Witty Naruto Life

Chapter 210 The True Thoughts of Shan Zhongfeng
"I see. So Naruto is already consciously planning for the bigger picture..."

Shikaku looked thoughtful, and his expression towards Shikamaru showed a mixture of relief and displeasure.

He was pleased that his son had finally figured things out and was trying to get on Naruto's bandwagon, but he was also annoyed that his son was so talented that he could only be relegated to the role of strategist, which he found quite regrettable.

Years ago, Shikaku and Asuma talked about how Shikamaru was perfectly capable of competing for Hokage, but Naruto's strong performance in recent years has made them talk about this less and less.

"Listen carefully, this matter must be strongly supported no matter what; what the mountain tribe thinks is secondary."

"As long as it's not too extravagant, you can go ahead and do it. As the head of the Nara clan, I will support you."

Shikaku had made his decision, and Shikamaru could only nod in agreement. He then heard his father's voice, a tone of both pity and anger at his father's lack of ambition:
"Naruto grew up without parents, yet he has grown up to this extent. You should learn a lot from him."

Shikamaru immediately backed down, looking impatient: "I don't have such grand ambitions as him. Becoming Hokage sounds like a lot of trouble..."

"Hmph," Shikaku snorted coldly, and said leisurely, "Do you know what Naruto said when he first talked about his dream?"

"how?"

Shikaku scoffed, "He said he only wanted to be a Jonin, that's Kakashi's exact words, but now he's already a powerful figure in the village!"

"Why has his mindset changed while yours remains unchanged? You need to reflect on this. After all, I am the head of the clan, and you will most likely inherit my mantle in the future..."

Just as Lu Jiu was getting into the conversation, he heard an angry female voice coming from the kitchen: "You two, can't you finish your food already? It's getting cold!"

Shikamaru and Shikaku immediately fell silent, especially the head of a certain clan, who glanced back several times before silently raising his newspaper to cover his face.

Shikamaru: "..."

……

the other side.

Ichiraku Ramen House.

"Why didn't you come to me about this sooner? You're even doing cosplay now..."

Sakura looked at Naruto, who was sniffing the aroma of noodles with his eyes closed, and said irritably.

She believes that Naruto's cosplay of the mysterious Wind Release masked man is not very reliable and brings too much danger to himself.

"Now that you've gotten rid of Kakuzu, aren't you afraid that the plot will change in a way that's unfavorable to you?"

Naruto opened his eyes, looking utterly dejected: "So what? No matter how I change it, the plot will always go against me. Don't you know Murphy's Law?"

That's because you didn't discuss it with me.

"Yes, yes, because someone kept dragging their feet on confirming our relationship, which made me feel bad and led me to make a wrong judgment... Sigh~ Look at the mess this has made."

Naruto's sudden counterattack made Sakura blush, and she whispered, "Is it any different now whether we confirm it or not..."

"Ah? What did you say?"

“The noodles are here!”

Suddenly, a sound came from inside. Changpu warmly brought two bowls of noodles and handed them to the two of them. The room fell silent for a moment, and then only the sounds of slurping noodles and drinking soup could be heard.

five minutes later.

"Another bowl!" Naruto held up the empty bowl and said to Sakura beside him, "Stop joking... You have to come with me this time to chase Kakuzu and make sure he's completely dead."

Sakura took a sip of the noodle soup and said, "Hmm." Then she complained, "Why is the food here so bland? I feel like I have no soul left."

"Is it possible that it's because your region has strong flavors?"

"Our local cuisine is strong because of the climate."

“I get it, so you guys have a lot of hot girls over there…” Naruto saw Sakura glare at him and wisely changed the subject: “Ahem, this time I’ll continue to wear the masked man’s disguise and try to make the Akatsuki misjudge.”

Sakura already knew Naruto's plan, so she didn't say anything and just nodded silently.

The two quickly finished their food, when suddenly they vaguely heard a 'crack' sound.

Sakura: "..."

Naruto: "...After this incident, I'll go and have a heart-to-heart talk with him."

This kid's addicted to being a paparazzi, isn't he?

However, this cannot be entirely blamed on Konohamaru. Firstly, Naruto introduced this path, and secondly, Naruto is a natural source of high traffic. A qualified reporter would do everything possible to get close to Naruto.

To put it bluntly, it was Naruto's own choices that caused the plot and characters to change; in his own words, it was Murphy's Law.

"Click——"

There was another sound.

Naruto grew impatient and abruptly lifted the curtain, but found no trace of Konohamaru hiding nearby.

"He's improved, but the improvement is misguided." Naruto shook his head as he looked at the traces left at the alley entrance.

He originally intended to train Konohamaru to be a warrior with both strength and speed at A rank, but who knew he would become more and more like an assassin.

I wonder if this guy's fate will change because of his series of changes.

Just then, Naruto heard a noise coming from behind him.

"Let's go, shall we leave today?" Sakura followed and pulled back the curtain to indicate that she had already paid the bill.

"Wait a little longer, wait for Shikamaru's side."

Naruto said goodbye to Sakura and then went to the training ground to continue practicing Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

…… afternoon.

The top floor of the Hokage Building.

