It's Too Troublesome to be Hokage

"It succeeded... but not completely."

Nara Shikadan studied the [Shadow Rasengan] in his palm, now infused with Yin Release chakra.

The sphere's dark, gloomy surface was smooth and unnervingly calm—like a matte iron orb. No ripple, no distortion, no outward swirl. From appearance alone, no one would guess that beneath its quiet surface churned a violent spiral of chakra at terrifying speed.

"Infuse wind chakra into the Rasengan," Shikadan muttered, "and you get the Wind Release Rasengan—and eventually, the Rasenshuriken."

The [Shadow Rasengan] shrank and vanished with a flick of his mind.

"But Yin Release… is something else entirely."

Wind chakra was all about sharpness. Cutting.

Yin Release, on the other hand, was metaphysical. Creation through thought—forming reality from nothing.

"Adding Yin chakra to the Rasengan is like encasing it in an invisible shell. The structure becomes more stable and lasts longer... kind of like—"

Shikadan's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"—a kind of energy weapon."

He opened his system panel and reviewed the new technique's description. Stability. Extended duration. And chakra disruption on contact.

That combination reminded him of something deeply familiar—

The black rods used by Pain.

"In the future, those rods embedded in Nagato and the Six Paths of Pain had incredible physical resilience and also interfered with chakra flow. Plus, they could transmit chakra signals."

Shikadan recalled every scrap of intel he had on the Rinnegan, Nagato, and the Paths of Pain.

"Later, in the Fourth Great Ninja War, those same black rods evolved into Truth-Seeking Balls—used by those so-called 'immortals' to destroy everything in their path."

Perhaps...

The Truth-Seeking Ball was the final form of those rods.

But Shikadan shook his head and cut off the daydream.

For now, the [Tailed Beast Ball] was still out of reach.

As for the [Truth-Seeking Ball]—which embodied the ultimate expression of chakra transformation, surpassing even Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta—it was pure fantasy at this point.

And in any case...

The Rasengan was already close to a theoretical maximum of shape transformation.

Modifying the [Shadow Rasengan] to turn it from a black sphere into a rod—essentially crafting a true energy weapon—would require another revolution in chakra engineering.

"Let's get the research back on track."

Shikadan tapped his temple, then summoned several [Shadow Clones] to join him in the lab.

"The [Shadow Rasengan] is powerful, sure—but it's not what I wanted.

"I messed up the order of operations. I integrated Yin-nature chakra into the Rasengan… but what I should've done was infuse Rasengan characteristics into a Yin-nature technique."

With the course correction clear in his mind, Shikadan plunged once again into obsessive experimentation.

No one knew how much time had passed.

"Oh-oh!"

A familiar deer cry jolted Shikadan back to reality. He looked up toward the window.

Between the trees, a pair of mighty, branching antlers appeared.

"Big Horn?"

Shikadan passed the research over to his clones and stepped outside.

Standing patiently in the clearing was Big Horn, the majestic deer who often acted as his messenger. Its glistening black eyes studied him with quiet scrutiny—as if surprised by how much the little master had grown.

Then it lowered its head, revealing a folded message nestled between its antlers.

A letter delivered in the unique style of the Nara clan—via deer courier.

Shikadan unsealed it and skimmed the contents.

"The clan head—no, the new clan head wants to see me?"

After a quick tidy-up, Shikadan mounted Big Horn and rode out of the village.

Destination: Kikyo Castle.

As they passed the Kikyo Orphanage, he noticed an unexpected sight—a dense line of burly ninja crowding outside the entrance, forming a snaking human wall.

One glance at their size and the clan emblems on their backs told him everything.

The Akimichi clan.

"Why are they lining up outside the orphanage?"

Shikadan sniffed the air.

The scent of golden fried chicken saturated the breeze.

He blinked. "…Business is booming, huh? Seems like we're on the right track."

He decided to speak with Sister Nono later, when the crowd thinned out.

