Naruto: The Information Broker from the Uchiha Clan

If forced... only a completely white, paralyzed paper doll will appear.

But how strong is the Eight Gates Formation? How strong is Might Guy?

At the last major meeting, Yun clearly stated that subsidies were needed for this type of ninja.

Putting aside those with overpowered abilities, a typical genius would be someone like Kakashi.

And the genius who works hard...

Might Guy can judge a person's upper body movements simply by looking at their footsteps; this is a result of training in eye techniques.

The description is simple, but only he and his disciple Xiao Li know how much training is involved.

The Sharingan's genjutsu was avoided, and the speed at which Kamui could be activated was a joke to Guy, who had opened the Seventh Gate. Leaving aside the Eighth Gate, I've always felt that Kakashi couldn't even defeat Might Guy with the Seventh Gate.

After learning about the village's policies from Neji, Xiao Li's mood improved somewhat.

Clenching his fists with excitement, tears welling in his eyes, he said, "The village acknowledges the efforts of me and my teacher. We've always been noticed. Hard work can indeed defeat genius—it's true!"

Neji rubbed his temples: "You seem to be able to open only the Fifth Gate yet, right? Compared to Guy-sensei, you're still a ways off..."

At this moment, Sai, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, interjected: "A true genius... no, I should say a talent. With the power of Naruto and Sasuke, you probably could never beat them in your entire life, right?"

(丿○Д○)丿

Xiao Li felt as if he had been choked, and for a moment he felt depressed.

Tenten, standing to the side, glared helplessly at Sai: "If you can't speak properly, then speak less. How come your personality hasn't changed at all? Who can compare to those two monsters?"

Sai nodded, his gaze shifting to Hinata, who was still being teased: "Team 7, if we're talking about monsters... that one is the real one..."

Before Neji could even utter the word "monster," he shoved it down.

"You bastard, if I didn't know your personality so well, I'd really like to punch you!"

Sai showed no dissatisfaction: "She is indeed terrifyingly strong. So sometimes, bloodlines are much more important than hard work and talent..."

Sai then looked at Neji: "With the combination of the Uzumaki and Hyuga clans, your future nephew will probably be even stronger..."

A black mass sealed Sai's mouth shut, and with a buzzing sound, dragged him back.

Yu Nu Qu Gen bowed slightly: "I'm so sorry, his mouth is so foul. I'll take him to wash it off."

Neji nodded.

Xiao Li asked in surprise, "When did you arrive, Qu Gen? Oh, right, I remember you have a cousin who is also familiar with us, what's his name again?"

"Excuse me, my name is Shino Aburame."

The sudden sound behind him startled Xiao Li, who turned his head to look left and right.

"Who was speaking just now? Where did they go?"

Shino covered her forehead and said, "Shino, is this easily overlooked characteristic of yours also a kind of talent?"

At that moment, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Naruto and Sasuke, who were late, walked in.

"Sorry we're late."

"It's so rare to see everyone in the village; it's really lively today."

Karin didn't get up to give up her seat. Instead, she hugged Hinata's arm tightly and felt the closeness between them: "Men and women should sit separately, so you two can only sit opposite each other."

Hinata's face was still red, while Sakura, who had already gotten what she wanted, just smiled and looked at Sasuke.

So the two newlyweds ended up sitting with the single guys.

As the eating and drinking began, and after a few bottles of wine, these young people, who had just started to be able to drink, began to let loose.

Shikamaru tugged at Naruto and whispered, "The new Chunin Exams are about to begin. It's become a tradition to hold them in Konoha these past few years. Have you heard who's leading the Sand Village team?"

Naruto was stunned.

Chunin Exams?

Does this thing still have anything to do with them?

Sasuke chimed in, "Some people have been having such a good time lately, they're practically delusional. Why would they be paying attention to this? But Shikamaru, it's a bit strange that you're interested in this..."

(⊙o⊙)！ Shikamaru: "What am I wondering? Nothing, what's strange about it? I was just asking. If there's no news, then forget it."

His three denials made even Naruto think he was acting strangely.

"What's wrong with you? Is there a problem with Sunagakure?"

Shikamaru waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, I was just asking. Let's drink."

Naruto, who had just finished a glass of wine in a daze and was about to ask what was going on, was interrupted by Ino looking over from the opposite side.

"During the joint Chunin Exams with Sunagakure the time before last, I remember one of the Jonin in charge was, I think, the Kazekage's older sister..."

Ino asked curiously, "Shikamaru, you've taken a liking to him?!"

→_→→_→→_→

In an instant, all eyes were on them.

