The shadows

ch51

It's been a few weeks, and Naruto was starting to feel like himself again. Immediately after gaining consciousness after surgery, he was pulled into his seat. He was so glad to reconnect with Kurama finally.

Kurama explained everything to him. The disease was connected to the god's tree. Apparently, when Kaguya ate the fruit of the tree, the husk of the tree started releasing airborne particles that would attack all living creatures. It would enter their system trying to gather enough chakra to create another tree, but no one person has enough chakra to provide for this goal, so that the victims would die.

But humans are made to adapt, and that clan must have succeeded in finding a way to use it to their benefit. When Naruto came into contact with the particles, Kurama was immediately sent into a state similar to how he was when he was a part of the Juubi.

Since Naruto was gifted with the power of the sage and the body of the Jinchuuriki, he was more affected than the others. Kurama also mentioned that this was going to cause some physical changes in him as he healed since the barrier between them was distorted.

Now that he was finally back to his usual self, Kurama worked on healing Naruto as best as he could. In the meantime, Naruto was busier than ever with his training. Shisui and Itachi were still recovering since they didn't have a healing factor.

So Naruto had to get ready for his next fight alone. He was going after Kakuzu. He needed to finish off the Akautski soon. He didn't want to give them time to prepare. He already cleared his mission with Danzo. He only had to get it past the Hokage somehow.

Since it wasn't a mission ordered by Daimyo, he couldn't do it by orders of ROOT alone. Plus, such a heavy bounty would bring attention. So he needed to do it in the name of the village. He wasn't going to bring a team with him. He wanted to go all out.

So instead, here he was at the Nara compound. He told Shikamaru that he needed to meet his father, and he was more than happy to help. Naruto finished a shogi game he promised with Shikamaru. Over the years, he got so much better that now their odds were 70 to 30, with the majority for Shikamaru.

Naruto was struggling to keep up with his genius, but he was happy to challenge him even if he lost all the time. To them, the game was more than just a game. It was a way to practice their strategies and to also understand each other.

Naruto even played against Shikaku a few times, but the man was just so terrifying with his experience. After the first couple of games, he could now read Naruto no matter how he tried to change strategies and his gameplay.

Sometimes Naruto would try to use his old friend's personalities and ways of thinking and to play the game how he thought they would. But after, he never really stood a chance. He still enjoyed the game.

Shikaku would usually get home a little before dinner time, so after Naruto and Shikamaru finished their match, they decided to cloud watch in the garden until he arrived.

Soon Yoshino called them for dinner. Naruto and Shikamaru helped set up the table. They ate while mostly talking about lighter subjects. Shikamaru was getting better with the seals, and he planned on applying for the sealing division as a part-timer after graduation.

This way, he would be assigned to a tutor to learn and expand his skills. He was leaning more towards offensive seals since his clan jutsu was focused on defensive and detaining the enemy. He wanted to be able to fight alone efficiently with his average reserves.

He was looking into offensive seals that didn't need much or constant chakra. Things like explosives and some traps. He was still looking into possibilities. Naruto promised to separate the scrolls he had in his library for him so he could read through them.