Cry 9 (Enlisted)

Days, Weeks, and Months passed with him feeling more and more comfortable with the role he was playing. The name Shikamaru no longer felt so alien to him, and the body he was in no longer felt odd. There were still times when he felt off, but they were few and far between at this point.

Admittedly, if he had pushed himself harder in the physical aspect, he could have adjusted much quicker, but he simply did not have time, oddly enough. He thought that he would be able to explain the sudden passion for exercise slowly, but he did not even have to try.

When he revealed his capabilities with Shadow Manipulation, the Clan pushed him to focus on that. Nearly half of the day was spent between Shadow Manipulation and learning about control of Chakra in hopes that it would increase his speed in mastering Shadow Manipulation.

He still had daily exercise that was assigned for him to complete, but it was not a focus for the Clan. Sure, having a strong body was important to Ninjas in general, but that was never the forte of the Nara Clan as they generally had a frail body from their inclination to Yin Chakra.

They did see that his body was not quite as frail as theirs, but they ignored that aspect for the most part. They were more concerned with his capabilities with Shadow Manipulation. In the Ninja world, a single mastered trick can dominate the world. Magnetic Release to Dust Release, both tricks that could change the very tides of war.

Hell, Onoki was a frail old man who was nearly on his deathbed, but because of his Mastery of Dust Release, he could annihilate entire platoons of Jonin if he wished. Granted, he was probably not as frail as he phrased as having a specific Chakra Tier boosted physical stats, but clearly, physical training was not a priority for the small man. At least not anymore.

There were monsters that had both Like Hashirama with his Wood Release and his absurd body and Madara with his Sharigan and his near-perfect physical stats. The issue is that neither of them was treated as human beings. They were quite literally deified in this world, and it was not even that far of a stretch.

Hashirama simply fighting could change the landscape of the world around him for decades to pass. Madara could obliterate entire valleys of land with a single move, and he could slice apart mountains with his Susano.

No one even dreamed of coming close to those freaks of nature, so the Nara Clan pushing him to be closer to a regular Kage-level ninja made sense. Hell, he said regular Kage-level ninja-like it was a small matter, but while Kages were not the monsters that Hashirama was, a Kage could still kill entire villages when let loose.

Still, while half of his day was taken up with Shadow Manipulation, the other half of his day was taken with grinding out his WIS stat with various strategy games. While the Clan did push for this, he also played a significant part in that push.

WIS was his highest stat, and having a specialization was great. By this point, his Mana Recovery was nearly as fast as he spent the limited resources. Granted, that was not just from his grinding of the Stats themselves.

No, the various passive WIS increases from his Skills made that jump.

Shogi turned out to be such a massive boon that he actively reached out for other games that could also provide a skill. From Chess to Go, whatever game could provide boosts to his WIS stats, he took the time to gain the skills and grind them during his day-to-day life.

The fact that he was able to get such a monstrous Mana recovery proved that he made the right call on that, and it was not like spending so much time on those games was pointless other than grinding out the skills. They were a method of grinding out base WIS stats as well.

So, while he felt like he invested too much time into just WIS, he did not think he wasted that time entirely. Although massive Mana Regen did not allow him to cast grand spells that could change the entire world, like Madara and Hashirama, it made an excellent tool to grind skills out.

Apprentice Shadow Manipulation had maxed out a couple of months ago, and he learned that when a skill reached a max level, he could advance it to the next tier through a quest. Thankfully, the Apprentice Shadow quest was pretty easy to accomplish. All he had to do was spend a whole day in total darkness.

Since he was on such a strict schedule, he could not just slip away and do that, but this is why communication is such a vital skill. He simply told his Father that he felt like he was on the cusp of advancing his control over shadows, and he wanted to spend time meditating in a pitch-black room, feeling out that control.

His Father was a bit surprised by how quickly he was advancing, but he always treated him like a prodigy in the field of Shadow Manipulation. It was not like his request was that odd, either. Since Shadows were so intertwined with their abilities, meditating in total darkness was actually a practice they encouraged.

It was just the timeframe he was asking for that was a little odd, but that was brushed away as trying to push for a breakthrough.

