"So, does that mean I'll never be able to surpass him?"
Shikaku took his son's words and spoke them out loud himself.
Shikamaru said nothing. His silence was an answer in itself.
In that moment, silence was more powerful than any words. It cut deeper into Shikaku's heart than anything else.
It was true. Nara Shikaku neither had the strength nor the intelligence to match Shanks.
Not because he wasn't smart enough—he had always used his intelligence to hide his own cowardice.
As the head of a family, he could never have the same kind of boldness as Shanks. He could never abandon his family for the sake of ambition.
"Heh, getting looked down on by my own son… Really, I guess this just isn't our era anymore."
Shikaku chuckled bitterly. There was some relief in his smile, but he hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
"That's not what I meant, Father."
"I'd rather you did mean it, Shikamaru."
Shikaku interrupted his son. He had already come to terms with everything because he knew his own future was locked in place.
But the younger generation of Konohagakure was still here, still free. They were the future of the village—the new sprouts of Konohagakure.
"In the past, I would have wanted my authority as a father to remain unchallenged.
But now… more than anything, I want you, Nara Shikamaru, to step up and completely crush my authority as both your father and the head of our clan."
"If you don't even dare to go against me, then even if you leave the village, you'll never be able to stand among the strongest in the ninja world."
"If that's the case, you might as well stay in the village and take my place."
Shikaku's tone was dead serious as he spoke.
Shanks had so many people in the ninja world paving the way for him. Were the older generation of Konohagakure really incapable of doing the same for their successors?
Impossible.
But even if they wanted to support the younger generation, they had to be sure those younger ones were worthy—worthy of that sacrifice.
Hearing his father's words, Shikamaru suddenly felt wide awake, as if he had just uncovered a huge secret.
"Father… are you saying…?"
"Did you really think we planned to keep you all locked in Konohagakure and have you fight against the overwhelming tide of this era?
Even an idiot wouldn't do something that foolish."
Shikaku chuckled. If they truly kept these kids stuck in the village, their growth would be severely limited.
In a few years, once the pirates had grown stronger and the powerful warriors outside had also risen, what were they supposed to say?
Tell the younger generation, 'You've been training in Konohagakure for three to five years. Now go fight the strongest people in the world'?
What a joke.
The moment Shanks appeared, the ninja school system that had been built over decades collapsed.
Instead, Konohagakure's civilian soldier training camps had become the new era's so-called "ninja schools."
"We can leave?"
Shikamaru asked again, wanting to confirm.
This was huge news, and he hadn't heard anything about it before.
"Look at this intel. The timing is just right. Shanks is moving too fast, and because of that, all of us are being forced to react.
The political balance between the great nations takes time. And handling affairs between big countries and small ones also takes time."
Shikaku tossed the Fire Daimyo's request to Shikamaru. After just a glance, Shikamaru immediately understood.
"Expand the military, gather all soldiers at the ruins of Roran for training, and further increase financial support for the ninja villages."
"The request makes sense—there's nothing unreasonable about it. And we can't refuse it.
In fact, we even need to rely on the Daimyo and the nobles to help gather the civilians."
"But…"
Shikamaru also saw through the Daimyo and the nobles' intentions.
Look, they could say, 'This is all to deal with the current situation. It's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?'
Yes, it was. Perfectly reasonable.
To be honest, neither side could really argue against this.
Even the ninja villages themselves needed to send people over.
But once these soldiers were trained, who would they be loyal to—the Daimyo and the nobles, or the ninja villages?
The answer was simple: the ninja villages wouldn't matter.
Ninjas and civilians were two entirely separate classes.
The gap between them was too big for any real sense of unity to exist.
Each side would simply continue living in their own world.
The nobles understood this too. Strengthening the armies made up of commoners was actually a way to strengthen their own power, giving them the right to negotiate with the ninja villages.
In the past, they were all nobles, so they could just enjoy their privileged lives without worry—after all, the ninjas protected them.
As nobles, their role was to maintain national stability and legitimacy.
What do you mean by "since ancient times"? Ninjas?
Nonsense. Before ninjas even existed, they—the true, old nobility—were the ones who had been around "since ancient times."
Do you even know how ruthless the old nobles were?
No?
Alright, let me tell you— the ancestor of the Land of Fire's Daimyo, "Chasaku," once led an army to attack the Land of Ancestors.
And the wife of the ruler of the Land of Ancestors? That was "Otsutsuki Kaguya."
That's right—the same Otsutsuki Kaguya who ate the Chakra Fruit. Even before consuming it, she had the strength to destroy Otsutsuki Isshiki.
