Kapitel 183: Road to Ninja Part 8
Naruto was shocked to see Sakura sharing the bed with him, after all, Naruto slept thinking that Sakura wouldn't come back from the Hokage Office since she was busy preparing things for Chūnin exams and for the five kage meeting.
"Why did you do this?" Sakura asked with a tear-soaked face with a blanket covering till her throat where she held it
She looked at Naruto with anguish, "Why?"
"I uh…" Naruto observed Sakura's face which seemed to be roughed up
"N-naruto…" Naruto heard another voice at the moment. But this one shook him to his core. Naruto then turned around like a robot struggling to turn its head.
"Hi-Hi-Hinata," Naruto was shocked once again, seeing Hinata with a shocked expression at the entrance of the bedroom.
"H-How could you…" Hinata asked, breathing heavily from the shock.
"Hinata, I can explain," Naruto quickly got up from the bed and ran towards Hinata.
(Bang!)
Naruto was smacked down to the floor by an unexpected arrival.
"Ouch!" Naruto grunted in pain. He then looked up to be shocked once again. It was none other than a different version of himself.
"Menma…" Naruto called out instinctively remembering he was in the limited Tsukuyomi.
"I risk my life on a mission, and here I see someone with my wife on the bed?" Menma asked.
Naruto turned back to see Sakura who was curled up within the blanket, silently sobbing.
("WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?")
("WHY??") Naruto was screaming internally.
TTRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGG!!!!
The alarm rang.
"Whoah!" Naruto sprang up from his bed with wide eyes, panting heavily from the experience he had.
Naruto looked around the room and then towards the empty space by his side.
("Oh, It was all a dream…") Naruto sighed with relief, following which he then tried recollecting what had happened earlier.
He then got up to look at himself in the mirror, thinking back to what had happened in the dream. He couldn't help but sweat at the thought of seeing it happen, but Naruto knew that he would always be loyal no matter what.
"Hmm?" Naruto's eyes spotted something shiny on the table below the mirror.
"A ring?" Naruto picked it up and observed from every angle.
("It's an Akatsuki Ring,") Naruto identified upon seeing a character inscribed on the gem of the ring.
Sh*
A mechanism activated on the ring.
"Menma," the voice called out.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked trying to find out the identity behind the voice.
"It's good that you have picked this ring,"
"I have been trying to contact you for the past two days," the voice spoke.
"Mm," Naruto hinted that he was listening to the other party.
"Listen up, There's word from the intel division that they've made a few discoveries on that case you sent them on," The voice said.
"Go on," Naruto said.
"You were right Menma,"
"There's some traces of the Ōtsutsuki's heritage in that village,"
"Unfortunately there's nothing concrete, only some legends about them, probably made up over time," The voice said.
"I see…"
"We are still trying to decipher what we have on hand,"
"I'll get back to you once we get some results," the voice concluded.
"Thanks," Naruto said following which the gem on the ring deactivated.
("Who was that I wonder…") Naruto thought following which he turned towards the window and stared at the stone faces far off in the distance.
…
Soon, Naruto changed into his casuals and left the house.
("First up, I need to explore the village and see if there is anything else different,")
("After I've done that, I'll try doing the deliveries today and see if there is anything else I can uncover…") Naruto thought.
A few minutes into exploring and Naruto felt a familiar presence.
"Shikamaru!" Naruto called out upon seeing Shikamaru in his familiar beige coat.
"Menma?" Shikamaru turned around with a surprised expression.
"It's been a long time," Shikamaru said.
"Yeah…" Naruto nodded.
"So how long are you staying here?" Shikamaru asked.
"A week at most," Naruto said while imagining that would be the time by which he would find a way out of this dimension.
"A week huh, that's the same as me," Shikamaru chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"There are twelve guardian ninjas for the feudal lords as you know,"
"six of them active at all times while the other six are reserve forces,"
"I asked them time off for the chūnin exam, and they granted it," Shikamaru said.
"Oh," Naruto nodded.
"Well, that's only after I make some arrangements for the lord's arrival for the exam," Shikamaru said.
"Oh, so you are going to the Hokage office then?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah…" Shikamaru nodded.
"…"
"Menma," Shikamaru called out.
"Mm?"
"How about we have a boy's night out like the old times?" Shikamaru asked suddenly.
"…" Naruto stared in silence.
"It's been months since we all last hung out," Shikamaru said.
"Sure…" Naruto answered slowly.
Naruto didn't want to risk sticking out like a sore thumb, but this was what he promised Obito the previous night, that he would cover up for Menma.
"We'll call them after we come back from the Hokage office," Shikamaru suggested.
"We?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, we," Shikamaru said.
Then it suddenly clicked.
