind. And that saved me—because my "parents" assumed I had lost my memory, meaning that all the mistakes I was bound to make could be blamed on amnesia. Secondly... I found it hard to believe that now, having settled into this body, I could return to my own so easily. No, I had to check—what if? If I fell asleep and woke up back in my real bed, in my real body, I could safely write this whole experience off as a dream. And if not? Then I'd have to live in this body—this unfamiliar, foreign body. Amnesia was the best alibi I could have if I ever got found out.
Yeah... It looked like I needed to find a way back as soon as possible. At least now, if I didn't recognize something or acted out of character, I had an excuse—memory loss. That was good.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. Huh… I had definitely seen this before.
“Shikami! How are you feeling?” A woman rushed to my bedside. I looked at her. Slender, delicate features. A Chinese woman? Or Japanese? Or maybe Korean? I wasn’t sure. Black hair tied in a ponytail. A robe and an apron—definitely a housewife. Presumably, my mother. If I remembered correctly, her name was Yoshino.
“Fine… Mom,” I mumbled, pushing myself up on my elbows. “What exactly is going on?”
“Shikami-chan,” the woman sighed. “How did this happen?”
What followed was a long, drawn-out monologue about how good of a girl I was, why I had fallen down the stairs, how such a thing could have happened, how sorry she felt for me, how terrible I must be feeling, how much she and Shikaku were worried about me, how they were sure I’d remember everything soon, especially since I was supposed to enter the Academy this year, and how, ultimately, it was all Shikaku’s fault…
I lost track of Yoshino’s train of thought almost immediately, merely nodding absentmindedly whenever she looked at me for a reaction.
Gradually, the realization of just how deep I was in began to dawn on me. At the mention of the name "Shikaku," something clicked in my brain. Then, a mental image of a television screen and a blond boy with three whisker marks on his cheeks flashed before my eyes. Naruto! I had watched that anime three or four years ago, and that was where I had heard that name before. Shikaku… Shikaku Nara… A man who could control shadows and was supposedly a genius.
Oh, fantastic.
But where was Shikamaru—the actual son of Shikaku and Yoshino? Did the anime ever mention that he had a sister? I didn't remember any character named Shikami Nara… Which led me to some rather unsettling conclusions: either she had no involvement in the events of the story, or she was absent at the time everything took place, or… she was dead. Ugh. Not a comforting thought at all.
Alright, what did I remember…? Shikamaru Nara—he was supposed to be incredibly intelligent, the smartest of his generation of young ninjas. And his father, Shikaku, was the same. So what did that mean? The Nara family was full of geniuses, huh?
And now… If I was a Nara, who were known for their intelligence, then… Oh, damn it, why was I so unlucky? No one would believe the amnesia excuse for long—I was supposed to be brilliant whether I had memory loss or not. And if I recalled correctly, canon stated that Shikamaru had an IQ of around 200…
Might as well start pulling my hair out now. Why couldn't I have ended up in someone simpler?! I was now an isekai protagonist, sure, but the worst part? Where I had ended up. Or rather, who I had ended up as.
A Nara.
Oh, please, send me back.
Screw this whole "keeping a low profile" plan! Getting found out was practically inevitable, especially since my family were the Naras. If amnesia covered my slip-ups for a while, a suddenly stupid daughter would raise even bigger suspicions. And from there? An interrogation wouldn't be far off. And, if I remembered correctly, they had people in this world who could read minds!
I did not want anyone rummaging through my brain.
God forbid, what if they decided to use me for experiments? Ugh.
Crap, crap, crap!
Chapter 2: Introduction to the world
Chapter Text
“Shikami-chan, are you hungry?” Yoshino finally remembered about me and peered into my eyes inquisitively. I suddenly realized that I actually wouldn’t mind eating, so I nodded a little absentmindedly. And it seemed that was exactly what she had been waiting for. With cheerful chatter, she grabbed my hand and practically towed me toward the kitchen. Thankfully, this time, I managed to make it down the stairs without any issues.
And in the kitchen… oh, the aromas! So many different scents—just mmm and yum-yum! Even though Japanese dishes were quite different from what I was used to, they were still delicious, albeit a bit strange. But hey, when you're hungry, does it really matter whether you eat onigiri or scrambled eggs? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.
While we chatted—or rather, while she chatted and I either hummed in agreement or looked at her questioningly—half an hour passed without me even noticing.
“M-mom…” I managed to say the word with difficulty since it still felt wildly wrong to call this woman that. “Where, um… where did Dad go?”
“Shikaku? He had business at the Hokage’s residence,” Yoshino shrugged. “Shikami-chan, how are you feeling? Would you like to see an iryonin?”
I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head uncertainly. Judging by her question, iryonin was probably a doctor, and a doctor could easily find out that I wasn’t actually suffering from amnesia, that there was nothing physically wrong with me. Then again… who knows? Maybe something had changed in me. I didn’t end up in this body for no reason, right?
Okay, so who was the Hokage again? The leader of the village, the top ninja—shinobi. Right, at least I remembered that much. Which meant, if Shikaku had business with the Hokage, he was likely close to the village’s leadership. Probably. Ugh, I really didn’t like that idea.
“Great, then we’ll go,” Yoshino nodded. “Are you full?”
Well, if that was my fate, there was no avoiding it. I nodded and got up from the table. The woman placed the dishes in the sink and quickly washed them while I bit my lip, debating whether I should offer to help. She took off her apron and looked at me in surprise.
“Shikami, are you coming? If you need directions—the entryway is that way. And over there, to the left, is the terrace…”
I couldn’t keep up with memorizing what was where. I noticed that Yoshino had a talent for speaking incredibly fast, and since the language we were using wasn’t exactly familiar to me, it grated on my ears a little. Sometimes, I simply couldn’t process what she was saying.
Honestly, it was weird—realizing that I was speaking a foreign language but still processing it as if it were completely natural. The words I was saying were definitely not my own language, they sounded different, but I understood them perfectly. How? No clue. It was as if I had some built-in, free translation software in my brain. But some words still got garbled—like when I wanted to say “mom,” it automatically came out as Oka-san, so it took me a second to recognize what it meant. That’s why, when I tried to call her “mom,” I ended up saying Oka-san instead.
I felt incredibly awkward.
When Yoshino and I stepped outside, a sudden wave of panic crashed over me—a wild, uncontrollable terror. I wanted to scream and bolt away, to disappear from everyone’s sight. I barely managed to suppress the urge, clenched my fists, and forced myself to follow Yoshino. Keep a straight face, and everything will be fine… Straight face, straight face…
Despite my best efforts, I kept stumbling and getting distracted by my surroundings. And honestly? There was a lot to see. Japanese and Russian cultures were just so different. I nearly gawked at the bustling square, full of colorful people and exotic architecture. There was something utterly mesmerizing about it, like I had traveled abroad. Well, in a way, I had… Only instead of going to another country, I had somehow ended up in a completely different world.
I really hoped I had landed in the version of reality that matched the anime I had seen on TV. Because if not… I was in big trouble. But let’s not dwell on the worst-case scenario just yet—there was still no proof that everything was as bad as it seemed.
And if I did have to return—could I even do it?
“Oh, Asami,” Yoshino suddenly spotted someone in the crowd. “Asami!”
“I’m coming,” a gentle female voice responded, and… wow. She was stunningly beautiful. I couldn’t help but stare at the girl with flawless features, wearing an elegant dark-green dress.
“Shikami-chan, meet Asami-san,” Yoshino quickly introduced me. “You know her, of course, but… well, Asami, you see, she has temporary memory loss…”
I noted to myself that I hadn’t even registered the honorific -san, as if it were completely normal. San—a respectful suffix. And chan, which they had been calling me earlier, was an affectionate diminutive, something like “little girl” or “sweetie.”
“No way!” Asami exclaimed. “Hey, Shikami-chan, how are you feeling?”
“Fine,” I shrugged. Well, what else could I say? I felt okay, even though I had absolutely no clue who this Asami was. I didn’t remember her at all. Heck, I barely remembered the anime itself. Who was she? I kept the question to myself, figuring that silence was the safest option for now.
“Yoshino, are you sure she has amnesia?” Asami looked at me doubtfully. “She seems totally fine to me. At least her personality hasn’t changed…”
“Asami, she didn’t even recognize Shikaku and me,” Yoshino sighed. “She’s only just now recovering from the initial shock… Shikami, are you sure you don’t remember me yet?”
“No,” I said honestly—because I had nothing to remember! Everything I knew was just speculation and vague recollections from TV screens. I had only watched the first season of Naruto, maybe a few scattered episodes that were aired. And if I recalled correctly, there were two seasons—one of which had something like 400 episodes… Jeez. Something told me that even if I had the chance, I wouldn’t have wasted my time watching it all.
But now? Now it wasn’t just a show—it was my reality.
I just hoped this reality would fold back into fiction soon, and I’d wake up in my own world again…
I really didn’t want to stay trapped in Shikami Nara’s body! I wanted mine back. Send me back!
“How is Inoichi doing?” Yoshino suddenly asked, and my ears perked up. Wait, Inoichi? Inoichi Yamanaka?
“Oh, same as ever at work,” Asami sighed. “He’s always busy… Ever since the war, he’s had a ton of responsibilities…”
Wait, what war?!
I didn’t remember any war happening in Naruto’s timeline… Don’t tell me—I landed in a version of the world where Naruto wasn’t born yet… or worse, was dead. Or maybe he was just still a kid?
Or was this how it was supposed to be?
“Shikaku’s the same way,” Yoshino added. “He barely has any time for his family anymore… And now we have this terrible situation with Shikami. She came home exhausted yesterday and went to bed early, but today she tripped and fell down the stairs, hit her head, and now… I just hope her memory comes back soon. She has to enroll in the Academy this year…”
Oh, great. I had to enroll in the Academy. The Shinobi Academy, most likely… Oh, for the love of—! Why me?!
I was sensing yet another major problem coming my way…
Did I even want to be a shinobi?
I had no clue what to do. Should I try to live as Shikami Nara, or should I keep clinging to my old life? It was too hard to answer.
Maybe I’d get lucky and wake up in my real body tomorrow.
If that happened, then why bother adjusting to this world at all?
“We’re here,” Yoshino announced cheerfully, snapping me out of my thoughts. I nodded absentmindedly and followed the women as they continued their conversation about flowers and how to care for them.
Meanwhile, all I could think was:
What the hell happened to me, and why?!
Please, let this be just a dream—let me wake up in my own body tomorrow!
Unfortunately, everything that had happened turned out not to be a dream, but actual, undeniable reality. Because I didn’t return to my world the next day, or the day after that, or even the following week. Life went on, slow and steady, but incredibly nerve-wracking. And yet, strangely enough, I was starting to get used to it. I had to constantly stay on guard, watch my surroundings, and think. Think, think, always think, weighing every word and action. A game, where every single move could be my last.
Nara. A clan known for its intelligence. Almost every member, with a few exceptions (like me), was capable of highly effective analytical thinking. Though honestly, was I aiming too high? Could I really become one of these brilliant minds? Yeah… I highly doubted that. My current goal was simple—don’t expose myself, and do my best to adjust to this new body. Thank God that, for some inexplicable reason, I could speak the language automatically. That was already a relief. Though, it did raise a question—how did I even have this knowledge? But since there was no way to answer that, I hadn’t spent too much time dwelling on it. It was just there—so I accepted it.
Little by little, I grew accustomed to my new body. My tanned, slender hands no longer startled me, nor did the closeness of the floor beneath my feet. Even my long black hair—thin, yet incredibly soft and silky—stopped feeling strange. Now, I tied it back into a ponytail. Before, my hair had been short, blonde, and cut in layers, impossible to tie up. But now? I had to fit the Nara image, where hair was traditionally kept in a ponytail. Sure, I supposedly had amnesia, but some habits wouldn’t just disappear—and tying my hair back should definitely be one of them.
These were just minor, everyday struggles. The real problems were the things I didn’t know—the moments where I had to be careful not to mess up. For example, I had no idea how I was supposed to behave. On the one hand, my "amnesia" gave me an advantage—it made sense for me to be a little lost and awkward. On the other hand, as a Nara, I was expected to "figure things out" quickly. But… I wasn’t them. I wasn’t used to calculating my actions several steps ahead or closely analyzing everyone around me. Sure, I could make predictions based on intuition or observation, but nothing more.
One of the biggest shocks came when I realized—I was an only child.
It was embarrassing to admit, but it took me a while to understand that Shikamaru hadn’t been born yet.
…It seemed like I was on track to becoming the dullest Nara in the history of the clan...
To be honest, with all the constant tension, I sometimes tripped over nothing, answered completely out of place, or just zoned out entirely. But I was learning fast—not that I had much of a choice. For example, I quickly figured out that I shouldn’t be seen around Shikaku too often, because with him, I had to stay constantly on my toes. Yoshino, on the other hand, was much easier to deal with. She often got carried away while talking, rambling on about anything and everything, and I would simply listen and memorize.
But the worst part? The moments when she looked at me with such tenderness—like I was truly her child.
I felt guilty deceiving this woman. She believed I was her real daughter. Yoshino genuinely thought I was hers—and I couldn’t help but relax around her. But at the same time, my throat tightened, and tears welled in my eyes. I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother. How was she doing? My chest ached at the thought, my eyes burned, but I forced myself not to dwell on it. Thinking about it too much would only make things worse.
I didn’t see much of Shikaku—mostly in the evenings when he returned from work. He would ask how I was feeling and how my day had been, and I would just shrug and say everything was fine. And every time, I would receive that long, scrutinizing gaze in return. I always had the feeling that he was scanning me. Thankfully, Yoshino was always nearby, skillfully steering the conversation in a different direction—probably without even realizing that she was saving me from Shikaku’s piercing stare.
As everyone knows, even shinobi get days off.
And apparently, Shikaku was no exception.
I was peacefully eating breakfast in the kitchen with Yoshino when suddenly, from behind me, a deep voice spoke.
The sound of it sent my heart straight into my stomach.
“Shikami, would you like to play shogi with me?”
Chapter Text
Well, they say you only die once, so why fight it? With a strong sense of impending doom, I slowly nodded and looked into Shikaku's black eyes.
"Let me just finish my breakfast, okay?"
This time, they nodded at me, and with a mental sigh, I sat back down to finish my tamago-yaki*. Yoshino was chirping about something happily, but my brain latched onto only one phrase: "It used to be your favorite game, Shikami-chan. Maybe you'll remember something?" That phrase nearly made me choke, and I had to fight the sudden urge to bash my head against the wall. Unfortunately, I doubted my parents would survive witnessing such a scene, so I stubbornly continued swallowing down my rolled omelet, hoping to postpone my date with shogi. But breakfast came to an end, as did the tea, and I found myself rising on suddenly trembling legs to follow Shikaku.
Just then, Yoshino, whose presence I had almost forgotten, suddenly barked from behind us:
"And what do you say?!"
"Th-thank you for the meal," I mumbled, turning crimson, now eager to escape the gaze of my annoyed mother. If there was one rule I had learned over the past week (a rule of survival), it was this: An angry mother = run for your life! Shikaku clearly knew the rule too, and without waiting for the scolding to turn his way, he quickly thanked her for the delicious breakfast and picked up the pace. The two of us practically ran out onto the terrace.
“Nice morning,” I murmured, glancing at the sky when the silence started to drag on. Truthfully, I had no idea what to talk to him about.
“It’s actually noon,” Shikaku corrected, yawning suddenly. I glanced at him in surprise before remembering—besides their super-genius-level intelligence, all Nara were horribly lazy. I suspected that if Yoshino weren’t around, Shikaku would probably sleep the entire day away. I smirked, realizing that no matter how lazy I could be, I could never reach that level. Sure, I could sleep in for half an hour, maybe even an hour longer, but for the whole day? No way. My inner Nara was clearly dead.
“Do you remember how to play shogi?” Shikaku asked, placing the engraved wooden tiles onto the checkered board.
I shrugged. Back in my world, I knew how to play chess fairly well—though my strategy mostly boiled down to talk your opponent into making a mistake. Somehow, I doubted that would work here. Not only because Shikaku was likely immune to distractions, but also because this was shogi, not chess.
“Then I’ll remind you of the rules.”
As it turned out, shogi wasn’t too different from chess—rather, it was a more complicated version of it. For example, there was also a king, a bishop, a rook, and pawns. But besides those, there were also pieces like the lance, the gold general, and the silver general. And then there was the twist—pieces that reached the opposite side of the board could be promoted, gaining new movement abilities. For instance, the rook could transform into a dragon king, gaining additional movement akin to a king. A promoted silver general would move like a gold general, and, in fact, every piece below the gold general would start moving like one upon promotion. In short—say goodbye to your sanity.
Beyond the standard chess-like rules, there were additional mechanics. One of the biggest differences was the drop rule—captured pieces weren’t removed from play but instead became yours and could be placed back onto the board under your control. On each turn, a player could either move a piece or drop a captured one onto the board, making the game far more unpredictable. Capturing a piece didn't just remove it from your opponent—it became a weapon you could use against them.
By the time Shikaku finished explaining the rules, along with the forbidden moves, I was internally screaming. Who the hell came up with this ridiculous game?!
"Got it? Then your move."
Without much thought, I pushed a pawn forward.
All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. Shikaku remained silent during the game, asking no questions—only occasionally correcting me when I tried to make an illegal move. Soon enough, I got the hang of it and started grasping the flow of the game. It really was a variant of chess, so adjusting wasn’t too hard. Shikaku even seemed satisfied with my performance. Apparently, my seventeen-year-old intellect was equivalent to that of a six-year-old Nara, which was both reassuring and mildly insulting. But I swallowed my pride—after all, in this world, the most important thing was surviving… and not getting caught.
A while after my game with Shikaku, I decided to gather some information about the current state of the world. Fortunately, our home had some old pamphlets and shinobi history textbooks. Some were so tattered that I assumed they dated back to my parents' school days. There was just one problem—I couldn’t read Japanese. I vaguely knew they had multiple writing systems or something like that, but my knowledge pretty much ended there. Kind of depressing, honestly. Still, no harm in trying, right?
Turns out, I got lucky. I have no idea how or why, but it seemed like my new body came with an automatic translator. Not Google Translate, but something even better. Basically, I opened a book… and before I could regret my illiteracy, I understood what was written. Well, most of it. Some words remained untranslated—I assumed it only worked for words I already knew, while completely unfamiliar terms stayed the same. But that wasn’t too important. At least I could get the general meaning of the texts.
So, I refreshed my memory on shinobi history, though some facts were completely new to me. Based on what my parents told me, I also started piecing together when I had ended up. The timeline? Roughly seven years before Naruto’s birth. To be more precise, he was either not born yet or just a baby, and the Third Shinobi World War had recently ended. Great. Just my luck to land in a time period that barely had any information available! Maybe I should have watched the second season of Naruto… Who knows, maybe one of the main characters was my age back then?
Yoshino often scolded me for staying home all the time, saying I was even lazier than Shikaku. But what could I do? I didn’t enjoy going outside—especially when it involved playing with little kids, even if they were shinobi children. I was way past the age of playing in sandboxes or running around in children’s games. Sure, I went out a few times, played hide-and-seek, tag, or the local version of cops and robbers, but nothing beyond that. After all, they were kids—highly skilled ones, maybe, but still kids. Meanwhile, I was a seventeen-year-old stuck in a six-year-old body. Yeah… fun.
Still, Yoshino did manage to push me outside more often. But instead of socializing, I spent my time on the swings. It was the only thing I genuinely enjoyed—sitting there, swinging back and forth, lost in thought. Pretty nice, actually.
Out of everyone I interacted with, there were two people I spoke to the most: Kasuga Nara and Inari Hyūga. Kasuga was my cousin on my father’s side, two years older than me. We had met recently—he was an orphan, his parents having died a year ago. A quiet, brooding boy, but incredibly smart. Strangely enough, we hit it off quickly. He told me things I had supposedly “forgotten” or just didn’t know, and overall, he was an interesting conversationalist. He also played shogi, which I shamelessly took advantage of, constantly inviting him to play. I quickly learned that in the Nara family, you had to be careful—if shogi had once been my favorite game, it would have been suspicious if I suddenly refused to play it. Though, to be honest, I actually enjoyed this brain-breaking game. Maybe because it reminded me of chess?
Out of all the girls my age, Inari Hyūga was probably the most normal. Well, as normal as a Hyūga could be. She seemed way more mature than her age, which was probably why we got along. She was six, but her Byakugan was already well developed. I remembered what Byakugan was—an ocular ability that allowed for enhanced vision and perception. I didn’t bother asking her about it directly, but I found some records on the Hyūga Clan in our home library. Inari, however, never mentioned her Byakugan to me—I figured it out myself the first time we met.
And where did we meet? At the Yamanaka Flower Shop, the one owned by that woman, Asami.
Asami Yamanaka—the woman I first encountered on my arrival—turned out to be the wife of Inoichi Yamanaka, a local mind-wrecker.
She and Yoshino were pretty close and often met just to chat. That day, Yoshino took me to buy flowers for the house (I still had no idea why we needed them). While she stopped to exchange pleasantries with Asami, I wandered off, bored, to examine the plants. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting activity, so I soon stepped outside.
And that’s when I saw something interesting.
Three boys were loudly discussing how ugly people could be, while a dark-haired, pale-eyed girl stood across from them, squinting with amusement. Honestly, I was a bit stunned when I first saw her milk-white eyes, but then I quickly remembered—color limitations didn’t exist in this world.
Meanwhile, the boys, realizing that their insults weren’t having any effect—worse, that she was ignoring them—decided to resort to violence. The moment I understood the situation was turning serious, I prepared to step in… but I wasn’t fast enough.
The boys were blown away by a sudden burst of speed.
The girl, who had been smirking a moment ago, simply shrugged and, tossing out a casual “Pathetic.”, turned to leave.
But one of the boys, furious at being humiliated, saw that she had turned her back to them. His expression twisted with anger, and he grabbed a nearby rock.
That was the moment I lost it.
"Watch out!" I shouted.
Luckily, she reacted in time, and the rock whizzed past her. She turned to me, and for a split second, faint wrinkles formed around her eyes. That’s when I knew—this girl possessed a dōjutsu, a rare ocular ability.
Inary and I didn't meet often.
She was from the Hyūga Clan—more than that, from the branch family. We only saw each other in the evenings, at the playground. We’d sit on the swings and talk. For some reason, I found it easy to talk to Inari—unlike with everyone else, I didn’t have to keep my guard up. Even with Kasuga, I had to be careful, and when it came to Yoshino or Shikaku? Forget it.
One day, I asked Inari what she did every day. Her answer was vague: “I train.”
That’s when I realized—unlike me, Inari had fully accepted her fate as a shinobi. More than that, she knew that the sooner she mastered her clan’s techniques, the higher her chances of survival would be in the future.
That got me thinking.
I decided to learn how to use chakra. It was the first step toward my survival in this world. Especially since I’d be enrolling in the Academy soon.
The last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself in front of Inari—who would definitely pass the entrance exams. And if Yoshino found out I had failed them (and of course there would be exams), she’d wring my neck.
And I wasn’t about to let that happen. No thanks. Not my style.
Notes:
Tamago-yaki* – a rolled omelet. Unlike the traditional Western-style omelet, tamago-yaki is made with a bit of soy sauce and sugar, giving it a subtly sweet and savory flavor.
Dōjutsu* – literally translated as "eye techniques," refers to abilities unique to certain bloodline limits (kekkei genkai) that manifest in the eyes of their users. The term dōjutsu also encompasses the techniques that can be performed using these special eyes.
Chapter 4: New Acquaintances
Chapter Text
When I asked Shikaku about our clan’s techniques, he gave me such a sharp look that, for a moment, I thought he had figured it out—that I wasn’t really Shikami—and that any second now, he’d drag me straight to Inoichi. But nothing of the sort happened. Instead, Shikaku nodded to himself, as if confirming a thought, and said that he would show me a jutsu over the weekend.
I grinned in delight—finally, I was about to get a superpower!
Seriously, if there was even the slightest chance to gain some supernatural ability, why wouldn’t I take it? By now, I had already confirmed that every clan in the Hidden Leaf Village had their own secret techniques, passed down only among their members. From my vague memories, I recalled that the Shadow Technique Shikamaru used in the anime was one of those. And you know what? I wanted to control shadows too!
There were still three whole days left until the weekend, so I decided not to rush things and ran off to find Kasuga. By now, he knew that if I wanted to play shogi with him, refusing was pointless. Kasuga was a true Nara—an unbelievable slacker. Even now, I was amazed at how deeply ingrained laziness was in our blood. After just two weeks in this body, I had already started understanding genetics on a whole new level.
Back in my old life, I hated sitting still for too long. Now? That restless energy had dulled. I could sit on a swing for hours, just rocking back and forth, lost in thought. And there were a lot of thoughts. Where did they even come from?
Playing shogi was calming—it made me think strategically, analyze moves, and stay focused. It pulled me in. Plus, it was a great way to spend time with my cousin while gathering useful information.
“Kasuga, have I changed a lot?” I finally asked the question that had been bothering me for a while. I hadn’t dared ask earlier—it would have been suspicious. But now? It felt like the dangerous period had passed. If I was going to survive in this world, I needed to know who Shikami had been before I took over her life.
“No idea,” Kasuga shrugged. “We didn’t talk much before.”
“Oh,” I muttered, realizing my brilliant plan had completely backfired. Classic Nara move.
We played in silence for a while. Eventually, I asked about the Shinobi Academy, to which Kasuga gave a very logical answer: "It’s boring as hell." When I asked why, he just shrugged and let out a wide yawn, making it painfully clear what he thought of the place.
Honestly, what was I expecting? Especially from another Nara?
“One more game?” Kasuga asked after expertly checkmating me. “If not, I’m heading out.”
“Where to, if you don’t mind me asking?” I quipped, feeling slightly bitter. I had lost so many matches in a row!
“Got things to do,” Kasuga replied without even blinking.
“Oh, you mean sleeping?” I clarified, carefully hiding a smirk.
“That too,” my cousin admitted without even trying to deny it and promptly left.
Lazy bastard. Seriously, how do you even sleep in the middle of the day?!
Shrugging, I headed to the exit. There was still plenty of time until evening, so why not take a walk? To the swings, of course. I could stay there until sundown.
But apparently, Fortune wasn’t on my side today, because the swings were already occupied by a bunch of little kids. With a sigh, I settled onto a bench and waited for them to clear out.
I ended up waiting for a long time—so long, in fact, that I completely lost myself in thought, tuning out the world around me.
As always, only one question consumed my mind. If I’m here, then my family… They must still be there. How are they holding up? It had already been about a month since I ended up in this body… Were they worried? Wondering why I hadn't come back? They were probably in a panic, especially my mother. God, I miss her so much. Her warm smile, the soft, understanding look in her eyes, always there to support me, no matter how bad things got.
My chest tightened, and my nose stung. Oh no. Not tears. Anything but that.
I quickly wiped the wet streaks away with the back of my hand and sniffled. I can’t cry. If I start, I won’t be able to stop.
But if I had ended up in this world… then where did the real Shikami go?
The logical assumption was that she had somehow been transported into my body. Or not?
Suddenly, an image flashed in my mind—someone else sleeping in my bed, my parents calling her by my name, completely unaware that she wasn’t me at all.
Damn it, why are the tears coming again?!
"Are you okay?" a voice suddenly asked above me. "Why are you crying?"
I turned around, surprised, and looked up at the boy standing beside me.
"I’m not crying," I said, sniffing. "You must be imagining things."
"No, I’m not," the boy insisted, still studying my face. "Your eyes are red."
"It’s the wind," I waved him off. "A gust blew in my face, made my eyes water."
