"That's a fine goal. I like it," Kanon remarked, lightly applauding Pain.
"So you see, Hidan-nii, making money is an essential part of the process."
"I get it already!" Hidan's voice was noticeably quieter than before.
"Deidara-nii, how do you feel about partnering with Tobi?" Kanon inquired.
"It's alright, I guess. That Tobi guy..."
Before Deidara could even finish his sentence, Tobi chimed in ahead of him.
"Senpai is such a wonderful person! Even though I don't quite understand Senpai's art..."
"In short, we get along well enough..." Deidara trailed off, looking slightly exasperated. Tobi's usual eccentric personality often gave him the sudden urge to crush the masked man with a scissor-kick.
"Enough small talk. Prepare to begin the sealing of the Tailed Beast."
…
The Hidden Leaf Village. The Hokage's Office.
Tsunade kept her head lowered, unable to look Shikamaru or Kotetsu Hagane in the eye. Of the four members from Team Asuma, two had perished; only Shikamaru and Kotetsu had returned alive.
A grimace of pain flickered across Tsunade's face. The orders she had issued this time were far too aggressive.
Though twenty squads of four seemed like a large-scale operation, the broad search for Hidan, Kanon, and Kakuzu had spread their combat strength thin. Within a 150-kilometer radius, providing mutual support was nearly impossible.
Furthermore, many of the shinobi involved hadn't even reached the rank of Jonin. Against a terrifying opponent like Kanon Uchiha, even a four-on-one encounter could result in a total wipeout, let alone a three-on-one.
With no prior intelligence on the abilities of Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kanon, the squads were forced to stall for time, waiting thirty minutes for reinforcements that arrived too late.
It was her aggressive command that had led to the deaths of Izumo Kamizuki and Asuma Sarutobi. In the end, she felt she was still too immature, that she wasn't a fit Hokage.
After listening to Kotetsu finish the debriefing, Tsunade gritted her teeth, her expression clouded with remorse. "I... I see..."
"Um, regarding Kurenai..." Kotetsu's voice was heavy with sorrow.
Tsunade took a deep breath. She was the Hokage; she couldn't afford to lose her composure. Suppressing her grief, she forced a neutral tone. "The rest of you go contact the relevant personnel to arrange the funeral."
"As for Kurenai, I will—"
"No... I'll go," Shikamaru interrupted. "I'll deliver the news."
"Captain Asuma left me with a message for her."
…
Meanwhile, Naruto was in the midst of developing his new ninjutsu. Kakashi watched in surprise as three Shadow Clones began to gather chakra for the Rasengan.
"I see. So that's what you came up with."
"Originally, the Rasengan required two people: one to release the chakra and one to maintain the shape. But you..."
Seeing that Kakashi understood the principle, Naruto grinned.
"Exactly! I just need three of 'me' to handle the Wind Nature Transformation."
"If one person can't look left and right at the same time, I just make clones to be the eyes for the left and the right!"
"We just divide the labor!"
Kakashi nodded in approval, though he harbored his own private thoughts.
That being said, this method only works for Naruto because of his massive chakra reserves and his mastery of the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Forget about me, even if Minato-sensei were here, this method wouldn't be viable. Perhaps only Naruto and 'that person' could pull this off... Kakashi's mind momentarily drifted to Kanon, whose chakra levels rivaled Naruto's.
This method might have suited her as well, but in the end, Naruto was the one who had pioneered the technique.
"You really are the Number One Unpredictable Ninja, Naruto," Kakashi said with a smile.
Naruto blinked, feeling a bit weirded out by Kakashi's sudden praise.
"I don't know why, but I'm starting to like you more and more."
The moment those words left Kakashi's mouth, Naruto's three clones froze. A wave of pure disgust washed over him, causing the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken to destabilize and explode instantly. Naruto was sent flying as two of his clones vanished in puffs of smoke.
"Are you crazy?! Don't say something so disgusting out of nowhere!"
"You bastard, you scared the life out of me!"
"The jutsu I finally perfected just blew up!"
"No, that's not what I meant." As he spoke, Kakashi leaned in toward Naruto in a mockingly affectionate manner.
"Stay back!"
"Stay away from me!!!"
Yamato, sitting cross-legged nearby, shook his head helplessly at their antics. "Honestly, what are those two doing..."
Suddenly, Kotetsu leaped down in front of Yamato. "A message has arrived."
Naruto and Kakashi paused, watching the exchange between Yamato and Kotetsu from a distance. "What's going on?" Naruto wondered aloud.
A moment later, Yamato stood up and turned to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-senpai, we're suspending the training. We need to return to the village."
Naruto was immediately indignant. They were so close to finishing the new jutsu!
"What happened?" Kakashi asked, his voice sharpening.
He found his answer in Yamato's face, a mask of heavy sorrow and shock, with cold sweat beading on his brow.
"Asuma Sarutobi-san..."
"He has fallen in battle."
Yamato relayed the intelligence they had received to the two of them.
Naruto and Kakashi's eyes widened, their pupils contracting in shock. A sudden gust of wind whipped their hair, but it could not clear the sudden, crushing weight of grief that filled their hearts.
Naruto's gaze shook, but it was Kakashi whose emotions were most complex; Asuma had been a comrade of his own generation.
Across the village, Kurenai Yuhi's pupils shrunk to pinpricks as she watched Shikamaru bow his head before her. As the news of Asuma's death set in, the sounds of the world around her seemed to blur into a cacophony.
The strong Jonin, who was carrying Asuma's child, finally let her tears fall, as if the flowers on her balcony were withering along with her.
In that dim, colorless hallway, only Shikamaru's bowed head and Kurenai's frozen figure remained.
