章節 299: Chapter 299: Sakura got slapped by reality
Hospital.
"Shikamaru."
A blond Naruto with a spirited laugh brings his gift of instant ramen to visit his good friend in the hospital, where only Shikamaru lies in bed.
"You're getting discharged soon with those injuries, aren't you, Shikamaru?"
The clueless Naruto doesn't yet realize what his friend has lost.
Shikamaru, looking at Naruto, forces a smile, "I'm fine now, Naruto."
Getting out of bed, even though he no longer feels pain in his lower body, he still feels something is off, having lost some flesh.
But the resilience of a ninja allowed Shikamaru to quickly adjust to his body's new balance.
"Naruto, I heard you're leaving?"
During this time, Shikamaru has clearly understood that the decades-long alliance of the Ino-Shika-Cho is now broken, and he quickly glances at Naruto without showing his thoughts.
The unsuspecting Naruto, with his bright smile, says, "Yeah, I'll continue my training with Pervy Sage in half a month."
Hearing this, Shikamaru smiles, "Congratulations, Naruto. Under Lord Jiraiya's guidance, you'll surely become a strong ninja."
"Haha, don't worry, Shikamaru. When I return, we'll do missions together."
Naruto's smile masks his own comfort to his friend, as Team 10 has also fallen apart.
Yet, Naruto is unaware of the calculations in Shikamaru's mind.
Seeing Naruto's sunny smile, Shikamaru thinks to himself, "Now, the Uchiha clan's dominance in the village is an undeniable fact, and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans are no longer united as before."
"The once powerful forces are nearly all in decline. To grow, we need someone!"
Thinking this, Shikamaru glances subtly at Naruto.
Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage and student of one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, and himself being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, his future achievements are bound to be great.
Shikamaru sees the young, ambitious Uchiha Yoru, whose ambitions will one day clash with the entire ninja world. Even the First Hokage passed away young due to hidden injuries; Yoru, opposing the whole ninja world, might also get hurt.
If an accident occurs, Naruto will have a chance.
Even if nothing happens, he and his clan must bet on Naruto. If he becomes as strong as Jiraiya, his future status will undoubtedly be high.
So, for the Nara clan, he must firmly tie his fate to Naruto's chariot. This is the only way out for the Nara clan.
If he had a choice, he would choose his classmate Uchiha Sasuke, but he has seen through the village's policies.
Cozying up to the Akimichi, suppressing the Nara, and letting the Yamanaka do as they please!
By cozying up to a few strong and loyal Akimichi ninjas, they have effectively split the Akimichi clan. This 'cozying up' is more like a division.
The Yamanaka clan! Thinking of this, Shikamaru narrows his eyes looking at the window sill, perhaps because of Ino's influence, the Yamanaka clan might soon have the youngest female clan leader.
So, the Nara clan, the smartest and most oppressive against the Uchiha in the past, has become hated.
"Naruto, is your dream still to become the Sixth Hokage?"
In these past few days, Shikamaru has analyzed the current situation and now has a plan in mind when he sees Naruto.
And Naruto, hearing Shikamaru's words, the two leaning on the windowsill, exchange smiles.
"Becoming the Sixth Hokage is just my first step!"
The Naruto of the moment, like a newly risen morning sun, is full of vitality and determination.
"I will become the Sixth Hokage to prove that tyranny and annexation only bring war and harm to the ninja world. Only mutual understanding can bring peace."
I have to say, Naruto's resolve in his ninja way is truly charismatic, or else he wouldn't have attracted so many followers in the original story.
Unfortunately, this time, people with status have secretly become aware that Naruto has issues, naturally leading them to be somewhat guarded against him, even Jiraiya.
After the higher-ups found out, although they couldn't speak openly about it, their attitudes gradually influenced those below them. Over time, Naruto actually gained little admiration for his ninja way within the village.
Even Shikamaru now focuses more on his family, especially since his father is suffering from severe mental trauma, experiencing excruciating headaches with any mental exertion.
With the serious aftereffects, his resistance to illusions is hard to describe, so the family's pressure has almost entirely fallen on his shoulders.
The once lazy and troublesome-averse Shikamaru has now taken on a heavy responsibility.