Naruto looked at Shikamaru.
"Why do you want me to go with you to the Hokage office?" Naruto asked.
"…M-Menma, don't you want to see your wife?" Shikamaru asked with a sly smile.
"I can go see her later, right?" Naruto asked.
"Menma, please, I want you to come with me right now," Shikamaru begged.
"hehe, it's Ino, isn't it?" Naruto asked.
"Of course you already knew it,"
"Why would you ask?" Shikamaru asked as though he had been wronged.
Naruto, on the other hand, was a bit hesitant after what he had seen in the morning, He questioned himself if it was good to visit Sakura or not.
"Please, Menma, help me," Shikamaru begged.
Naruto stared at Shikamaru for a moment before finally agreeing.
"Thanks, man, You're a lifesaver," Shikamaru said.
"hehe," Shikamaru grinned.
("It always works!") Shikamaru thought to himself.
"?" Naruto noticed Shikamaru's grin which sent goosebumps down his spine.
("What did I get myself into now…") Naruto thought.
"Let's go," Shikamaru stepped out with vigor.
"Wait!" Naruto stopped Shikamaru.
"What?" Shikamaru stared at Naruto.
"I need to get something from my house," Naruto said.
"Oh…" Shikamaru nodded.
…
Shikamaru and Naruto walked side by side down the street.
"Isn't your house the other way?" Shikamaru asked, seeing Naruto turn into a different direction.
"We are going to my parent's house," Naruto said.
"…"
Naruto continued to walk a few meters before finally turning back.
"What?" Naruto asked.
"Whew♪" Shikamaru whistled.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" Naruto asked.
"Have you forgotten Menma, there's no way I'm meeting your monster of a mom," Shikamaru said at the thought of a flaming Kushina.
"What did she do now?" Naruto asked.
"It's been this way since the beginning," Shikamaru complained.
"…" ("He's too much of a coward…") Naruto thought.
However, only Shikamaru was aware of what had happened to him since his days with Menma from the beginning.
Naruto looked at Shikamaru.
"You either follow me home or go meet my wife in the office along with Ino," Naruto said.
Shikamaru raised a white flag.
"I give up," Shikamaru said.
("Just how much scary is this Ino?") Naruto asked himself as he mentally compared an angry Kushina against his imagination of Ino's sadist version.
Soon the two reached Menma's house where Minato and Kushina lived.
"I'm Home!" Naruto announced as he opened the door.
"Menma?" Kushina stepped out from within only to stop in one place and stare with fiendish eyes towards the spot next to Naruto.
"Shi-ka-ma-ru," Kushina called out his name.
"H-He-Hello," Shikamaru greeted like a scaredy-cat.
"You have guts," Kushina raised a fist.
"What happened, mom?" Naruto asked.
"L-long story," Shikamaru said in a timid voice.
"Long cleanup for me," Kushina growled in a low voice.
"…" Naruto stared with a poker face, not knowing what had happened between these two in the past.
…
*Sh!*
Shikamaru had a plump swelling on top of his head, which was a result of Kushina's fist.
"So what brings my son here today?" Kushina asked in a sweet voice.
"Mom, I uh…"
"Wanted to bring some food for Sakura…" Naruto said slowly.
"Say no more,"
"I'll take care of it," Kushina said as she headed into the kitchen.
"Sorry," Naruto said to Shikamaru.
"Ah, it's nothing…" Shikamaru shook his head.
"How's Shikadai doin?" Kushina asked from inside the Kitchen.
"He's doing good, in fact, the entire village is hyped about those two," Shikamaru said.
"huh?" Naruto was confused.
"Hanato and Shikadai," Shikamaru said.
"Those two are strategy types,"
"Even though my son excels by just one more point in IQ, your son more than makes for it in terms of firepower," Shikamaru praised.
"whoah…" Naruto was surprised.
"In fact, the Feudal Lord is really hyped about those two, that he is setting aside huge funds to bet on who would be the winner between the two…" Shikamaru said.
"Hanato is that popular?" Naruto asked.
"You don't know how popular he is…" Shikamaru said as he stared at the ceiling, imagining the rivalry that existed between the two…
Soon, Kushina was done packing the boxes.
"Here, Menma, One for Sakura-chan and the other for Irina-chan," Kushina said.
("Wait a minute!")
("Who the hell is Irina now?") Naruto panicked.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Indie131998
Indie131998 Hey Guys,
thanks for noticing the part that I had messed up in half sleep. Yup, I didn't intentionally write Naruto, I was supposed to write Menma, but I was typing the chapter in half sleep. Anyways, that gave me an idea to extend the chapter by a few words, so Thank you guys for the comments.
Hopefully I can figure out what to write for the next chapter.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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