The boy smiled, golden flecks dancing in his brown eyes.
"Actually, there hasn’t been any wind all day," he pointed out matter-of-factly.
I flushed, caught in such an innocent little lie. Great. Congratulations to me—the new Miss Logic. And a Nara at that. Looks like not even being thrown into another world could fix my occasional stupidity.
"Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Iruka. And you?"
"Shikami," I muttered, suddenly realizing who I was talking to.
Iruka. The same Iruka who would later become Naruto’s homeroom teacher?! What the hell? Did that mean we were the same age?
"Did someone upset you?" the persistent boy continued.
"No."
"Then why were you crying?"
"I wasn’t!"
For real this time—my tears had already dried. Though, honestly, I hated when people saw me crying. It was annoying. And why was this little Iruka pestering me so much?!
"My mom says that when something’s weighing on your heart, you should talk about it," he said. "That’s what I always do. What about you?"
"I prefer keeping my problems to myself."
"Well, if you don’t want to talk, how about playing instead?"
"Not in the mood."
"You’re boring," he huffed, suddenly offended.
"That’s just how I am," I shrugged as he walked off.
Maybe I shouldn’t have brushed him off like that… It wasn’t his fault I wasn’t in the mood to talk.
Sighing, I got up from the bench and headed home.
That evening, Yoshino grabbed both Shikaku and me by the arms, announcing that we were going visiting. Before I could even react, I found myself dressed up in some kind of white dress, which, in my opinion, made me look like a pale moth.
That said, I had to admit—Yoshino had taste. No matter how much I disliked dressing up, I couldn't deny the obvious. Shikaku, on the other hand, had been dressed (or rather, Yoshino had dressed him) in a neat yukata, though he looked thoroughly exhausted. Meanwhile, Yoshino herself was wearing a floral kimono with an elegant hairstyle.
Was it just me, or did this feel less like a casual visit and more like we were heading to some kind of celebration?
And so, that was how we arrived at the home of Inoichi and Asami Yamanaka.
Inoichi looked exactly like Shikaku—just as worn-out and tired. Asami and Yoshino, on the other hand, were practically glowing with smiles.
Yeah. No doubt about it. The matriarchy reigns supreme.
“Hello, Shika-chan!” Asami greeted me cheerfully. “How are you?”
“Good evening, Asami-san,” I bowed. Weird customs, but whatever. Gotta roll with it. “Same as always.”
“So, your memory still hasn’t returned?” she asked, directing the question more toward Yoshino than me.
Yoshino shook her head. “Unfortunately.”
Shikaku and Inoichi exchanged glances, clearly hoping to sneak away before their wives pulled them into conversation, but—
“Freeze!”
The synchronized command from both women stopped them dead in their tracks. I couldn’t help but giggle. This was priceless.
My amusement was interrupted by the sudden arrival of more guests.
Three new figures appeared as if out of nowhere—a tall, round man with purple swirls on his cheeks, a beautiful woman with deep crimson hair, and a blond man in a white cloak.
“Chōza! So good to see you here!” Asami beamed. “Kushina, dear, welcome! Minato, what an honor to have the Hokage in our home.”
I, meanwhile, was staring at the blond man—Minato. The Fourth Hokage. The very same man who, if my memory was correct, would seal the Nine-Tailed Fox into Naruto.
He looked… well, perfectly nice. And handsome, too, for that matter…
“…And this is our daughter, Shikami,” Yoshino’s voice cut through my thoughts.
Suddenly, everyone turned their attention to me.
For a brief moment, I felt awkward. I was supposed to say something—probably something polite like “Nice to meet you”—but my tongue refused to cooperate. And really… what was I supposed to say?
Luckily, no one seemed to expect anything from me. The conversation quickly resumed, and I let out a silent sigh of relief.
“Shall we move to the dining room? No objections, I assume?” Asami suggested sweetly, subtly hinting that we shouldn’t just stand around in the entrance.
Chōza, the round man—who I now recognized as an Akimichi—immediately agreed. Future father of Chōji and lifelong friend of Shikamaru, huh?
With their wives distracted, Shikaku and Inoichi took the opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. Meanwhile, Minato sat beside the charming red-haired woman—Kushina.
His wife?
The conversation itself wasn’t about anything in particular. Mostly, the women talked, while Minato occasionally chimed in with a question or comment. At first, I was interested in listening, but the discussion soon drifted from general small talk to various methods of making onigiri, and I realized that with a child in the room, no serious topics were going to be brought up.
Which, frankly, was boring.
On top of that, I still had no idea why we were here. Some special event? A birthday? What? No one was giving any gifts… So what was the reason?
The answer came soon enough.
“The Yamanaka Clan will soon have an heir!” Asami announced proudly, and immediately, everyone began offering congratulations.
Oh, don’t tell me…
Was this heir going to be Ino? Ino, the rival of Sakura?
Well, that certainly explained why we were gathered here.
Ino-Shika-Chō—the grown-up version of the familiar Team Ten from the anime. They had probably worked together their entire lives, passing the tradition down generation after generation.
As for Kushina, she was likely close to Asami or Yoshino—maybe even part of their old team. After all, you don’t just invite anyone into your home, right? Everyone here was probably very close-knit.
“We also have wonderful news,” Kushina suddenly announced, her face lighting up with a gentle smile as she turned to Minato. “We’re expecting a child as well.”
“Congratulations! Have you decided on a name yet?” Asami asked eagerly. “Inoichi and I are still thinking…”
“Yes,” Minato replied. “His name will be Naruto.”
…
Ah.
A subtle—oh-so-subtle—reminder that canon was still alive and well.
Chapter 5: An unnoticed trouble sneaked up
Chapter Text
Shikaku walked up to me.
"Shikami, let's step aside for a moment."
I nodded and followed my father. We entered the next room, where I immediately spotted Inoichi. Oh no. I didn’t like where this was going.
"She lost her memory two weeks ago. There have been no improvements since then," Shikaku explained, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Could you take a look?"
Even if I had wanted to run, I wouldn’t have been able to. First, it would have raised unnecessary suspicions, and second, there was nowhere to run. Was this it? The end of the line?
"Relax, Shikami. It’ll be fine," Shikaku said, completely misreading my nervousness. "Inoichi is the best at what he does. Your memory will come back."
Relax, he says.
"Close your eyes," Yamanaka advised, forming a hand sign with his fingers. I shut my eyes, imagining how my journey into this strange world would come to an unceremonious end.
A second passed. Then another. I had just started to feel relieved that nothing was happening when suddenly, a sharp, searing pain exploded in my head. It was so intense it felt like my skull was engulfed in flames, like molten lava had been poured over me.
I gasped—a raw, soundless choke—as my hands clutched at my head. Why? Why did it hurt so much? Someone, make it stop!
And then, just as suddenly as it came, the pain vanished.
Dazed, I stared blankly at the blond-haired man sitting in front of me. Before I could react, my vision blurred with black specks, a crushing weight settled over me, and my eyelids drooped shut. Sleep…
I don’t know how long I was unconscious. That was probably the best part of fainting—you lost all sense of time and reality. Nothing disturbed the peace. Everything was quiet and still, an endless void.
When my mind finally started resurfacing, the first thing I felt was a splitting headache growing stronger with every second.
Opening my eyes, I saw nothing but darkness. My lungs burned as if they had forgotten how to breathe, and I instinctively gasped for air. Slowly, my vision cleared, oxygen flowed into my chest, and I realized I was being held in Shikaku’s arms.
"What… happened?" My voice sounded weak.
"I'm sorry, Shikami," Shikaku said. "I didn’t think it would harm you… We didn’t know. Are you alright?"
"More or less. But why did it hurt so much?"
Shikaku was silent for a moment before sighing.
"There’s a powerful block on your memories. I don’t know why, but it seems your amnesia won’t be going away anytime soon."
"I see," I muttered, feeling an immense wave of relief.
So they hadn’t discovered me after all.
Maybe if they had figured it out, it would have been easier. Maybe I could have even gone back to my world. But realistically, did they even have techniques for soul transference? That sounded too far-fetched—even for a shinobi world. The chances of me returning home were slim to none.
The probability that I could be brought back is too low. But if they found out that I wasn't Shikami, I'd probably be sent for questioning. And who knows what methods shinobi use in relation to suspicious subjects. Torture? I don't want to check it.
And besides, I had already come to terms with my fate. As much as it hurt, there was no going back. This wasn’t something I had chosen, and simply wishing for it wouldn’t change anything. I could try, sure… but it would be like waiting for rain in the desert.
If I was being completely honest with myself, I had already started getting attached to this world.
As promised, Shikaku set aside time for me on the weekend.
After breakfast, he told me to get dressed and led me out of the village.
To the forest?
I had assumed that learning clan techniques would at least happen at home.
"This forest has belonged to the Nara clan for generations," Shikaku explained as he walked at a steady pace, deeper into the woods. I struggled to keep up. "The deer here provide us with antlers, which we use to produce medical treatments. You do know that we have our own medical division in Konoha’s hospital, don’t you?"
I nodded. That was one of the first things I had overheard on my first day here, listening to Yoshino and Asami’s conversation.
"In this forest, we train in controlling Yin-natured chakra. It’s the first step to mastering our clan’s jutsu. But before you can use Yin chakra, you must achieve spiritual balance. Are you ready for your first lesson?"
I stopped walking and nodded.
It turned out that by "spiritual balance," Shikaku meant meditation.
With a sigh, I sat on the grass and crossed my legs.
Shikaku instructed me to relax and clear my mind. I tried. I really did. But instead of enlightenment, I ended up dozing off.
"Shikami, this is meditation, not nap time," Shikaku chuckled as he woke me. I frowned.
How was this not just an excuse to sleep? Clearing my mind, relaxing, closing my eyes—it felt more like an invitation to drift off rather than to experience some mystical flow of energy called "chakra."
Still, after a while, I started to feel something.
Something faint, like a gentle, warm current beneath my skin.
And suddenly, I understood why everything had felt so different from the moment I arrived in this world. It was this.
This energy that made my movements smoother, my muscles more controlled and flexible.
It was hard to put into words, but it was definitely more supernatural than anything I had ever experienced.
So this is chakra?
I shut my eyes tighter, trying to block out the surrounding trees. For some reason, focusing on my own body was easier with my eyes closed. The chakra felt clearer too. I could sense multiple flows weaving through me, some just beneath my skin, some running deeper. Some ended near the surface, while others stretched toward my limbs.
The ones near my fingers branched into delicate threads, spreading into every inch of my skin.
Most of the chakra paths led to my arms and legs, with the thinnest strands reaching my fingertips, palms, and wrists. Curious, I touched the fingers of my right hand to my left. The flows seemed to merge, moving together as one. Was this why hand seals worked?
Maybe they directed chakra in specific ways, allowing different techniques to function. Although, I was nowhere near using any techniques yet…
"I see you’re starting to sense your chakra. That’s enough for today," Shikaku announced.
Obediently, I opened my eyes—and froze. When had it gotten dark? Had I been meditating that long?
Well, aside from the few times I definitely passed out… damn, I think I completely lost feeling in my legs.
Ouch. Everything was numb.
Great. And now my pants had a lovely green stain that would be impossible to wash out. Yoshino was going to kill me.
As soon as I stood up, a deep hunger twisted in my stomach. Of course, I hadn’t eaten since morning. But alongside the hunger, I realized something else—faint, but still there. I could still feel the chakra flowing inside me. And that was strange.
As we reached the village gates, I suddenly noticed a procession of people dressed in white. Looking closer, I realized they were from the Hyuga clan—most had long dark hair and pale, almost colorless eyes. Among them, I spotted Inari.
"Inari!" I called out, but she didn’t respond.
Or maybe she just pretended not to hear me. One of the Hyuga men glanced at me before leaning down to ask Inari something, then gestured in my direction. She shook her head.
"What’s going on?" I murmured to myself.
Why were they all dressed in white? Where were they going?
"This is a traditional Hyuga clan ritual," Shikaku explained unexpectedly. "Today, they go to the temple, burn valuable belongings, and lay white flowers on the graves of their ancestors. It’s their way of honoring the dead."
"And even children participate?" My gaze remained fixed on Inari’s retreating figure.
"The Hyuga clan values tradition," my father answered vaguely.
Suddenly, a figure appeared beside us. I nearly jumped—he had materialized out of thin air. Lifting my head, I tried to get a better look, but aside from his dark uniform, all I could see was the animal-like mask covering his face.
"Shikaku, the Hokage wants to see you. It’s urgent."
"I see," Shikaku said seriously before turning to me. "Shikami, can you get home on your own?"
"Yeah, it’s not far," I replied.
In the next instant, both the masked man and Shikaku vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a faint wisp of smoke.
Now that was cool. One second, you’re here. The next, you’re across the city.
I want to learn that.
Chapter 6: A week of training
Chapter Text
Shikaku didn't come home. Not that evening, not the next morning, not even by the end of the week. Honestly, it made me a little uneasy. What about my training in clan techniques? Then again, this was just the reality of a shinobi’s life. Any mission could be their last, and you never knew whether your name would be engraved on the memorial stone or if you’d simply disappear without a trace. Though, of course, I was exaggerating—Shikaku would return. Maybe not soon, but he would.
The next day, I ran into Inari. She looked pale, unwell even. When I asked what was wrong, she simply shrugged, making it clear she didn’t want to talk about it. But honestly, I wasn’t convinced. It felt like something was being kept from me.
I didn’t stop my chakra control training. Every day, I spent about two to three hours meditating. Of course, sometimes I ended up dozing off. Meditation was boring, and having to empty my mind and focus entirely on the process often led me to unintentionally drift into sleep. At least I was getting amazing rest—after every session, I felt recharged, practically bursting with energy. So there was some benefit to all this. By the end of the week, I could sense my chakra flow almost constantly, without even trying. But one thing frustrated me—my flow was incredibly weak. At least, that’s how it felt. Then again, I was just a six-year-old kid. And not from one of the powerhouse clans either. My chakra flow wasn’t meant to be large or strong. Sometimes, I experimented by trying to move chakra through my body. It was difficult. The first time, nothing happened at all. Eventually, my chakra began responding, albeit reluctantly. I didn’t achieve anything significant, but after a week of effort, I at least managed to strengthen the flow to my hands.
One day, I decided to ask Kasuga about training. He just smirked and said he’d consider training me—if I could beat him in shogi. What a blackmailer! And he knew how impossible that condition was. I hadn’t won a single match against him yet.
I had a suspicion my dear cousin was a true Nara in every sense—too lazy to bother with training, so instead, he turned it into an intellectual challenge that doubled as entertainment. He got to play shogi, take a nap afterward, and most importantly, make sure his overly ambitious little cousin didn’t step out of line. Gotta keep up the clan’s reputation after all.
Obviously, I didn’t beat Kasuga. He stretched lazily and, in an amused tone, said,
"Well, looks like we’ll have to try again another time."
Something told me that "another time" wasn’t coming anytime soon. Or ever. I wasn’t going to fool myself. I wasn’t part of this world, and my intelligence was average at best. How could I possibly match a Nara? Sure, my age played a role, but in the end, despite being seventeen, my mental capacity was still no better than that of a six-year-old Nara. Should I laugh or cry? And to top it off, I was going to grow up here, meaning my intelligence should theoretically increase too.
But I wasn’t Shikami. My personality was already fully formed.
Yeah… I had a feeling the future was going to bring a lot of problems. I needed to do something. Now. Shogi was great, but I needed more. Something to develop my mind. Even something as simple as a Rubik’s cube would help. After that, I could work on other things—mental math, reflex training, logic puzzles, and whatever else I could come up with. The challenge ahead was huge. Stuffing knowledge into an adult was much harder than into a child. But I’d have to manage. For my own sake.
Walking home, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I had developed a habit of detaching from the world around me, so sometimes I got so lost in thought that I didn’t even notice where I was going or why. This time was no different—I was so distracted that I failed to see a group of boys standing in the middle of the street and accidentally bumped into one of them.
"Watch where you’re going, brat!" the boy I had knocked into exclaimed.
"Sorry," I said, about to walk past them, when one of them grabbed me by the collar.
"Where do you think you’re going? We’re not done talking."
Oh, come on. Do they really have nothing better to do?
"Kids should respect their elders," a boy with messy bangs remarked pompously. "If you must know, we’re already in our second year at the Academy, so—"
"I already apologized. What’s the problem?" I folded my arms across my chest. "And let go of my collar, please. It’s unpleasant."
"Someone’s got a big mouth… Do you want us to teach you a lesson, kid?" sneered a chubby boy.
"I just want to express my admiration for your bravery," I replied. "Attacking a little girl is beneath a man’s dignity, don’t you think?"
"Listen, you—"
"That’s enough, Kazuo," a white-haired boy interrupted his heated friend. "Let her go."
"Fine," the boy muttered, turning away to show his indifference.
I shrugged and started walking again, but I barely took two steps before someone shoved me hard from behind. Caught off guard, I fell forward, landing face-first on the ground.
Just my luck—it was a slope, and as my hands slid forward, something sharp tore into my palm. I bit my lip as I examined the deep, jagged cut now decorating my skin. Behind me, a chorus of boyish laughter rang out, followed by the sound of running feet.
Damn it.
I muttered under my breath, looking down at my scraped knees and bleeding hand. The cut was already turning red, blood pooling at the surface.
"Shikami-chan!"
A familiar female voice called out. I winced. I had never liked letting others see me in pain, but unfortunately, I had been spotted. There was no avoiding the inevitable questions, concern, and unwanted sympathy.
"Shikami-chan, are you alright?"
A woman with red hair approached me, and to my surprise, I recognized her as Kushina—the wife of the Fourth Hokage and the future mother of Naruto. She took my hand and turned it over. I let out an involuntary squeak as pain flared through my palm.
Great. On top of cutting myself, I had also managed to get a splinter.
"Goodness, that must hurt! Come on, let’s get your wounds treated."
"I’m fine, Kushina-san, no need to worry—" I tried to refuse, but she wouldn’t hear it.
"Nothing is fine, dattebane!" she huffed. "Your skin is torn open and bleeding. Do you want to suffer all the way home? Trust me, I know how much that hurts, and it’s best to disinfect it immediately. You’re not even a genin yet, which means you have no immunity, and infections are no joke for kids! And I won’t allow Yoshino’s daughter to wander around Konoha injured, so don’t argue!"
I gaped at her impassioned speech. Suddenly, I understood exactly where Naruto got his personality from.
Before I could react, she scooped me up and transported us somewhere. It happened so fast that I didn’t even register the shift in location. One second, I was standing on the street, and the next, I was in an unfamiliar house.
Wow. So this is what it means to be a shinobi. Blink, and you’re on the other side of the city. Pretty cool.
Kushina set me down on a couch, saying she’d be right back, and disappeared into the house. Barely a minute later, she returned with bandages, antiseptic, a suspiciously iodine-like liquid, and cotton pads. She cleaned my wounds with practiced care while I hissed but didn’t pull away. I knew these things were necessary. After all, I wanted my injuries to heal quickly, didn’t I? Then I just had to put up with the discomfort.
"You’ve got a good tolerance for pain, Shikami-chan," Kushina said after she had bandaged my hand and removed the splinter.
"Thank you, Kushina-san," I replied. "And sorry for the trouble."
"It’s no trouble at all," she smiled, ruffling my hair. "Minato will be home soon… Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"No, thank you, but I should get going," I shook my head firmly. "My mom will worry if I don’t come home."
"That sounds like Yoshino," Kushina chuckled. "Yeah, you probably shouldn’t stay out too long. Alright, ready for a shunshin? I’ll go slower this time—we’ll move across the rooftops."
I nodded.
She lifted me again, and this time, the movement was longer. The view from the rooftops was incredible. The height, the open space—it was breathtaking. Would I ever be able to do this myself one day?
It took Kushina less than three minutes to get me home. No doubt about it, shunshin was an incredibly useful technique. And fast, too.
"Shikami, where have you been?!"
Yoshino stood in the doorway, looking furious, a ladle clutched in her hand. Under her burning glare, I instinctively shrank back and hid behind Kushina.
"Oh, Kushina-chan, you’re here too? Did something happen?"
"Nothing serious!" Kushina waved her hands. Her long red hair, which I only now realized reached nearly to her knees, swayed behind her. "Shikami fell and scraped herself up, and I happened to be nearby, so I patched her up."
I was grateful that she didn’t mention the boys who had pushed me. No need to make a big deal out of it. Besides, I wasn’t planning to let them off the hook that easily. If we ever crossed paths again, I’d be sure to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Yoshino gasped.
"Shikami-chan, you need to be more careful!" she scolded, shaking her head as she examined my bandaged hands. "Does it hurt a lot?"
"No, not at all," I lied, shaking my head. Of course, it still hurt, but there was no need to worry either of them over it.
Yoshino thanked Kushina and, as expected, invited her in for tea, but she politely declined, saying she needed to get home before Minato arrived. Yoshino smiled, seemingly understanding her reasoning, and after saying goodbye, led me inside.
She then sat me down and asked for a full explanation of what had happened. After that, I was fed, given tea, and sent to rest.
Once I got to my bed, I collapsed onto it and closed my eyes.
For some reason, I wasn’t sleepy.
After tossing and turning, I sat up and pulled out a history book from under my pillow.
Alright. After this, I’ll meditate again. Maybe I can figure out whether chakra affects injuries or if injuries affect chakra. Could chakra help speed up healing somehow?
Unfortunately, meditation brought no new discoveries.
I guess I really wouldn’t be able to become a iryonin. Running chakra through my hands did nothing—my wounds didn’t miraculously heal.
Honestly, what was I expecting? Some kind of Tsunade-level ability? Naruto’s insane regeneration?
It was disappointing, but the reality was that I couldn’t do much yet. Even the most basic shadow manipulation was still out of reach—I had to admit, my chakra control was a mess. And with Shikaku still gone, it didn’t seem like that would change anytime soon…
As if in response to my thoughts, the front door creaked open, and a familiar voice called out:
"I’m home!"
Chapter 7: Surrounded by Uchiha
Chapter Text
"Hey, Dad," I went to meet Shikaku and immediately froze in shock. Two massive crimson scars ran across his face. "What happened?!"
"A minor mistake," Shikaku grimaced and glanced at Yoshino. I followed his gaze—she was standing there, silent and grim.
"Are you alright?" Yoshino finally asked.
"Yes."
"If so, sit down and eat. No arguments!"
Shikaku didn’t show any displeasure, though I knew all he really wanted was to collapse into bed. With a tired sigh, he removed his shoes and followed Yoshino inside.
Deciding it was best not to intrude on their conversation, I smiled and headed to my room. There was no point in asking Shikaku anything right now—he probably wouldn’t say much anyway, and honestly, I’d be surprised if he didn’t just pass out at the table. As they say, tomorrow is another day...
The moment I entered my room, exhaustion hit me like a wave. Without wasting any time, I lay down and instantly fell asleep.
The next morning started with a scream.
Or more accurately, something shattered first, followed by a wail.
"That was my favorite plate!" Yoshino was practically on the verge of tears, standing over a pile of broken dishes. Next to her, a very groggy Shikaku stood, looking as if he had no idea why she was so upset. Then, deciding that women were just women, he stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on his wife’s shoulder.
"Don’t worry, we’ll buy another one."
"This is all your fault!" Yoshino swatted his hand away, glaring at him. "If it weren’t for you, it wouldn’t have broken!"
At that point, I completely lost track of what was happening. Deciding that getting involved was not in my best interest, I quietly started retreating toward my room. Sadly, it was too late to go back to sleep, so I figured I might as well get dressed and clean up. I wanted to go out today—meeting up with Inari sounded like a good plan.
But escaping the house wasn’t that easy.
"Where do you think you’re going? What about breakfast?" Yoshino demanded, still fired up. "You haven’t even eaten!"
She had calmed down a little from the "tragedy," but the energy was still there. Sometimes, when people get worked up, they just need to vent it somewhere, even if the original reason is gone. Yoshino used to be like that too—she could go on for ages, and when the topic ran out, she’d find a new one. I had learned to keep a low profile during those times. If someone needed to let off steam, better it not be on us.
"Alright…" I muttered and made my way to the table, where a large bowl of rice was already waiting. I still couldn’t get over how my tiny stomach managed to hold so much food without me feeling overly full. A true mystery.
"Ok, I'am leaving" I tried again, and this time, no one stopped me. Just as I reached the door, Yoshino called after me to "be careful, stay alert, and behave properly." I reassured her that I would and left.
The sun was blazing overhead—midday. Yeah, welcome to the Nara clan. We consider this morning. Without realizing it, I had started to blend into this slow-paced rhythm, enjoying every extra minute of sleep. In the past, I would’ve been called lazy and scolded for oversleeping. Well, at least there were some perks to this new life.
As sad as it was, my old life was fading away. I could barely recall the faces of my family, my friends, my classmates—no, not just barely, I couldn’t remember them at all. They were so familiar and yet… I couldn’t picture them. And that was terrifying.
Would I ever go back?
No.
As painful and frightening as that truth was, I had to accept it. I wasn’t going back, and I had to get used to that. I was already becoming a part of this world. I could control chakra, even if only slightly, something that had been impossible for my old self. I wasn’t the same person anymore.
I was Shikami Nara, whether I liked it or not.
"Hey!"
A voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned around to see a dark-haired boy, about eight years old, watching me.
"Hey," I mumbled, eyeing him curiously.
The boy grinned.
"I know you," he said matter-of-factly, pointing at me rather rudely. "You’re Shikami from the Nara clan, right?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "And who are you? How do you know me?"
"I’m Uchiha Zakuro," he grinned again, squinting slightly. "I’ve seen you around a couple of times, and then I just found out—somehow—that you’re the daughter of the Shikaku Nara."
"The Shikaku?"
"Yep, the Shikaku. Are you seriously telling me you don’t know how famous your dad is? Wow."
"Not really interested," I shrugged. So what if he was famous? Big deal.
"Yup, you’re definitely a Nara," the boy nodded as if confirming something. Then, out of nowhere, he extended his hand toward me. "Let’s be friends!"
"Uh… okay," I agreed uncertainly. We bumped fists.
My fist seemed very small compared to his, and for the first time, I noticed the stark contrast—my skin was tanned, while his was pale, almost aristocratic. Yep… no mistaking it. Definitely a member of one of the great clans.
"By the way, Shikami-chan, have you seen a boy about this tall"—he raised his hand far above his head—"skinny, with hair kinda like mine, also from the Uchiha clan?"
I tried to think of anyone matching that description but came up blank. If I had seen someone like that, I would’ve remembered.
"Guess not," Zakuro didn’t seem the least bit disappointed. "So he’s still avoiding me. Anyway, if you see him, let me know, alright? He’s my cousin."
"Sure."
"Oh, and you can just call me Kuro. That’s what everyone calls me." He gave me another grin and waved. "Alright, see you, Shikami-chan! It was nice talking to you!"
And just like that, he turned and vanished in a blur of movement.
I blinked, momentarily stunned. He was so young—barely older than me—and he was already using shunshin like it was nothing.
And here I was, barely able to control my chakra.
I suddenly felt like a clumsy octopus watching a swallow take flight for the first time.
Yeah. I still had a long way to go.
I had only just learned to sense my chakra, while he was already using it effortlessly.
Either I was ridiculously slow, or he was just a naturally talented Uchiha.
And something told me… it was probably the first one.
Get it together, me. There’s still so much to learn. Wipe that envious look off your face and get back to whatever you were doing.
I didn’t manage to meet Inari. Whether she wasn’t allowed to leave the house or something else got in the way, I had no idea. Either way, I ended up spending two hours on the swings, absently watching the river flowing near Konoha. Then, realizing I had nothing better to do, I glanced around, checking for familiar faces. Seeing none, I smiled to myself, hopped off the swing, and walked toward a nearby tree.
