Uzumaki Clan: Naruto The Next Generation

A Ninjutsu Battle, The Darkness Goes Wild!

Playing his video game at home, Shikadai doesn't realize his mom is behind him. She suddenly knocked him over the head; Shikadai flinched as his mother's hand connected with the back of his head. He paused his game, rubbing his aching scalp as he turned to face her, his expression a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

"What did you say to Lee's son? Metal seems to think he won't make it as a ninja due to something you told him."

At the same time, Shikamaru makes it home and wonders what all the yelling is about.

Shikadai's eyes widened as he realized what his mother was talking about. He had made a comment about Metal's skills during their training, but it was meant to be constructive criticism. He never intended for it to come across as discouraging.

"I just gave him some feedback, Mom. I didn't mean to upset him," Shikadai explained, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Well, you did. And you need to fix it. Apologize to him tomorrow," Temari replied sternly, her arms crossed.

Shikamaru walked into the room, taking in the scene. He knew his wife didn't mess around regarding their son's behavior.

"What's going on?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your son needs to learn to watch what he says. He upset Metal during training," Temari explained.

Shikamaru nodded, understanding the situation. He was never one to meddle in his wife's disciplinary tactics, but he could see that Shikadai needed to take responsibility for his actions.

"It wasn't really like that. Metal tries hard, and he should, but every time he does, his anxiety kicks in and messes things up for the rest of us. I only told him to work on his anxiety before trying to become a ninja," Shikadai admits.

"Son, I don't want you to take the words I'm about to say as a scolding, but hopefully as a lesson. I want you to realize that there is no such thing as being the perfect child. I guess I should start by saying how glad I am that you make mistakes like every other kid does, as long as you learn from them. If not, you'll become someone who doesn't care about saying sorry when he's wrong," Shikamaru said calmly.

Shikadai is perplexed by those words, thinking about the ones he said to Metal. "I don't want to be that type of person, dad."

Chuckling, Shikamaru says, "See, Tamari, our son gets it. Anyway, let's eat - I'm hungry."

Tamari chastises her husband for being too calm in this somewhat serious situation, stating that their son got off too lightly. Shikamaru and Shikadai consider this a drag, something Tamari can pick up on, so she leaves them without dinner in an attempt to make them take things more seriously. Shikamaru is taken aback by this and follows after his wife, trying to calm her down. Shikadai on the other hand, can't get over making Metal feel bad.

"This sucks," he declares, lying down on his back. "I said too much without thinking about how my words could affect him," he sighs. "I'll apologize to him tomorrow."

The next day, Konahamaru starts the day off with his students, summoning a big toad. Most of his students are amazed, except for Boruto. ChoCho wonders if he's just jealous of all the attention Konahamaru is getting, but Boruto finds that obscured. He states that he can summon a creature as easily as his big bro can and plants his palm on the ground, yelling, "Summoning Jutsu!"

Nothing ends up happening. Boruto's face contorts with frustration as he tries repeatedly to summon a creature, but to no avail. His classmates snicker behind his back, and Konohamaru frowns in disappointment.

"That Jutsu doesn't work unless you sign your name in the scroll and make a contract with an animal," Konahamaru says.

"Wow, you're an idiot if you didn't know that," Sarada utters.