It's unclear when it started, but whenever Naruto Uzumaki is involved, important figures tacitly choose this place to have a frank meeting with him.

Even now, even if Naruto doesn't appear, things related to him will still be discussed here.

Shikamaru was no exception.

He was leaning halfway up the railing, recalling his father's instructions while gazing quietly into the distance, feeling the wind blowing on his face.

"This is really a headache..."

Without realizing it, Shikamaru had stopped asking people to play shogi.

"Excuse me, are you the one who came to see me?"

Suddenly, an orange-haired figure appeared in the distance. Shikamaru turned his head and saw Yamanaka Kaze walking towards him, a hint of tension in his expression.

He couldn't quite guess what Shikamaru was thinking. He and Shikamaru were complete strangers, but he knew very well that Shikamaru was Naruto's man.

Right now, everything involving Naruto Uzumaki is dangerous for him.

“That’s right, my name is Nara Shikamaru, son of Nara Shikaku.” Shikamaru held out his hand. This was a sentence that Shikaku had instructed him to say, to show his identity.

Yamanaka Kaze felt a chill run down his spine, then reached out and shook hands with him, his mind racing with various possibilities.

The next moment, he decided to take the initiative: "Is it related to Naruto Uzumaki?"

Shikamaru was taken aback, but didn't immediately answer: "Why would you think that?"

"Do you know about underwater whirlpools? Their existence means that everything around them will be swallowed up," Yamanaka Kaze said slowly.

Shikamaru blinked, not immediately understanding his meaning, but quickly realized: "You mean..."

"Naruto Uzumaki is that kind of person. As long as we're still in Konoha, we'll definitely be influenced by him." Yamanaka Fu swallowed hard and continued:
"You want me to join him, right? Could you please pass on a message for me: I have no ambition, I don't want anything, I just want to stay in a corner by myself."

His expression showed no fear or arrogance, but his tone was fluent, as if he had said those words many times before.

This is understandable. Everyone is different, and not everyone will blindly choose to side with Naruto. There will always be people with different ideas.

Shikamaru frowned slightly. Now that he said that, many of the lines his father had prepared for him were no longer useful.

To ensure Shikamaru could do this job well, Shikaku specially designed many 'negotiation packages' for Yamanaka Fu, covering all aspects of his life—of course, the information all came from Shiroi.

Using shared interests as a basis is a very common negotiation tactic.

After a moment's thought, Shikamaru immediately changed his negotiation strategy: "Since you also know that he is a whirlpool, then you should be well aware of the consequences of going against the current, right?"

His tone gradually hardened.

Shan Zhongfeng was not surprised. Instead, he said calmly, "Kill me or torture me, it's up to you." He then made a "please" gesture, looking like a tough nut to crack.

Shikamaru finally understood why Yamanaka Inoichi, the head of his clan, had failed to persuade this great god.

They did not express any interests or show any fear of threats.

Shikamaru stared at Yamanaka Fu, and the two stared at each other for several minutes. The latter did not blink, and seemed to be showing a hint of competing with Shikamaru.

Shikamaru suddenly chuckled: "You're not as indifferent as I thought."

The mountain wind is silent, its lips pressed tightly together.

“Sometimes, not expressing an opinion is also a form of expression. Just like how you are stubbornly refusing to agree to me right now, it means that you are dissatisfied with Naruto.”

Shikamaru said leisurely, "Let me guess. You've followed Danzo since you were a child, so you admire him a lot? Or do you only agree with Root's ideology and disagree with Naruto's? Or perhaps Naruto accidentally killed your best friend... Could it be Shimura Kazuhiko?"

Yamanaka Fu couldn't help but say, "Naruto Uzumaki is too hasty... Konoha doesn't belong to him alone. He should listen to the opinions of ordinary villagers."

“Interesting. The villagers around me all praise him and can’t wait for him to become the Sixth Hokage.” Shikamaru retorted.

This is true. Naruto pioneered psychological therapy, healing the psychological trauma of many ninjas and showing kindness to the villagers.

Furthermore, his humanistic ideas are highly accepted among the people, since no one wants to be treated as a waste product for the village.

Shan Zhongfeng shook his head: "Not all the villagers think that way."

His attitude represented a small group of villagers who were conservative in their thinking and believed that Naruto was too young, had taken too big a step, and was not mature enough.

Upon hearing this, Shikamaru had a sudden inspiration and said, "Then why don't you tell him yourself?"

"What did you say?"

Shikamaru laughed: "Naruto wants to contact you, why don't you persuade him yourself? Why do you have to be a coward?"

The wind in the mountains remained silent, and Shikamaru continued his attack: "He is indeed very good at fighting, but his philosophy doesn't advocate solving problems with violence, right?"

“If I were you, I would use this to get close to him, and then prove him wrong by showing him that what he’s doing is wrong,”

"It would be best if you could convince him, but even if you can't persuade him and he gets angry, that just proves you're right."

"Even if you sacrifice yourself in the end, your death will have value. At least you'll show the people of Konoha their true colors..."

Shikamaru's momentum continued to build, but finally, his tone suddenly softened: "...Isn't it better than being laughed at by everyone as a coward, right?"

The mountain wind made his eyes twitch.

(End of this chapter)