After making sure no one I knew was around, I lay down in the grass and looked up at the sky. The sun was shining straight into my eyes, so I lowered my lashes and watched the clouds drifting lazily above. Ah, now I understood why Shikamaru liked staring at the sky so much. I still had a long way to go before reaching his level of laziness, but at least now, I could appreciate the feeling. The clouds looked so soft and carefree, floating wherever they pleased.
My eyes watered from the brightness, and I closed them instinctively. It was warm, comfortable, and peaceful, and before I knew it, I had drifted into a light nap.
I woke up to the rustling of grass.
Great. Just my luck. Who decided to disturb me now? I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest undisturbed.
But contrary to my expectations, no one tried to wake me up. The rustling stopped, and I no longer felt anyone’s presence nearby. Maybe I got lucky, and it was just a small animal passing by.
I rolled over to my other side and tried to relax again. This time, I couldn’t fall back asleep completely, but I still enjoyed just lying there. However, my natural restlessness won in the end. After about ten minutes, I suddenly sat up and opened my eyes.
Something felt off in my left eye. I blinked a few times, then rubbed my face. The discomfort disappeared, but now I had something else to deal with—my appearance. And wow, was there a lot to look at.
Wrinkled clothes, red marks on my skin from lying too long, and green stains in random places—I looked like a disheveled ferret. If that wasn’t bad enough, I was sure my hair had collected its fair share of grass and leaves.
I got up, ready to head home, when I noticed a small figure sitting just a few meters away.
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was still dreaming. No, the boy was definitely real. So it hadn’t been an animal earlier—just a regular kid.
But why was he sitting like that?
I walked closer and finally saw the reason. The boy was sitting completely still, mesmerized by a yellow butterfly fluttering over a flower. What surprised me the most was the way he slowly extended his hand, letting the butterfly land gently on his finger.
Was I witnessing a real-life version of a fairytale princess? Except in boy form?
I was about to sit down beside him when he spoke without looking at me.
"Don’t move. You’ll scare it away."
I obeyed, watching as the butterfly moved from his finger to his palm. After a moment, as if deciding it was time to return to its business, it flew off toward the greenery. I sat down next to him.
"This is a beautiful place, isn’t it?" I asked, gazing at the river in the distance while keeping the boy in my peripheral vision. He was younger than me, smaller, dark-haired, and pale. His large, black eyes stood out the most, calm and full of quiet curiosity.
He didn’t respond, only gave a slight nod.
"What do you think life is?" he suddenly asked, still staring ahead.
"Life is life," I said, not even surprised by the odd question. Though maybe I should have been. But instead, I found myself thinking out loud. "It’s the most precious thing a person can have."
I felt his gaze on me, sharp and searching, and before I knew it, I kept going.
"Life isn’t just about existing. It’s about harmony. The harmony of nature and everything connected to it. Everyone who lives in this world matters, in big and small ways. Life is what makes us happy."
Why was I suddenly feeling so philosophical?
"Then why do people die?" the boy asked.
Good question.
"They have to," I shrugged. "So that a new generation can take their place. It’s the cycle of life and death. We die to give life, and we live knowing that one day, we’ll die. The two concepts are inseparable."
"Then what’s the meaning of this world?"
I hesitated for a moment, but the answer came quickly.
"In its existence," I smiled. "What else?"
The boy studied me thoughtfully, almost as if looking through me. Then, as if coming to some conclusion, he nodded slowly to himself.
"Itachi!"
A woman’s voice suddenly called out.
We both turned our heads at the same time. A slender woman with long dark hair and a noticeable baby bump was hurrying toward us.
"There you are, Itachi! Are you alright? Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?"
"Sorry, okaa-san," the boy said softly, glancing at me for some reason.
"Hello," I mumbled.
"Hello to you too," the woman smiled warmly. "What’s your name?"
"Shikami."
"And this is Itachi. Thank you for keeping an eye on my son," she said. "Shall we head home? Your father is worried. And you, Shikami, where are you headed? We could walk you home—your mother must be worried too."
I gestured vaguely. "I’m going that way, but—"
"Then we’ll walk with you," the woman said firmly. "By the way, Shikami-chan, how do you feel about dango? There’s a nice shop nearby…"
And just like that, I unexpectedly met Uchiha Itachi and his mother.
Small world, full of surprises.
That day, I had met three Uchiha. Definitely a personal record.
The dango was delicious—warm rice dumplings on skewers, covered in sauce. The taste was slightly sweet but pleasant. Yum!
I kept sneaking glances at Itachi, who was calmly eating his third skewer. Hard to believe this tiny kid would one day wipe out his entire clan and earn the hatred of his younger brother.
Right now, he just looked like a curious, quiet child. Not a killer.
Thanks to Mikoto-san—Itachi’s mother—I learned the names of different types of dango. Apparently, there were several varieties. The ones I had were called chichi-dango, while Mikoto-san’s were mitarashi-dango. Itachi, on the other hand, loved botchan-dango, the three-colored kind. What made them his favorite, I had no idea, and I didn’t feel like asking. It was like ice cream—some people liked vanilla, others preferred chocolate. Just a matter of taste.
"Hey, Itachi, how old are you?" I suddenly asked. I was curious to see how far off my timeline was.
"Four," he said, biting into his last dumpling.
I sighed and finished mine.
So much for my grasp of canon. It just waved me goodbye and told me, You’re on your own, sweetheart.
Seriously, why was my luck so awful? I had ended up in the Naruto world, but Naruto himself wasn’t even born yet. And Itachi was only four. This was so unfair.
I barely knew anything about this time period. The only thing I could predict was that in about six months, the Nine-Tails attack would happen, and in five years or so, the Uchiha massacre. Actually, wait… If Itachi was four, and he was twelve when he destroyed his clan, then it would happen in about eight years.
I glanced at the boy beside me.
And this child was supposed to turn into a mass murderer? I didn’t believe it.
Something about that story didn’t sit right.
I really should have watched the second season. Bet it explained everything.
Well, my luck had never been great.
Wait, hold on. If I had met Iruka recently, and he was supposed to be around my age, yet later became Naruto’s and Sasuke’s instructor… That meant he was about two or three years older than Itachi. So he became a teacher at fifteen? No way.
Which meant… Iruka must be around eight or nine, not six like I had assumed. That was an interesting realization, considering I had taken him for my peer.
Not that it really mattered. Mistakes happen.
"Oh, Shikami, look," Mikoto-san suddenly pointed ahead. "Isn’t that your father?"
Sure enough, in the distance, I spotted the tall figure of Shikaku.
Chapter 8: Shadows
Chapter Text
It really was Shikaku. It was surprising to see him just strolling through the streets like this. Usually, he was either asleep or at work. But now he was walking around as if nothing had happened. Did he get a day off or something?
Well, it made sense. He had just returned from a mission, and it clearly wasn’t an easy one. He deserved some time off, especially with those fresh scars on his face.
"Shikami," he called out as he approached, spotting our little group led by Mikoto from a distance. "Thank you for walking my daughter home, Mikoto-san," he said, addressing her politely.
"No need to thank me, Shikaku-senpai," she replied with a warm smile, ruffling Itachi’s hair. I couldn’t help but notice the way she addressed my father. Senpai. I didn’t quite remember what it meant, but I had definitely heard it before somewhere.
"It was nice meeting you, Shikami-chan. What do you say, Itachi?"
"Bye," the boy muttered without looking up, still focused on his surroundings.
"Goodbye," I waved and grabbed onto my father’s broad hand.
We walked in silence for a while.
Had he actually come to get me? No, I doubted it. More likely, Yoshino had sent him out shopping. That sounded just like her. If he really had a short break, of course she’d send him out to run errands. Classic.
"How’s your meditation going, Shikami?" Shikaku suddenly asked.
"Fine."
"Can you control your chakra yet?"
"Sort of," I admitted. "Only if I really concentrate."
He gave me a thoughtful look.
"Alright, I think it’s time to start your training."
"Training?" I asked, confused. "What kind? I can barely control my chakra…"
"You’ll see," he replied, offering no further explanation.
We went to the same forest that belonged to our clan, but this time, we walked much deeper inside. I started getting nervous. First, he piques my curiosity, and now he’s leading me into the wilderness? Damn Naras, always with their cryptic nonsense.
What kind of training was this going to be? Hopefully nothing moral.
Was he about to pull some kind of survival test on me? Like, ‘Shikami, I have my doubts that you’re really my daughter, so find your way out of this forest and come home if you’re truly a Nara.’ And then what? I’d be lost for days! My sense of direction was awful before I came here, and now it was even worse! Damn it, was I developing claustrophobia? Wait, no—claustrophobia was for enclosed spaces. What was the fear of forests called?
"Relax, Shikami," Shikaku advised.
Right. No need to panic. He asked about chakra earlier, so this was probably chakra-related training. That meant no crazy mind games. Probably. But still, wasn’t it too early for training if I couldn’t even control my chakra properly? As far as I knew, training usually came after mastering control. Otherwise, what was the point?
Stopping near a tall pine tree—why pine trees of all things in Naruto, seriously—Shikaku told me to stand still. Then, he formed a series of hand seals, crouched slightly, and suddenly, his shadow spread out in all directions.
I flinched in surprise, but nothing actually happened. His shadow smoothly extended, merging with the shadows of the trees and bushes around us.
As if sensing something approaching, I instinctively turned around and froze.
A tall deer with an impressive crown of antlers was watching me. Its dark eyes locked onto mine, studying me, as if deciding whether to impale me now or later.
I swallowed hard but stubbornly held its gaze. Somewhere, I had heard that in a staring contest, the first to blink or look away loses. I didn’t know why, but losing to an animal, even a deer, felt like an unacceptable defeat.
I had no idea how long we stood there like that. My eyes started watering from the strain, and eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore—I shut them tight. The very next moment, something warm and wet touched my forehead.
At the same time, a jolt of energy surged through my body.
I opened my blurry, teary eyes and blinked in confusion.
The deer—whose nose was still pressed against my forehead—lifted its head and let out a snort. And for some reason, I got the distinct impression that it was laughing at me.
"Shikami, do you remember what I told you last time?" Shikaku asked, having silently observed my silent standoff with the deer.
"Uh… Something about Yin release and spiritual balance?" My memory was solid, and suddenly, I realized—he had brought me here to train in Yin release! That’s why we had come to the forest!
"Correct. Now that you’ve mastered the first step of chakra control, we can move to the next one. Focus your chakra into your legs."
I closed my eyes, concentrating. I reached for the small flame in my stomach—my little personal chakra reserve—and directed a small flow toward my feet.
"Now try to feel your shadow."
If I hadn’t been focusing, I would have groaned in frustration. Feel my shadow? Was that even possible?
Biting my lip, I focused on distributing my chakra evenly across the soles of my feet. It was difficult, but I managed. Then I tried extending it into the ground… but nothing.
I tried again. And again. Then, I attempted to simply imagine my shadow and push my chakra into it.
Nope.
My shadow refused to cooperate, remaining as stubbornly unresponsive as before.
"A shadow is an extension of you, Shikami," Shikaku said. "It is your second self. Don’t think of it as something abstract."
Easy for him to say!
To summarize: nothing worked.
Once, I thought I saw my shadow twitch. Thought. I wasn’t even sure it had actually happened. If Shikaku noticed anything, he didn’t show it.
It started getting dark. Shikaku immediately called it a day, ordering me to stop and head home.
I trudged after him, feeling utterly useless. So much for being a ninja. So much for superpowers, Shikami! You got all excited and drooled over the idea, but in reality, you can’t even control your own shadow! I definitely needed to train my chakra control more.
"By the way, Shikami, don’t try practicing shadow control without me," Shikaku said. "It could be dangerous. In fact, don’t attempt it at all until we come back here."
"Why?"
"You’re struggling to connect with your shadow because you can’t yet separate your chakra into Yin and Yang components. Here in the forest, it’s easier, since the area is heavily infused with Yin chakra."
"Heavily? How does that work?"
"They say," Shikaku continued, closing his eyes for a moment without breaking stride, "that long ago, a chakra flower grew here. But a greedy shinobi, obsessed with power, plucked it and drained it of all its Yang energy. What remained of its Yin energy spread into the land, and over time, this forest grew. Later, a hermit settled here. He lived for so long that the Yin chakra of the forest completely influenced him. And from then on, he could control the surrounding shadows."
"Is that… a legend?" I asked. "About our clan?"
"Yes. It’s the legend of the Nara Clan’s origins," Shikaku confirmed. "I can’t say how much of it is true and how much is fiction, but the essence is that our chakra is naturally infused with Yin release from birth. That’s why we can manipulate shadows and cast powerful genjutsu."
"Then why is it so hard for me to sense my shadow?"
"You see, Shikami," Shikaku sighed, "Yoshino has a strong Yang chakra influence, which means your chakra isn’t as concentrated in Yin as most Naras."
"Ah… That makes sense…"
We walked the rest of the way home in silence.
The next day brought an unexpected surprise—my dear, loving, and incredibly lazy cousin, Kasuga, who, for some reason, had decided to wake up at an ungodly hour.
"Shikami-chaaan," his voice rang out, and I jolted upright in bed like I had been burned.
"What do you want?" I asked in confusion, watching as my cousin sprawled out next to me.
"Nice bed. Comfortable," he noted, shifting to make himself more at home.
"Uh…"
"Good night," he yawned, and within a minute, he was already snoring into my pillow.
I was utterly outraged. Damn it, Nara!
I gave him a solid kick and tugged my blanket back toward me. He mumbled something incoherent, curled up, and at the same time, pulled the blanket over himself. Sighing, I scooted closer, pressing against his warm back—since the blanket was too short—and closed my eyes.
The question of why Kasuga had come to sleep in my room early in the morning faded into the background. After all, I wanted to sleep too. Ugh… this body I ended up in… just as lazy as Kasuga’s.
And that’s how I drifted off again, like a proper isekai protagonist thrown into the life of a true Nara.
I woke up because I was cold. Mumbling something, I rolled over and nearly fell out of bed. Damn! Sleep left me instantly as I clung to the edge of the mattress and slowly slid to the floor.
Realizing that sleep was no longer an option, I got up—and witnessed a truly marvelous sight.
Sprawled out across my bed, positioned like a "common yet dazzling starfish," was Kasuga. At his feet lay the blanket, scrunched up into the smallest possible lump.
I couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of his tousled hair, his absurd sleeping pose, and the way he was quietly snoring through his nose. Shuffling off, I made my way to the bathroom.
"Morning, Okaa-san," I greeted Yoshino, who was busy at the stove.
"Morning," she replied without looking up from her cooking. I sniffed the air—looked like I was getting eggs for breakfast!
"How’s Kasuga?"
"Sleeping," I shrugged. "Why did he even come here? And why sleep? In the morning, no less?"
"Oh, that’s right, you wouldn’t remember," Yoshino suddenly said, grabbing a tomato and beginning to dice it. "Kasuga has nightmares sometimes. When he does, he comes to sleep here."
"In my room?" My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "I thought he didn’t even talk to me much before my amnesia…"
"What do you mean your room?" Yoshino turned to me, hands on her hips. "Did he mix up the rooms?"
"Oh, so he has a room," I muttered. So my dear cousin had simply gone into the wrong room… Well, mistakes happen.
I had breakfast while Yoshino kept muttering about Kasuga’s behavior, still weirdly indignant about the whole thing.
"Morning," Shikaku strolled into the kitchen, his hair an absolute disaster. I stifled a laugh—Kasuga had looked exactly like that a few moments ago.
"Dear," Yoshino struck her hands-on-hips pose again. "Did you know that Kasuga slept in Shikami’s room?"
"And?" Shikaku clearly saw no issue.
"He’s a boy, Shikaku!"
"So?"
"And she’s a girl!"
"Well, yeah," he glanced at me, as if contemplating my gender for the first time.
"SHIKAKU!!!" Yoshino screeched.
And that was my cue to get the hell out of there.
I shoved the last of my eggs into my mouth and bolted. The key to survival? Don’t get caught in the crossfire.
"Where are you going?" Kasuga asked as he groggily descended the stairs. Without a word, I grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the front door.
"Get dressed!" I whispered, pointing toward the kitchen before running my finger across my neck in a very clear ‘you’re dead if you stay’ gesture.
Kasuga caught on immediately, slipped on his shoes, and we were out the door.
"…I’m hungry," he whined after about five minutes of walking.
I nearly tripped.
"You got food at home?" I asked.
"I think there were some onigiri somewhere…" he murmured, sounding unsure.
"…But that’s not certain," I mentally finished for him.
Glancing at Kasuga’s still half-asleep face, I sighed. We’re going to his house. If we didn’t, he’d probably fall asleep on the street.
But we didn’t get far. And not because his house was far—on the contrary, the Nara clan’s district was close. The problem was that some local idiots were even closer.
Among them, I spotted a familiar blond head and his scruffy friend. The very same ones responsible for my scraped-up knees—the ones Kushina-san had patched up.
"Oh! Look!" The shaggy-haired boy—Kazuo, if I remembered correctly—grinned nastily. "If it isn’t Kasuga Nara! And you must be his bratty little sister, huh?"
"You know him?" Kasuga’s expression turned serious as he glanced at me.
"Yeah," I nodded. "And you do too?"
"He’s my classmate at the Academy," Kasuga sighed.
"You poor thing," I sympathized. "Having to study with a delinquent like him…"
"Who are you calling a delinquent?!" Kazuo bristled. "You miss the taste of dirt or something?"
"How rude… Are you sure you go to the Academy? How did they even let a brute like you in?"
"You little—" Kazuo hissed, swinging his arm. Swinging, because he didn’t actually move.
"If you lay a hand on my sister, Kazuo," Kasuga said calmly, "you’ll regret it."
His shadow had already stretched out, connecting with Kazuo’s, freezing him in place.
Kazuo’s two friends immediately tensed, preparing to jump into the fight. But they never got the chance.
"Well, well," a familiar voice drawled from behind me. "Did I miss something fun?"
"Kuro?" I turned, surprised to see Uchiha Zakuro approaching with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Hey, Shikami-chan," he winked at me. "Yo, Kasuga. Oh, and look at that—Kazuo, Mizuki, and even Daiki! The whole gang’s here. You guys do realize attacking girls is super bad form, right? No one ever taught you that, Kazuo?"
Kazuo, still locked in Kasuga’s shadow jutsu, said nothing.
"Let him go, Kasuga," Kuro said casually. "He won’t try that again."
Kasuga gave him a long look before nodding and withdrawing his shadow.
Chapter Text
The way Kuro predicted, Kazuo didn’t attack. He hissed something under his breath, cast a disapproving glance at our little gathering, and ordered his gang to leave.
I turned to Kuro.
“Good morning, Kuro!” I greeted the Uchiha with a friendly smile. “What are you doing here?”
“Morning,” Kuro nodded in response. “I was just passing by when I saw a lot of familiar faces and thought I’d say hello. So you and Kasuga are relatives?”
“We’re cousins,” Kasuga corrected.
Kuro nodded in rhythm with his thoughts, then looked at him with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Kasuga, I have an offer for you. How about a sparring match?”
I glanced at my cousin with interest. He thought for a moment and then looked at me.
"Say yes, Kasuga!" I tried to transmit through sheer willpower.
"Do I really need this headache?" Kasuga was probably wondering.
Kuro remained silent.
“Alright, but not for long. And on one condition,” Kasuga finally agreed, and I barely restrained a delighted squeal. Poker face, Shikami. Poker face! This is totally not exciting at all…
It didn’t take long to pick a training ground—there were at least ten practice areas near the Academy. We picked the first one we came across since it was empty. The only odd thing was the presence of two small, meter-wide craters. They looked less like they had been dug with shovels and more like they were created by training explosives. I suggested finding another spot, but Kasuga lazily waved me off. Kuro mumbled something like, “It’ll do.”
By the way, when I found out what Kasuga’s condition was, I laughed for a solid minute. In exchange for fighting Kuro, he demanded that the Uchiha treat him to breakfast. Oh, I can’t! A hungry Kasuga Nara is truly a force to be reckoned with!
Kuro chuckled when he heard my cousin's demand and countered by saying that Kasuga couldn’t just give up right away—he had to fight seriously. Kasuga let out a dramatic sigh, and I realized that was exactly what he had planned to do. Lazy bastard!
I was told to step back, which I did, settling at the roots of a tall tree. Kuro smirked and even helped me climb onto a branch, giving me a perfect view of the battlefield.
“Shall we begin?”
The boys bowed to each other, exchanged the “friendship” gesture… and then Kuro dashed forward like a shadow, closing in on my cousin. Kasuga easily dodged the first strike. And the second. And the third. Even the fourth. Then, suddenly, he caught Kuro’s wrist, twisted it, forcing the Uchiha to spin out of the hold and retreat. Kasuga took advantage of that moment and launched his own attack. Strike, strike, block, sweep!
Kuro’s movements showed a clear, well-developed fighting style. Kasuga didn’t have one, but even so, my cousin held his ground against the aggressive Uchiha. He dodged blows, evaded sweeps, predicted feints, and looked for weaknesses in his opponent. Still, after about five minutes, Kasuga started falling behind.
He’s getting tired, I realized.
The roles reversed—Kuro took the offensive, forcing Kasuga to retreat. But he was retreating in a strange, zigzagging manner, and then—he formed a seal.
“Don’t bother trying to put me in a genjutsu!” Kuro called out and nearly struck Kasuga’s face. My cousin, breathing heavily, jumped aside—right into a well-timed sweep from Kuro.
Kasuga fell hard, smacking into the dirt. Kuro, shouting triumphantly, leaped to pin him down—only for Kasuga to roll away just in time. Kuro landed on solid ground… which suddenly collapsed beneath him.
In a flash, Kasuga was standing over him.
“I win. You owe me breakfast.”
“You sneaky Nara!” Kuro exclaimed. “So you faked casting a genjutsu on me while actually covering one of the craters with an illusion and making me believe the ground was solid? Damn!”
There was genuine admiration in his voice. And honestly? Even I was shocked! That was so clever! And I didn’t even notice when Kasuga pulled it off! Though… maybe I could have.
In any case, both Kasuga and Kuro, looking a bit roughed up, exchanged the friendship gesture again, thanked each other for the fight—what a tradition—then grabbed me, and we all headed to the nearest café.
The whole way there, Kasuga and I remained silent while our ever-chatty Uchiha chattered away like a magpie. And somehow, he wasn’t at all bothered by the fact that no one was listening.
The days slipped by one after another.
I trained every day, cycling chakra through my body. Sometimes, Shikaku and I went to the Nara clan’s forest, where I practiced controlling my shadow. Slowly but surely was the best way to describe the process. At first, I couldn’t do anything, but after two weeks, I finally managed to make my shadow twitch. Just a twitch—but it was progress.
And it only got better. Bit by bit, I improved, and by the end of summer, my record was moving my shadow by two meters. Only two meters—but that was enough. Shikaku was pleased.
Occasionally, we played shogi together—more often, I played with Kasuga. I even played once with Kuro.
Without realizing it, I had started spending more and more time with the Uchiha. We met nearly every day. Oh, Kuro was full of tricks! It was never boring with him. He constantly dragged me out of the house, came up with games like tag, and a few times, I even visited his home.
And then I understood why he spent so much time with me.
Because aside from having many acquaintances, Kuro had no one. He was alone—an orphan. His entire family had perished in the Third Shinobi War. His cousin was supposed to look after him, but in reality, he spent most of his time away on missions. When I realized this, I felt such a deep sadness for Kuro… and at the same time, admiration. He was always so cheerful, so resilient. He seemed to know every kid, every genin in Konoha, and he could make friends with almost anyone. That was what made him so captivating, and before I knew it, he had become a close friend.
And then—Mikoto gave birth to a son! Sasuke!
When I heard the news, I stood there, mouth agape, for two whole minutes. Across from me, Itachi was casually munching on his botchan-dango, purchased by the ever-thoughtful Kuro. Meanwhile, Kuro was happily rambling on about how he also loved dango…
A few times, I ran into Kazuo and his gang, but since Kuro was always nearby, they didn’t dare mess with me again. I also crossed paths with Iruka once—but I don’t think he even recognized me.
And just like that, two months flew by.
September. It was time for me to enter the Academy.
Notes:
I know in Japan the study starts in April. Don’t come at me with sticks. It is just a fanfiction=)
Chapter 10: Orochimaru
Chapter Text
"Hey, Shikami-chan!" Kuro waved at me. "Don't fall asleep!"
"I'm not sleeping."
"Really?" Kuro waved his hand in front of my face. "Unbelievable!"
I sighed. Did he really think I was capable of sleeping with so many people around?
Kuro was absolutely unbearable in his attempts to shake me awake. Was I annoyed? Not really, but I always sighed and rolled my eyes so he’d know exactly what I thought about it. Not that it made him feel the least bit guilty—I'm pretty sure that little pest deliberately tried to get a reaction out of me. For him, it was practically a game—getting me to show emotion. He called me an icicle, a snowball, a statue, a bean, and all sorts of harmless nicknames just for this ridiculous purpose. But all he ever got out of me was a sigh, an eye-roll, or maybe a small smirk.
"Are you scared?" Kuro teased, and I just let out another quiet sigh. Was I afraid? Well, maybe just a little.
The Shinobi Academy. A huge crowd had already gathered, most of them adults. Of course, every self-respecting family had to come and see off their young first-years. First day of school? Pretty much—just without the flowers.
Shikaku, as always, was busy with important work in the Hokage’s office. Instead, Yoshino stood nearby, chatting with her friends. Kuro, on the other hand, stayed right by my side, making his usual sarcastic comments. But I was grateful—getting lost in this sea of children wasn’t hard, and I could easily end up in the wrong place by accident. Kuro, being unusually tall for an eight-year-old, was a whole head taller than me. With him around, I at least felt somewhat safe. No one would trample me!
On a small platform, the Academy’s director—Shiratorizawa Shinkatsu (what a name!)—stepped forward and gave a long speech. The gist of it was this: welcome to the Academy, parents can leave now, and the new students would take a test to determine their class placement based on their skills and knowledge.
Kuro shot me a playful wink, said goodbye, and went off to take care of his third-year business. I, meanwhile, headed toward a shinobi with the strange name Kutomaru, who was in charge of evaluating my abilities.
"The first fifteen, follow me!" announced a short woman. Not wasting any time, I quickly joined the group. The faster we got this over with, the better.
"My name is Mitarashi Anko, but you don’t need to bother remembering it," the woman said curtly. "I’ll be checking your basic skills, and then you’ll move on to the next test, so we probably won’t see each other again for a while. Now, your task is to show me what you’re capable of. Who wants to go first?"
"Me!" A chubby girl next to me raised her hand.
"Great. Name?"
"Akimichi Tora."
Anko scribbled something in her notebook and handed the girl a small piece of paper. Tora took it... and immediately jerked her hand back as if she'd touched something scalding. The paper burst into bright orange flames and crumbled into ash.
"Good chakra," Anko nodded. "Next?"
"Excuse me… What are those papers?" asked a girl with two violet markings on her cheeks.
"This is chakra-conducting paper. It reacts to even the slightest flow of chakra and transforms it based on your elemental nature. Name?"
"Nohara Kin."
She took the paper, and it immediately became soaked with water in her hands.
"Next?"
"Me. Nara Shikami."
I stepped forward and held out my hand. Anko's lips curled into a slight smile as she handed me the slip. The moment I took it, I felt a wave of warmth run through my fingers. The paper crumpled…
"Interesting," Mitarashi commented. "Nara usually show an affinity for Earth Release. Next?"