This awkward situation made Shikamaru realize he was in a truly dire situation.

At this crucial moment, Choji, who had been stuffing his mouth with grilled meat, stopped and looked at everyone.

"Huh? You all knew? Shikamaru told me to keep it a secret, how did you all find out?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Choji.

"Snapped!"

Shikamaru slapped his smooth forehead with one hand, his face full of frustration and speechlessness.

For the first time, he felt that his brain must have degenerated.

He originally thought Choji was the most honest and capable of keeping secrets, but he forgot that such a person is also the easiest to trick into revealing information.

"Snapped!"

Naruto patted Shikamaru on the shoulder: "Looks like you'll be the next one to get married, Shikamaru?"

Karin quickly pulled Ino over: "Tell me, tell me, what's going on? The Fifth Kazekage's older sister? Is she old?"

Sasuke, who was on the other side, said, "Gaara is about the same age as us. He must be talking about that Temari, right? I remember... we were in the same cohort for the Chunin Exams."

In an instant, everyone's curiosity was piqued, and they bombarded him with questions.

Shikamaru, having given up all hope, chose to tell the truth.

Finally, Shikamaru sighed and said, "Although the current situation of the five great ninja villages is centered on Konoha, and relatively speaking, Sunagakure and Konoha are closer, there is no precedent for inter-village relations."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone understood.

The five great ninja villages have always been rife with hatred. With the Land of Rain as the battlefield, countless small-scale conflicts have occurred between Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha.

With generations of accumulated hatred, marriage is virtually nonexistent.

But now the situation has fundamentally changed, and because of this change, Konoha has become the center of the entire ninja world.

The foundation of all reforms, the series of achievements of the research department, and the annual budgets of the five great ninja villages all come from Konoha.

This situation is also different from the past, so the relationships between the ninjas of different villages have also changed significantly.

"You should understand."

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru: "After the various daimyo's territories were destroyed one after another, many of the older generation of ninjas in the five great ninja villages were also purged by the Akatsuki. Now, the higher-ups of the various villages have tacitly agreed not to launch an attack on Akatsuki, which is an acceptance of purging all past hatreds."

“Hate has little to do with the new generation of ninjas, and the general trend of peace has made the new generation very different from the older generation.”

"What you need to consider is not the relationship between villages, but the courage to break with convention."

Shikamaru downed a cup of sake and rubbed his temples.

He understood what Sasuke was saying, and even grasped the key point.

However, the thought of how troublesome this matter would be made him want to back down.

In fact, not having experienced the Fourth Shinobi World War and with Shikaku still alive, he did miss out on a lot of growth.

After all, I've always approached this with a "don't want to go through all that trouble" attitude since I started at the Ninja Academy.

"Isn't the Nara family always known for their intelligence?"

At that moment, Karin's voice rang out.

He crossed his arms and looked at Shikamaru with disdain: "If you have feelings for someone, just go for it, right? The current situation isn't that it's impossible. If there's trouble, use your brain to solve it. It's not a big problem, is it?"

Sakura nodded, "Karin is right, you are the smartest one among us friends."

Hinata whispered a word of encouragement.

One by one, my classmates offered their encouragement, although I seemed to have missed two of them.

However, there is only one exception...

"Marriage is also a form of spiritual practice. If you succeed, Shikamaru, perhaps I can also find a beautiful woman to marry... After all, my peers are all..."

Before Sai could finish speaking, a fist descended from the sky and landed on his head, slamming him under the table.

Sakura chuckled and looked at everyone: "Huh? He must have been acting crazy just now, so I gave him a good talking to, huh? Hahaha!"

Naruto's eyelids twitched, and he glanced at his brother Sasuke with pity in his eyes.

Hinata is so gentle; Sakura is just too scary.

After Sai was reprimanded, the atmosphere in the private room warmed up again.

They encouraged Shikamaru with their words, while Tenten's eyes shone as she glanced at Neji. The four married people, who knew the situation perfectly well, felt that perhaps they should lend a hand.

So Naruto and Sasuke started drinking with Neji, one cup after another.

Sasuke was the first to give up, while Naruto used the Nine-Tails inside him to evaporate the alcohol, and Neji's competitive spirit was greatly amplified when facing Naruto.

then……

As expected, Neji got drunk.

After the event ended, Sakura supported Sasuke and patted Tenten's shoulder with her other hand: "Neji is in your hands now. You should be able to be braver in times like this. Good luck!"

Tian Tian stammered, her face flushed, and only after everyone had left did she realize that even Xiao Li had been taken away.

He reached out his finger and couldn't resist poking Neji's cheek.