"Naruto, I believe in you. You can definitely do it."
Beneath Shikamaru's smiling face, there's a touch of guilt. Although there's an element of using Naruto for his ends, he feels sorry towards his companion, but at least he's genuinely trying to help Naruto.
"Ha ha, just wait and see, Shikamaru. I'll definitely teach that arrogant Sasuke a lesson. The Sixth Hokage can only be me, Naruto."
With a silly grin, Naruto is unaware of his companion's utilitarian intentions, casually patting Shikamaru on the shoulder.
"Shikamaru, since you're healed, why haven't you been discharged from the hospital?"
The tactless Naruto, with a sudden change of topic, makes Shikamaru somewhat unable to cope, his face showing an awkward and unnatural smile.
"Cough cough, my injuries are almost healed, but they still need to be observed, after all, wounds can easily get infected."
"Oh, I see. That's too troublesome, look at my body." Naruto excitedly gestured to his own muscles.
As if to say, look at me, no matter how serious the injury, I can heal quickly.
However, this scene made Shikamaru a bit embarrassed. He couldn't just say, 'if you're so capable, why don't you cut off a piece of your flesh and heal me?'
Regarding the loss of flesh, Shikamaru, although somewhat regretful, did not suffer much. After all, his personality has always found such things troublesome. And as a ninja, becoming disabled is not uncommon, so being able to preserve his life and complete ninja abilities is already quite comforting.
As for the issue of offspring, his father is mentally traumatized, not dead. If necessary, he can just continue producing offspring.
This twisted mindset of the ninja world, combined with Shikamaru's personality, now makes him more focused on what he can do for his family and his own future.
In the hospital, Naruto went to visit another injured companion, Akimichi Choji.
In the hospital room, filled with the smell of disinfectant, Akimichi Choji's face had thinned, his hands wrapped in thick bandages, needing daily medication.
"Choji, take good care of yourself. I'll come to see you, but in half a month, I have to leave."
Facing the straightforward and passionate Naruto, Akimichi Choji showed a simple smile. After all, when they formed the pursuit team, Naruto was the only one who agreed to go without a second thought.
"Thank you, Naruto."
Choji is grateful to Naruto, but beside him, Shikamaru's expression is somewhat dim.
Indeed, the once close friends, Akimichi Choji and he now have an invisible barrier between them.
They've grown distant, isolated.
It's only the oblivious Naruto who hasn't noticed. Ever since entering the room, Akimichi Choji's eyes have almost always been avoiding Shikamaru, and the two haven't spoken a word.
"Naruto, I'm going to find a doctor to change my bandages."
"Go ahead, Shikamaru. I'll chat with Choji."
Seeing that the atmosphere was not quite right, Shikamaru lazily waved his hand and chose to leave for the time being. Did he regret what happened before?
As Shikamaru stepped outside, a dim light flashed in his eyes. Faced with the choice between his father and his companions' fathers, he would still choose his own father.
There's nothing else to it; this is human nature and normal thinking.
"I saved your father and gave up my own? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Yet, it's such a simple truth, but Choji just watched helplessly as his own father passed away.
Standing from different perspectives, everything is different.
Faced with Shikamaru's choice, did Choji think it was wrong? No! But when the image of his father suffering and exploding haunted him night and day, his feelings towards his companion were no longer the same as before.
Neither side is wrong, but their perspectives and feelings are different, creating an almost unsolvable problem that led the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to go their separate ways.
…
"Sakura?"
Walking in the hospital corridor, Shikamaru encountered his teammate Sakura. They both smiled and greeted each other when they met.
"I've been thinking about learning some medical ninjutsu lately."
Haruno Sakura's face was full of smiles, but Shikamaru could see through her facade. Hidden behind her smile were strain and pressure.
Shikamaru instantly realized the immense pressure of being in Team 7 under Kakashi, the Jounin. One teammate is the son of the Fourth Hokage, a Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, a naturally born strong ninja, further trained by Jiraiya.
The other, Uchiha Sasuke, is a disciple of the legendary "God of Ninja," a genius in their class.
Haruno Sakura, coming from an ordinary family, lacked both a significant heritage and a personal mentor, as Kakashi was only their team leader, not a master-disciple relationship.