Ten minutes later, the test was over. Out of all the students who took the papers, only one boy showed almost no reaction. He held the slip in his hands for three minutes before a faint cut appeared on its surface. Mitarashi Anko said nothing and simply led us inside the Academy building to complete the assessment.
Inside the classroom, we were seated at desks and given boxes. Inside each box were wooden puzzle pieces. Our task: assemble them into a cube.
I didn’t understand what was so difficult about it. I put the pieces together in about five minutes. For some reason, the others were still sitting there, struggling to build anything out of the shapes.
Since I was the first one to finish this so-called "intelligence test," I was free to leave. Yoshino was already waiting for me in the hallway, and together we headed home.
The next day, a large list of admitted students was posted at the Academy gate. I was placed in Class "A". Alongside me were Nohara Kin and Akimichi Tora. Our homeroom teacher was assigned to be Uzumaki Kenta, a broad-shouldered man with red hair and a scar across his face. I was surprised when I heard his last name. Another Uzumaki? A relative of the not-yet-born Naruto, then? Or maybe Kushina's relative? I wondered what he was doing here.
"Good morning, class," Kenta-sensei greeted us once we had taken our seats. "You already know my name, but I still need to learn yours. Akimichi Tora?"
He went through the roll call. After that, Kenta-sensei briefly explained the structure of the Academy, the curriculum, and the essential rules we needed to know. At the end of the lesson, he announced that we would all have to undergo a medical examination, then led us down to the basement level of the building.
“Hello, Orochimaru-san," Kenta-sensei greeted the medic.
"Good afternoon," the man hissed in response.
I had initially mistaken him for a woman because of his long hair.
Wait. Orochimaru? Orochimaru?! That guy from the anime—the one who bit Sasuke’s neck like a vampire?! What the hell was he doing here… as a medic?
"You’ll all need to provide blood samples. Anyone afraid of needles?" Orochimaru rasped with a chuckle, his unnaturally yellow eyes locking onto me. "You aren’t afraid, are you?"
I swallowed. Something about this man triggered a deep, primal fear in me.
"Don't worry, Shikami-chan," he purred. "Just imagine… a tiny mosquito bite…"
More like a giant snake ready to tear my head off.
A slight prick on my ring finger, and my blood dripped into a small vial.
"See? That wasn't so bad," Orochimaru smiled. That smile sent a chill down my spine. I quickly stood up and hurried to hide behind my classmates.
The blood collection took about half an hour. In that time, I managed to get used to Orochimaru's eerie presence, get bored, and chat with some of the other students who had already finished their tests. Kenta-sensei thanked Orochimaru for his work, and then we all marched off to the library to pick up our textbooks. That process took a full hour.
My first school day in this world ended in a rather ordinary way. I stuffed my new books into my bag and headed home.
But before I could even leave the Academy grounds, I sensed movement behind me. I turned—nothing. I thought maybe I was imagining things.
And then—something sharp pricked my neck.
My head spun, my body froze in place.
And just like that, my consciousness slipped away.
Waking up was difficult. My head was buzzing, my body wouldn’t respond, and my eyes barely opened, as if I had been asleep for days.
"You’re awake," a serpentine voice greeted me through the cottony haze in my ears. I recognized it immediately.
Orochimaru.
My vision was blurred, distorted, and doubled. Orochimaru’s face loomed over me, swirling and twisting like a soap bubble.
"Such an interesting experiment… You’ve given me quite a bit of trouble, Shikami…"
A thought surfaced in my sluggish mind, heavy with unspoken questions. My thoughts crawled, sluggish and thick, as if my brain had been submerged in some dense, viscous liquid.
"When I first saw you, I thought you were the perfect study subject. A clever, small Nara girl… Kidnapping you without anyone noticing wasn’t easy. But I managed. And the drug worked… How do you feel, Shikami? Tell me, what do you remember… of the Otherworld? You do remember, don’t you?"
My heart pounded in panic. How?! How does he know?!
"I’ve always been interested in immortality. I’ve tried a lot of techniques, conducted unimaginable experiments. One of them involved forging a connection to a Pure Land. But I considered it as a failure, since every test subject died after a short while... Except you… You survived. The amnesia that was detected in you… wasn’t natural. It was your body’s defense against the experiments. And I want to know why you alone survived… and what you remember…"
I coughed.
"You have a powerful memory block. I don’t know why, but your amnesia won’t fade anytime soon…"
The puzzle pieces started to fit together.
Shikaku suspected nothing, because there was nothing to suspect…
Inoichi couldn’t find anything in my mind, because I truly had amnesia…
I solved the cube test so quickly… because I made it myself…
Because I am Shikami Nara.
A chilling realization washed over me. So my memories of another life… were Orochimaru’s doing? That meant everything that had happened to me… was because of him. Or rather… because of him.
I remembered that anime clearly, even though I had watched it long ago. Naruto used to air on TV, and I caught episodes here and there—but I never saw the full story. Maybe eighty episodes at most. But I remembered the important parts: the boy with the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him, his friends—Sasuke and Sakura—their missions as a team, the Chuunin Exam… How they encountered Orochimaru in the forest, how he bit Sasuke, how he orchestrated the Sand Village’s attack on the Leaf… How he later sought Tsunade to heal him… That’s where my memories ended—I had enrolled in art school, and there was no time for anime anymore.
If only I had known that one day, these scraps of knowledge might save me… But back then, I had no idea. And now, Orochimaru, hovering over me with that dangerously pleased smile, was terrifying.
"Our time is limited…" Orochimaru purred. "So, I want to carry out… one more experiment."
Wait. What?
I tried to move—I couldn’t. My attempt to escape failed before it even began. My body was paralyzed. Instead of leaping away, I barely managed to twitch my index finger.
"The venom of my snakes works instantly, inducing complete paralysis," the serpent sannin gloated. "It lasts only a few hours. That’s usually more than enough time for a snake to enjoy its meal."
"W-what… are you… going to do… to me?" I rasped.
"I have conducted many experiments. But you… I need you. Your connection to the Pure land."
"What… connection…?"
"There’s a theory… that you can still reach out to that Other world. And I want to test it… I need this knowledge… However, for that to happen, I’m afraid you’ll have to… die. Not such a high price, don’t you agree?"
Die.
"Unfortunately, the only way to reach the Pure Land is on the brink of life and death," Orochimaru smiled, injecting something into my arm.
"W-what… is this?" Speaking became even harder. A biting cold spread from the injection site, seeping into my veins.
"A poison. The fastest-acting one," the serpent sannin smiled. "It will paralyze your respiratory system. I was kind enough to choose a painles one. Don’t worry, it’ll be over in a few minutes. When you reach the other world, try to gather as much information as possible. If you can't… well, then we have to repeat this experiment a few more times."
His last words faded into my rising terror.
I can’t breathe!
I tried to inhale, but nothing happened. I desperately struggled for a single gulp of air—but I couldn’t. My body refused to obey. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t scream…
"Air!" my lungs screamed.
Am I really going to die? Just like this?
And in that moment, I realized: no, I don't want to die. I… I still have so much to do! I want to live… Is my life really about to end so meaninglessly? So stupidly?
To die, just so Orochimaru could get his answers… Is it worth my life?
I couldn’t accept that this was how it would end.
I desperately tried to breathe, but nothing. It wasn’t even panic—it was beyond panic. It was pure survival instinct.
I want to live.
Move, body! Move! Anything—anything! I couldn’t breathe, but I had to do something—anything…
Convulsions wracked my body. It wasn’t even me anymore—my body had its own desperate will to survive. It needed air.
I was shaking, writhing, but still—I couldn’t breathe.
Just breathe. Such a simple thing. So essential. And yet, it was slipping away from me.
My vision blurred.
No… is this really how I am going to die?
Die… Die… Air!
BREATHE!
Thinking became impossible. My body spasmed, twisted, everything blurred. My lungs burned as a warm, all-consuming darkness wrapped around me. It whispered: "Just relax. It won’t hurt with me. I’ll take you with me. I’ll take away your pain, your fear. With me, no one will hurt you. I’ll save you."
Then suddenly, through the fading noise, a hissing voice broke through:
"That damn old man…"
A sharp prick in my arm. Another injection.
I didn’t understand anything anymore. My thoughts were gone. My consciousness floated in a haze, barely holding on.
"We will meet again, Shikami-chan. Try not to miss me."
It seemed like Orochimaru disappeared.
For a while, I lay there, still paralyzed, unable to move. Then suddenly—the entire room trembled. The sound of shattering glass rang out, so loud it felt like it pierced my ears.
I groaned.
What’s happening? Why am I still alive?
Then—I could breathe again.
Breathe.
Just… breathe.
It felt incredible. Just inhaling air.
So, Orochimaru had injected me with an antidote? Someone had stopped him? Whoever it was, I was grateful. Grateful to be alive.
A faint whoosh—the sound of Shunshin.
I knew someone else was here. A shinobi in a white mask, marked with red lines.
ANBU.
They swiftly lifted me up. I felt like jelly—my vision and hearing were coming back, but my body was still dead weight. I couldn’t move my arms or legs.
My nose caught the scent—a smell like dogs.
And then, finally—blessed unconsciousness.
Chapter 11: In bulk
Chapter Text
"Shikami!"
My mother’s voice broke through the silence, pulling me back from the depths of unconsciousness. I slowly began to wake up—this time, for real.
"Okaa-san…" I whispered, feeling as though a desert had settled in my throat. "Water…"
The clinking of a glass, the soft sound of water being poured. A small cup was gently pressed against my lips, and I greedily drank it down.
Nearby, I could feel my father’s presence—his breathing was tense, filled with concern. My mother was breathing heavily, too—it seemed she had been truly terrified for me.
"Okaa-san… Otou-san…" My voice was hoarse. "What… happened? Where am I?"
"The ANBU found you in Orochimaru’s underground hideout," Shikaku said. "You were unconscious."
"And what about Orochimaru? He tried to kill me… injected me with poison…"
My parents exchanged glances.
"The medics examined you—you’re fine. Maybe he just wanted to scare you?" Shikaku muttered. "Shikami, do you know what kind of experiment he was conducting on you?"
"Yes… He…"
Images flashed through my mind. Not just images—a flood. A raging river of memories crashed over me, sweeping me away. “Meet Asami and Inoichi, Shikami-chan.” “I don’t really like that Kasuga of yours!” “His parents passed away recently…”
I saw myself—just a child—staring in fascination at a button that had fallen off a coat. I saw my first game of shogi against my father. I saw a poster of Minato Namikaze. “He’s our new Hokage.”
I shook my head, trying to push the memories away. But they wouldn’t stop. Voices and images swarmed my mind, slamming into me like an overflowing dam. My forehead and the back of my skull throbbed, as if someone had struck me with a rock.
"I… I remember everything… And also…" I struggled to continue. "Because of Orochimaru… I remembered my past… life."
I spoke in a broken, scattered way, trying to explain everything that had happened. How I had woken up one day and realized I wasn’t me. How everything had felt unfamiliar. And how, in the end, it had all been the result of Orochimaru’s experiment.
"That bastard!" Yoshino yelled. "How dare he?! I only regret they didn’t kill that traitor!"
My confused gaze turned to my father. Shikaku sighed.
"Orochimaru had been secretly conducting experiments on children—including Academy students. We were planning to capture him today. Unfortunately, he must have sensed something and acted quickly, abducting you in the middle of the day. Luckily, ANBU and the Hokage intervened before he could finish whatever he intended."
Shikaku’s voice was like steel on stone. My head pounded, the ringing in my ears growing unbearable. The flood of memories didn’t stop.
Damn it! It hurt!
"In my past life, I saw that the boy Naruto was an orphan," I said. Then, hesitating for just a moment, I added, "And the entire village hated him. They thought he was a demon. Because the Nine-Tailed Fox—Kyūbi—was sealed inside him. And… Kyūbi attacked Konoha on the night of his birth."
Minato’s expression darkened, and he exchanged a glance with Shikaku.
"We can’t be certain your information is accurate. But I will take it into account and do everything in my power to protect Konoha," Minato said firmly. "Do you know anything else?"
And so, I told him everything I could remember. But it wasn’t much. Just fragments—scattered pieces of a story. Later, Inoichi was called in to examine my memories. They debated my phenomenon for hours, failing to find any logical explanation. In the end, they concluded that Orochimaru had developed some sort of technique that could glimpse the future. Unfortunately, the only useful piece of information was about Kyūbi—so I wasn’t of much help beyond that.
Minato sighed in frustration. "Such a brilliant scientist… It’s a shame he had to resort to human experimentation."
Orochimaru’s name was quickly added to Konoha’s most wanted criminals. As for the snake sannin himself—he had disappeared without a trace. Rumors said he had become a nukenin.
A week later, when I returned to the Academy, two major announcements awaited me. First, Orochimaru had been dismissed. (Which was hardly news.) And second—our homeroom teacher, Uzumaki Kenta, had gone missing along with him. His body was later found—killed.
Had Orochimaru been experimenting on him too? He is Insane.
Our new instructor was Uchiha Kazuki. A short, quiet young man—he barely looked sixteen. I had no idea how someone that young could have been assigned as a teacher until Kurou explained it to me. Kazuki was considered a genius among the Uchiha—a rare survivor of the last Shinobi War. He was one of the few to possess forbidden knowledge. He wasn’t much of a talker. His lessons were short, clear, and never repeated. You either listened or failed. Unsurprisingly, there were no slackers in his class.
Before I knew it, autumn had arrived. By then, I had begun to master the Nara clan’s shadow techniques. Day by day. Night by night. Training after training. Slowly, I learned to channel chakra into my own shadow. One day, I even stretched my shadow all the way to a nearby tree. Shikaku never showed emotions, but I knew he was pleased.
Not long ago, Asami-san gave birth to a baby girl—Ino. Yoshino had been so excited while telling me about it that she accidentally sugared the soup. It was completely inedible. A week after that, Akimichi Chōza got married—to a plump young woman with the strange name Eo. Shikaku was thrilled for his friend. I, however, was bored out of my mind. Sure, it was interesting to see how weddings worked in Konoha—nothing like the ones I knew. For example, there was no exchange of rings or swearing vows before a priest. Instead, they performed a ritual where they drank sake three times. But the ceremony lasted way too long. I got hungry fast. I would have gladly napped through it, but Yoshino wouldn’t let me. She kept assigning me random chores—fetching things, asking questions, running errands. It was exhausting. At least it was just one day.
I still hadn’t beaten Kasuga at shogi. He walked around—or rather, slept around—looking obnoxiously pleased with himself. He loved to remind me that his imouto still wasn’t good enough to beat her dear nii-san. The fact that we were cousins, not siblings, didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. Honestly? It didn’t bother me either.
I barely saw Inari anymore. I was at the Academy all day. Meanwhile, the Hyūga girl wasn’t enrolled at all—she trained within her clan. Apparently, the Hyūga rarely sent their children to the Academy. Especially the children of servants—like Inari. As for my classmate Hyūga Ki— he was from the branch family, so he got lucky. Or maybe unlucky. The kid was… not the brightest. And way too hyper. Maybe that’s why they sent him to the Academy. To burn off energy.
Then… time passed. And then came October 10th.
A completely ordinary evening. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing at all. Yoshino and I were walking home from the market. Then—he appeared. The Demon. A massive, nine-tailed fox.
Kyūbi.
Even with my warnings… Minato failed. He couldn’t stop it.
Chapter 12: Kyūbi
Notes:
Please note that this chapter contains a detailed description of a dead body, read at your own risk. It's better not to eat anything. I warned you
Chapter Text
I had felt an earthquake once before—when the ground beneath your feet trembles lightly at first, then intensifies, stronger and stronger, until objects begin to dance in place. Honestly, even that is a little unsettling.
But what can you even say about a massive creature, the size of a five-story building? A beast that roars so furiously that it makes your ears ring. A creature that can send houses flying with a single swipe of its paw, leap across several kilometers in one bound, and crash down its enormous body onto an entire street.
"Run!" Yoshino screamed.
"Where to?" I yelled back, but there was no time for an answer. The panicked crowd swept us away. Everyone was running, screaming, without the slightest idea of where they were going. The Nine-Tails… no one was controlling it. It was completely unpredictable. Its tails hurled entire structures aside, and every few seconds, the deafening sound of another collapse rang out, followed by the cries of the terrified.
I, a small and frail girl, had no chance of resisting the tide of people—I was simply carried away by the movement. I didn’t even try to break free, only focused on not falling. Panic shuts off logic and turns people into a stampede. I had already accumulated a few bruises, and I was lucky to keep my balance. At one point, I nearly got crushed between two bodies, but somehow, I managed to slip through. Eventually, I found myself on the edge of the stampede, and I was thrown out of it.
I am saved… The thought barely had time to process when something slammed into me, knocking me off my feet.
It was Inari. She had pushed me aside.
It all happened in slow motion. I saw her face—her beautiful, small face, veins standing out under her activated Byakugan. Her chestnut hair fluttered, her entire being filled with focus and, at the same time, fear. Her lips moved, forming the word "run".
BOOM!
Something massive, heavy, and bright red crashed down on top of her, flattening in an instant the spot where she had stood just moments ago. The force of the impact sent me flying, and I slammed painfully into something before sliding down.
A tree. I had crashed into a tree. And judging by the dent I left, it had taken quite a hit—just like my back.
A deafening, insane roar filled the air above me. I looked up in horror at the giant creature with its narrow, elongated snout and long, thrashing tails tearing apart the streets.
Kyūbi.
It crouched on its powerful legs, then leaped away in a single bound. A second later, I heard another roar and the sickening crash of destruction—but further away this time. It didn’t matter.
Slowly, my gaze returned to the place where Inari had been just moments before. My legs trembled as I rose to my feet and started toward it. She couldn’t have… she had the Byakugan… she couldn’t still be there… Oh, God, no, not this…
But deep down, my mind already knew—I wouldn’t find her there. That all I would see would be something… wrong. Something that barely even resembled the fearless Hyūga girl.
And yet, despite knowing, I still walked forward in a daze, needing to confirm it myself. To prove that I was wrong. That she had dodged in time. She was a Hyūga. She could have…
What I had thought was churned-up earth turned out to be a deep, dark red.
Distantly, I thought it looked like someone had spilled thick soup and dusted it with uneven clumps of congealed, bloody flour. Amidst the wreckage, I spotted bits of gray fabric with the Hyūga clan symbol. My eyes caught on something black—and I realized it was a clump of hair.
My body convulsed, and I collapsed to my knees as bile surged up my throat.
The midday meal Yoshino had lovingly prepared splattered onto the darkened earth in a sickly yellow puddle.
A bitter, acidic taste burned my throat, and the nausea rose again. Bent over, I gagged, retching until there was nothing left inside me. Saliva dribbled from my lips, my eyes stinging with tears.
I didn’t even know if I was crying from shock or from my body's violent reaction.
"Shikami!" A familiar voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "Don’t stand there, it’s dangerous!"
Kuro.
"Shikami!" he called again, and in a trance, I lifted my head.
He was suddenly beside me, helping me to my feet.
I was shaking, barely standing. With a single motion, Kuro hoisted me up onto his shoulder. In a blur of movement, we vanished into a flicker of Shunshin.
Bile still burned my throat, and the only thing stopping me from throwing up again was the fact that my face was repeatedly smacking into his back from the jostling.
Meanwhile, chaos reigned all around us.
"Save the children!" voices shouted.
"Take them to the shelter!"
A shelter? They managed to restore order so quickly. The shinobi were doing their job. They were handling it.
A shinobi dashed past us, carrying a crying boy in his arms.
"Let go of me! My parents are still fighting the Nine-Tails!"
I recognized him instantly—Iruka.
So this was it… the night his parents died.
I’m so sorry, Iruka… but there’s nothing I can do…
Once again, the image of that dark, bloodied mass that had been Inari filled my mind. My stomach churned. Oh, Inari. Why?! Why did you do that? Why did you throw me aside, knowing you couldn’t escape? Why did you sacrifice yourself for me? We were barely even friends…
Why?
I clenched my fist and bit into my knuckle to keep from sobbing.
"We’re here," Kuro said, gently setting me down. His warm hands grasped my shoulders, grounding me. "Hey, are you listening?"
"I am."
Inari. She saved me and died. She gave her life to keep me alive. Why? Why did she do that? Why? I didn’t understand… One moment she was there, moving, speaking. And the next—she was gone. Silently, without a scream. Just… erased. Vanished. Crushed, like a porcelain doll shattered with a hammer, or a small, helpless insect trampled beneath a careless foot.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
"Shikami," Kuro’s voice was soft as he took my hand in his. "This isn’t your fault."
"I…" My voice wavered. "It is. It’s my fault! Because of me…"
"Shikami."
He looked into my eyes. Black—deep black, like two dark olives. In them, I saw my own reflection. A frightened, trembling little girl with a quivering lip.
"She saved me, and I…"
"That’s how it happened. You’re not to blame for this. Look around—everyone here is grieving."
Somewhere beyond my hollow shell of grief, I heard the distant sound of sobs and wailing.
"Mom, mommy," a child whimpered, staring blankly ahead.
"Where are my parents?" a four-year-old girl asked, her red hair shining in the dim light.
"My baby! My baby is still out there!" a young woman in an apron wept.
Some simply sat, staring into space, expressionless.
It hit me like a slap.
I wasn’t the only one suffering. I wasn’t the only one who had just witnessed death. I wasn’t the only one who had seen something they were never meant to see. I wasn’t the only one who had come face-to-face with a nightmare tonight.
"I’m sorry," I murmured. "And… thank you."
Kuro smiled. But it was a strained, tired smile.
"Shinobi die often. Especially in war," Kuro said, settling down beside me. "My parents just… disappeared. The last thing I remember is my mother telling me, ‘Be strong.’ She promised she’d come back, that I just needed to wait. And so I waited. But she never returned. Instead, a few days later, my cousin showed up. And Fugaku-san too—the head of our clan. They brought me what was left of her: a torn family photo and a small lock of hair…"
Kuro wrapped an arm around me, pulling me against his side. I trembled slightly, but gradually, as I watched his calm expression and the faint vertical crease between his brows, I started to relax.
"My father died in an explosion on Kannagi Bridge. He was still alive when my mother passed. They told me he never found out. I suppose that makes him lucky."
He fell silent for a moment, then reached over and ruffled my hair.
"Unfortunately, we’ll never know what goes through a person’s mind in their final moments. The whys, the what-ifs… Those answers die with them. But what I do know for sure is that thanks to those who gave their lives, others are still here. We’re still here. So chin up, Shikami. Inari gave you the most precious gift anyone could ever give. Treasure it—and try not to stare death in the face again."
"I…" My voice wavered. "I will treasure it…"
Kuro ran his hand over my head again and pulled me closer. Held tightly in his arms, I finally felt that I wasn’t alone. And with that, a wave of warmth flooded over me—deep gratitude. Because if not for Kuro, I would’ve just sat there, under the open sky, numb and sick from what I had seen.
Oh, Inari.
My eyes prickled with tears, and my heart pounded as if it had learned to beat like a war drum. That nightmarish image resurfaced—the crushed remains of the Hyūga girl.
Bile rose to my throat again, but this time, I forced myself to hold it back.
I turned to Kuro—he was scanning the shelter, as if searching for someone. And suddenly, it hit me. Mom! I had completely forgotten about Yoshino! Where could she be?! Was she safe?!
A cold fist clenched around my chest. Just imagining losing my mother sent ice down my spine. My throat tightened. I really have gotten attached to her, haven’t I? Even if I don’t show it.
"Oh, Kuro! There you are!" A pleasant voice called out. "I’ve been looking for you."
A boy who looked almost exactly like Kuro stood before us—except older by about five years and… ridiculously shaggy. If I remembered correctly, this was his cousin, the one who had been looking after him since the war.
"Shisui?" Kuro asked in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected to see him.
"Glad to see you’re okay." Shisui smiled.
"What’s the situation?"
Shisui’s expression turned serious instantly. "The Nine-Tails has been driven out of the village. The Fourth Hokage has engaged it in battle."
"The Fourth?" A woman sitting nearby gasped. "We’re saved…"
Someone else in the shelter echoed her relief.
"Yeah, the Fourth will show that fox who’s boss," Kuro remarked. "What do you think, Shikami-chan? Oh, by the way, Shisui, meet my friend—Shikami. Shikami, this is Shisui, my cousin."
"Nice to meet you," I nodded.
"Likewise." Shisui smiled.
The two of them chatted for a while, and I sat there in silence, lost in my own thoughts. Would I see my parents today? And how long would this waiting last? I hated waiting. I tried to drown out the anxiety with slow, deep breaths. It helped. A little.
Then, at last, Yoshino appeared in the shelter. Her hair was a mess, and in her arms, she carried a small child—one who immediately shattered the relative quiet of the shelter with a piercing wail. Another woman rushed forward, tears streaming down her face, grabbing the child and sobbing out words of gratitude to my mother.
"Mom!" I squeaked and ran to her.
"Shikami, you scared me so much!" Yoshino crushed me in a fierce hug—so tight I thought she might actually turn me into a pancake. But I didn’t protest. In that moment, I was completely fine with being a pancake. Or anything, really. As long as I could feel her warmth. As long as I could be grateful that she was alive.
"Let’s go. The danger is over. The Nine-Tails has been sealed."
A wave of relief swept through the shelter. People smiled, some even cheered. A triumphant "Hurrah!" rang out. The tight knot in my throat finally loosened.
And on one hand… I understood that there wasn’t really anything to celebrate. The story hadn’t changed—the Nine-Tails had still attacked Konoha. But on the other hand… I couldn’t deny the overwhelming relief.
My mother and I were alive. It was over.
I was selfish. But I was also happy. For the first time, I truly breathed. We were alive.
"See you around, Shikami-chan," Kuro and Shisui waved to me.
"Yeah," I nodded and followed Yoshino.
The moment we stepped outside, I gasped.
Even without a close look, it was obvious—the village had suffered.
The sudden attack had left behind collapsed houses, thick smoke curling into the sky, and the bitter taste of lingering fear. People filled the streets—some wounded, some crying, some furious, and some simply relieved. Some whispered prayers of thanks to the gods, some sang praises for the Hokage, and others dragged their feet, grumbling curses under their breath.
"I hope Shikaku is alright…" Yoshino muttered as we entered our home. Luckily, the Nara district had remained mostly untouched. "I just hope he’s safe."
I was almost certain he was. But the gnawing doubt remained. What if I was wrong? What if my mother and I had been lucky, but Shikaku… wasn’t?
We sat at the table. Yoshino placed an onigiri in front of me. But I wasn’t hungry. I just sat there, staring blankly ahead.
The tension in the room thickened with each passing minute. No one ate. Yoshino paced back and forth, measuring the distance from wall to wall. Even without looking, I could tell she was wound up to the breaking point. Then suddenly, she stopped—and wiped away fresh tears from her cheeks.
"Oh, Shikami," she sank into a chair beside me, covering her face with her hands. "What are we going to do?"
She had imagined so many worst-case scenarios that she’d rattled herself into a panic. I hugged her, trying to comfort her. But what could I even say? Something like 'Everything will be fine'?
I didn’t know if that was true.
To be honest… I was starting to worry too.
The silence was unbearable. The unknown was terrifying. We sat there for what felt like an eternity—until, at last, Yoshino flinched. Her eyes glistened with sudden hope.
"Shikaku!"
In a flash, she was at the door. The very next second, it swung open, and before my father could even step inside, she threw herself at him, nearly knocking him over.
Shikaku, clearly caught off guard, instinctively wrapped his arms around her.
"You’re alive…" Yoshino whispered. "You’re alive… Thank the gods. Thank you! Thank you for being alive! I was so scared… Shikaku, my love, my dear…"
"I’m alright," Shikaku rumbled, resting his forehead against her shoulder.
