Chapter 414: Overestimating Oneself
Three days later, at night, Nara clan.
Masahiko and Shikaku Nara sat facing each other, playing shogi, while Shikamaru-kun watched the game from the side, occasionally serving tea and pouring water.
"Not bad shogi skills," Masahiko praised calmly.
"Still a bit lacking compared to you."
"Of course, you weren't even born yet when I started playing shogi."
Shikaku: "..."
Masahiko's shogi skills were improved many years ago because he got frustrated losing to his eldest nephew... so he spent 5 Witness Points to reach level eight and then beat his eldest nephew to a pulp.
Since his eldest nephew passed away, he hadn't touched the game. Coming to Shikaku's house this time and seeing him teaching Shikamaru-kun shogi made his hands itch, so he joined in.
At first, he lost a game due to carelessness, but once Masahiko got serious, Shikaku was no match for him. However, Shikaku could stall him for a long time, so his shogi level was probably close to level eight...
"Shikaku has almost reached his limit, but in a few years, Shikamaru-kun might surpass me... Heh, a mere junior won't have the chance to play shogi with me either."
"Senior, you coming to find me so late, is there something on your mind?" Shikaku pondered.
Masahiko smiled. "Last time at the Ninja Academy, I noticed Shikamaru-kun was very smart and clever. I told him I would come visit you at your house. I couldn't break my promise, right?"
"Thank you for the compliment, Great Ancestor! Please have some tea, Great Ancestor!" Shikamaru-kun handed over a teacup.
Masahiko chuckled, took it, drank a small sip, and put it down. Ever since drinking Coca-Cola in his spiritual space, tea had become dull and tasteless...
Shikaku suddenly spoke. "I lose."
Masahiko was startled. He frowned and studied the shogi board for a good while before nodding slightly.
Although his shogi skills were above Shikaku's, in terms of calculation ability, he really couldn't compare to Shikaku. Masahiko had to admit that even with his Yin attribute at level ten, his IQ was still slightly inferior to Shikaku's...
"Shikaku, I have another matter to discuss with you this time." Masahiko stopped Shikaku from resetting the shogi board.
"Please speak...?"
"There is this person who frequently exposes oddities in front of me, but I simply cannot confirm if there really is something wrong with him. What should I do?"
Ever since sensing something was wrong with Teuchi when buying ramen three days ago, Masahiko had gone to 'watch' him every day, but ultimately sensed nothing. Not only Teuchi, but Teuchi's wife Ayano and daughter Ayame were perfectly fine too; they were completely ordinary people.
Shikaku pondered for a moment. "If he has already exposed many oddities, why do you still say you cannot confirm that something is wrong with him?"
Masahiko smiled bitterly and shook his head. If the person exposing oddities wasn't Teuchi, he would have confirmed it long ago. But in his past life, the internet army of Ichiraku Otsutsuki was just too massive. He always worried he was being influenced by that and overthinking things...
"Is this person... very special?" Shikaku asked tentatively, waving his hand for Shikamaru-kun to leave.
Once Shikamaru-kun had walked far enough away, Masahiko blinked. "The owner of Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi."
"Him?!" Shikaku was shocked, then looked a bit helpless between laughter and tears. "He was selling ramen in Konoha when I was just a child. What could possibly be wrong with him?"
"You know I have a daughter named Sara, right? Inexplicably, she learned how to make ramen from him, fell in love with making ramen, and now she's almost 32 and still hasn't married. This worries me to death... Ahem! Also, about the mental impact a couple of days ago, you didn't lose consciousness, did you? That day, in all of Konoha, only Ichiraku Ramen was open for business. His entire family happened to be hiding outside, and..."
Masahiko rambled on for a long time before stopping. "Do you understand why I suspect him now?"
"Is that so..." Shikaku picked up his tea and took a sip. "It seems... either there really is something wrong with him, or you are overthinking it."
Masahiko nodded, then pursed his lips, immediately feeling the urge to tear down the Nara clan compound...
"Don't be hasty, I haven't finished." Seeing the situation turn sour, Shikaku quickly added. "If he really has a problem and repeatedly exposes it only in front of you, is it possible it's intentional? He wants to see your surprised expression, he is... teasing you?"
After saying this, Shikaku shook his head. "The possibility is too low. Given your strength, no one would dare do that. So I lean more towards you... overthinking it!"
Masahiko, however, ignored what Shikaku said at the end and fell into deep thought. "Teasing me? That's right, making me jumpy, isn't that exactly teasing me? Daring to do this, could he be certain I'm not his match? If he really is Ichiraku Otsutsuki, I might not actually be able to beat him..."
"But I'll only know after fighting! This guy is pushing it too far. Even if I can't beat him, I have to smash his face into a blooming flower, a blooming chrysanthemum!" Masahiko suddenly stood up, startling Shikaku.
"Senior, please calm down! This is very likely just your misconception; he is just a civilian! Moreover, even if he really has a problem, you must plan carefully. You cannot make a move inside Konoha!"
Masahiko took a deep breath. "Right, calm down. The world is so wonderful, yet I am so irritable. This is not good, not good."
Letting the Sage of Six Paths slip away like a rogue a few days ago, and being made paranoid by Teuchi these past few days, had left him feeling quite frustrated.
Having finally calmed down, Masahiko turned his head. "Don't worry, I will plan before I act."
"No matter what's up with Teuchi, his wife and daughter couldn't possibly have any problems, so they shouldn't be implicated... Eh? Wait a minute. If he has a problem, why doesn't Ayame even have any ninja aptitude?"
Shikaku smiled bitterly. "That's why I said, the most likely scenario is that you are overthinking."
Masahiko pondered for a moment. "Let me think about it some more. We can't just drop this matter so easily; he has been acting odd way too many times... If I make any new discoveries, I'll come back and ask for your advice!"
Shikaku nodded. "Come anytime you need!"
Masahiko blinked. "Also, stop slandering me in front of the kids. If there is a next time, I'll beat you up right in front of Shikamaru-kun!"
Shikaku was stunned and was about to explain, but Masahiko had already vanished.
"Shikamaru-kun! Get over here right now!"
The night was getting deep. Masahiko emerged from the Nara clan compound and paused for a moment in front of the closed Ichiraku Ramen shop, raising an eyebrow slightly. "If you really are just an ordinary person but can still confuse Great Ancestor like this, what's the harm in Great Ancestor recognizing you as Ichiraku Otsutsuki!"
"Great-grandfather, what Ichiraku Otsutsuki?" Kushina's voice came from the side.
Masahiko was startled, turned his head, and said, "It's so late, what are you doing here? Is Princess-kun asleep?"
Kushina smiled. "She's asleep, Minato is watching her. I came out to find you. I've been hearing you mutter about this ramen shop these past two days, I didn't expect you to really be here!"
Masahiko rolled his eyes. Was it that obvious? He really had been conflicted for a long time it seemed...
"Finding me... what is so urgent that it couldn't wait until I got back?"
Kushina showed two rows of little white teeth in her smile. "Great news! I wanted you to know sooner!"
"Oh?" Masahiko perked up.
"Take a guess? It came from the Land of Whirlpools!"
Masahiko paused, the corners of his mouth gradually curling up. "I know! Finally... I thought those two were going to stall until I died... Overestimating their capabilities!"
☆☆☆
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