Thus, Sakura's ordinary background made her situation awkward, especially after the Chunin Exams where the gap in abilities between her and the others widened significantly.
Before, when Naruto was still around, she hadn't noticed it much. But with Naruto leaving for training with Jiraiya soon, Sakura came to a stark realization about her role.
A burden!
"Medical ninja, huh? That's not a bad direction."
Shikamaru said with a comforting smile, though inwardly he sighed. Becoming a medical ninja wasn't easy, requiring vast knowledge that many found overwhelming.
This knowledge is precious to medical ninjas, not something to be shared lightly.
"Really? I think so too. In the future, I could help Sasuke."
Sakura, in her daze, seemed invigorated by the affirmation, showing an excited smile.
At this moment, Shikamaru appeared to have thought of something, a glint in his eye, but he kept his face unchanged, engaging in casual conversation instead.
"By the way, what's Sasuke been up to lately? Your team's Naruto is about to leave for training with Jiraiya."
"Sasuke is also undergoing special training. I heard he's been assigned to train with Orochimaru for two years."
Team 7 was practically defunct now.
"I see."
Shikamaru glanced subtly at Sakura, noticing her undeniable sense of loss.
The gap was widening, and there seemed to be issues between Sasuke and Naruto!
Shikamaru thought deeply. Having chosen Naruto's side, he had to disrupt the relationship between the two.
Otherwise, if Naruto ended up following Sasuke's advice, the Nara clan would never have their day in the sun.
And to disrupt their friendship, their bond as teammates!
Shikamaru, with his lazy gaze, looked at Sakura. Wasn't she the best candidate for this?
Sakura likes Sasuke, Naruto likes Sakura, but Sasuke didn't reciprocate Sakura's feelings. In such a complex relationship, what better way to stir discord than through a woman's influence?
Unaware, as they talked and walked to the window under Shikamaru's subtle guidance, Sakura didn't realize her inner pressure was being manipulated.
"My family is ordinary, with no heritage to learn powerful ninjutsu from, and no teacher willing to take me as a disciple. After all, I'm just an ordinary ninja."
Sakura looked helpless, as if she finally understood her reality, her own limitations.
"Shikamaru, you're the smartest. What do you think I should do?"
Sakura, in her helplessness, turned to her classmate, her eyes filled with hope. After all, the Nara clan was also a distinguished family, and helping her should be an easy task for them.
Watching the hooked Sakura, Shikamaru couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile and shake his head.
"Sakura, under normal circumstances, it would be a trivial matter. I could totally use my family's connections to introduce you to a medical ninja, or help you access some medical materials, but now!"
At this point, Shikamaru lets out a self-deprecating bitter laugh. "My father is in trouble, the clan is in disarray, with the recent events, I dare not act rashly."
"I'm sorry." Sakura quickly apologizes, feeling embarrassed. After all, the recent events of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans have already spread throughout Konoha, and she is well aware of them.
The Akimichi clan has split. The Yamanaka clan is somewhat unstable, but it seems that with Ino's return to the clan under the assistance of the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, taking the position of clan head, she has become the youngest and the only female leader of the Yamanaka clan to date.
As for the Nara clan! Recently!
Ah!
"Sakura, we are no longer the flowers in the greenhouse of the school. Reality is cruel. To become a strong ninja, you need to find a good teacher, but Jonin are extremely precious. Without connections and resources, you don't even have a direction to work hard."
At this moment, Shikamaru speaks calmly, and Sakura listens with a face full of bitter smiles, fully aware of this harsh reality.
Once in the Ninja Academy, she thought highly of herself for her good grades, but since becoming a ninja, reality has long awakened her.
Ninjutsu resources, who teaches you? Without anyone, you need connections.
As for connections! She, an ordinary ninja, where to find them?
It's not that there are no opportunities to learn powerful ninjutsu. One must achieve great deeds, but how can she, an ordinary ninja, accomplish that?
Those who achieve great deeds are either strong or lucky.
The last option is to accumulate over the years through your own missions. But by the time she has accumulated enough, she is no longer the young girl she once was, and she has the burden of a family.
It's like another cycle.
~~~
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