Although Shikaku trusted his son completely, he still shut the request down flat.
"No."
"Wait until I've analyzed the drug's components first."
This was no joke — these were Orochimaru's research drugs.
Who knew what kind of nightmare drug that lunatic had cooked up this time?
Without confirming it was safe, there was zero chance Shikaku would let Shikage anywhere near it.
Rejected.
Shikage wasn't mad. He got it. The formula was sitting right there in their own research institute anyway — he'd get his hands on it sooner or later.
So he shrugged it off without a care.
He was about to say something else when a small figure trying to sneak past in the corridor caught his eye.
"Shikamaru, get over here."
Shikamaru, who had been quietly hiding to the side, opened his dead-fish eyes and shuffled over with obvious reluctance.
Of course, it was all an act.
The second he was called, warm joy flooded his chest.
"What?"
Seeing his little brother's fake-mature face, Shikage's lips curved. He gave the pineapple hair a firm smack.
"Still pretending?"
"Looks like someone doesn't want the get-well gift I brought."
Thoughts exposed, Shikamaru awkwardly turned his head, scratching his scalp, cheeks turning pink as he mumbled nonsense.
"Alright, here."
Shikage chuckled. Teasing baby Shikamaru was honestly one of his favorite pastimes.
"What's this?"
Shikamaru took the gift box with a deliberately casual look, but his eyes had already given him away.
He opened it, pulled out the note inside, and his eyes grew wider and wider.
"A… Nara clan apology letter?"
"Ah, my bad. Wrong one." Shikage grinned and pulled out a second gift box.
"No way, I want this one too!" Shikamaru swatted Shikage's hand away before he could "take it back," showing a rare burst of childish greed.
He ripped open the second box. The moment he saw the ninjutsu scroll inside, his whole face lit up.
Ever since he could remember, he had wanted to learn the clan's secret shadow techniques!
Today he finally had them!
"Thanks, big bro!"
The apology letter and the scroll together sent pure delight crashing through the little boy's heart.
Right now, in his eyes, no one in the world was better than Shikage!
[Target Favorability Conditions Met!]
[Contract Established — Shadow Contract (Nara Shikamaru) Acquired!]
Shikage, who had been cheerfully soaking up his little brother's thanks, suddenly raised an eyebrow. He grabbed Shikamaru's cheeks and pulled them excitedly.
"Good, good! Say thank you again!"
Watching the two brothers messing around together, Shikaku couldn't help but smile warmly.
This peaceful little scene — wasn't this exactly what he wanted to protect?
But the smile didn't last.
Thinking about the stubborn thorns still left in the clan, his head started to ache again.
—How the hell did they manage to drag this mess all the way to the Third Hokage…
...
[Shadow Vassal · Nara Shikamaru]
[Effect: Comprehension Efficiency +300%]
[Attached Skill: Clear Mind, Sharp Strategy (Grants instant thinking ability)]
[Note: Grows stronger as the main body grows stronger]
After studying the shadow template his little brother had just given him, Shikage quietly analyzed the new skill.
—Instant thinking ability…
Shadow soldiers had no independent thought. Every action was purely to carry out their lord's will.
They were basically AI — input command, output result.
—So this means…
—This is straight-up AI processing power boost?
He hadn't expected Shikamaru's template to come with something like this.
It didn't add new combat power, but from a certain angle this instant-thinking ability was actually way more valuable and rare.
It could let shadow soldiers learn leadership and command!
—The full picture is finally complete.
Shikage smiled softly. He had just found the perfect shortcut to rush No.2 straight into Shadow Knight.
Slap Naruto's template on for fast leveling, then swap to Shikamaru's for the promotion!
Second stage of the class quest — basically done.
Heart full of satisfaction, Shikage closed the system panel. Only then did he notice his father walking ahead with a deep frown.
"Don't worry, Dad."
"It's just a bunch of idiots trying to frame us."
Shikaku gave a bitter laugh.
"The problem is… you really did cripple that Nara kid."
"They're latching onto that point and won't let go. If things go south…"
Shikage wasn't worried in the slightest.
After all, it wasn't the victim himself filing the complaint.
A pack of nobodies using someone else's name to cause trouble posed zero real threat.
Even if it really was the victim himself, Shikage had plenty of ways to make him "forgive" everything.
Following Shikaku into the Hokage Building and up to the shinobi waiting room, the second they stepped inside, waves of hateful glares locked onto them.
Shikage walked past the hostile clansmen without a care and stood with his father at the "defendant" position.
Before either of them could speak, one of the Nara clansmen shot to his feet and shouted:
"Lord Hokage! Nara Shikage viciously harmed a fellow clansman!"
"I request he be imprisoned in Konoha's prison!"
His voice dripped with grievance, like he was the one who had been beaten.
Shikage looked at him with pure contempt — the same way you'd watch a clown perform.
He knew exactly what these guys were after.
Danzō had abandoned them. With their remaining scraps of power slipping away, they had no choice but to go all-in and beg the Third Hokage for help.
But would Sarutobi Hiruzen actually help them?
He was the eldest son of the Hokage's most trusted advisor!
That thought lasted only a split second before Shikage suddenly realized — the old man might actually do it.
Back when Kumogakure tried to kidnap Hyūga Hinata, even though they started it, Hiruzen still forced Hyūga Hizashi to die as atonement for the sake of "stability."
Konoha hadn't been weaker than Kumo back then. Why?
Even if Konoha really had weakened, was it necessary to sacrifice Hizashi for Hiashi?
Shikage genuinely couldn't understand that kind of logic.
In that moment, he finally got why his father had been so worried.
"Nara… is Nara Shiozuki's son. Shiozuki was secretly colluding with Orochimaru and had already committed treason in practice…"
Seeing that Hiruzen still hadn't spoken, Shikaku grew anxious and kept refuting the accusations.
He wanted to use Shiozuki's treason to justify Shikage's actions.
But the opposition had already predicted this. One of them sneered coldly:
"What does the father's crime have to do with the son?"
"Every child in Konoha is an inheritor of the Will of Fire!"
The second those words landed, Shikaku pressed his lips shut and said nothing.
Because that was exactly Hiruzen Sarutobi's core belief — the same reason he had been so reluctant to act against the Uchiha.
Just as the room fell into heavy silence, the Third Hokage finally spoke.
"Shikage did nothing wrong."
"I fully approve of his actions."