And yet, she was nearly wiped out by the ancestor of the Land of Fire's Daimyo, who chased her all the way to the Divine Tree.
Of course, that ancestor ended up completely erased— not even ashes remained. But still, this proves that the nobles weren't weak either.
If ninjas hadn't appeared, letting them grow lazy and live in luxury for thousands of years, would they have turned into the useless people they are today? Senju Hashirama? Uchiha Madara? Our ancestors nearly took down Otsutsuki Kaguya herself—why would we be afraid of just two ninjas?
…Alright, maybe now we should be.
Anyway, the Daimyos and nobles of the Five Great Nations aren't just a bunch of useless aristocrats. If anything, their bloodlines prove their worth even more than the ninjas'.
So when they saw the Devil Fruits, their ambitions awakened. Since when do ninjas have the right to order them around?
Now that they have a chance to use what little power they still hold to strengthen themselves, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire isn't going to hesitate.
"The nobles and Daimyo just want to reclaim some of their lost power. Compared to the ambitions of pirates, theirs aren't that big.
But relying on commoner soldiers might not be a good thing. Ninjas and commoners live in separate worlds. Strengthening the commoner army will give them more power in the short term…"
"But once that power grows too strong, it will turn against them."
Shikaku had already planned for this. The gap between ninjas and commoners had both pros and cons, but for now, they had no way to stop the Daimyo and the nobles.
"So next, we'll be training with these commoners in the Land of Wind?"
Shikamaru already understood what was coming. They called it "training in the Land of Wind," but once they left, there was no coming back.
Eventually, they'd all be thrown into the ocean, left to fend for themselves for a few years. By the time they returned, the ninja world might have already shifted its focus to the sea.
"You'll be leading small squads as captains, and the village will assign a Jonin as the commander of each unit."
Shikaku only shared this with Shikamaru.
That night, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji gathered together. It was clear that all three families had already made their preparations.
Shikamaru pulled a Devil Fruit from his bag. Chouji and Ino did the same.
"This is the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, given to me by my father. It was created using our clan's secret technique."
"Mine is the Soul Fruit. They say it can separate the soul from the body and even control others—pretty similar to my family's secret jutsu."
Ino spoke up. This was a technique passed down in the Yamanaka Clan.
"And mine… mine is the Expansion Fruit, also created using our clan's secret technique."
Chouji added.
"Looks like we all got something similar. But we're probably not the only ones."
Shikamaru glanced at the others. The three of them exchanged looks again, but none of them took a bite yet.
They say this thing tastes as bad as poop. Even if they had to suffer, they didn't want to suffer alone—they had to get more people to join them.
Two hours later, at the Akimichi family's barbecue restaurant, a group of kids sat with pained expressions, staring at the Devil Fruit in front of them.
Kiba, Hinata, and Shino were there, along with the three members of the Inuzuka, Hyuga, and Aburame clans.
Of course, Neji, Tenten, and Lee didn't miss out either. Neji no longer held a grudge against Hinata. After the last "Konohagakure Collapse" incident, the relationship between the main and branch families of the Hyuga clan had shifted in subtle ways.
Instead, Neji had redirected his resentment toward Hinata's father.
He had figured it out— that old man was just useless. As for Hinata? She had nothing to do with it.
"Aren't any of you going to eat it?"
Lee, as straightforward as ever, looked around. He was the only one at the table who hadn't touched a Devil Fruit.
This just went to show how ridiculously strong Konohagakure was. Devil Fruits weren't even a challenge for them. Going all in? That was only something pirates needed to do. Konoha's ninjas didn't have to.
"So, who's going first?"
Shikamaru looked at Kiba. Since the Inuzuka clan was so similar to dogs, it made sense for Kiba to try it first.
Everyone else also turned their eyes toward Kiba.
"Hey! Do you guys have to treat the Inuzuka clan like this? We're not actual dogs!"
"Woof woof woof!!"
Beside Kiba, Akamaru barked a few times, expressing his own frustration.
"I'll do it."
The usually quiet Neji spoke up.
Everyone turned their attention to him as he picked up the Devil Fruit and took a big bite without hesitation.
His expression remained completely unchanged.
"Doesn't seem like a big deal."
Kiba was the second to pick one up, and soon, everyone else followed.
And then…
"Ugh!!"
"This is disgusting! How can anything taste this bad?"
"Even poop would taste better than this!"
"????"
Hearing the outbursts, bystanders turned their heads in shock.
The kids from Konohagakure… were they playing some kind of twisted game? Were they really eating poop?!
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