I just returned to Konoha and found that all my clan members were gone.

"Is it too soon, kid?"

Shikaku looked at his son who was already lying on the ground with some sarcasm.

No one knew what happened during this mission, but as soon as Shikamaru came back he asked his father to train him.

As the squad leader of the Jonin squad, Shikaku not only has an outstanding IQ, but his strength should not be underestimated. He easily controlled Shikamaru.

"I really don't know how you can say such things. Do you feel a sense of accomplishment after defeating me?"

Shikamaru managed to stand up, and the bruises on his body made him take a deep breath.

"I can't say I feel a sense of accomplishment, but it just makes me feel better."

Shikaku wasn't embarrassed at all, but rather was proud of it, as if he was doing something happy.

"What a disgusting and evil taste!"

As he spoke, Shikamaru threw a kunai, as if it was a last-ditch struggle.

Shikaku turned his body slightly and saw out of the corner of his eye that there was an explosive talisman behind the kunai.

"Boy, do you want to kill your dad?"

This kind of thing certainly couldn't cause any harm to Shikaku, but Shikamaru's decisiveness surprised him. Exploding Talismans were different from Kukus, in that they were controlled items and could not be used easily outside of missions.

A cloud of smoke covered the area, and Shikamaru endured the pain in his body and moved quickly.

He found a place that was neither too far nor too close to Lu Jiu and made a "Zi" seal.

Shadow Mimicry

Shikamaru's shadow quickly moved towards the smoke, trying to capture Shikaku's body. If he succeeded, he would win the competition.

"Boy, you are still a little naive to use shadow imitation against me."

Shikaku's lazy voice came from behind Shikamaru, and he didn't know when he was behind Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was not at all panicked when performing the ninjutsu, but instead showed a confident smile.

With a bang, Shikamaru, who was performing the shadow imitation technique, turned directly into smoke.

Shadow clone, are you ready from the beginning?

Shikaku quickly looked around to find any trace of Shikamaru.

"Successful."

Shikamaru seized this only opportunity and jumped out from the hidden tree the moment the shadow clone was released.

Facing the dazzling sun, their shadows are about to touch each other.

Shikaku's shadow seemed to be alerted and suddenly began to move, stopping Shikamaru's body directly like an extended arm.

"This is a shadow tentacle. You still have a lot to learn, kid."

Shikaku looked at Shikamaru who was stopped by the shadow and said with a smile that it was still too difficult for Shikamaru to deal with him now.

Shikamaru gave up struggling and returned to his unmotivated look. He knew that the only way he could defeat his father was if the other party was careless. He didn't expect that this person would not give him any chance at all.

"You should work on your taijutsu. Although you are qualified among the Chunins, your taijutsu is not good enough to become a Jonin."

There is something that Shikaku didn't say, which is that the amount of chakra is a combination of physical and mental. The stronger these two things are, the more chakra there is. Physical training is still very necessary.

"Asuma is such a long-winded guy."

From what Shikaku said, Shikamaru knew that Asuma was about to tell his father that he wanted to become a jonin.

"Asuma is still a very good guy. He can see himself clearly. There are not many such people in the ninja world."

Shikaku said thoughtfully that he was actually a little worried about handing over the descendants of Ino-Shika-Chou to Asuma, but he didn't expect that he did such a good job.

“Not everyone is as complicated as you think.”

Shikamaru's words became sarcastic, and being a smart man he immediately understood what Shikaku was talking about.

"It seems that something has caused you to misunderstand me."

Shikaku stopped smiling and looked at Shikamaru seriously.

However, Shikamaru didn't want to listen any further, so he stood up and spoke directly.

"Let's stop here for today's training. I want to take a rest."

After thinking about it, Shikaku stopped talking and let Shikamaru leave.

Arriving at the streets of Konoha, Shikamaru, who had nothing to do for a moment, didn't know where to go.

I looked up and saw a ramen restaurant.

Ichiraku Ramen, the place where Team 7 often gathers.

Speaking of which, because of Shikamaru, he rarely goes to this place for dinner parties.

Just consider it a change of appetite.

Shikamaru thought so and quickly came to the ramen restaurant.

"Shikamaru?"

As soon as they entered the ramen restaurant, two familiar voices were heard. Shikamaru looked and saw that it was Ino and his best friend Sakura.

"You are here too."

Since they were all acquaintances, Shikamaru sat directly next to Ino.

"Brother, what do you want to eat?"

Uncle Ichiraku greeted everyone warmly. The ramen restaurant is doing good business now, which is inseparable from Ichiraku's enthusiasm.

"Let's have a bowl of their signature ramen."

Shikamaru rarely eats this kind of thing, so he just ordered one at random.

After hearing Shikamaru's request, Uncle Ichiraku began to busy himself skillfully. Ino and Sakura came over when they saw him.

"Shikamaru, you look like you just finished training, right? Why are you out here just this morning? Didn't you say you were going to become a jonin?"

Ino, an old teammate, joked that Shikamaru had shocked Ino when he first mentioned this, but now it seemed that Shikamaru had returned to his unmotivated state.

"Don't say that, Shikamaru. Maybe he just wanted to take a break and have a meal."

Sakura is not as mean as Ino, and she doesn't seem to be as enthusiastic about attacking Shikamaru.

"I'm so sorry to disappoint you. I'm just like this. There's nothing I can do."

Shikamaru said lazily. He didn't want to explain anything. When he really became a Jonin, Ino would not say these words anymore.

"Shikamaru, please at least cheer up. Neji has become a jonin, and Shino has gone to the border. Our class is depending on you!"

When Shikamaru was really unmotivated, Ino actually encouraged him.

Shikamaru smiled and he knew that Ino was just like that.

The two girls were chattering beside him, and Shikamaru, who originally hated women, felt much better.

"Shikamaru, you met Sasuke during the mission this time, right..."

That's when Sakura asked.

Shikamaru looked at Ino, he thought it was Ino who revealed it.

Ino quickly shook her head, indicating that it was none of her business.

"Don't ask Ino, I learned this from Lady Tsunade."

Sakura said that she saw the document when she was cleaning up after Tsunade got drunk, and it recorded Sasuke's whereabouts.

"Since you already know, there is no need for us to hide it from you. Yes, we met Sasuke."

Shikamaru's noodles had been served, but he had no appetite for them at the moment.

"Sakura, and Ino. I know you still have some unrealistic ideas in your mind, but I just want to say give up."

Ino, who usually had a more cheerful personality, looked dim.

"It is impossible for Sasuke to return to Konoha. It is absolutely impossible. You can't win him back with emotions and ties. Just look at him and you will understand that he would rather join the Akatsuki organization. In his heart, there are things that are more important than us classmates."

The air was silent for a moment, and the only sound in the entire noodle shop was Uncle Ichiraku's voice.

"I'm done eating, you guys go on."

Sakura stood up, her eyes dull, and left the noodle shop in a daze.

"Shikamaru, you bastard."

Ino looked at Shikamaru unhappily, said something and left with Sakura.

"Wouldn't it be better to face the reality sooner..."

Shikamaru whispered, not knowing who he was talking to.

"You boy!"

Uncle Ichiraku's serious face came close to Shikamaru, and his thoughts were suddenly disrupted. He didn't know what Uncle Ichiraku wanted to say.

"Is the noodles I made not tasty? They are almost clumping together! No wonder girls don't like them!"

After hearing this, Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, and quickly picked up the bowl and chopsticks and started eating, instantly throwing all the messy thoughts behind his mind.