They stood there, embracing each other, soaking in the warmth of survival.
I stepped closer, and a heavy arm pulled me into their embrace.
"I’m glad you’re safe too," Shikaku exhaled. "I was afraid I’d come home to find you among the dead. And… I have bad news. The Fourth Hokage is dead. Kushina Uzumaki died with him."
The words hit like a thunderclap.
"Oh no," Yoshino muttered. "Poor Minato and Kushina… May they find their way to the Light World…"
But I… I warned him.
"Why… Why didn’t the Fourth listen to me…" I mumbled. "He said he’d do everything he could to protect Konoha from the Nine-Tails! Why…?"
Is this what everything possible looks like?
Kushina, so full of energy and life. Minato, calm and composed… And now they were both just gone. Just like that. They died. And the Fourth—he wasn’t weak, not by any stretch. He was the Hokage. And even knowing what was coming… he still couldn’t stop it.
Shikaku sighed and ran a hand over my head.
"No one could have predicted this. Every precaution was taken. This isn’t your fault, Shikami."
No, it was my fault. I should have pushed Minato harder… But I trusted the adults. And what now?
Then again, what could I have done? I don’t even know exactly how the Nine-Tails was freed… Something must have gone wrong…
"But Minato only just became Hokage," Yoshino murmured. "Who’s going to take over now?"
"Most likely, the Third will reclaim the position," Shikaku said, sitting down beside me and pulling me into a side embrace. "What a night…"
"But if Kushina is dead, then who…?"
He hesitated. "It’s forbidden to talk about it, but everyone already knows who the new jinchūriki is. Just an hour ago, Kushina gave birth to a son."
"That poor child," Yoshino exhaled heavily. "Losing his parents at birth…"
Shikaku let out a weary sigh.
"Konoha suffered great losses tonight," he said. "I’m just glad you weren’t one of them."
Chapter 13: Life Goes On
Chapter Text
The day of mourning, when everyone gathered at the graves to say their final goodbyes, would stay with me forever. Among the fallen were a couple of my classmates who had the misfortune of being too close to the Nine-Tails. I remembered how grief-stricken parents and newly orphaned children stood at the graves, barely holding back tears. I looked at the photograph of the red-haired woman and the smiling Fourth Hokage and thought about how cruel fate could be. They had been expecting a child. And now their son, Naruto, would grow up without them.
Amidst the sorrow, the Uchiha clan stood apart. They had suffered no casualties, and people cast hateful glances in their direction. Many were convinced that the Uchiha had orchestrated the attack—after all, their Sharingan could control the Nine-Tails, just as Uchiha Madara had once done. Even Shikaku didn’t deny that the culprit could have been someone from their clan.
For six more months, the people of Konoha walked around as if drowning in grief. And it was no surprise—the attack had left deep scars. The southern part of the village was nearly obliterated. About a quarter of Konoha’s population had perished. Most of them weren’t children, but many children had lost their parents. One of them was Iruka, whom I often saw at the Academy—wandering the halls like a shadow of himself, lost in his own world.
And then there was Kin Nohara. The usually brooding girl with purple markings on her cheeks had completely abandoned her studies for a while. When she finally returned, she shared that she was now the last of the Nohara line. Her older sister had died in the Third Shinobi War, and it was as if their family had been cursed—one by one, they all vanished. Now, only Kin remained.
But life went on. Slowly, painfully, people began to heal and move forward. Not all of them—the divide between the Uchiha clan and the village deepened even further when the Clan Council decided to relocate them to the outskirts of Konoha. I didn’t think that forcing them out was a particularly good decision (not that anyone asked me), and even Shikaku agreed with me. But it was practically a decree from the elders. Because of this, I started seeing Kuro less often—we mostly met after Academy lessons now.
One thing that never changed was Kuro himself. He remained the same lively boy, always making sure there was never a dull moment. Kasuga, who was almost always with us, often looked more like a ghost—because the moment he had a free second, he would start dozing off. In the end, our little group felt like it consisted of two and a half people—me and Kuro, always chatting about something, and a perpetually sleepy Kasuga, who only woke up when someone shook him hard enough.
Meanwhile, Yoshino was pregnant. I suspected that in about five months, I’d have a baby brother whose name, following the Nara clan tradition, would begin with "Shika." Strangely enough, I was almost certain he’d be named Shikamaru. Even though Mom really wanted to name him “Daiki,” in the end, Dad managed to convince her otherwise.
Little by little, I was getting better at mastering our clan’s jutsu. At the same time, I suddenly discovered that I had a knack for creating illusions. This became my new obsession—learning the basics of genjutsu. It didn’t require much—just a bit of chakra and a little imagination. And I had plenty of both.
The real trouble began when I tried to recreate an illusion from memory. Has anyone ever noticed that when you look at something, thinking you’ve memorized it, and then close your eyes—you can’t recall all the details? It’s like there’s a fog where the missing parts should be. My first—and, naturally, unsuccessful—attempt made me realize just how much concentration even the simplest illusions required.
Deciding to test my genjutsu skills, I didn’t think twice before choosing my victim—the ever-curly-haired Uchiha. Kuro nearly jumped out of his skin when, out of nowhere, a three-meter-tall neon-pink hedgehog appeared right in front of him. And it wasn’t even the color that scared him the most—it was the fact that the hedgehog looked completely two-dimensional, like a bad doodle floating in midair. Although, judging by Kuro’s face, the color alone was enough to traumatize him.
"Shikami, you have no sense of aesthetics," he immediately declared once he realized I was testing out my genjutsu. "Do you even know that a shinobi’s best tools are silence and subtlety? Genjutsu is supposed to be discreet!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," I muttered. "I’m just practicing!"
"You’re practicing wrong," Kuro cut me off. Then, grabbing me by the arm, he dragged me to the nearest training ground and launched into a long, dull lecture about the fundamentals of genjutsu. As if that wasn’t enough, he then demanded that I start practicing correctly—by replacing real objects with simple illusions.
Logically, I understood his argument about subtlety, but the fact that my dazzling, eye-searing hedgehog had been so brutally dismissed left me with a burning urge to prove him wrong. Unfortunately—or perhaps luckily for him—I was too lazy to argue. So I put my masterpiece on hold and focused on what Kuro was teaching me. After all, in the Academy, they wouldn’t even start covering this material until the second-to-last year.
Determined to squeeze every bit of knowledge out of Kuro, I diligently followed his instructions, practicing small, simple illusions every day. Changing the color of leaves, making a pebble look like it wasn’t there, that kind of thing. At first, my illusions were laughably bad—Kuro exposed every single one of them with embarrassing ease. But after two weeks, I improved. I learned how to alter small details so subtly that no one even noticed.
At the same time, I started developing an almost obsessive attention to detail. Soon, I could walk into a classroom, glance around, and immediately recall which classmate wore what sweater and how many pieces of chalk were on the board.
But I hadn’t forgotten about my beloved pink hedgehog. Now that I had improved, I decided to refine my concept. Since I had never actually seen a hedgehog in the Naruto world, and my original attempt was based on a hazy memory, I realized I needed something more realistic. That’s how I settled on slugs.
I spent a long time studying their shape (simple enough), their texture, their movements, and after that, I started practicing illusions of slugs. I began with tiny ones, gradually increasing their size, blending colors, experimenting. And once I felt confident, I decided it was time to test my creation on Kuro.
Oh, the screams that filled the classroom when a swarm of ten-centimeter slugs in neon green, electric yellow, and blinding pink suddenly appeared around Kuro’s desk.
"Nara Shikami!" Kuro howled when he figured out who was responsible. He barely had time to dispel one illusion before I cast another. The shrieking girls running around in panic blocked his escape, leaving him trapped in chaos while I seized the opportunity to bolt back to my class.
Kazuki-sensei walked in right after me, officially starting our lesson. I sank behind the broad back of an Akimichi classmate, secure in the knowledge that my blissful school life was safe… for now.
That evening, after classes, I deliberately stuck close to Kasuga—just in case Kuro decided to exact revenge. Luckily, by then, he had cooled down, though he still gave me a few choice words. I just batted my eyes at him innocently, making it clear that his scolding wasn’t going to ruin my good mood.
"She's mocking my sense of beauty," Kuro complained to a half-asleep Kasuga when he realized his protests weren’t getting through to my blissfully oblivious self. Kasuga nodded in response—probably more out of habit than actual agreement. Kuro, in an exaggerated show of offense, turned on his heel and left without saying goodbye.
That was the start of our rivalry. Every day, I delighted Kuro with my dazzling illusions, and in return, he started setting up the most subtle genjutsu, tweaking tiny details just to mess with me. Oh, how I cursed him when I stepped right into a puddle, thinking the road was clear!
I took my illusion training very seriously. As a result, poor Uchiha ended up suffering through all my past-life creative influences—from two-dimensional Mickey Mouse sketches to Barbie dolls and Winx fairies, all the way to almost three-dimensional versions (though some parts of them were translucent and blurred like a bad hologram). I never lacked in color choices, either—I made sure my illusions were as vibrant as possible. And, of course, they had that special touch of "originality."
In the end, we both admitted that we were right and wrong in our own ways. My eye-burning illusions were great for distractions, while Kuro’s barely noticeable genjutsu worked perfectly for deception. So, we called a truce and started training even harder. Kuro stopped being so strictly against my ideas, and I, in turn, started focusing on improving my visual memory. After all, visual memory was crucial for creating illusions—at the very least, to prevent them from melting into a blurry mess.
Every day, on my way to the Academy, I made it a habit to carefully observe the market stalls, memorizing details, taking a few steps, and then trying to recreate the scene in my mind. At first, it went… terribly. I could barely remember five objects at most. Then, I’d turn around, count what I had forgotten, and try again. Soon enough, my attention to detail improved, and so did my visual memory. Naturally, my illusions got better as well, but that only led to new problems—more complex actions, like movement, turned out to be an absolute disaster. And on top of that, maintaining an illusion required chakra. And, well… I had barely any chakra to work with.
Looks like I’ve got a lot of training ahead of me. And meditation… Maybe, just maybe, meditation can somehow boost my chakra reserves?
Shikamaru was born on September 22nd, when I was already in my second year at the Academy. According to Yoshino, the little guy entered the world with a look that said "Finally," let out a couple of cries, and promptly fell asleep. "And it was immediately clear whose son he is," Yoshino chuckled, glancing at her husband.
Shikaku, by the way, was absolutely over the moon and seemed ready to carry both Yoshino and their newborn son around in his arms. Sometimes, though, he went a bit overboard, and Yoshino had to firmly bring him back down to earth.
The funniest part was that the gap between Shikamaru Nara’s and Ino Yamanaka’s birthdays was exactly three hundred sixty-four days—because Ino had been born a year earlier, on September 23rd. And that was amusing because it was obvious these two would end up on the same team. Just like Choji, who had blessed the small Akimichi clan with his arrival six months ago.
I wasn’t the only one who found the timing funny—Yoshino and Asami often made jokes about it. Honestly, their mothers were already acting like matchmakers. And who cared that their "perfect match" was still a pair of oblivious babies?
I started getting put to work a lot when it came to taking care of my new baby brother. Wash this, clean that, bring me this, change the diapers—these words became more familiar to me than even a simple "Good morning." Not that I complained.
Little Shikamaru was surprisingly quiet for a baby and barely cried at night. And he slept a lot. With his eyes open.
I constantly had the feeling that, despite being a newborn, Shikamaru had already grasped all the hardships of life.
Kasuga started visiting less often—I suspected he was simply trying to avoid getting dragged into family duties by Yoshino. But I didn’t forget about my cousin, and whenever I had a free moment, I’d drop by his place.
We didn’t play shogi as often anymore—neither with him nor with my father. With the arrival of Shika-the-Younger, all other daily concerns seemed to fade into the background. But I didn’t forget about the Academy either.
I even made some friends in class. One of them was Nohara Kin—not the most talking person in the class. Though we had never actually hung out together. Then there was Kaori, a redheaded chatterbox who, as far as I could tell, only had one skill—talking. Within a single fifteen-minute break, she could unload so much information that I felt like diving headfirst into a puddle. There was no way that much could happen in just an hour! Kaori talked about everything that caught her sharp eyes. Her favorite topic? My friend Kuro.
Apparently, we were "a thing."
And for some reason, at the age of seven, girls were already interested in boys. As sad as it sounds, shinobi children grow up way too fast. Normally, this kind of talk starts somewhere between eleven and sixteen—your typical teenage years. But no, first-year Academy girls seemed to think it was their duty to find a boy to sigh over. And this phase lasted all the way until graduation.
For some reason, every girl in my group just knew that Kuro and I were dating. One even asked me if we kissed often. I didn’t bother explaining that Kuro was just my friend and that romance wasn’t something I cared about. Blame the Nara genes—I was too lazy to waste energy on trivial matters like this. So what if they thought we were a couple? Didn’t make a difference to me.
Aside from the endless girl talk, we were finally starting to get introduced to the "art of being a shinobi." We had hand-to-hand combat lessons now—well, sort of. More like a pathetic imitation. They paired us up and had us spar. Occasionally, they demonstrated different stances, strikes, and rolls. I tried my best to copy the instructor’s movements, and apparently, I even got praised for my "form." But in an actual fight? Yeah, no.
All those useful techniques flew right out of my head, leaving me scrambling to do something. The non-clan boys loved to puff out their chests and yell stuff like, "I’m gonna take you down!" The clan kids—especially the Hyuga—were dead silent and just effortlessly destroyed their opponents. There weren’t many clan students in our group. Among the boys, there were only two—Sho Yamanaka and some defective Hyuga who, instead of acting like a typical Hyuga, behaved more like a non-clan brat and won about half the time.
The girls sighed dramatically, complaining that the boys in the other classes were much better.
There was also history, mathematics, and physics. History consisted of speculations about the origins of chakra and its wielders—shinobi—along with dry facts about the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village and a bunch of other not-so-interesting things. I’ll admit, I didn’t pay much attention during the first lesson.
Mathematics, on the other hand, was something I had always enjoyed, and Kazuki-sensei had a way of explaining things that was both engaging and easy to understand. With mild shock, I realized that the shinobi curriculum was very different from what I had studied in my past life. We were diving into science, filling the empty gaps in our heads with knowledge at a ridiculous pace.
That said, I wasn’t worried about math. (I used to solve integrals, and shinobi kids weren’t even close to that level yet).
Physics, though? Physics terrified me. A couple of lessons in, and I could already tell I’d have to actually study. My knowledge of physics boiled down to Newton’s three laws, some basic reflection principles, and a little bit of kinematics and dynamics. But when, by the second lesson, we were already analyzing the trajectory of a thrown kunai at an angle… Oh no.
At some point during the second semester, our class was introduced to chakra training. Since a good number of kids didn’t even know what chakra was, we started with the absolute basics. Don’t ask me how they passed Anko’s test—I have no idea. Maybe pure intuition?
Then came meditation exercises. Nothing new, really.
Meanwhile, Kasuga decided to help me with hand-to-hand combat. Though, if I had to guess, this wasn’t his idea—Shikaku probably asked him to, since my father had been staying late at work more and more often. Thanks to Kasuga, my skills improved a little. He paid a lot more attention to my movements than the instructors at the Academy, correcting me whenever I got something wrong. Of course, that got boring for him pretty quickly, and he dragged Kuro into it. Kuro, as full of energy as ever, became my regular sparring partner.
To be honest, Kuro was strong. Or talented. Or maybe just experienced. His fighting style was slightly different from what was taught at the Academy, and some of his moves were so fast that I couldn’t even see them—only to find myself flat on the ground a second later. Kuro, the little bastard, would grin, offer me a hand, and we’d start all over again.
Before long, I started keeping up with him. At least, I could last longer than five seconds before losing. That’s when I started getting more creative—I brought my illusions into the fight. Of course, the moment Kuro realized the rules had changed, he started doing the same.
Then, as I improved further—no longer losing within half a minute—I started having enough time to think. A couple of times, I even attempted to move my shadow. Kasuga caught on to what I was trying to do, and the next day, Shikaku took me back to the Nara Forest. After watching me work with my shadow, he gave a satisfied nod—by now, I could stretch my shadow up to three meters. That’s when Shikaku showed me Shadow Imitation Jutsu. The technique involved extending my shadow to connect with my opponent’s, allowing me to control their movements. The demonstration was… memorable. On me. That eerie paralysis—I doubt I’ll ever forget the sensation. That horrifying realization that my body was moving on its own. And at the same time, a powerful desire surged within me—I wanted to master this technique.
I think I have a concerning amount of enthusiasm for a Nara. Is this normal?
Chapter 14: The Annoying Admirer and Itachi
Chapter Text
I was absolutely right about myself. I was starting to understand why I wasn’t as lazy as a true Nara was supposed to be. Turns out, I didn’t take after my father completely.
Long story short, because my chakra wasn’t as heavily concentrated with Yin particles, mastering shadow techniques wasn’t coming to me as easily as it should have.
To be honest, it took me three whole years to reach a barely acceptable level of proficiency with Shadow Imitation. Three! Even illusions weren’t this hard for me to grasp, yet the signature Nara technique stubbornly refused to yield.
By now, I was in my fifth year at the Shinobi Academy. What can I say? This year, both Kasuga and Kuro graduated and, strangely enough, ended up on the same team. Their sensei was… well, suspicious, to put it mildly. Dressed completely in black, with black sunglasses, he spoke with an over-the-top dramatic accent that annoyed me to no end. Kuro and Kasuga didn’t show any particular reaction, though I suspected they weren’t exactly thrilled about him either. But a sensei was a sensei… The third member of their team was a girl named Kora. I had only seen her a few times and didn’t know much about her. Kasuga said she was competent but not very strong.
Meanwhile, at the Academy, dark times had begun for me. It all started on that fateful Thursday when a new student joined our class. Well, technically, he wasn’t new—he had been studying in the year below us, but thanks to his exceptional abilities, he was bumped up a grade, meaning he was now with us.
His name was Nazaki Ibura.
And the first thing this guy blurted out as soon as Kazuki-sensei introduced him was:
"I'm going to be Hokage!"
That bold declaration caught everyone’s attention. If anyone had been dozing off (like me), they were now wide awake, and sixteen pairs of fifth-year eyes locked onto the arrogant newcomer.
Nazaki was a tall, red-haired guy with green eyes. Nothing particularly special… if you didn’t count his pretty-boy face. I glanced at him, thought, Great, another reckless loudmouth, and went right back to resting my head on my arms. It was way too early in the morning for this nonsense.
A few lessons later, the girls in our class finally found someone to swoon over and confess their undying love to. That someone turned out to be Nazaki—right after he destroyed the best hand-to-hand fighter in our group, a Hyuga.
Did I mention we had a defective Hyuga? After five years, he finally managed to learn his clan’s fighting style, but even then, he wasn’t all that impressive. Nazaki knocked him out with three hits, puffed out his chest in pure self-satisfaction, and spent the rest of the day strutting around with his nose so high up, I was afraid he’d trip over his own feet.
The next day, two of our classmates confessed to him. He politely turned them down, but somehow, his ego inflated even further (though, seriously, I didn’t think that was physically possible).
Two weeks into ignoring Nazaki’s overinflated self-esteem, I unfortunately ended up sparring with him. It happened like this—after winning his "intense" fights against Yamanaka and Akimichi, Nazaki, now completely full of himself, demanded stronger opponents.
Kazuki-sensei sighed and asked if anyone wanted to take him on. I looked at the smug, glowing Nazaki, raised my hand, and immediately regretted it.
Why? Why did I do that? I could’ve just stayed in my seat and peacefully napped in the sun, but no—I let myself get swept up by the urge to knock Nazaki down a peg.
"I want," I said, standing up.
Nazaki gave me a scornful look and scoffed:
"Sensei, I don’t want to fight girls. They’re weak."
"You’re just afraid a girl might be stronger than you," I smiled sweetly.
"Me? Afraid? Shi-whatever-your-name-is, I’ll show you how I am afraid!" Nazaki flared up instantly.
"Friendship sign!" Kazuki-sensei interjected before things could escalate further.
Nazaki immediately lunged at me. His movements were sharp and practiced—I could tell he had some skill. Still, all I could think was that Kuro would take this guy down in two seconds flat.
I sighed internally and casually tripped him. Nazaki, completely unaware of my cheap trick, stumbled and face-planted into the grass. I smoothly pinned him down, locking his arms so he couldn’t break free.
"Winner—Nara Shikami."
The entire class stood there in stunned silence, mouths open.
Well, I guess I understood why. My sparring matches always ended in losses—either because I outright refused to fight or because I intentionally threw matches every other time. Everyone had assumed I was just an average weakling.
Meanwhile, Nazaki, who had already won against a third of our class and had earned the admiration of the entire female population, was automatically considered the strongest. So the fact that he got his ass handed to him by a "weak girl" was something no one could quite process.
The awkward silence was finally broken by Kaori’s delighted squeal as she launched herself at me, hugging me while showering me with congratulations.
And the next day… my nightmare began.
"Shikami Nara, I love you!"
That was how Nazaki Ibura greeted me the moment I stepped into the classroom.
"Marry me!"
In his hands, this lunatic held an enormous bouquet of freshly picked flowers.
And the next day, and the day after that, and even a month later, his enthusiasm never wavered. He continued confessing his undying love, developed a habit of composing romantic poems, and kept bringing me flowers picked from the Academy gates.
This slowly started driving me insane, and with renewed enthusiasm, I focused on perfecting my eye-searing illusions. Then, one day, I had a brilliant thought—why not move on to the next stage of illusions? Manipulating chakra to directly affect an opponent’s brain?
The idea thrilled me. I could trap Nazaki in genjutsu and make him forget his ridiculous crush forever…
When I told Kuro and Kasuga about my persistent admirer, I got some very interesting reactions. Kasuga simply didn’t wake up. Meanwhile, Kuro, with an infuriatingly smug grin, said that I could finally brag about having an admirer.
But, of course, I still had nothing on his level of greatness, since he had a solid fan club of twenty girls.
So yeah—no support whatsoever.
Huffing, I shared my brilliant genjutsu idea with Kuro, and instantly, he sobred up. He told me that I’d definitely need guidance, and that either he or his older brother would help me out. Genjutsu, after all, was a whole different beast—it required precise chakra manipulation inside an opponent’s mind.
Illusions? Child’s play compared to that.
And so, I began learning genjutsu.
On my way home from training one day, I ran into Itachi. At first, I almost didn’t recognize him—over the past five years, he had grown considerably and was now my height. Given that I was one of the shortest kids in my class, it wasn’t too surprising that a boy two years younger than me had caught up.
I quickly did the math in my head—he must be eight years old now.
"Hey, Itachi," I greeted him.
"Hello," he nodded emotionlessly. Did he recognize me? I looked into his dark eyes—just like Kuro’s—but, as always, they were unreadable.
Glancing around, I noticed a dango stall nearby. How convenient.
I bought a skewer and handed it to him. "Here, itadakimasu!"
My cunning plan worked. Itachi accepted the dango with a look of quiet admiration and started eating, clearly enjoying the free treat. Watching him contentedly nibble, I grabbed a skewer for myself, and together, we stood there in silence, quietly observing the bustling street.
My gaze drifted to the ninja headband on his forehead. It was no secret that two years ago, he had graduated from the Academy, skipping six years of study entirely. You would have to be deaf not to have heard the whispers about the prodigy of the Uchiha clan. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had a chance to run into him before—only glimpses here and there, plus a ton of rumors.
"How’s Mikoto-san?" I asked out of politeness.
"She’s doing well, thank you," he answered with the same neutral tone, and silence settled between us again.
What were we even supposed to talk about?
"Nice weather today, huh?"
"Yes."
"So—"
"Shikami-chaaaan!" came the voice I least wanted to hear.
"Oh no," I barely had time to sigh before Nazaki materialized in front of me.
Itachi regarded the newcomer with passive disinterest.
"Shikami-chan!" Nazaki beamed and lunged at me for a hug. I, obviously, dodged.
"Amazing! My Shikami is so cool! She even dodged my embrace!" Nazaki cheered. "How did I not know you’d be here?! I would’ve brought flowers! Oh, you like dango?"
I decided to stay very quiet.
"I’ll have some dango too!" Nazaki chirped at the vendor. I nearly choked and hurriedly finished mine. A quick glance at Itachi confirmed he was doing the same.
"Itadakimasu!!!"
Why. Why was Nazaki here? I just want to eat dango in peace! Why does fate insist on torturing me like this? Someone, please save me from this lunatic admirer!
"Nazaki-kun," I struggled to keep my actual thoughts to myself. "Itachi-kun and I just finished eating, so, sorry, but we should probably get going…"
"I’ll go with you!!!" he declared. "Itachi-kun, nice to meet you! I’m Nazaki Ibura!!!"
Nooooo. No, no, no, please, no…
"Wait a second, are you two dating?" Nazaki narrowed his green eyes at us. "Itachi-kun, you should know—Shikami-chan is my future wife, so—"
I felt rage rising from the depths of my soul. Stay calm, Shikami, breathe. Just breathe…
"Nazaki-kun, I believe I’ve already told you that I have absolutely no intention of becoming your wife, moreover—"
"Wait, hold on! You’re that Itachi Uchiha?!" Nazaki suddenly gasped, completely ignoring me. "The genius who graduated the Academy in just one year?! What’s your relationship with my Shikami?!"
"We’re friends," Itachi answered calmly, placing his now-empty dango skewer neatly beside him.
"Shikami-chan, is that true?"
Stay calm, stay calm. Shinobi must control their emotions. Look at Itachi—cool as a glacier, not even blinking.
"Nazaki-kun, why exactly do you care about my life?" I asked.
"Shikami-chan…" Nazaki looked momentarily confused.
"Allow me to ask you—stop meddling in my—" I emphasized this word— "relationships with other people. I’ve told you multiple times to stop talking nonsense—"
"But I love you, Shikami-chan!!!" Nazaki dramatically interrupted. "Want me to prove it?!"
Before I could say a very firm “No,” this idiot grabbed both of my hands and puckered his lips, leaning toward me.
Oh, hell no!!! Can someone please explain to me why shinobi romance happens at this age?!
I barely registered how fast my body reacted—anger, training, instinct—all of it clicked into place. The shadow at my feet snaked forward, connecting to Nazaki’s before I could even think.
A crushing sensation settled in my chest—my chakra spread evenly through the technique. My control over Shadow Imitation was still imperfect, so the paralysis hit both of us. We were frozen in place.
From an outsider’s perspective, the scene must’ve looked ridiculous—our faces were barely five centimeters apart.
Fear flickered in Nazaki’s eyes. No one had ever used Nara techniques on him before. Well, maybe you should’ve thought about that before pulling this stunt!
I felt my strength waning. Damn it, this technique still drained way too much chakra. Worse, if I collapsed, this lunatic would be left perfectly fine—which meant I’d be defenseless against more of his unwanted romantic advances.
"Listen carefully, Nazaki," I managed to say, forcing my mouth to move. "If you ever try that again, I will make you kiss a wall. Got it?"
With the last of my chakra, I forced his body to step aside. The moment understanding flickered in his eyes, I cut off the technique, withdrawing my shadow.
"Shikami-chan…" Nazaki whispered, still shell-shocked by what had just happened. "I’m sorry."
He turned and bolted. I just stood there, watching him go.
…Maybe I overdid it?
Ugh. Why is my head spinning…?
I clutched the stall for support, trying to focus. Black spots danced in my vision. A heavy darkness pressed in on the edges, making it very clear that I was about to pass out. Looks like I really overdid it with that technique…
I blacked out for just a couple of seconds, but it was enough—I started tilting forward.
Luckily, someone caught me.
