Nara Shikamo, one of the friends of Seimei, had been in a pretty bad mood lately.
No, to be exact, he had been in a bad mood since the start of the fifth and the last year of the Central Ninja Academy.
He preferred a relaxed, simple life.
Although being a ninja meant he had to take multiple missions and stay quite busy all year long, as long as he could just follow orders, finish his job, and cooperate with his teammates, he could easily lead a chill lifestyle.
Let the others scheme over the position of the leader. They could take all the fucking responsibility and the headaches that came with that for all he cared.
But one single decision at the beginning of the fifth year of the Academy had ruined his plan to lie flat.
Under the immense pressure of his violent mother and his father, who was less like the lord of the house and more like a subordinate of his mother, he had been forced to enroll in the Anti-Army division.
What did being in the Anti-Army division mean for him?
It meant:
✅Managing a massive number of ninjas and their operations every day.
✅Leading squads and commanding a large number of ninjas for multiple extermination missions regularly.
✅Making plans, war strategies, battle tactics, and dealing with troublesome, almost non-favorable situations.
✅Freaking paperwork.
✅Regularly advising the Hokage and solving a heap of problems related to Konoha's security.
✅Acting as a commander, strategist, and team leader during war.
No matter how he looked at it, these responsibilities were nothing but torture. With such a future, how the hell was he supposed to slack off?
Sometimes, a high IQ could indeed be a curse.
And if that wasn't enough, his "dearest" friends were openly plotting to exploit him and throw all the brain-numbing troubles on his shoulder like it was nobody's business.
Damn it, Seimei. Are you even a fucking human?
How could you be so vicious?
And Yuto, you bastard. Please stop nodding your head before I accidentally release the Shadow Sewing Technique to stitch your mouth and stab you several times.
He thought he could sleep in peace before their teacher arrived and announced the format of the graduation exam.
But after hearing his "dearest" friends' open and vicious plotting, his will to sleep had completely evaporated.
It looked like the world had no place for a peace-loving (lazy), kind-hearted (trouble-averse), and mindful (procrastinating) person like him.
What a rotten world!
In the end, he couldn't help but push his head off the desk, glare at the Seimei and Yuto duo, and blurt out with a mix of exasperation, anger, helplessness, and irritation, "Can you two not talk about making my life hell in front of my face? I am here, you know."
Hearing this, Yuto and Seimei both suppressed their smiles and simultaneously turned their heads toward their friend with the signature pineapple hairstyle.
Then, their lips curled into wide grins as they stared at Nara Shikamo. Their eyes held a mix of mischief and amusement.
"Of course, my friend." x2
They both said simultaneously, with a voice that was filled with warmth. Their grins turned into pure smiles that radiated innocence.
But that sight didn't soothe Shikamo's worries.
He could only groan inwardly and think: Ah! It's over. Fuck my life!
He was about to retort when Ishimori Haneda and Uchiha Touma walked into the classroom.
Touma looked at Shikamo's sleepy eyes and said, "Hmph. You are still as lazy as ever, Shikamo."
"How are you going to manage squads and lead them with such an attitude? Don't ruin the face of our Anti-Army division with your irresponsible antics."
Hearing this, Shikamo snapped his head at Touma and glared at him viciously.
Hah! Another bastard. Do you think I wanted to be a part of this fucking nutcase of a division? My hands are almost itching to form a seal.
You know what? I will just beat him up right here.
Shikamo was about to jump on Touma, but he suddenly paused.
He leaned back into his chair and thought…
Forget about it. Unofficial fighting inside the classroom means facing punishment. Not to mention, fighting Touma can lead to injuries. All the pain, hassle, physical exertion, and possibly summoning my parents…hah!
It would be such a drag.
Never mind. Isn't it better to be a salted fish?
Plus, Touma is my friend. I shouldn't beat him publicly. It's far more efficient and better to sack him at night and beat the shit out of him. With my Shadow Sewing Technique and Shadow Imitation Jutsu, the operation would be clean and silent, and it wouldn't hurt his reputation either, sparing his "Uchiha" pride.
Look, Touma. What a good friend I am!
Shikamo mused inwardly.
On the other side, Touma felt a sudden chill. He felt as if someone was plotting something malicious against him.
He quickly rubbed his arms and looked left and right.
Seeing nothing out of sorts, several metaphorical question marks popped up above his head.
Strange? What's with the sudden goosebump?
Touma thought for a while before shrugging it off as nonsense.
Perhaps participating in several dangerous ninja missions made him overly sensitive, leading him to hallucinate about the danger.
After all, what danger could he possibly face in the heart of Konoha? Who would possibly dare to plot against him, a Uchiha prodigy with full-fledged Jonin-level strength?
[The mature Danzo from the original Naruto Anime: Indeed. What bad intentions could I possibly have against my fellow Konoha ninjas, especially against one-in-a-generation Uchiha prodigies?]
The spies? Would they dare to act in the middle of Konoha?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
First of all, most spies infiltrating Konoha would have at best Chunin-level strength. Even if they were stronger, he could still beat them or resist them until the commotion drew Konoha reinforcements.
It looked like he needed to calm his mind and practice mindfulness later.
Right at that moment, Uchiha Reina and Uzumaki Keiko also entered the classroom.
They scanned the entire room before walking straight toward Seimei and his group.
"Hey, everyone!"
Uzumaki Keiko, who was like a ball of energy, waved at them.
The others also greeted her.
They chatted for about twenty minutes before Keiko said, "So, we are finally graduating."
Hearing this, all of them went silent for a moment.
Seimei nodded and replied, "Yes, we are."
Ishimori Haneda sighed and said, "After we become official ninjas, we probably won't be able to meet as frequently as now."
Shikamo said, "Yeah. Different missions, different squads, and different responsibilities—all of these factors will make it hard for us to gather together anytime soon after graduation."
Reina chimed in, "And with the tense atmosphere on the borders, a war may just erupt not long after our graduation. When this happens, forget about gathering together. We will be lucky to meet each other once every few months."
Her voice was laced with a tinge of certainty and regret. As a regressor, Reina knew that a huge battle between several hidden ninja villages and nations was about to erupt, which would last for eight years.
So, her tone felt more like a prophecy.
But no one paid any mind to it.
Not even Seimei. After all, the signs of imminent war were too obvious.
Sarutobi Yuto scratched the back of his head and said with a hint of bitterness, "Reina, if this really happens, then we will be wasting our teen years on the battlefield."
Seimei smiled at Yuto and said, "Well, our fathers and grandfathers spent their childhood in blood and gore every single day. As soon as they could wield weapons, they were forced to participate in the constant clan wars."
"Compared to those days, we are living in a rather peaceful era."
All of them looked at Seimei for a second before nodding their heads.
Reina replied, "Can't argue with that."
However, the wars our ancestors faced in the past and the upcoming shinobi world wars are child's play compared to the Otsutsuki invasion.
Reina could only say it bitterly in her heart.
But she soon pushed that thought away.
One step at a time, Reina. One step at a time.
Just as Reina finished those thoughts, the classroom door slid open once more, and Kamishiro Kirito walked in.
Seeing him enter, every student in class 1-S stopped talking and went to their seats.
Kirito stood on the podium and scanned the classroom once.
He smiled at the students and said, "Well, my dear baby beans. Now that you have sprouted healthily, it's time to harvest…cough cough…I mean, it's time for you to graduate."
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