So he leveled up his Shadow Manipulation to the Journey-Man levels, and he learned that increasing the tier of a skill massively increased the Mana cost. It was fine for Shadow Manipulation as he could still grind it out slowly. Shadow Manipulation tended to ask for as much Mana as you could offer to do things, but he emptied out his tank far faster with the higher tier.

Sadly, that meant that the other skills that he managed to evolve were stuck at their current level, as increasing his Mana capacity meant focusing on INT, and the only way he found so far was running calculations in his head over and over again, and it was driving him insane. So, he did not invest too heavily in doing that, even if it was effective.

At least he was able to evolve Observe, Mage Hand, and Sword Burst, and he made good headway on maxing Running as the Mana cost boosted the rate at which he gained experience on that.

He would say that this year was filled with grinding, but that would be a lie. Sure, the Clan treated him like a magic bullet that might eventually become the first Kage level ninja they had, but he was still a kid. So they arranged for him to hang out with Choji and Ino to release some of the tension they assumed he was under.

Which sucked as he would rather play another game of Shogi than hang out with the toddlers, but the Clan was not going to listen to a child, no matter how prodigious that child was.

There was also the added benefit of building strong ties with the other two clans with this move. Sure, he might be the Nara with the most potential in history, but the three clans have become almost inseparable, and that was not going to change even if he showed off a whole lot.

The dynamic between him, Ino, and Choji had changed with his apparent status. Ino no longer dragged him around recklessly, and she seemed a little shy and awkward around him as his reputation was evident to the small girl. Choji was pretty chill for the most part, but he did notice the kid was pushing himself in his training more than he would have expected, likely trying to catch up with him.

So, the equal relationship they had before was kind of a shot in the knee, and they treated him more like a big brother figure. He honestly had no idea how to feel about that. With his adult mindset, he could not bring himself to go with the previous dynamic they had, but he felt a certain sense of alienation from this new dynamic that irritated him.

The part of him which was the boy who spent hours staring at the sky with his two friends by his side, felt sour and moody because of this change. Even if he was not truly that kid, those feelings still bubbled in his chest. 

So he tried to treat them better in his newfound role to take away from the bitter swirl of emotions swimming in his chest. That worked out well with Choji as admiration shone in the kid's eyes when they talked, but with Ino, him trying harder with her only made her more shy.

The girl who was willing to drag him around at her whims was gone, and he kind of missed it. At least she was still the loud and boisterous girl with her other friends. It was only when they hung out that she seemed to turn into a shy girl.

Whatever, he had time to make their relationship into something better than it was. He had only been here for a year, after all.

Sadly, that timeframe led to him having to deal with a new problem. His limited time was going to be scattered even thinner as he was now old enough to attend the Academy, which was an absolute waste of time even for him as he was now.

He could try to argue against going to the Academy with his Clan, but he could already see where that would lead.

Being sent to the Academy was not about learning skills; that much was clear from the get-go. It was about putting him in the sphere of influence of the Hokage and his advisors. The Village, as it was now, could not tolerate a clan heir not being influenced by the standard Academy education.

This was not the time of Hashirama, who had an overwhelming might and a soft heart for the children of the Village. This was not the time of Tobirama, who had a sharp mind and will to sacrifice everything he had for the sake of the future. This was not even the time of Minato, who had a prodigal mind and a hopeful outlook for the world. This was the time of Hiruzen, the man who lived through three Ninja wars and was still kicking around.

A man who was willing and able to abandon the closest allies the Leaf had with ruthless determination. A man who watched as his Sensei's family fell apart from the machinations of his dear friend. A man willing to turn a blind eye as children of the Village were kidnapped and experimented on in the name of more power. A man willing to let his friend do everything and anything in the name of protecting the Leaf.  A man willing to tell a Clan head that his brother needed to die pointlessly for peace. A man who was willing to slaughter the strongest Clan in the Village in the name of stability.

It was the time of Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Professor himself. That man might have once had noble intentions, but he was no longer the boy to whom Tobirama entrusted the future. He was a jaded man who stained his hands in the blood of his own Village for the sake of the future.

Hiruzen did not have the strength to protect the Village after all. He was not like the Senju brothers, no matter how much praise was sung in his name. He had to make hard decisions over and over again to make sure that the dream that his Sensei believed in could live on for a single day more.