"Thank you…" I murmured as awareness slowly returned.
"Shikami-san," Itachi looked at me. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah…" I forced a smile. "I’m fine."
Itachi didn’t believe me. He didn’t say anything, but he also didn’t leave. Instead, he wordlessly walked me home.
…I still can’t believe this little kid was worried about me.
Is this really the same Itachi Uchiha that Sasuke hated in the anime?
Chapter 15: Shikamaru. Naruto
Chapter Text
After the dango incident, Nazaki Ibura finally calmed down. He stopped greeting me with enthusiastic shouts and bouquets of flowers. I finally breathed a sigh of relief… but for some reason, the sudden silence now felt almost… boring.
The end of my fifth year at the Academy was approaching, marking the beginning of my final year—sixth. I hardly saw Kuro or Kasuga anymore since they were constantly busy with missions. Oh, how I laughed when I found out what kind of work they were doing! Catching lost cats, pulling weeds, taking out the trash… Just grunt work—so much for their glorious D-rank missions. But after I finished laughing, I had to accept that the same fate awaited me in a year when I became a genin.
To be honest, I could probably pass the graduation exam right now. I had already mastered illusion clones, the substitution technique, and the transformation technique at a decent level. Thanks to all my training in memory and attention to detail, my illusions had become nearly undetectable. I had only reached a basic level in genjutsu, and I was still training my Shadow Imitation Technique—because collapsing from chakra exhaustion after using it, like what happened with Itachi, was just not acceptable.
Speaking of Itachi Uchiha, I hadn’t seen him again. Well, maybe once or twice in passing. And even then, he was usually with his little brother—Sasuke.
In the evenings, I stayed home and played shogi with my younger brother, Shikamaru. The little guy was already four—soon to be five. And yet, it felt like just yesterday he was born. But looking at him now, it was obvious—even without using my clan’s intellect—that this kid was already done with the world.
Yoshino constantly complained that apart from her and me, our family consisted of two lazy bums. I usually pointed out that I was lazy too, but she would just scoff and give a meaningful glance toward Shikamaru—who, I swear, spent twenty-four hours a day just staring at the sky. Or the ceiling. Depending on where he was at the time.
Shikaku, on the other hand, thrilled by his son's impressive shogi skills, was practically jumping for joy. Practically, because, being the laziest man alive, the most he was capable of was blinking. Maybe just a bit more intensely than usual. Okay, sometimes, that intense blinking was accompanied by a tiny smile.
As for me, Shikamaru treated his older sister with nothing but silence. Probably because I had never really spent much time with him. Until he was two and a half, he would just sit there, staring at me with huge, black bead-like eyes. He almost never cried. And he slept a lot. The perfect little brother.
He didn’t speak for a long time. (Or maybe he just didn’t want to.) But when he finally did, it was a full sentence.
"Today was a hard day, and I’m tired," my little brother declared. And he had just woken up from a nap.
And from that moment on, the floodgates opened.
"Yoshino, I’m hungry."
"Watch the baby."
"Wake up, kiddo."
Since everything he said was just a repetition of things he heard every single day, his words only made us grin. Like the time he spent an eternity staring at his reflection in the mirror before solemnly stating:
"I’m Mommy’s little princess."
I laughed for hours. Where did he even hear that?!
Within a month, his speech became more structured.
Shikamaru learned things at the speed of an airborne insect. But just as quickly, he got bored and would flop down for another nap.
And then… he met Ino.
Ino Yamanaka, one year older than him, was an unstoppable ball of energy with no idea what to do with it. That evening alone, she made Shikamaru play princess, honorable samurai, and even "grow out his hair."
I’m not joking.
The moment Ino saw his short hairstyle, she seriously told him, in her best mentor-like voice, that real princesses need long hair. So naturally, they came up with the most primitive yet effective method to make it grow: Shikamaru held his own head, while Ino held his hair. And they pulled in opposite directions.
Surprisingly, his hair did not grow longer. Ino got bored and immediately suggested they play samurai instead. Thankfully, I came home just in time to stop the next game—"let’s grow you a mustache, like a true samurai."
After that traumatizing experience, Shikamaru reached a firm conclusion: "Girls are the embodiment of pure evil". From that day on, he actively avoided Ino Yamanaka—by the widest possible margin. Which, in his case, meant never leaving the house.
Yoshino didn't like it. One day, she finally had enough.
"This boy needs to be socialized, or he’s just going to sleep his life away!"
(Or waste it all on shogi.)
And with that, Yoshino physically shoved him out the door—straight into the arms of his soon-to-be best friend, Chōji. Chōji, always the cheerful one, gave an eager nod, grabbed his new best friend, and dragged him off to the nearest shop for chips.
And so began a legendary friendship.
Every single day, Chōji showed up for Shikamaru. Yoshino would promptly kick him out the door, and the two boys would head off on their daily adventures.
As I trained in genjutsu, I started small—mostly on bugs and insects. I had firmly decided not to experiment on Shikamaru, and especially not on Yoshino. Shikaku might have let me try, but as usual, he was always busy at the Hokage Residence.
Kuro was off on a mission, as was Kasuga. Basically, I really wanted to test my progress on someone, and—of course—there was no one around.
Genjutsu wasn’t like regular illusions. They were similar in concept, but much more advanced. Illusions were just chakra constructs—a simple mass of energy shaped into whatever form the user desired. A classic example was illusory clones, but those were easily identified—with Sharingan, Byakugan, or just sharp intuition. Genjutsu, though, was far more subtle. It worked by manipulating the target’s chakra flow within their central nervous system.
To perform genjutsu properly, perfect chakra control was necessary. That, at least, was not an issue for me. Why? Because I barely had any chakra to begin with. And the less you have, the easier it is to control. Ten small illusions would leave me completely drained. Or a single use of Shadow Imitation Technique—same result. Was that a lot? Not at all. Kuro, for example, had far more chakra than I did.
So yeah… frustration, disappointment, and sadness. But I needed to channel my enthusiasm somewhere, so I decided to take a walk through Konoha. Naturally, I stopped by the fruit store on my way—Yoshino was planning to make soup. Of course, I quickly forgot about the store and just kept walking… And then I saw something strange.
I was passing by a playground when I heard a child's voice call out:
"Hey, guys! Let me play too!"
I turned to look. A boy in an orange t-shirt was running toward a group of kids. And then… something bizarre happened. Out of nowhere, a flock of mother-hawks swooped in, grabbed their children, and rushed them home. Within seconds, the playground was empty. The boy in the orange t-shirt was left standing there—alone.
I looked at him more closely.
Messy blond hair. Three whisker-like markings on his cheeks.
Frowning in frustration, the boy kicked at a pebble on the ground. Then, as if he’d just thought of something, he began running across the field—occasionally stopping to jab his stick into random spots.
Ant hills. He was stomping on anthills.
Suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind.
A pale face, terrified white eyes filled with Byakugan veins. A girl—pushing me away just moments before a massive paw crushed her into the ground, erasing her existence in the blink of an eye. One moment, she was there. The next—she was gone.
I wondered… To Kyuubi, were we all just like these ants?
Did the Nine-Tails enjoy it? The way he crushed helpless little girls, turning them into nothing but dust?
Naruto Uzumaki. As I stared at him, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the monster inside him. The very creature that took my friend’s life and slaughtered countless others that fateful night. And watching him destroy those ant colonies filled me with an unexpected anger.
Was it fun for him too? Destroying lives, just because he could?
I snatched the stick from Naruto’s hands and threw it aside.
"Why did you it, dattebayo?!" he asked, looking at me with hurt and confusion.
"Because life isn’t a game, kid," I said. "Even the smallest creatures have value."
I wondered… Could Kyuubi hear me?
I searched Naruto’s bright blue eyes, looking for vertical pupils—for some trace of the monster within.
But there was nothing.
Just his sharp, defiant gaze, staring back at me.
"Why does everyone look at me like that?!" Naruto suddenly shouted. "What did I do? What’s so wrong with me?! I won’t crush the ants anymore, I swear! But just stop looking at me like I’m some kind of monster!"
And then—he ran.
Leaving me standing alone… in front of a scattered pile of earth, where hundreds of tiny black dots scurried around in chaos.
Chapter 16: Team Three
Notes:
Sorry for the long wait, I had a lot of work these couple of weeks //
Chapter Text
From the day I accidentally met Naruto, I never saw him again. Maybe it was because of the heavy workload at the Academy, or maybe we just lived in different parts of Konoha. Either way, the boy in the orange jacket never crossed my path again.
I barely remember the graduation exam from the Academy. Some final grades, the Substitution Jutsu, and the Transformation Jutsu. The next day, we were all given headbands, signifying that we had officially become shinobi—genin.
I was curious about which team I’d end up in. It would have been very logical if I had been placed in the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. In fact, I was almost certain of it—until I learned that Yamanaka Sho, the only Yamanaka in our class, had declined his future as a shinobi. Honestly, no one expected that. Sho was good at many things and even mastered the Mind Body Switch Technique. Why did he refuse? Who knows. But Kaori, the biggest gossip in our class, claimed that he followed in his mother’s footsteps and went into business. Rumor had it that a terrible scandal broke out within the Yamanaka clan, but Sho never returned to shinobi life. In any case, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio would have to wait for better times.
From what I could tell, teams were formed to balance everyone out. For example, I was sure that the weakest of us—our very own Hyuuga Ki—would be placed with someone strong, like Nazaki. As for me... My results were average, so it was hard to predict who I’d be paired with.
Then, the day came. Kazuki-sensei read the team assignments aloud.
“Team Three. Ki Hyuuga, Nazaki Ibura…”
Just as I thought—those two were together.
“… and Shikami Nara.”
What?
“Yes! I’m in a team with Shikami-chan! Behold the power of our love!” Nazaki cheered.
Oh no. Not this. Please, someone tell me I misheard that.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t misheard. I was really on a team with them. Worse still, the mere mention of us being on the same team seemed to shatter the last remnants of Nazaki’s self-control. He hadn’t bothered me much this past year, so I had hoped his so-called undying love for me had faded. Apparently not.
My friends, Kaori and Kin, had much better luck. Not only were they placed on the same team, but Akimichi Tora was with them too. The three of them got along well, so their team would probably be well-coordinated.
“Your jonin instructors will arrive after this session. In the meantime—”
“Kazuki-sensei!” Nazaki suddenly raised his hand. “Why do I have to be on a team with this idiot?”
He pointed at Ki, who was sitting a desk below him.
“What did you just say?” Ki snapped. “I should be the one asking that question!”
A fight nearly broke out, but Kazuki-sensei ruffled his hair—a sign that he was fed up—and drawled lazily,
“You were grouped based on your evaluations. The top student in the class, Nazaki Ibura, and the worst student, Ki Hyuuga. And with above-average scores, Shikami Nara was added to balance things out.”
“Sensei,” I spoke up. “I checked the grading charts. Akimichi Tora or Kin Nohara could have fit my spot just as well. Why me?”
Kazuki-sensei looked at me. “Your strategy exam score played a significant role. Compared to your perfect score, Nazaki got zero, and Ki managed only thirteen percent. The other genin had an average of forty percent.”
“Got it,” I muttered. No more questions.
I should have bombed that test. But who would have guessed that our so-called top student would score a zero? How did he even manage to stay at the top with that result?
I wasn’t sure whether to blame myself or him.
Too bad team assignments were set in stone. At least until we became chunin… So, that meant I had to pass the chunin exam, no matter what! Ugh, nothing to do but accept my fate for now.
“Well, glad to see you all graduate,” Kazuki-sensei said in farewell. “Now I won’t have to see you again.”
“We feel the same way, sensei!” we all responded in unison.
Despite the sarcasm, parting with Kazuki-sensei felt a little bittersweet. He left, and the entire class immediately started loudly criticizing their team assignments. About fifteen minutes later, a woman with violet hair tied in a bun entered the room. I hadn’t even noticed her arrive. One moment, the room was buzzing with chatter, and the next, her calm voice cut through the noise:
“Team Three, outside.”
Team Three—that was me, Ki, and Nazaki. We got up and followed her into the nearest empty classroom.
“So,” the woman perched on the edge of a desk, “my name is Naori Uchiha. I’ll be your team’s jonin instructor. Any questions?”
We were silent, staring at her. Not only was she an Uchiha with violet hair, but her eyes…
“Great. I want to see what you’re capable of, so…” She paused in thought for a moment. “Meet me at Training Ground Nine in five minutes.”
Then, she vanished.
“A clone,” I realized instantly.
“Now that’s a woman!” Nazaki said in admiration. “Hey, Shikami-chan, did you see her eye? Why was it white?”
“Because it’s blind, idiot,” Ki answered for me. “The real question is, why is only one of them blind?”
“Come on, or we’ll be late,” I said with a shrug.
“Four minutes and thirty-one seconds,” Naori-sensei announced. “You made it within the time limit.”
“Of course! I’m the best!” Nazaki declared the moment he caught his breath.
Ki looked like he wanted to say something. I just ignored Nazaki, as always.
“I’m curious about the team the Third Hokage assigned to me, so here’s what we’ll do,” Naori continued. “You have exactly one hour. Within that time, you need to land a hit on me.”
“What do you mean?” Hyuuga asked, confused.
“You have to strike me. If even one of you manages to land a hit, the test is over.”
That was a strange condition…
“Just once? Easy!” Nazaki scoffed.
“She’s a jonin, you idiot,” Ki suddenly interjected.
“You may use anything. Byakugan, Shadow Imitation, shuriken—whatever you want,” Naori said, giving us a deep look. “Are you ready?”
“Yes!” Nazaki answered for all of us.
“In that case, your time starts now.”
For a second, we stood frozen. Then Ki and Nazaki charged at her simultaneously. I remained still, waiting for the catch. And there was one. Just before Nazaki reached her, I saw her seeing eye flash crimson.
Sharingan.
Naturally, she dodged every attempt to hit her. More than that, she sent the boys flying into the bushes before calmly crossing her arms and looking at me.
I needed a plan.
Alright, start simple. Shuriken first. She dodged them all easily. Close combat?
“Aaaaaah!” Ki yelled as he rushed forward. A smoke bomb? Perfect. I quickly created an illusion and hid behind Hyuuga. A slap. Ki was sent flying—straight into the approaching Nazaki.
Bam! Boom! Crash!
“Idiot, where do you think you’re going?!”
“Get off me, you midget!”
“You pompous—”
“Wiiinx, Enchaaantix!” A sugary, girlish voice interrupted their brewing fight. Naori’s eyes widened in shock, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. The boys instantly shut up and turned to look.
Before them stood a half-naked, awkward-looking girl with comically large eyes, spinning in place, showering the area with glitter as she somehow changed into a stripper-like fairy costume. At least, that’s how Kuro once described the fairy transformation. The best part of the illusion was the music, seemingly coming from everywhere.
“O-ooooh, Enchaaantiiiix! Magical powder! Maximum powers! Oooh, Enchaaantiiiix! Incredible power Winx!”
Did I just hear someone’s jaw drop?
“What the—” The boys made some incoherent noises before breaking into a string of colorful curses.
To her credit, while Naori was surprised by my illusion, she didn’t let down her guard. She effortlessly dodged my strike. Worse, she dispelled the illusion and leapt back a meter. She also noticed my Shadow Imitation creeping toward her and easily avoided it by shifting further away. Damn, my range was only seven meters.
I retracted my shadow. That cost me half of my chakra reserves.
“Shikami Nara, what the hell was that?!” Ki and Nazaki yelled almost in sync.
I turned to them.
“My special secret technique: Winx Jutsu. It is cool, right?”
Half an hour later, we were nearly exhausted. In all that time, we hadn’t landed a single hit on Naori. Meanwhile, she didn’t even seem winded.
“Sensei, using the Sharingan is unfair!” Nazaki complained. “And you’re a jonin!”
“Giving up?” she asked with a soft smile. “I haven’t even attacked. All you have to do is touch me…”
To be precise, we had no chance of touching her individually. The only logical conclusion was to work together. Even then, I wasn’t sure it would work. But as they say, it was worth a shot.
“Nazaki,” I called.
“Shikami-chan?”
I gestured for him to come over, grabbed Hyuuga by the wrist, and ducked into the nearest bush. Sharingan could read lips, so we needed to be out of sight.
“We need a plan,” I whispered once I was sure we were hidden from Naori. “Otherwise, we’ll never even touch her.”
“I’m in,” Nazaki agreed immediately. “As long as Hyuuga doesn’t get in the way.”
“Enough,” I stopped Ki before he could start another fight. “I have a few ideas…”
I quietly explained our strategy. To my relief, both of them agreed.
“Let’s go!” I commanded, and we burst from the bushes. Naori Uchiha still stood exactly where she had been, unmoved. Nazaki charged in first. This time, he was more tactical, keeping a few tricks up his sleeve.
“Mud Wave Technique!”
That forced Naori to stay on guard. After all, she had said we could use anything—including mud, right? Behind her, Hyuuga blocked her escape with his clan’s Gentle Fist.
And finally—
Shadow Imitation Technique.
My shadow darted toward her like a swallow. But it wasn’t that easy. Naori used the Body Replacement Jutsu, switching places with a log. Just as I expected. Yeah, it had been naïve to hope our cheap trick would work.
She evaded my wider illusion as well, dispelling it quickly. Shuriken. Nazaki again. Byakugan.
I had one last trick up my sleeve. My final move—because I was at my limit. But hoping it would work… Against a Uchiha jonin? Not much of a chance.
Naori’s gaze. Chakra flow. Got it! Naori froze, and I sprinted toward her. But just a few steps away, the ground beneath me cracked open.
Fire!
Where did this fire come from? No one on our team could use Fire Release! Why was everything burning?
Wait, where was everyone?
“…ami-chan!” I came to as someone lightly smacked my cheek. “What…?”
“Why did you freeze up?” Nazaki frowned. He was right beside me. Ki and Naori were nearby—no fire, no darkness.
My genjutsu had not only failed, but Naori had used my own trick against me.
Meanwhile, Hyuuga continued pressing the attack. Naori still dodged effortlessly. Then, suddenly, she stopped and announced:
“Stop. Time’s up.”
Chapter 17: Tedious weekdays
Chapter Text
“So, what I just witnessed...” Naori said, her voice calm but sharp. “Your training is appalling.”
Well, that hit hard. And it only got worse from there — full-on debrief time.
“Let’s start with you — top of the class and a terrible strategist — Nazaki Ibura. You’ve been charging in without a plan this whole time, making yourself an easy target the moment you face a real mission. Sure, you’ve got a decent grasp of basic ninjutsu, nothing to scoff at. But are you really counting on brute strength alone? Not a single interesting jutsu besides those muddy tricks of yours. Earth and Water release, am I right? You’d better start working on diversifying your attacks. Let me repeat — you’ve got nothing but wind blowing through that head of yours, rushing in without a single idea, like a bull in a china shop.”
Oof. That was brutal. Poor Nazaki was looking anywhere but at Naori, wishing he could just disappear. But to be fair, she wasn’t exaggerating — she was dead right.
“Next. Ki Hyuuga. Your taijutsu’s solid, but we both know that’s not nearly enough for someone from your clan. Throughout the whole fight, I didn’t see a single ninjutsu apart from your Byakugan. Sure, those pretty eyes are nice to look at, but that’s about all they’re good for.”
This time it was Ki’s turn to squirm. Though, honestly, anyone could’ve seen that coming from the start.
“Shikami Nara.” Naori shifted her gaze to me. “You managed to impress me a little more than your teammates. Bonus points for using illusions — still weak, but good enough for a distraction. Your taijutsu is decent for a genin. Not much brainpower, but at least you tried to come up with a plan. On the downside, your genjutsu is pathetic — in a real battle, you’d be knocked out and dead before you knew it.”
Well… I guess my results were slightly better than Ki’s or Nazaki’s. Something to be proud of? Hardly. I’ve got a long way to go.
“As for your teamwork — pretty much non-existent. Most of the time, you just got in each other’s way. Only toward the end did I see anything that resembled cooperation.”
No arguing with that. Ki kept messing up Nazaki, and Nazaki did the same to him. And I, caught in the chaos, could barely join the fight properly. Sure, I’m supposed to be a mid-range fighter, but still...
“Tomorrow, 9 a.m. sharp, at the Hokage’s office. Don’t be late!” Naori threw in one last remark before vanishing into a puff of smoke.
“It was just a clone?!” Ki and Nazaki cried out in unison.
I sighed. Yeah, seems like our sensei never even expected us to lay a finger on her.
“Hey, Shikami-chan, how about we go on a date today?” Nazaki called after me.
“No.”
“Aw, come on, Shikami-chan, we only went once! We should totally go again!”
“You two went on a date?” Ki asked, eyes wide — reading my mind, honestly.
“Yep!” Nazaki nodded proudly. “She even showed me her shadow technique! But we never got to eat dango... Maybe we can fix that? We need to go on as many dates as possible, so we’ll have good memories for our wedding day.”
Stay calm… deep breaths…
“See you all tomorrow,” I said flatly, then used a shunshin to head straight home.
And so began… the daily grind. The painstaking, monotonous routine of a genin. We took on D-rank missions — the lowest of the low. Then again, what else could we expect, considering we were just genin ourselves? Want tougher missions? Then become a chunin and grab those C and B-rank assignments. Still not enough? Pass the jounin exam, and you’ll have access to A and even S-rank missions.
Ki and Nazaki started whining on day one, insisting that they were already full-fledged shinobi and deserved C-rank missions instead of digging up potatoes in someone’s garden. Our sensei simply ignored them without a word. That’s how our first week went: with my teammates constantly complaining and Naori Uchiha remaining silent. And me? A proud Nara, supposedly gifted with brains? I spent that week deep in thought. It was obvious we wouldn’t be getting a serious mission for at least a month, so I quietly carried out all the grunt work we were assigned. Digging potatoes, picking up trash, finding lost dogs and cats, playing babysitter… Well, thankfully, the last one didn’t come up — that honor went to a “neighboring” team. Even Ki and Nazaki, who usually grumbled about everything, shut up after realizing that chasing stray animals wasn’t so bad after all. Though, it didn’t last long.
“Hokage-sama! Give us a B-rank mission!” the two of them burst into the Hokage’s office after yet another weeding assignment.
“We’re genin now! We can handle tougher jobs!”
Naori and I said nothing. I kept quiet because I knew there was no stopping them — at least not for me. Naori-sensei remained silent because she knew there was no way we’d get a B-rank. At most, a C-rank, if we were lucky.
The Third Hokage exhaled a ring of smoke from his pipe. He seemed used to hearing complaints like these.
“Fine, I’ll give you something slightly more challenging,” he said. “You’ll be working together with Team 2. The mission is to guard a crew.”
I raised an eyebrow. Team 2? If I remembered correctly, that was made up of some of my former classmates. But… combining two rookie teams? Was that wise? Then again, a C-rank mission wasn’t exactly life-threatening. So maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“And here are your teammates for this mission,” the Hokage added with a sly smile. The door slid open, and four more people entered. Two of them I recognized immediately — and they were definitely not my old classmates.
“Hokage-sama,” they greeted respectfully before turning to us.
“Yo, cuz,” Kasuga greeted me in his usual sleepy tone. His partner, Kuro, was as upbeat as ever. “Hey there, little genin! And Naori-san.” He gave our sensei a polite nod. A girl I didn’t know stood shyly behind them, and next to her was a tall man in black sunglasses — obviously their jounin instructor.
“Team 2, under the command of Ebisu, and Team 3, under the command of Naori — you are assigned to guard the crew,” the Hokage handed us a scroll with the mission details.
“Yes, sir!” we all replied — though not exactly in sync. I quietly noted that by “Team 2” the Hokage didn’t mean a team from our graduating class. It was Kuro and Kasuga’s team. Strange… I always thought giving teams the same numbers was a bad idea precisely because of this kind of confusion. But whatever — not my decision.
“Hope we work well together!” Kuro said, then glanced at me with a smirk. “I’m curious to see you in action, Shikami-chan.”
“Likewise, Kuro...-kun,” I replied.
“That’s not fair!” Nazaki butted in. “Stop chatting like you’re already engaged! I’m the one who’s going to marry Shikami-chan!”
I rolled my eyes. Great, here goes Nazaki with his whole ‘Shikami-chan is mine’ act again. Some of my classmates used to call him romantic… Romantic? Where? Can someone please explain why this guy never listens? I’ve told him a dozen times to quit it. It’s honestly irritating. It’s like I’m some toy he thinks he owns. How do you explain to a stubborn, loudmouthed redhead that I’m a person with free will?
Kuro chuckled, glancing between me and Nazaki.
“Well, well… Looks like you two are quite the couple,” he teased, narrowing his eyes. “Will I be invited to the wedding? I’d make a great best man! Hey, pal, if you need any tips about my protégé, don’t be shy.” He even winked shamelessly at the stunned Nazaki.
Needless to say, that ticked me off. It’s one thing when Nazaki spouts nonsense — I’ve gotten used to it. But when your childhood friend, who knows full well how you feel about this, starts mocking you…
“Za-ku-ro” I hissed, lunging at Kuro, grabbing him by the collar, and dragging him out so as not to start a personal drama in front of the Hokage and everyone else. Kuro laughed, offering no resistance. I gritted my teeth as I hauled him all the way to the rooftop.
“What the hell was that just now?!” I snapped.
“Hey, hey,” Kuro raised his hands playfully. “I was only joking. Calm down, Shikami. Though honestly… you two would make a cute couple. Fire and ice. Classic romance.”
“Have you lost your mind?!” I growled. “Romance? Seriously? I hate your so-called romance! First Nazaki with his dumb jokes, and now you? Some friend you are!” I kicked the wall, channeling chakra into my leg. Cracks spread across the concrete. Kuro’s eyes widened. Not expecting that reaction, huh?
“Calm down, Shikami! Why are you so mad?” He gave me a sheepish smile. “You don’t look too cute when you’re scowling like that. Careful, or your admirer might lose interest…”
“Oh, sure, ten times over!” I snapped back sarcastically, recalling how even after I used Shadow Imitation on Nazaki, he still wouldn’t back off.
“Oho!” Kuro grinned, as if amused by the idea. “Then he’s truly in love if he puts up with you like this! Maybe you really do have a chance together.”
“That’s it — you’re asking for it!” I growled and swung a punch at him. Kuro reacted instantly, leaping back. My fist smashed into the wall, leaving a noticeable dent.
“Hey, Shikami-chan, I’m just kidding!” Kuro tried to calm me down, but I wasn’t having it. I lunged at him again. Realizing words wouldn’t help, he just shut up and went on the defensive.
Kuro was annoyingly good at dodging.
“Shadow Imitation!” I formed the hand seals, and my shadow shot towards his feet. Kuro’s half-smile instantly vanished. His expression turned serious as he bolted. Not so fast!
The one-sided brawl spilled from the rooftop down to the ground and eventually settled on an open training field. Kuro picked the location well — everyone called this place “Suna” since there were no trees or vegetation around, which severely limited my shadow attacks. I noted that more on instinct than consciously. All I knew was that I needed to let out the rage I had been bottling up after spending a whole week with Nazaki. I’d been tolerating his antics and swallowing my emotions, but it couldn’t go on forever. Kuro had stirred the beast inside me, and I was ready to smash someone — preferably into the wall. Or into the sand of this field.
“Hey, are you two seriously fighting?” I heard that annoying voice again. Nazaki. Of course, he just had to butt in. Growling, I cast a smoke illusion on him and leapt forward, fully intending to hurl the pest into the nearest tree. He quickly realized I wasn’t exactly in a playful mood and shut up, dodging my attacks. He didn’t last long, though. A couple of light genjutsu to hide some rocks sticking out from under the sand, and Nazaki tripped and fell on his own. One well-placed strike knocked the wind out of him, and I turned back to Kuro.