For now, he gave Big Horn a light pat, and they resumed their journey.

Upon returning to the clan compound, Shikadan was welcomed straight into the clan head's residence.

There, something caught his eye: a massive family bucket of fried chicken, steaming atop the table.

"…Sister Nono's fried chicken has infiltrated the Nara compound?"

Shikadan twitched at the familiar sight, then turned to see old clan head Nara Shikano licking his fingers, a chicken leg bone held in the other hand.

"Shikadan! Want a bite? It's delicious."

The elder cheerfully extended the bucket in invitation.

"This stuff's taken Mount Kikyo by storm. Even the kids are crying when it sells out."

"…No thanks, elder. You enjoy it."

Shikadan smiled politely and turned to the new clan leader—Nara Shikaku, who was sipping tea nearby.

"Clan head, you asked Big Horn to bring me back. What's the matter?"

"There are a few things."

Shikaku set down his teacup and gave Shikadan a look filled with curiosity, surprise… and admiration.

"I reviewed the [Lacquer Eye] scroll passed down from my father. I've been studying it closely.

"I never thought… after living over twenty years… that our Nara clan would actually give birth to an eye technique—to stand alongside the Uchiha or Hyuga."

He paused.

"But I have to say, Shikadan—what you created is truly astonishing."

Shikadan responded humbly. "It's all thanks to the elder's guidance and the prior generations' research materials. I just did the finishing work."

"Shikaku," Shikano interrupted flatly from the side.

"We're all Nara here. Cut the polite talk—it's exhausting to listen to."

Shikaku scratched his stubbled chin sheepishly.

"…Fair enough. I'm pretty amazing"

Skipping the pleasantries, he got straight to the point.

"Shikadan, I called you back because a certain rumor has been making the rounds in Konoha.

"They say a young Nara ninja recently defeated the Uchiha clan's top genius, Shisui. Do you know anything about that?"

Shikadan blinked.

…Are they talking about me?

He'd been holed up indoors these past few days, absorbed in training and research.

The only outsider he'd interacted with was Denka, the ninja cat courier who'd brought him a new weapon draft from the Iron Country's smiths.

He had confirmed the blueprint for a kodachi.

And while he was at it, he'd bought a scroll for the C-rank Water Release ninjutsu [Hiding in the Mist Technique].

Aside from that, he hadn't bothered with any outside news.

Which raised the question:

Where had this rumor come from?

"…I did fight Shisui. And I beat him."

Shikadan didn't bother hiding the truth from the clan heads.

"Not just Shisui, either. Uchiha Inahori was there, too."

The room fell into silence.

Uchiha Shisui.

The most celebrated genius of the Uchiha in recent years.

Many in the village whispered that he might even surpass Hatake Kakashi one day.

And he had lost.

To a Nara.

In a fair, one-on-one duel.

Shikano dropped the chicken leg.

Shikaku stroked his beard faster.

Shikadan took the chance to speak.

"Clan head, do we know where this rumor started?"

No one else should have known about that fight. It had been a private engagement, without witnesses.

"…Not exactly," Shikaku admitted. "But it started spreading the day before yesterday. Now the whole village is talking about the Nara's new genius."

That pattern…

Shikadan's eyes narrowed slightly.

He recalled Minato Namikaze's prior advice—and instantly thought of one man.

Konoha's number one scapegoat.

Shimura Danzo.

"Shikadan, are you worried this gossip might affect you?" Shikaku asked.

"Not really," Shikadan replied calmly. "Public chatter is just wind in the forest. It doesn't change anything."

He paused.

"I'm more concerned that someone's stirring things behind the scenes—trying to incite conflict between us and the Uchiha."

"…That's not impossible," Shikaku said, frowning. "The Uchiha are hot-blooded, but they're not the type to pick fights with weaker clans."

A pause.

"…Well. Usually."

Even he didn't sound convinced.

Then, he added firmly:

"Shikadan, no matter what happens—the clan will always have your back."

-End Chapter-

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