This was a true shame as Hiruzen had twisted the dream that those two brothers had believed in with everything they had. Hashirama would have been the first to dissolve the Village if those blood-stained hands were in charge, and Tobirama would have killed his student ruthlessly.

What a joke the Uchiha slaughter was. All they wanted was to have a Hokage that was a Uchiha, and Hiruzen should have retired decades ago. They could have supported Fugaku the peace loving fool, and they could have a much more stable leaf, but that would simply not do. 

It was not like Fugaku was not a Kage-level shinobi, the man had the power and was a part of the peaceful Uchiha faction, but that was not enough. Hiruzen and his Advisors would rather see their Village burn than let a Uchiha rule over their heads.

Whatever, the point was he could not step out of line and avoid the Academy unless he wanted to have a very pointed discussion. Especially after he showed off his potential, that knowledge should only be available to his Clan, but nothing stays a secret, and that applied triple in a Ninja Village.

He could have tried to graduate early, but that was an even worse decision. His Clan would not want him to break away from the Ino, Shika, Cho combo, and graduating would not just put him into the Hokage's sphere of influence; it would put him directly under his command.

Danzo would be more than willing to arrange for an accident to happen to him when he was out of the Village to get his hands on another tool. Hiruzen, the fool that he was, would just turn a blind eye to it again in the name of stability.

That would apply later on in the line as well, but the disappearance of three clan heirs would be so much harder to explain. Plus, he would have more than enough time to level up and protect himself and his friends.

So, despite not wanting to waste his time with this nonsense, he was going to have to attend the Academy for the coming years.

"Shika!" Choji shouted out, trying to get his attention. Ino was trailing behind him, clearly wanting to come this way but also wanting to not at the same time.

They were supposed to walk to school together, but he stuck around the compound as he was on the cusp of leveling his Chess skill. His Father gave him shit for not keeping promises with his friends, but he needed to finish that game, and his Father could tell that.

Honestly, it was his Father's fault that they were even in this situation in the first place. He was the one who started the game in the first place. His Father was just as much of a game addict as he was, and Chess was a new experience for him.

The rules and framework were far more limited, after all. This leads to a simpler but more complicated game, and every single move could twist and turn the ending.

"Hey Choji. Ino." He spoke out in a lazy tone and gave both of them a smirk. Choji waved back while opening a bag of chips, and Ino nodded shyly at his greetings.

Before she could say anything, he reached forward and patted her head with a slight smile on his face.

"Waiting for my hello." He spoke out with a soft smile on his face. Ino looked away from him for a moment before she looked back, trying to muster her courage.

"Hey, Shika." She was greeted with all the energy she had but soon deflated and had nothing left to give. He laughed and patted her head again.

Choji watched what was happening with an amused smile on his face. He knew that the dynamic between everyone was off, but Ino behaving like this after she dragged them everywhere was amusing.

"So you two ready for the Academy? It's going to be a bit boring for me." He spoke out with a wry smile at his two friends. 

"Figures you would find this boring, Shika, but I am looking forward to it," Choji announced with a smile as he ate his chips.

"Me too. We can spend some more time together now." Ino spoke out quietly from her position. Choji paused his snacking to nod along enthusiastically to that comment.

He blinked at the words and felt a pang of guilt ring out from his chest. To him, the life he was living was far more interesting than his previous one. It was filled with magical powers and exploring a whole new world that fascinated him as a kid, but to Ino and Choji, the situation was far different. 

Their best friend was slowly slipping away from them, and there was not a thing they could do about it. Choji might not show it with his calm personality, but his friends meant the world to him, and the same could be said for Ino. Sure, in the show, she was a bit boy-crazy, and she found her two friends' lazy attitudes annoying, but that was just the dynamic between them. He could recall those bright smiles and loud laughs as she dragged them along. She really did treat the two boys as a family, after all.

So a vital part of them was missing, and they could only suck it up. They knew that he was missing for a very good reason, after all. They were far more aware of what being a Ninja meant in this world, with family and friends dying in the field and leaving grieving people behind. So Shika training as hard as he could made sense to them, even if they did not like the outcome.

So he let out a defeated sigh and smiled at his two friends.

"You know what, you two are right. I missed you two as well. If I am going to be stuck here, I might as well make the most of my time and hang out with the both of you." He spoke out softly as he ruffled Ino's hair and gave Choji a fist bump.