The fight continued. I could tell that Uchiha was deliberately holding back, slipping away from my attacks without retaliating. It annoyed me even more — I wanted him to actually fight back. My mind started working, weaving several strategies on the fly. But I didn’t get the chance to execute any of them. Kuro suddenly used some kind of technique the moment I got too close, and the ground swallowed me up to my neck. My body stiffened instantly, pinned under the earth’s crushing weight. I couldn’t move — I could barely even turn my head!
“Well, Shikami-chan,” Kuro crouched down in front of me with a calm smirk, “why don’t you cool off and reflect on life for a bit?”
“Are you kidding me?” I hissed, struggling to break free. No good. I was practically sealed in — just my head sticking out! And that stupid grin of his! He was doing this on purpose!
“There, there,” Kuro chuckled softly and flicked me on the nose. Furious, I snapped my teeth at him, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t reach. He laughed. “You’re actually pretty cute when you’re not throwing punches. But seriously. Tomorrow’s mission is no joke. You better show up with a clear head.”
I scoffed proudly and turned away.
“Don’t get too lonely, Shikami-chan,” Kuro said playfully, patting me on the head. “Take your time to think things over... You’ve got plenty of it. I hope you manage to get out by tomorrow.” And with that, hands in his pockets, he casually walked away.
“You’re seriously leaving me like this?!” I gasped as the horror of the situation sank in.
“Yup,” he waved and vanished in a shunshin.
Perfect! Just perfect! What now?! I don’t even have an Earth affinity! How am I supposed to get out of here?
I tried turning again, nearly twisting my neck. Damn. Nazaki was still out cold. Hopefully, he’d come around and help me… Oh no. Did I seriously just hope he would save me? Over my dead body! I’d rather stay buried here forever than ask him for help.
I circulated chakra through my body and tried to move. I felt a slight shift this time, but it wasn’t enough. And I was already low on chakra... Great. Just great. What a stupid situation.
And the worst part? Kuro was right. Tomorrow’s mission would require a calm, clear mind. These emotional outbursts would only get me killed. Had I been thinking straight, I would never have fallen for such a cheap trick.
Calm down, Shikami. Anger makes chakra control worse. Breathe. Inhale, exhale... Slowly circulate the chakra and try to move... I have to get out of this coffin.
Just as I was finally starting to calm down, Nazaki came to. He groaned, sat up, and let out a startled yelp when he saw my head sticking out of the ground.
“Kai!” I heard him say — clearly, he thought I was just a genjutsu.
“Uh, Shikami-chan? Is that really you?” the redhead rushed over to me.
“Yes,” I replied flatly.
“Are you okay?”
Oh, yeah. Just peachy. Only buried up to my neck, no big deal.
“Want me to help?” he asked eagerly. Of course I don’t need help! I thought sarcastically. I’ll get out myself! What a silly question! But, naturally, Nazaki didn’t wait for my answer.
“I-I got it!” he said, concentrating, and before I knew it, I felt the weight lift off. I channeled chakra through my body and shot out of the hole like a spring. Freedom!
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“Shikami-chan actually thanked me! This is the best day ever!” Nazaki cheered, then immediately dashed toward me. “I love you! Let’s go on a date!”
Here we go again…
“No. Way.” I deadpanned and decided to just head home before this got any dumber. Time to ignore him and run for it.
“Wait, my darling!” Nazaki chased after me. “What flowers do you like?!”
“Horse cactus! See you at the mission tomorrow!” I shouted back and bolted. Luckily, he didn’t follow. Phew... Saved twice today.
I still needed to prepare for the mission... Mission. I’d need kunai, shuriken, a med kit. Honestly, Kuro was right. Who knows what tomorrow might bring? Stay cool. Be patient and rational. It’s just a guard mission... I seriously doubt anything big will happen — maybe someone will just twist an ankle. But you never know, right? You always have to be ready.
And who would’ve thought something would actually happen?
Chapter 18: A higher-ranked mission
Chapter Text
“Dinner’s ready! Shikami, come eat!”
“Yeah, coming!” I called back, digging under my bed for a lost canteen. It was buried beneath a pile of random stuff — clothes, scissors, and who knows what else. Honestly, how did all this junk even end up there? One of life’s great mysteries — how do lost things always end up where they clearly don’t belong?
“Shikami, get down here this instant!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming…” I grumbled, dashing into the kitchen. “Has anyone seen my shuriken pouch?”
Yoshino, wearing a pink apron, stood with her hands on her hips and gave me a stern look. Without saying a word, she sat back down next to Shikaku. Little Shikamaru glanced up at me from under his brows and asked:
“C-rank mission?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded. “Been searching for half an hour already, even looked under the bed.”
“Check the bathroom,” the kid said dryly. I shot him a “you’ve got to be kidding me” look but headed there anyway. To my horror, the blasted pouch was exactly where he said it would be.
“Thanks! Found it!” I shouted.
“Shikami, dinner’s getting cold!” Yoshino called as she stood up from the table. I stuffed the shuriken pouch into my backpack and hurried back.
“Itadakimasu!”
We ate in heavy silence, the only sound coming from Shikamaru absentmindedly tapping his spoon against the table. After dinner, I wished everyone good night and rushed to my room, hoping to double-check my gear and finally get some sleep. Well, I managed the first part. The second — not so much.
For two hours I tossed and turned, staring at the ceiling. If I’m being honest, I was nervous. Tomorrow would be my very first C-rank mission. I needed to be sharp, focused, and careful.
A guard mission. Strange, though — why assign two teams to it? Kuro’s team is older and more experienced than us. Does that mean there’s more to this mission than meets the eye?
I got up and padded barefoot to grab my portable med-kit. I wasn’t a medical ninja, of course, but I’d better be prepared for anything.
The morning greeted me with a screeching alarm clock and sunbeams shining directly onto my face. I groaned softly, still half-asleep, and got up to get ready.
“Yo!” I heard a familiar voice even before I stepped out the door. “Good morning, Yoshino-san.”
“You’re here for Shikami? Shikami!” my mother called.
“I hear you,” I grumbled, stepping out. “Morning.”
To my surprise, it was Kuro who had come to pick me up — and with him, of course, was Kasuga, who looked like he was asleep on his feet. Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if Kuro had just dragged him along without explaining where they were going, and Kasuga just kept on napping. Technically, it was just me and Kuro, and I felt a little awkward, especially after yesterday’s incident.
Kuro narrowed his black Uchiha eyes.
“How’d you sleep?” he asked, like it was just casual small talk.
“Amazing, thanks,” I replied dryly as we started slowly heading toward the village gates — the meeting point. Our sensei and an unfamiliar girl, probably Kuro and Kasuga’s teammate, were already waiting. Only Ki and Nazaki were missing.
“So where are they?” Kuro asked, surprisingly impatient after five minutes of waiting. No one got a chance to reply — nor were we planning to — because suddenly we heard footsteps pounding toward us. Two genin were racing neck and neck, kicking up dust as they came.
“I got here first!” they shouted in unison, glaring at each other fiercely.
“You’re six minutes late,” Ebisu-sensei remarked coldly. “We’re moving out.”
“What about the crew we’re supposed to guard?” Ki immediately asked.
“They’re waiting at the designated spot,” Kuro replied calmly.
And with that, we set off. The older team — meaning my cousin, Kuro, and the girl — purposefully stayed behind. Just as I suspected, this “joint mission” was only a joint mission on paper. In reality, my cousin’s team was acting from the shadows, probably with a different objective altogether. Maybe they were gathering intel? No one told us, and I didn’t bother asking. Unlike them, our task was simple: guard duty, no hidden agendas.
The “crew” turned out to be a princess — a hime — from the Land of Rice Fields named Iren, along with a massive cart full of supplies. She was a little older than me, but already stuck-up and sharp-tongued. Still, a mission is a mission, so I shoved all my feelings deep inside and we set off shortly after.
“Boring!” the hime groaned, scanning Nazaki up and down. “Hey, redhead, are you even a real shinobi? You look so plain, I bet you just stole that forehead protector.”
To my genuine surprise, Nazaki simply shook his head, even though I knew full well that being called “redhead” irritated him.
“It’s weird they’d put such runts on guard duty,” she continued, now pointing at Ki. “And blind ones, no less.”
Ki Hyūga withstood the insult, and I silently gave him credit. Not every day someone dares to call a Byakugan user blind...
“Seriously, these weaklings are supposed to protect me?” she sighed dramatically, staring up at the sky.
And so went the next seven hours of our lives. I’ll admit, it was one of the hardest patience trials my teammates had ever faced. Personally, I was too lazy to rise to the hime’s provocations, but Ki and Nazaki held out for about two hours before they started bickering with her. Naori-sensei said nothing the whole time.
As we went on, Iren’s mood got worse and worse. Her remarks became sharper, crossing the line more than once. Twice, Ki almost snapped, but Nazaki and I managed to hold him back. The hime just laughed nastily.
By evening, we finally took a break. But of course, even now, she didn’t shut up and kept throwing out poisonous comments.
Honestly, I’d have preferred to be plowing a field or doing community service rather than babysitting this spoiled brat. A glance at my teammates confirmed we were all thinking the same thing.
And then, a miracle happened!
Well — if you can call a kunai flying straight at my head a miracle — but at least it changed the mood. Finally, some action.
“Who’s there?” I asked, just for formality’s sake, before throwing the kunai right back where it came from.
No reply. Instead, two huge men leapt down from the trees. Attackers! Finally — I could already feel my fists itching after dealing with that hime all day.
The fight didn’t last long, but to me, it felt like an entire hour had passed. My ears were ringing with adrenaline when I finally managed to catch one of them in my shadow — thanks to Ki, who had bravely charged forward and drawn all their attention. Nazaki took on the second attacker, and soon Ki joined him. Unfortunately, the second one was far luckier than the first and quickly overwhelmed both of them.
Then he pulled out a giant shuriken.
The situation was turning grim — it was obvious by now that we were facing opponents way out of our league. Holding the first one in place with my shadow was becoming harder and harder. But just then, Naori-sensei stepped in. Sharingan! Both attackers froze as if turned to stone before collapsing to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.
Nazaki groaned and staggered to his feet while I rushed over to Ki, who looked suspiciously pale. Thankfully, he wasn’t injured — just a little shaken.
“Interesting,” Naori said calmly, her eyes now on the hime we were supposed to protect. “Iren-sama, did you deliberately hire genin as your guards, hoping to make an escape?”
I turned to the princess of the Land of Rice Fields as well. From the way Naori-sensei spoke, it was clear she had not only subdued the attackers but also learned something from them. Definitely an Uchiha.
“My only task is to be guarded,” Iren replied sharply. “I am under no obligation to explain myself to you.”
“A C-rank mission implies protection from bandits, not from rogue shinobi,” Naori-sensei said flatly, her voice steely. “The mission you gave us is at least B-rank.”
“Rogue shinobi?!” Nazaki and Ki exclaimed together.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Iren scoffed. “I didn’t expect to be attacked.”
“Lies,” Naori-sensei cut her off. “You knew about the attack and intentionally selected weak guards. Konoha does not tolerate this kind of deception.”
“Wait a second,” Ki pointed directly at the hime, completely unfazed. “Why would she want weak guards on purpose? Is she suicidal?”
“Watch your tone!” Iren snapped. “And don’t you dare call me suicidal!”
“If that’s not the case,” I said calmly, “then it means you knew you’d survive. Which makes this an intentional assault on Konoha shinobi. A hime of the Land of Rice Fields should understand the consequences of such a thing, right?”
My words clearly hit home. Fear briefly flickered in the princess’s eyes.
“No one died! I didn’t know anything about an attack!” Iren started defending herself, but it was painfully obvious she was lying.
“Oh really?” Naori-sensei said icily. “This is your last chance. Tell us everything. Why did you classify the mission as C-rank? I suggest you don’t lie.”
Iren remained silent for a moment. Then, finally, we got the whole story. It turned out to be absurdly simple and disgustingly romantic.
The girl had fallen in love with a man named Aoi, but her father disapproved and arranged for her to marry some old man from the Land of Valleys. Naturally, she had no intention of marrying some wrinkled elder, so she and Aoi came up with a plan. The idea was to stage a kidnapping and then elope. To avoid suspicion, Iren was to hire weak guards, while Aoi would hire shinobi to “rescue” the bride. In reality, there was no plot against Konoha — the hired shinobi weren’t supposed to kill anyone.
"Interesting," Naori-sensei remarked. "The mercenaries believed you were to be used as leverage to blackmail the ruler of the Land of Rice Fields."
“That was Aoi’s idea,” Iren said proudly, lifting her chin. “No one must know about our love.”
“Strange,” I commented. “If Aoi is wealthy, why would your father oppose him?”
“He’s a senile old fool,” the hime scoffed. “He thinks my Aoi only wants the throne and seduced me to get it. But that’s not true! Aoi doesn’t care about ruling — all he wants is me.”
“What are we going to do, Naori-sensei?” Ki asked after a long pause. “Do we continue the mission?”
“Iren-sama concealed the true nature of the mission,” Naori said firmly. “This was deception, and Konoha does not tolerate deception. The contract is void. Go your own way, Iren-sama. We’re done here.”
“We’re just going back? Just like that?!” Nazaki exclaimed.
“Yes, Nazaki-kun. Just like that,” I said, cutting him off. “The mission is—”
“But what about their love?!” he interrupted.
“Let them love each other all they want,” I shrugged. “It just means she’ll get kidnapped easily, like she wanted in the first place.”
“And what about adventure? Fights? I haven’t even shown Shikami-chan how strong I am yet!” Nazaki was clearly upset.
“Are we going back to pulling weeds?!” Ki groaned, realizing the grim reality. “That’s so unfair!”
Oh, now they complain. Half an hour ago, they were ready to plow fields forever just to get away from the hime's spoiled attitude.
“Get ready. We’re leaving,” Naori-sensei ordered, and just like that, we left Iren standing alone in the middle of the forest. Our higher-ranked mission had ended before it even truly began.
If I thought about it, there was a similar situation in that old Naruto anime I barely remembered. A team of three genin took on a mission that turned out to be way above their rank — and way more dangerous. But Naruto and his friends chose to press on regardless. I guess that made sense since they needed to sharpen their skills. After all, one was a jinchūriki and the other an Uchiha — you had to toughen them up. And their sensei, Kakashi, wasn’t exactly a slouch either.
But reality turned out to be a bit different. I had no desire to get dragged into something like this because of a bratty little princess, especially when the whole thing smelled fishy. Something about this mission wasn’t right. I couldn’t help but think that there was more to it. I mean, why else would Kuro and Kasuga’s team be involved? They clearly had their own objective. Judging by how calm Naori-sensei was, she must have expected something like this.
“You’re right, Shikami,” Naori nodded, as if reading my thoughts. “In truth, the mission assigned to Ebisu’s team — your cousin’s team — came directly from Iren’s father.”
“What?!” Ki and Nazaki shouted in unison. “What do you mean?”
“Konoha received two mission requests, both suspiciously similar,” Naori-sensei explained. “One was for escorting Iren-hime. The other, from her father, was to bring her back to the Land of Rice Fields. As you can imagine, the requests conflicted, and the Hokage was left with a difficult choice.”
“In the end, he decided to double his profit,” I said with a smirk.
Politics. Why settle for one option when you can have both?
“Exactly,” Naori-sensei agreed. “In the ideal scenario, we would have escorted the princess to her destination, stepped away, and left the rest to the other team, who would have returned her home.”
“But that’s not fair!” Nazaki protested. “We would’ve been tricking her… Sure, she’s annoying, but still—”
“She tricked us first, actually,” Ki pointed out. “And she did it on purpose.”
“Still!” Nazaki shook his head stubbornly. “Is that really okay? We didn’t know about any of this. I just think it’s wrong. They’re in love!”
Naïve. And he wants to be Hokage someday? He’s got a long way to go.
“We are shinobi, Nazaki,” Naori-sensei said. “We don’t get to choose our missions.”
Missions choose us. That’s the way it has always been, and the way it will always be. We are just tools in the hands of the Hokage. And the Hokage, in turn, is a tool of the Land of Fire’s feudal lord. Ho — fire. Kage — shadow. His title wasn’t given without meaning.
To be a shinobi is to live as a shadow.
Chapter 19: First stage of the Chuunin Exams
Notes:
Kumogakure no Sato (or Kumo) - Hidden Cloud
Konohagakure no Sato (or Konoha) - Hidden Leaf
Chapter Text
And so, the never-ending string of D-rank missions began again. I’d already resigned with my teammates’ constant whining and stopped paying it any mind. But of course, it didn’t take long for the news to arrive—our team had been selected to participate in the Chuunin Exams!
"Yes!" Ki and Nazaki shouted in unison, while I could only sigh. More trouble... The Chuunin Exams meant just that: more trouble. We’d have to come up with strategies, figure out our opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. Would we have enough chakra? Enough skill to get through with minimal losses?
"Shikami, wipe that face off," Ki snorted. "We’re genin now, and not the weakest ones either! We can face it!"
I stayed silent. Strangely enough, Ki had understood exactly what I was thinking. He could be surprisingly perceptive. Then again, for a Hyuuga, he always caught me off guard. Too… different from the usual cold, reserved Hyuuga demeanor.
"Exactly, Shikami-chan," Nazaki chimed in, popping up beside me. "Just believe in me already!"
"I never doubted you," I replied quickly and stepped away from him.
"You hear that? She said she never doubted me!" I heard Ibura’s overly ecstatic voice behind me. Followed by Ki’s deadpan response:
"Yeah, who’d doubt an idiot?"
I chuckled quietly and shook my head.
The Chuunin Exams were being held in a faraway village known as Kumogakure no Sato. To be honest, Konoha was on edge about the whole thing. The last Chuunin Shiken hosted by Kumo had been canceled after they deemed it a threat from rival villages (which, incidentally, was why Kuro and Kasuga were still genin). Understandably, the Konoha higher-ups weren’t too enthusiastic about this one either.
On the appointed day, we all gathered at the village gates. Not many teams were being sent from Konoha. Including ours, there was one other team from our graduating class: Tora Akimichi, Kin Nohara, and Kaori Yao. The other two teams were from older cohorts.
"Sensei, are we waiting for someone else?" Ki asked Naori, who stood beside us. It’s worth noting that all teams were heading to Kumo with their senseis in tow.
"Yes, one more team is running late," Naori-sensei replied, lifting her head. "Ah, here they are."
Imagine my surprise when I saw three all-too-familiar faces—Kuro, Kasuga, and… Iruka?
Wait a second, wasn’t there a girl on their team? The one with the braids?
Something must’ve happened to their original teammate. I wondered what could have kept her from attending. She’d even been replaced with Iruka...
"Yo, Shikami!" Kuro greeted me with a grin as he approached. "Hey there, Nazaki-kun," he added with a playful wink at Ibura. "How’s life?"
"Senpai!"
Wow, the amount of joy in that voice. Since when did those two get so chummy?
Ki was wondering the same thing. He narrowed his eyes at the way Nazaki was practically orbiting Kuro.
"Shikami-chan," Ki murmured, "since when is our little star in a romantic subplot with your dear Uchiha?"
"My Uchiha?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you’ve been friends since forever, right? Or no?" Ki looked unsure now.
"That Uchiha’s been getting on my nerves lately," I snorted. "Probably caught it from Nazaki. Better stay away from those two, Ki-kun—it’s contagious."
"If it makes you feel any better, I’m immune. You’re totally not my type, Shikami-chan."
"Well, that’s a relief," I smirked.
"Is everyone here? Let’s move out!" the senseis called, and we all set off. Swift as shadows, we sped through the forest, the wind rushing past as we raced toward the unknown.
By evening, we finally reached Kumo. First, there was a checkpoint at the village gates, followed by an escort—gruff, not particularly welcoming Kumo shinobi—who led us to what they called the dormitory.
"Remember, until the first stage begins, you're strictly forbidden from talking to teams from other villages!" That’s how they greeted us—abrupt and disorienting. A little odd, but whatever.
Each team was given a separate room, more or less. Honestly, I didn’t expect to end up sleeping on the futon right next to Nazaki, but what can you do? This wasn’t our village. I’d just pretend we were out on a mission.
For the record, Ibura was practically bouncing with excitement when he heard the news.
"We could pretend it's one big bed and—"
"Shut up," I asked him, very politely.
The first stage took place in an unremarkable building, vaguely reminiscent of our own academy.
"Team Three from Konoha? This way," someone at the registration desk told us.
The hallway we were sent down was already packed with people.
"I am the proctor for the first stage," announced a voice at the front. "I'll call out team numbers. When your team is called, you’ll enter the testing room. Team One from the Hidden Cloud!"
Three hefty guys followed the examiner through the doors. Nazaki let out a whistle that sounded halfway between impressed and alarmed. I vaguely remembered something about the first stage being a written test. But apparently, that wasn’t happening this time.
"Team Three from Hidden Leaf!"
"Onward, to destiny!" Nazaki shouted and charged toward the door.
I sighed. Ki said nothing and followed. I went after them both.
We stepped into a small back room. A towering man stood before us—honestly, more like a mountain than a person. For a second, I wondered if he might actually be the Raikage. Just an absolute wall of muscle.
“Is the exam going to start this fast?” I wondered, glancing around. We were the only ones there. He had been calling teams in pretty quickly. Maybe we were about to get some kind of individual instructions?
"This is the first stage of the exam," the man said. "Your task is to identify the spies hidden among a group of people. The group consists of fifteen candidates. The team that finds the spies the fastest moves on. Those who fail or run out of time are automatically disqualified."
What about the written test? I almost asked, but bit my tongue just in time.
"What do you mean by ‘spies’?" Ki asked, frowning as he studied the musclebound examiner.
"Spies," the man replied with a smirk, "are the ones who sneak into enemy territory to gather intel."
Then he added, almost like an afterthought:
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Torikki."
Tricky, my inner translator noted automatically. Fitting name.
He let the silence hang for a moment, sizing us up. I didn’t bother hiding the fact that I was doing the same. Why should I?
"The spies’ goal is to learn your team number. If they manage that, you lose."
"And what if they don’t get our number and we don’t figure out who they are either?" Nazaki asked. "There’s a time limit, right?"
"In that case, you lose as well."
He scanned our faces one by one. I bit my lip. Something felt... off.
"As soon as you enter the room, the exam begins. At the end, you must give the correct answer. Any questions?"
"Yes," I said, lifting my head. "How many spies are in the group?"
Torikki smiled pleasantly.
"That’s the answer you’ll have to find out yourselves. Good luck."
He opened the door. For a brief second, the light pouring out of the room made my head spin.
That strange feeling wouldn’t go away.
We sat at our desk, eyeing the scattered groups of teams across from us with grim expressions. There were five teams total. Each from a different village. Well, that was the whole point.
The exam was taking place in a regular classroom, except the desks were larger than usual. Each team stuck close together, everyone throwing each other suspicious glances. Some even looked downright hostile.
Five clocks hung on the wall, ticking quietly. One for each team. A chuunin, the exam supervisor, had wound them up as soon as we entered, setting each to a 120-minute countdown.
We had two hours to find the spy—or spies.Damn it, we didn’t even know how many there were. Or any signs to look for. All we had was this: the spies were trying to find out our team numbers.
Well, what did you expect, Shikami? This is the shinobi world in its purest form. Information gathering. If you fail—you die.
"We’re not forbidden from talking, are we?" a guy from Kumo called out loudly, staring challengingly at the chuunin. When he got no reaction, he grinned.
"Come on, admit it—who here’s the spy?"
Yeah, right. Like anyone’s going to just raise their hand and confess. Now we’re going to get a bunch of people loudly denying everything while others sit quietly, observing. I was part of the second group.
Tick-tock.
"I think that guy from Kumo might be a spy," Ki whispered in my ear. "He’s way too chatty."
"I know one thing for sure," Nazaki declared. "The three of us can’t be spies. That leaves twelve. We’ve narrowed the field."
The arguments rolled on.
Then someone caught my eye—a boy stood up from his desk and walked up to the chuunin, handing him a slip of paper. The proctor gave a short nod and announced:
"Team Seven from the Hidden Grass has passed the first stage!"
"What? Already?!" Ki and Nazaki shouted in unison, turning to stare at me. Oh, right. I’m the ‘brains’ of the team, after all.
"Shikami-chan, have you figured it out already?" Nazaki’s eyes were full of hopeful anticipation.
I shook my head.
"I believe in you, Shikami-chan!" he beamed, then turned to the Hyuuga. "She’s from the Nara clan, you know—they’re all geniuses."
The creeping feeling of wrongness momentarily drowned out the pressure of responsibility. I didn’t want to let the team down. But I also didn’t want to admit that I had no clue.
Well… not no clue exactly. Just… nothing that fit. My thoughts kept circling back to that sense of unease I’d felt since the beginning.
Something felt wrong.
Or maybe I was just overthinking. I tried to focus.
Who’s the spy?cIt had to be one of the teams that, just like us, received instructions from the examiner—but with a different mission. Maybe their goal was to identify a single team number. Or maybe all of them. Or maybe just to survive until the end.
Let’s see. Before we entered, Team One from the Hidden Cloud went in. I scanned the room until I found them—their forehead protectors marked them clearly as Kumo shinobi. Could it be them? They were from the host village, after all.
But… no. That seemed too obvious. I glanced at them. The same guy who spoke up first was now grabbing the collar of a boy who looked like he was from the Hidden Mist.
Just then, another girl walked up to the chuunin and handed over a paper. He frowned and nodded.
"Team Three from the Hidden Sand passes the first stage! Team Seven from the Hidden Stone fails!"
"What does that mean?" Nazaki asked.
"She was the spy," I said, frowning. "She must’ve found out a team’s number and reported it."
Now only two teams remained: us, from Konoha, and that first team from Kumo. I even knew their number—One—because the examiner had called it out loud when summoning them.
But they didn’t know ours, thanks to the order of entry.
"They’re definitely the spies," Ki whispered to me.
"Or at least one of them," I replied.
"Maybe you’re the spy!" the loud Kumo boy shot back, having overheard us. "I’d know if one of us were a spy!"
"You were the first ones in. We know your number. If we were the spies, why would we still be here?" I shot back.
"By the way," the girl from Kumo said casually, "what happens if the spy gives their own team number by mistake? The examiner never mentioned that."
He hadn’t told us, either.
"What if there’s no spy among us at all?" the third boy from Team One asked cautiously.
"Then why are our clocks still ticking?"
We all glanced at the time. Team One had fifteen minutes left. We had sixteen.
Team One from Kumo had started arguing quietly among themselves.
"Shikami?" Ki asked in a low voice. "Which one of them is the spy?"
"Wait," I replied, eyes still fixed on them.
The disagreement among the Kumo trio escalated. Eventually, they decided to ask each other questions only they would know the answers to. Judging by their expressions, the conclusion they reached wasn’t a good one. The girl pointed at us, saying something confidently. One of the boys shook his head.
I glanced at the clock. Time was slipping away fast.
Nazaki and Ki were getting antsy.
"Shikami, don’t keep us hanging!" Nazaki groaned. "You must know who it is—"
"We wait," I snapped, eyes locked on the ticking hand.
Twenty seconds left for the other team. The girl scribbled something onto a slip of paper, then rushed over to the chuunin proctor and handed it in.
"Team One from Kumo has passed the first stage!" he announced loudly.
But our clock was still ticking. Less than a minute left.
"Shikami-i-i!" Ki wailed. "You still don’t know?!"
"No," I replied flatly.
"Then maybe you’re the spy!" Nazaki exclaimed, pointing a finger at me. "Our real Shikami would’ve figured it out by now, you fake!"