A moment later, Kurenai collapsed to the floor. She couldn't accept it. She wailed, her grief pouring out into the empty air.
Asuma was gone. She was alone, left with nothing but the life growing inside her, Asuma's only legacy. She couldn't wrap her mind around the reality of it.
She was a widow now, and her child would grow up fatherless. The emotional impact was enough to break even a woman as resilient as Kurenai Yuhi.
…
At the Memorial Stone, Kurenai personally placed bouquets before the graves of Asuma and Izumo. Behind her stood the assembled shinobi of Konoha, gathered in mourning.
Tsunade stood at the front. As the Hokage, she carried the burden of the aggressive command that had led to this.
Kakashi kept his head low, while Might Guy wept openly and loudly; he and Asuma had been teammates once.
"Asuma..." Kakashi whispered with a sigh of regret.
Beside Naruto, Konohamaru Sarutobi sobbed uncontrollably. His grandfather, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, was gone. Now, his uncle Asuma was dead too.
"Asuma-jichan..."
He was the last of the Sarutobi line now, save for the child in Kurenai's womb.
The two remaining members of Team 10 stood with their heads bowed, their hearts heavy. Ino whispered to Choji, "Where's Shikamaru?"
"His mom said he'd already left the house."
At that moment, Shikamaru was nowhere near the funeral. He couldn't bring himself to face Asuma, nor did he feel worthy of attending the service.
He sat on a rooftop, flicking Asuma's lighter over and over. In the tiny flame, he saw the flickering reflections of his memories with his sensei.
In his eyes, the world had turned gray. Even the children playing in the streets had lost their color.
He walked aimlessly, hands in his pockets, passing through the bustling districts and the quiet outskirts of the village.
As he wandered, an elderly woman from the BBQ restaurant called out to him.
"Shikamaru!"
"Ah... hello."
"Long time no see. Have you been busy lately?"
"I suppose so."
"You have to stop by when you're free. And make sure to say hello to Asuma-sensei and Choji for me!"
Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak, but the words felt like thorns in his throat. Suddenly, the woman remembered something.
"Oh! And tell Asuma it's about time he settled his tab."
"Um... about Asuma..."
"Yes?" she asked, confused.
"He... died in the line of duty." Shikamaru lowered his head, the words feeling heavy as lead.
The woman froze. The broom and dustpan she was holding clattered to the ground. Her eyes widened.
"Then the rumors from yesterday... the person killed by the 'Akatsuki' was..."
She began to weep softly. "How could this happen..."
Shikamaru moved on, eventually sitting alone on a set of stone steps. He watched the afternoon sun fade into twilight, and the twilight deepen into night.
"Shikamaru, it's about time for dinner."
"I'm not hungry, Dad."
Under the deep shroud of night, a thin crescent moon hung in the sky like a silver hook, casting a faint glow that added a touch of mystery to the silent evening.
Shikamaru remained in the courtyard, lost in thought. His father, Shikaku Nara, stepped out to join him.
Looking at his son, Shikaku saw someone who had grown up a little, yet not quite enough. Facing the loss of someone close, Shikamaru felt less like a man in mourning and more like a lost soul, rudderless and drifting under a weight that grew heavier with every suppressed breath.
Shikaku let out a soft sigh. "Shikamaru, come keep me company for a bit."
Inside the dim, candle-lit room, the father and son sat across from each other over a game of Shogi.
"The Akatsuki, huh..."
"Are Kanon Uchiha and the others... are they that strong?" Shikaku asked quietly as he moved a piece.
Shikamaru gave a perfunctory grunt and moved his own piece.
"So, what's the plan then?"
Seeing his son remain silent, Shikaku continued. "If even Asuma couldn't beat them..."
"Are you just going to go and throw your life away?"
"He really was a good man."
"Yeah..." Shikamaru replied, head still down. "Even if he was terrible at Shogi."
Shikaku noticed a glaring error in his son's play. "Are you sure about that move?"
"Don't criticize my playstyle."
"No, I'm asking about your intentions."
Shikamaru froze. Looking at his own expressionless reflection in his mind, he felt a strange sense of detachment.
"Fine. You aren't stupid enough to go on a suicide mission."
"As your father, that gives me some peace of mind."
"I have no desire to attend my own son's funeral."
"You've done well. Your mother and I are proud of you."
Finally, Shikamaru's expression shifted. His head dropped even lower, and a visible, wordless fury began to radiate from him.
But Shikaku didn't stop. He continued to poke at the rawest, most painful parts of Shikamaru's heart.
"You're smart, and you've got talent. It's a good thing those two Uchihas left; otherwise, you'd surely be the pillar supporting the future of this village."
"But Asuma is dead."
At those words, Shikamaru punched the Shogi board, sending the pieces flying and extinguishing the candle.
"What exactly are you trying to say?!" Shikamaru roared at his father.
"Just speaking my mind."
"I'm in a terrible mood, and you just keep talking! Fine! I'm just a useless coward, I'll never be as good as Kanon or Sasuke!"
"That's not true," Shikaku said, shaking his head.
"Then what is it?!"
Seeing his son finally break, Shikaku stood up and looked him straight in the eye.
"Let it out."
"The sadness, the fear, the rage."
"Purge it all from your heart. Let it out."
Shikamaru trembled as he looked at his father, tears finally carving paths down his cheeks. He clenched his fists.
"And then, use that as your starting point."
With that, Shikaku left the room, leaving Shikamaru alone to wail in the darkness.
Standing in the hallway, listening to his son's heartbreaking cries, Shikaku felt a pang in his own chest.
This is something even Sasuke and Kanon Uchiha had to face. Shikamaru, you aren't inferior to those siblings, and you have no reason to bottle this up.
Let it all out... and then stand back up.
————
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