Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

"You shouldn't have spoken to Suzaku like that."

After Suzaku and his son left, Shikaku sighed.

"How so?"

Lu Ying countered with a question.

"Ever since the Third Hokage regained power, Danzo's status has risen steadily, and everyone can see that he wants to become Hokage."

"But the Hokage not only did not guard against him, he trusted him more and more."

"Nowadays, all the major clans have Danzo's people, and our Nara clan is no exception."

"Several Nara families, led by Suzaku Nara, have long since pledged allegiance to Danzo."

"Danzo's actions were even more ruthless and vicious than the Third Hokage's, and his faction followed the same pattern. What if..."

Shikakage interrupted Nara Shikaku.

"There's no 'what if'."

"If they dare to do that, I'll make those idiots regret it."

Lu Ying smiled disdainfully and continued:

"If you ask me, the rules of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans are still the best."

"Leaving aside the Hyuga clan, the difference between the main family and the branch family is obvious. If someone from the main family doesn't like someone from the branch family, a caged bird can make them wish they were dead."

"Although the Uchiha clan is not as conservative as the Hyuga clan, the status of the main branch is incomparable to that of the branch branches."

"In other words, in order to comply with the Hokage's policy, we, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, forcibly erased the status difference between the main lineage and the branch lineages."

"If this were the Warring States period, let alone Nara Sakishiba, even if it were Nara Suzaku himself, if he dared to speak to us like that, we'd kill him on the spot!"

Nara Shikaku neither confirmed nor denied Shikakage's words.

If the Nara family had truly maintained their clan rules, there wouldn't be the Ino-Shika-Cho trio today, and Nara Shikaku would never have become the Hokage's advisor.

Of course, Lu Ying was just talking nonsense.

He waved his hand, not wanting to delve deeper into the topic.

"In short, once I join the Dark Division, all their petty thoughts will disappear."

"That's what we agreed on beforehand, isn't it?"

"Shikamaru and I, one of us has to join the Anbu."

Upon hearing this, Nara Shikaku gave a helpless, wry smile.

"I have more important things to say than these trivial matters."

"What's wrong?"

Lu Ying grinned and spread her hands out.

"Could you give me some more money?"

"That's really all gone."

Nara Shikaku shook his head, as if he had thought of something, and said with a smile:

"Speaking of which, your Uncle Suzaku came here this time under the guise of 'family property'."

"Last time, your mother used some of the Deer Management Bureau's funds to support you. As the head of the Deer Management Bureau, he would naturally have inquired about it."

"That's why I told you to show him respect. If he's in a good mood, it's not impossible that he might grant you some funds."

Deer Shadow's eyes gleamed instantly:

"Really?"

"How about I become his son and Narasaki Shiba goes to the Anbu!"

Nara Shikaku looked at his eldest son speechlessly:

"Stop fooling around."

Just kidding.

Although Lu Ying said that, he had already set his sights on Nara Suzaku.

The Deer Management Bureau is one of the two pillar industries of the Nara family.

Long before the Warring States period, the Nara family was already raising deer. The deer antlers and hides they harvested and tanned each year were enough to generate a large sum of money.

"Forget about the Deer Management Bureau, your Nara Research Institute must still have a lot of money."

"Yes, there is, but the Nara Research Institute is not just my research institute, nor is it the research institute of the Nara clan."

Lu Ying couldn't help but complain:

"If this won't work and that won't work, then to be honest, there's no point in you being the clan chief."

Seeing his son's attitude, Nara Shikaku immediately raised his eyebrows sharply:

"You're joking, it's just a little money. My son wants it, how could I not have it?"

"I fucking love you so much, Lu Dejiu!"

After getting a bunch of gold coins from Old Deng, Lu Ying was satisfied and prepared to return to the Nanga River Forest.

As he passed by Shikamaru, he gave his little brother's head a good rub:

Study hard and make progress every day!

"As a direct descendant of the Nara family, to be threatened by a mere collateral branch is a disgrace to Shikakage!"

Despite his young age, Shikamaru has already developed a slovenly face:

"Brother, I'm only seven years old, while Narasaki Shiba has already graduated..."

"It's alright, I'll collect some interest for you first."

"What do you mean?"

Lu Ying smiled but did not answer.

His shadow, however, stirred up ripples like flowing water in a pond.

……

A lot has happened at home recently, mainly the conflict between the Danzo faction and the Hokage faction.

Shikakage had great confidence in his adoptive father and believed that Nara Shikaku could handle the situation perfectly well.

So he simply turned around and went back to doing his own thing.

The first thing to do upon returning to the forest was still to familiarize myself with the map.

Although Lu Ying was already very familiar with the area, in order to find Shisui's body as soon as possible, it was naturally better to be as familiar as possible with the surrounding terrain and environment.

Of course, daily tasks are still a must-do part of the process of getting familiar with the map.

Unfortunately, today's random box didn't yield anything good, just a bag of delicious snacks.

Everything else was exactly the same as before.

The only difference was that Sasuke received his basic instruction at dusk.

He taught Sasuke purely to earn extra money and gather information.

However, the favorability achievement triggered by Naruto allowed him to discover the right way to use Sasuke.

Therefore, when Sasuke arrived at the pre-arranged training location, he was greeted by Nara Shikakage, who was all smiles.

Good afternoon, Sasuke.

Here, have some spicy strips.

"Uh..." Sasuke was a little stunned by Shikakage's overly friendly attitude and subconsciously took the snacks.

But he quickly came to his senses and took out the tuition fees sponsored by his parents:

"Brother Lu Ying, here are 100,000 taels of silver."

Seemingly worried that Shikakage might think the tuition was too low, Sasuke quickly blushed and explained:

"My parents said, let's give it a try first..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ying didn't feel offended, after all, he had only graduated not long ago.

After quickly pocketing the 100,000 taels of silver, Lu Ying smiled knowingly.

"Hey, buddy, you're being too formal."

"Let's not waste our time. Now that I've officially become your private tutor, I'll definitely take full responsibility."

During the conversation, Lu Ying created several shadow clones.

"This one teaches you basic taijutsu, this one teaches you chakra control, this one teaches you ninjutsu theory..."

Now that you've learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, you must use it wisely!

Fighting and killing would be a waste of the potential of this forbidden technique.

In addition to the five, six, or seven shadow clones currently responsible for teaching, the deer shadow actually also has two additional shadow clones specifically responsible for scouting the environment and hunting threatening animals.

Since killing people isn't convenient right now, farming some wild beasts to gain experience is a good option.

Of course, Sasuke was unaware of Shikakage's shadow clone arrangement.

Looking at the Lu Ying guys in front of him, and the naked passion in their eyes, he felt a little flustered.

"Then...please take care of me..."

……

Time flies.

As dusk was enveloped by night, the moon began to peek out.

After the lesson ended, Shikakage approached Sasuke, who was limp from the training, and, feigning nonchalance, tentatively and suggestively asked:

"Sasuke, you seem a little distracted today."

"Did something happen at home?"

"If you have any problems, you can tell me. It wouldn't be good if it affected our teaching efficiency."

Sasuke blinked, his brain feeling a little dizzy from the influx of knowledge.

—Are you distracted?

—Me?

—Is there?