I closed my eyes.Something didn’t add up in this entire setup.
And then, that feeling again.
Come on, Shikami. Rewind everything from the beginning. What felt off? Who definitely doesn’t know our team number?
"The spy… it’s you, isn’t it?!" Nazaki and Ki closed in on either side of me. "Right? You don’t know our number, do you?"
"I do," I said, glancing toward the clock.
"Then go on—say it!" Nazaki shouted in my face.
Ki didn’t look any more doubtful.
"Come on, Shikami," he added with a smirk. "Or should I say… Spy-san?"
Fifteen seconds left.
I grabbed a sheet of paper and scrawled my answer in bold strokes. Then walked up to the proctor. He smiled as he read what I’d written.
"Congratulations. Team Three has passed the first stage." His voice echoed in my head, pulsing in my temples like a drumbeat.
And suddenly, I was back in that small, dimly lit room—standing in front of the examiner who had given us our instructions. Still gripping Nazaki’s solid arm to steady myself, my blurred vision tried to focus on one thing: the proctor’s face.
"Excellent!" he said cheerfully. "You were the only one on your team who identified all the spies correctly."
"So it really was all just a genjutsu…" I muttered.
"Yes," he nodded. "It started the moment I gave you the rules. In truth, only one of you had to provide the correct answer to pass. But I had to bend the truth a little to get you all to take it seriously," he added with a wink. "You did well. Congratulations."
"How did you figure it out, Shikami-chan?" Ki asked.
"I wasn’t completely sure," I admitted. "But everything was too perfectly designed to back me into a corner. The other teams kept passing, yet no one had actually revealed anything. You deliberately left our team for last to sow doubt—in my teammates and in myself. Right up to the end, I was convinced the spy was the proctor. He was the only one who didn’t hear our team number when we entered."
"I was convinced it was him too," said Nazaki. "That’s who I named in my genjutsu."
"Same here," Ki added. "But how did you realize we weren’t real?"
"Easy," I said with a shrug. "The alternate versions of you two kept pressuring me the entire time. You were way too pushy—too selfish. In real life, even if you thought I might be the spy, you would’ve suspected each other too. If any of us gave up our number, we’d all lose—because the spy would get it. But you two were so focused on making me say it, I knew something was wrong. Either I was the only one who wasn’t a spy… or everything around me was fake."
"You really are the brain of our team," Nazaki said with open admiration.
"Definitely," Ki agreed—for once, not arguing.
And just like that, our first stage of the Chuunin Exams came to an end.
Chapter 20: Kumo
Chapter Text
We were heading back to the dorms at a leisurely pace. Well, I was leisurely—my teammates, not so much. I kept turning my head, taking in the sights of Kumogakure. Honestly, what a gorgeous place! The Village Hidden in the Clouds sat high in the mountains, practically brushing the sky, and the view was absolutely breathtaking.
“I can’t wait for the second stage!” Nazaki declared. “This time, Shikami-chan, you can count on me!”
“Yeah, suuure,” Ki drawled sarcastically. “You’re so talented… so special… unlike those Nara girls, huh.”
“Still better than some helpless Hyūga boys,” Ibura sniffed.
I cast a sideways glance at my teammates, resisting the urge to let out a long, theatrical sigh. Déjà vu. Again with the bickering—nonstop. Every five minutes, it was the same old nonsense: who’s the rooster, who’s the turkey.
“Hey! Shikami-chan! Nazaki-kun! Ki-kun!”
A trio from our cohort came racing toward us—Kaori, Kin, and the slightly chubby Tora. I smiled. The sparkle in Kaori’s eyes said it all—they’d passed the first stage as well.
“You guys too?!” Kaori squealed, her orange ponytail bouncing. “Well, duh, of course you did. I knew we were the best!”
“You bet!” Nazaki nodded enthusiastically. “We’re basically chūnin already!”
For a brief moment, I wondered—do all redheads talk this loudly? Kaori and Nazaki didn’t just share fiery hair; they also had enough energy and volume for ten people. There had to be some genetic connection.
“Nazaki-kun, how did you find the trial?” Kin asked politely, stealing a glance at our Ibura—just like she had since our fifth year at the Academy.
Ibura puffed out his chest, clearly about to brag, but didn’t get the chance.
“Outta the way, pipsqueak!” snapped a tall, tanned guy with bleached hair, rudely shoving past Nazaki.
“Hey, you—” my teammate started, but he was interrupted again—this time for a different reason. The rude Cloud ninja bumped into someone else.
“Watch it, bleach-head!”
“You looking for a fight, blondie?”
“Who’s looking? Explode, why don’t you!”
Boom!
I flinched. Three small explosions burst right under the Cloud guy’s feet—totally unexpected.
“Watch where you’re stomping, tall guy!” the boy from Iwagakure called out with a laugh, strutting away in the opposite direction like he hadn’t just nearly blown someone up.
What a charming little ninjutsu, I thought, watching the kid swagger off. He was taking the Chūnin Exams too—same as us. Poor one who has to fight with him…
“I just had a thought…” Kaori mused aloud, still eyeing the walking bomb. “What if we have a girls’ night?”
“Huh?” Kin blinked.
“Come on! We’re in Kumo—how often do we get the chance to have some fun like this? The views are amazing, and we haven’t had a real heart-to-heart in ages!” Kaori winked.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea…” I shook my head.
“Actually, I’d love to hang out too!” Ki butted in.
I never cease to be amazed at how dense he can be. Girls’ night. Does the word not clue him in that guys aren’t invited?
The girls gave Ki that look—the you-will-be-the-odd-one-out-here look.
“By the way, I would like to grab a bite…” Nazaki added with a stretch. Miraculously, the girls agreed right away. I swear, the effect Ibura has on girls is uncanny. Seriously, how?
So it was settled—we’d grab a snack at a café. But the girls’ night idea wasn’t gone. Oh no. It lay in wait, like a silent shadow in the minds of the other team’s girls. True shinobi style. They chose to bide their time… and bribe me with food.
Kumo’s mochi? Divine. Have I mentioned I like Kumo mochi? Well, scratch that—I adore them now.
We went to “Kumochi,” a popular local café. Tora Akimichi had been raving about how they served some of the best mochi around. Mochi’s a rice-flour dessert—kind of like dango, but with tasty fillings inside.
The café offered twelve varieties—one for each sign of the zodiac—each with a unique color and flavor.
I got the “Tiger” mochi, filled with sweet nut paste.
Mm, delicious!
I’d had mochi before, but never anything quite this good.
“Shikami-chan, you’re so cute! I’d learn to cook just for you!” Nazaki suddenly blurted out, having spent the last ten minutes watching me devour my dessert.
I choked on my mochi.
“N-Nazaki-kun, that’s so sweet…” Kin stammered, blushing furiously. Hyūga rolled his eyes. Tora started eating faster, and Kaori just burst out laughing for some reason.
“I swear, once I become a chūnin, I’ll make you mochi myself, Shikami-chan!” Nazaki announced dramatically.
I chose to ignore that declaration. Blissful ignorance is a gift. I’ve learned that words don’t work on him, so I’ll just pretend it didn’t happen. Instead, I focused on something much more important… more mochi.
“First, we’ve gotta make it through the second stage,” Tora said. “I think it’ll be some kind of combat!”
If memory serves, Naruto’s second stage was about the Forest of Death and scrolls. Something about scrolls… Oh, right! They had to collect two kinds and make it to the end with both.
Then again, this first stage had been way different from what I remembered. Maybe they added the written tests later, when genjutsu got too tricky…
Speaking of genjutsu, Tora, Kin, and Kaori’s team wasn’t particularly strong with it. How did they pass?
“Well…” Kaori laughed. “It was kind of funny… I figured out right away we were in a genjutsu. I’ve got a kekkei genkai, you see—it’s totally useless in a fight, but it has this side effect where genjutsu don’t fool me. I always know when I’m caught in one. Doesn’t help me get out of it, but even that much can go a long way. Like this time.”
“Stupid genjutsu,” Nazaki grumbled. “I knew right away it was an illusion too, yup!”
“You got a kekkei genkai too?” Ki asked with a smirk. “I’ve got the Byakugan—what’ve you got?”
“Shut it, white-eyes. I’m smarter, more skilled, and better looking than you’ll ever be!”
I took a bite of my “Rabbit” mochi. Mmm… this one had a strawberry filling…
“Hey, Shikami,” Kin whispered beside me, “how about we actually do that girls’ night? No boys allowed.”
I glanced toward Ibura and Hyūga, who had already started bickering again.
“I’m better, right, Shikami-chan?” Nazaki shouted suddenly.
“You’re the idiot, Ibura! Right, Shikami-chan?” Ki chimed in.
“No boys… and lots of mochi,” Kin added meaningfully.
Now that was a dirty trick.
And I lost.
Nohara knew exactly where to strike.
“…I’ll come.”
A party. A girls' night. A girls' night for rookie shinobi.
What could possibly go wrong?
At first, everything was perfect. We drank tea, snacked on mochi and dango, and gave each other makeovers… I genuinely tried to opt out of that particular activity, but Kin practically shoved a mochi into my mouth and started brushing my hair without waiting for my consent. And me? I did nothing. I ate.
“Your hair is so pretty, Shikami,” Kin murmured as she worked. “Do you use some kind of special shampoo?”
“Um… no,” I replied.
No, really—what could have gone wrong?
“Alright, girls! Now—now we’ve reached the most important part of our sacred gathering!” Kaori sprang up, eyes sparkling. “We’re going to talk about…”
Finally—something serious. Time to discuss the second stage of the exam tomorrow. That’s important.
“…boys!”
Wait, what?
“Come on, fess up! Who likes who? Okay, Kin, you’re obvious—it's Nazaki. I like him too. So does Tora. But you, Shikami?”
“Yes, we’re all dying to know,” Kin chimed in, tugging on a strand of my hair near my ear. “Who do you like more—Nazaki Ibura or Ki Hyūga?”
I stuffed another mochi into my mouth. Kaori, ever the tactician, slid the plate just out of reach and fixed me with an expectant look. I chewed as slowly as humanly possible. Sadly, delicious things have a way of running out.
“Nazaki really likes you. Are you two dating? Or is it Ki? I’m betting on Nazaki,” Kaori announced.
“Ibura is mine!” Kin hissed in my ear and gave my hair another painful yank.
“So, what’s the verdict?” Kaori asked, her curiosity razor-sharp. “Nazaki or Ki?”
“Girls… I don’t like none of them…” I mumbled.
“No way! Come on, don’t be shy—we won’t tell anyone!”
Things were spiraling fast. I had to think of something—anything.
“There’s got to be someone you like more! Who is it? Kuro Uchiha, maybe?”
“No!”
“So it is Nazaki?”
“No!”
“Then who?! Shikami!!!”
“Fine,” I gave in. “You’re not going to let this go, are you? Okay. I like… Maybe I even love…”
I could have said I liked Ki Hyūga. But losing the only one who treats me like a sane human being over a dumb lie didn’t seem worth it.
I could have said I liked Kuro Uchiha. But I imagined his reaction—that mocking tone he'd use every time he brought it up...
No, thanks.
If I had to pick, let it be someone barely relevant.
“Iruka Umino. I like Iruka Umino. That cute guy from Kasuga’s team. Yeah. Him.”
There was silence at first… and then—
“Ugh, some random nobody? Boring,” Kaori drawled. Her interest in me deflated instantly.
Chapter 21: Chuunin exam. Second stage
Chapter Text
The second stage took place in the mountains, not far from Kumogakure.
"The goal of your mission," the examiner began, "is to locate the scrolls. There are only twenty of them. You will have exactly five hours to complete the second stage."
"What kind of scrolls?" someone from the crowd of genin asked.
The examiner—a tall tanned woman with white hair and a cigarette dangling from her lips—pulled a scroll from her pouch and unfurled it. It looked like a simple piece of paper with the symbol of Kumogakure emblazoned on it.
"See this? These are the scrolls. They’re all the same."
Twenty scrolls. Twenty teams—if every team gets one. But what if there are more teams?
"So only twenty teams can pass?" someone else asked, clearly thinking the same thing I was.
The examiner smiled.
"Of course not. A team can collect more than one scroll. In fact, the more scrolls a team brings back, the more bonus points they’ll earn in the final stage. Any other questions?"
"Where does the exam take place? On this mountain?"
"Ah, yes. See that boundary?" She pointed to a blue line marked along the stones. "We’ve drawn a closed perimeter around this mountain. If any one of you crosses that boundary, your entire team is disqualified. Got it?"
"This looks dangerous…" Kin murmured nearby. "Mountains. It’s all rocks and barely any trees. Nowhere to hide. And it’s so high up."
She wasn’t wrong. We were way up—so high, the ground below was completely out of sight. All we could see were clouds far beneath us.
Good thing none of us had a fear of heights.
"Oh, right—one last thing. The scrolls your team brings back must be intact and undamaged. If that’s clear and no one has any more questions… Well then… Let the exam begin!"
And with that, the gong sounded. Everyone surged forward, crossing the line at once.
As it turned out, getting to a scroll was far more difficult than it sounded.
The very first scroll was spotted by four teams—ours and three unfamiliar ones. We all lunged forward, but suddenly, Ki grabbed both Ibura and me by the collars, stopping us short. I caught a glimpse of his activated Byakugan and realized he’d seen something. One other team also stopped—they were shinobi from Iwa. The other two charged ahead, but as soon as they got within three meters of the scroll, fuinjutsu symbols began crawling across the ground.
Luckily, we’d hung back far enough to avoid being caught. A thin barrier snapped into place, cutting the two teams off from the rest of us.
It all happened in an instant.
“Why’d you stop us, Hyuuga?!” Nazaki shouted. “Now they get the scroll, and we’re stuck behind a barrier!”
“They’ll have to make it out of there first,” I countered, walking up to the barrier. It felt solid. “First question—why did a barrier even appear here?”
The scroll began to smoke. Out of nowhere, inside the sealed zone, a massive beast appeared—something between a lion and an ape.
“What is that?” asked a boy from the Iwa team who, like us, had stayed back in time.
“A trap from the scroll,” another boy from the same team answered. “I’m guessing they have to defeat that monster to claim it.”
The creature roared and lunged at the genin. A battle erupted. In such tight quarters, six people fighting a monster like that...
A chill ran down my spine.
“What do we do, Aoba?” asked a girl from the Iwa team.
“We wait,” the boy replied. “We’ll take the scroll from whoever survives.”
The Iwa team turned their eyes on us. We looked right back at them.
Funny situation. None of us really wanted to fight each other yet—not when it was unclear if the trapped genins would even defeat the monster. If they do, snatching the scroll from their exhausted hands would be a breeze. But if they don’t... it would be up to the rest of us. And in that case, teaming up sounded a lot smarter than going in alone.
“Ki,” I said. “Can you scan for scrolls nearby without any teams around?”
Hyuuga nodded and activated his Byakugan again, eyes glowing faintly.
“There’s one to the right, two o’clock,” he murmured. “And another closer—three o’clock.”
It’s a blessing to have a sensor in the squad.
“Then let’s move,” I ordered. They followed without protest, and we sprinted ahead, leaving the others far behind.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to wait and see who wins?” Nazaki called as we ran.
“We don’t know the Iwa team’s abilities, Nazaki,” I began. “We don’t know who’ll defeat that monster—if anyone does. Too many unknowns. And even if, by some miracle, we do get that scroll, someone else could swoop in and take it. We need our strength. Wasting it on unnecessary battles makes no sense.”
“But won’t the other scrolls have monsters too?” Ki asked.
“Maybe. Probably. Or maybe not,” I replied. “Ki, do the scrolls you saw feel different?”
“Yeah, they’ve got different chakra signatures,” Hyuuga nodded. “There’s a chance the traps are different too.”
“We’ve got four hours and thirty minutes left,” I calculated aloud. “Better to spend time scouting than throwing ourselves into a fight for the very first scroll we see.”
Nazaki didn’t seem convinced, but wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
“Let’s agree on something now,” I added. “If we get our hands on a scroll, our top priority is to bring it back to the boundary—no matter what.”
“Duh,” Ki snorted. “Getting the scroll’s the hard part.”
I disagreed. Carrying it to the end was the hard part. But I held my tongue.
We ran in silence.
“There! I see a scroll!” Nazaki shouted, pointing at a scroll wedged between two rocks.
“Not so fast, runt! Boom!”
Ibura dodged just in time, barely escaping the explosion. A boy rushed toward the scroll—the same explosive kid we’d seen the day before.
No barrier appeared this time. Nothing at all. No traps, no fuin symbols.
Just… a scroll laying there, like nothing was wrong.
“What’s that idiot think he’s doing? I’m gonna—” But I clamped my hand over Nazaki’s mouth just in time. Rushing blindly into a fight with someone who literally explodes things? Not worth it. Let him take the scroll. I wanted to see if it was really that easy.
“Deidara! There could be traps!” a girl’s voice called out. A curly-haired girl and a chubby boy from Iwagakure joined the blond troublemaker.
“Shut up, hm! The scroll’s ours!”
The blonde boy grabbed the scroll—
And suddenly, black spots began to bloom on the paper, spreading slowly, forming some kind of symbol or pattern.
“What is that…?” Ki murmured, activating his Byakugan. “Is it… a seal?”
“Hey, Amidara, something’s wrong with this thing,” Deidara said, frowning.
The curly-haired girl stepped closer. “Drop it, Deidara. It’s a cipher. If we can’t decode the key, it’ll self-destruct.”
“Are you sure, hm?”
At her nod, Deidara’s expression darkened, and he tossed the scroll to the ground.
“Well, if all the scrolls are like this, we’ll just steal decoded ones from other teams!” He reached toward his hip pouch, but Amidara grabbed his wrist. “Save your energy, Dei-kun. We haven’t passed yet. Let’s go.”
In a flash, they were gone—vanishing down another path.
Just like that? They left the scroll? For us?
I stepped closer and carefully picked it up from the dirt.
“Ki, do you know what kind of cipher this is?”
Hyuuga moved in and studied the black spirals slowly crawling across the scroll.
“Hey, why are you asking Hyuuga and not me, Shikami-chan?” Ibura huffed, stepping closer too.
“It looks like a basic cipher… but those Iwa kids were right. We could spend hours trying to guess the key. And the scroll has a self-destruct timer…”
We could try to decode it—but odds were Deidara and his team had only pretended to leave. They were probably waiting to see if we’d solve it for them. And I had zero interest in fighting a walking explosive.
“The examiners wouldn’t give us scrolls with a self-destructing cipher and no way to solve it,” I said instead. “It's a a test. There has to be a hint somewhere. Ki, how much time do we have?”
“Three minutes… no, make that two.”
“Damn it… We need to figure out what the key is,” I muttered. “Nazaki, Ki, any ideas?”
If we cracked the cipher, we’d have to defend the scroll. If we failed, we’d either need to hunt down another scroll or steal one from someone else. Better to try now—while we could.
“I’ve got a question,” Nazaki said, unexpectedly serious. “How do we know what the key is? Do we say it out loud? Or… what?”
“We have to apply the right sequence of hand seals to the scroll,” Ki replied. “There are a lot of combinations. Get it wrong, and we could trigger destruction.”
“What are the possible seals? Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar… Damn, and then there are weird ones too—Spider, Elephant, Ship, Eel…” I started listing everything I could remember.
“Concentration Seal, Clone Seal…” Ki added. “Though I doubt we’ll need those.”
I glanced around carefully. Nothing. No obvious clues.
Ki caught on and activated his Byakugan. After a minute, he shook his head. Nothing.
I fell into thought. If I were the examiner… where would I hide a clue?
An idea came to me. A long shot, but worth a try.
“I’ve got a hunch. Nazaki, can you make a small flame?”
He lit a spark, and I held the scroll carefully over it. Slowly, as the heat touched the parchment, faint orange symbols began to appear.
“It’s a number!” I said.
“One-nine-three… What does that even mean?” Ki asked.
“One-nine-three… That number has to mean something…” I muttered. “A year? But I can’t remember what happened back then…”
“Shikami, I think I’ve got it,” Ki said. “That was during the Clan Wars era—when the Senju clan was rising. Maybe we’re supposed to use healing chakra?”
“No, that’s too complex for an exam,” I dismissed. “It has to be something simpler.”
“I think I got it!” Nazaki suddenly shouted and started forming hand seals. “Rat, Dragon, Tiger!”
We watched in stunned silence as the black marks on the scroll vanished, dissolved by his chakra.
“No way—how did you know which seals to use?” I asked.
Nazaki puffed out his chest, beaming. “It wasn’t a year—it was numbers. One, nine, three. Rat, Monkey, Tiger.”
“Wait, but how did you know Rat equals one? There’s no standard order for the zodiac in the seal system,” I said.
“Uh… well… I mean, it always starts with Rat in the textbooks…” Ibura scratched his head.
“Well, I’m just glad it worked out,” I sighed. “Good job.”
Of course, it couldn’t have gone smoothly. There was no way this would go smoothly—not considering how we found the scroll in the first place. Right in front of us stood that familiar team—Deidara, Amidara, and a tanned boy we hadn’t seen in action yet.
“Well, well, well, the little runts actually cracked the cipher! Now hand over the scroll, hm!” Deidara smirked, extending his hand.
“Screw you!” Nazaki snapped. “You didn’t even have the brains to figure it out yourself.”
“Give it up nicely, or I’ll show you a few of my favorite explosions,” Deidara grinned. And it wasn’t a friendly grin. It was the kind that meant it.
“Yeah, right! Come and try!” Nazaki shot back, already bristling.
Ki pushed me back instinctively.
I quickly slipped the scroll into my pouch. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst. Panic was creeping in.
This was it—the hardest part had begun. Now we had to get the scroll to the boundary.
My mind raced. I needed a plan.
Three vs. three. Deidara, with his explosive clay, was the obvious threat. Amidara—small, curly-haired, and unpredictable. Not a sensor, though—she’d warned Deidara "there could be the traps", which meant she didn’t sense them herself. And the tanned boy, stayed silent all the time.
I took a step back, quickly running battle scenarios in my head.
Meanwhile, Nazaki and Ki had already launched into the fight. Nazaki charged Deidara, which wasn’t a bad matchup—his earth and water styles might help counter the bomber. Ki went for Amidara. The tanned boy remained at a distance. Tactician, then. Or he just needed to prepared some techniques.
I have the scroll. Should I run for the boundary?
No. I can’t leave Ibura and Hyuuga behind.
Nazaki was struggling—Deidara’s explosive clay was a serious problem. Even Ki had trouble; although he’d managed to strike some of Amidara’s tenketsu points, she had foolishly engaged him in close combat.
I began crafting genjutsu. Small things: subtle dips in the terrain, barely visible illusions. I added a few fake scrolls into my pouch, just in case. I almost cloaked the real scroll under a layer of chakra-disguising fabric, but changed my mind.
I didn’t have much chakra left. Logically, the scroll should go to the fastest person—the one most likely to make it to the boundary.
“Ki! Catch!” I shouted, tossing the scroll to Hyuuga. He caught it, blinking in surprise. “Run! Nazaki—cover him!”
I didn’t have to say it twice.
Ki launched into motion, dodging Deidara’s clay bombs with ridiculous agility. His Byakugan helped him pull off maneuvers I couldn’t even dream of. He was fast, and he was closing in on the boundary.
Deidara tried to follow, but Nazaki intercepted him. Amidara was barely standing—Ki had shut down enough of her chakra points to keep her out of the fight.
Then the quiet one acted. The tanned boy suddenly summoned a giant hawk. He leapt onto its back, grabbed Deidara, and the two of them took off—straight after Ki.
“Damn it!” Nazaki swore, tearing off after them. I ran with him.
Ki was under fire from explosive clay. Byakugan helped him a lot, Ki did pirouettes that I would not have been able to do, and continued to run towards the border. And he almost made it, literally, when there were about ten meters left to the blue stripe, Deidara jumped out in front of him and threw another lump of clay in his face. Nazaki did not have time to pull Ki out from under the strike line, and Ki screamed in pain and fell to the ground.
“You bastard!” Nazaki roared and lunged at Deidara.
“Boom!” Deidara hissed—and the blast flung Nazaki sideways like a ragdoll.
The bomber stepped up to Ki’s crumpled form and took the scroll from his limp hands. Then, slowly, he looked at me.
“Wanna play too, hm?”
I said nothing.
“That’s what I thought,” Deidara laughed, satisfied.
“Don’t you dare laugh!” Nazaki stumbled back into view, scraped and battered but still standing. “You freak—!”
“And what are you gonna do about it?” Deidara’s grin widened.
I stepped carefully to Ki and knelt beside him. He was silently writhing, covering his face.
“I’ll beat you,” Nazaki growled and charged again. But the hawk was already landing. Deidara’s teammate swept in, scooped him up, and took off once more.
“Come take the scroll if you’ve got the guts, you tiny idiot!” Deidara shouted as they rose.
“Asshole…” Ibura muttered, fists clenched in frustration.
“I’m sorry…” Ki whimpered. “I couldn’t hold on…”
“Hey, Nazaki,” I said softly. “Help me carry Ki to the medics.”
Ibura looked at me, confused.
“But the exam will be over for us! We don’t have a scroll!”
“We can’t just leave him. He needs a medic now,” I said firmly.
“Leave me…” Ki rasped. “Go. Find another scroll. We can’t fail…”
“You’re an idiot, Ki,” I snapped. “You need help—now.”
“I can push through—!” he insisted, before crumpling again in agony.
I looked at Nazaki. He looked back. Then he clenched his jaw and stepped forward, lifting Ki with effort. I followed him.
“She’s right, you stubborn Hyuuga. You need a medic.”
“But the scroll—!”
“Shut it!” Ibura barked, crossing the blue line. “Medic! Now!”
The white-haired female examiner appeared beside us instantly.
“Team Three from Konoha has completed Stage Two. Time: thirty-four minutes. Your scrolls?”
“We didn’t—” Ibura began, but I stepped forward. I reached into my pouch and handed her the real scroll. She raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly as she accepted it.
“Congratulations. You’ve successfully completed the second stage.”
XxSelenaxX on Chapter 1 Sun 30 Mar 2025 04:12PM UTC
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Moi (Astrx7) on Chapter 2 Mon 10 Feb 2025 07:03AM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 2 Sun 16 Feb 2025 10:32PM UTC
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IAintTrynaDoxxMyself on Chapter 7 Mon 17 Feb 2025 05:04AM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 7 Mon 17 Feb 2025 01:25PM UTC
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Wersdondo on Chapter 8 Sat 22 Feb 2025 08:03PM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 8 Sat 22 Feb 2025 09:44PM UTC
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sakamandersally on Chapter 10 Mon 17 Feb 2025 03:33PM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 10 Mon 17 Feb 2025 09:08PM UTC
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limabeanstress on Chapter 10 Mon 17 Feb 2025 06:22PM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 10 Mon 17 Feb 2025 09:07PM UTC
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Mrs_bakashi on Chapter 11 Tue 18 Feb 2025 01:20AM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 11 Tue 18 Feb 2025 02:57PM UTC
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limabeanstress on Chapter 11 Tue 18 Feb 2025 10:20PM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 11 Tue 18 Feb 2025 10:42PM UTC
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chins4tw on Chapter 16 Thu 20 Mar 2025 12:22AM UTC
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WhiteNightsBlackDays on Chapter 19 Thu 24 Apr 2025 03:48PM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 19 Sat 24 May 2025 09:35PM UTC
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Traveler_Lovegood1 on Chapter 19 Thu 01 May 2025 08:17AM UTC
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limabeanstress on Chapter 21 Sat 24 May 2025 10:58PM UTC
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ray_ki on Chapter 21 Sun 25 May 2025 01:51PM UTC
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