Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

Root Base Headquarters.

Danzo bent down, picked up a black snake, and pulled a letter from its mouth.

As he unfolded the document, his eyes flickered slightly:

"I will prepare what you need."

"But I also hope you won't disappoint me."

The black snake flicked its tongue in a human-like manner, then disappeared underground.

Danzo touched his right eye; it felt slightly different from before.

He has already acquired Shisui's Sharingan.

He thought that after obtaining Kotoamatsukami, he would be able to realize his lifelong ambition.

But now it seems he underestimated Hiruzen Sarutobi.

That old fox was far more cunning and treacherous than he thought.

Therefore, for the future of Konoha, he must gather more strength.

While Kotoamatsukami is effective, its usage intervals are too long. To compensate for this drawback, he needs Orochimaru's wisdom and power.

As he pondered a strategy to counter Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo closed his eyes.

A moment later, a Root member rushed over and knelt behind Danzo:

"My lord, all our agents planted within the Nara clan have been eliminated."

Upon hearing this, Danzo said without turning his head:

"Never mind it."

"yes!"

Although Danzo wanted to subdue the Nara clan, judging from the changes these days, Sarutobi did not intend to let him set foot in this heartland.

After fully "seeing through" Hiruzen Sarutobi's true nature, Danzo gave up on confronting him head-on.

He planned to lie in wait in the shadows, delivering a fatal blow to Hiruzen Sarutobi when the time was perfect.

The Nara clan is not to be touched.

But other ninja clans might be able to try increasing their infiltration.

For example, the Yamanaka clan, which is also a member of the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance.

……

the other side.

The day after leaving the Hokage Building.

Instead of training at home as usual, Nara Shikaku returned to the Ninja Academy after a long absence.

On one hand, it was to check on Shikamaru's condition, and on the other hand, it was to inquire about Sasuke's situation.

While we're at it, let's continue to boost the favorability of the twelve main characters.

After all, the Shadow Kinship is indeed very useful.

He was lucky; as soon as he arrived at the school, he saw a group of students who had just entered the second grade playing on the playground.

The most eye-catching one is Naruto, who is holding a small fox.

Although Naruto used to be a troublemaker, the students around him always kept a certain distance from him.

But now, seemingly because of his cute little pet, he is surrounded by several girls.

The usually boisterous Naruto, contrary to his usual self, became somewhat shy and at a loss.

A quick glance revealed Shikamaru, his arm in a cast, chatting idly with the chubby Choji, exuding an air of laziness.

One can vaguely see a leisurely temperament in him similar to that of Lu Ying.

Lu Ying strode forward, her crisp footsteps attracting the attention of a girl who was teasing a little fox.

Ino looked up and a blush crept onto her cute cheeks.

"Brother Lu Ying!"

She swayed her little ponytail, ran to the deer's shadow with small steps, and excitedly skipped around:

"haven't seen you for a long time!"

"Don't you like me anymore? Why don't you come looking for me anymore?"

"You used to spoil me the most when we were little..."

As she spoke, Ino pursed her lips, and a thin mist clouded her large eyes.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ying felt a headache coming on.

Due to their birth circumstances, he and Ino have known each other since childhood; in fact, it could be said that he raised Ino before she started school.

Because of his memories from his past life and his childhood friendship with Ino, he has a very good feeling about Ino and really likes this cute girl next door.

However, this liking does not involve romantic feelings.

After all, Ino was too young, and he really couldn't muster any interest.

And she changed her own diapers when she was little!

So after hearing Ino's words, Shikakage could only helplessly rub her head and comfort her:

"Sorry, I've been quite busy lately."

"Do you still like me?"

Ino raised her head, her bright red eyes wide, waiting for Shika's reply.

"Um...yes."

"I knew it!"

Ino excitedly shook her ponytail, turned around and took her best friend's hand:

"See, Sakura, I didn't lie to you!"

"Lu Ying-ge likes me too, we're in love!"

"I'm Lu Ying's fiancée!"

Sakura clearly disagreed with this conclusion.

But at only seven years old, she is not as poised and confident as she would be when she grows up. Sakura, who only overcame her inferiority complex last year, is still very shy.

She hummed softly to herself, stealing a glance at Lu Ying's delicate face.

As soon as his gaze shifted upwards, he met Lu Ying's clean and clear eyes.

In an instant, a blush spread across the girl's cheeks, which then trailed down her neck, making her look incredibly cute.

Seeing this, Lu Ying couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

In order to complete the "Stranger" mission, he had almost maxed out the favorability of all the children.

This includes the incident involving Sakura's wide forehead.

Seemingly noticing Lu Ying's emotions, Xiao Ying pursed her pink lips, clenched her little fists to encourage herself, and lifted her bangs to reveal her smooth, white forehead:

"Brother Luying, do I look good with my new hairstyle?"

"Um...yes."

Hehe~

Fearing that his own ego would be distorted, Shikamaru quickly ended his conversation with a group of little girls and used Shikamaru as his shield.

"How are you doing? Are you adjusting to school life?"

"It's alright, it's not a big problem."

Shikamaru smiled, pouted, and pointed in a direction with the corner of his mouth:

"Brother, Naruto is looking at you."

Following the direction, the deer-like figure beckoned to Naruto, who was hesitant.

"It's only been a few days, and you've already become so estranged?"

They yearn to be outstanding and long for the dazzling sun, but when the light shines on them, they are afraid to move forward.

This is Naruto. Long-term discrimination shaped his tenacious character, but also fostered a dark sense of inferiority in his heart.

However, he often hid this inferiority complex under a fake smile.

When he saw Lu Ying surrounded by a crowd, he felt both incredibly envious and proud, yet he dared not approach for fear of being rejected.

Naruto only grinned and ran over when the deer beckoned to him.

"Brother Luying, look at Xiao Jiu, it's so obedient!"

"Little Jiu, do a backflip!"

Seeing Naruto acting as if he were showing off his new toy, Shikakage breathed a sigh of relief.

—It's too tiring to be around little girls.

—It's still more fun playing with Xiao Deng.

Although the goal was to get the twelve main characters, Lu Ying did not show favoritism and chatted with each student for a short while.

This delay lasted for more than an hour.

Seeing that it was almost time, Lu Ying called over his little brother and asked:

"Do you know what's been going on with Sasuke lately?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru shook his head. "He's already taken several days off."

—So he didn't come to school after all...

Lu Ying nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.

He glanced in the direction of the Uchiha clan's territory, his eyes flickering slightly.

—It seems necessary to make a trip to the Uchiha clan's territory.