The bright smiles he received from both of them made his day despite the annoying thoughts running through his head earlier.

The three of them walked towards the welcoming ceremony. The crowd of students was more extensive than he figured. From what he could recall, the students in Naruto's classroom were rather small, but that was just a constraint on art. In actuality, almost every kid in the Village attended the Academy.

The classes were just split up into several groups in the Academy. Not just by year, but he should have figured something like that was going on. The large crowd of kids were standing around looking up at a balcony that currently housed the Hokage as he prepared to give a speech.

"It warms my heart to see the young sprouts of Kohona gathering for another year at the Academy. Let me bow before your determination to protect the Village just like I do." The Hokage bowed slightly on the balcony as he addressed the crowd through a microphone in front of him.

His little act had the crowd murmuring excitedly as the Hokage acknowledged them and showed them the utmost respect. It was a cheap trick that could be doled out to rouse the sprites of the children soldiers he was trying to recruit. Dignity and honor are not concepts a Ninja should embody, not if they wanted to live as long as Hiruzen did.

So, if saying empty words and pointless actions eased the hearts of the children here, the old man would have been willing to do this over and over again.

"It is important to recognize the importance of every single one of you in peaceful times like this. You are not here because the enemy is at our door, threatening your family. You are not here because the world is burning around us. No, you are here with the simple desire to protect what is important despite it being easier to bask in peace. Again, such determination warms this old heart." Hiruzen talked to the crowd, sprinkling more respect and making every child here feel special for their dedication.

"Now, I won't keep you much longer as I am sure you are excited to enter the Academy for this year, but let me leave you with a sentence that my Sensei taught me when I was in your position. When the tree leaves dance, One shall find flames; the fire's shadow will illuminate the Village, and once again, the tree leaves will bud anew." Hiruzen spoke out with a calm smile as he retreated from the balcony.

He let out a sigh as that metaphor might as well be ash in that man's mouth. He was an old, raggedy leaf that should have long since burned to illuminate the path for the buds, but instead, that Leaf continued to dance around grandly above all others.

Whatever he knew, the old coot was manipulative; this was just another show of it. He followed along as the students shuffled to posted boards to find where their classroom was.

He took a cursory glance and let out another sigh as he caught an absurd amount of names ending in Sarutobi. For a clan with no real draw points, they had an abundant amount of bodies to add to the pyre. Much more than a lackluster clan like that should have, but Hiruzen has been in power for nearly a century.

He ignored those names for now and concentrated on finding his classroom. As expected, all the Clan heirs were grouped together in class number 1. It was easier to focus resources on important people when you gathered them in one place.

There was not a single Sarutobi in their class, but that might be because flooding the class with them would offend the Clans. He could get control over those Clan heirs through other methods. Like the Jonin senseis.

Asuma would lead the Ino, Shika, and Cho combo, and the girl Asuma was courting would lead the heirs to the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans. Leaving the two children with problems to Kakashi, a loyal supporter of the current regime.

The manipulation behind the scenes was absurd, but that was Ninja society for you. As soon as he entered the classroom, he gained an achievement and a title, which was surprising.

[The Achievement Enlisted was gained.]

[Title Child Soldier gained.]

He looked blankly at the two screens before letting out another sigh. It was not like those things were wrong; in fact, that was an accurate statement of what was happening. It was just too raw of a truth to be acceptable.

He looked over what the two things did as a consolation to the mental damage they gave him. Enlisted gave him a flat 25% increase in experience when killing enemies of his nation. Child Soldiers, on the other hand, gave boosts in stats and gained experience when they followed orders without question.

He wanted to let out another sigh, but Choji and Ino had already been shooting him concerned looks. So it was better to save them for later.

As he sat down and settled into the seating, he took a cursory glance at a particular corner. A child far too small for his age was vibrating in the corner with nervous energy. He was looking at the students around him with anticipation and a longing look. Clearly, young Naruto expected things to be a bit different in the Academy.

He thought that he would finally be able to make friends. As the various cliches formed around him, it became clear that no one was going to approach him, and some of them were shooting him dirty looks. As that happened, the anticipation on Naruto's face faded, and a deep sadness seemed to radiate from him for a moment before he puffed up his cheeks and faced the world with a sunny smile again.

God damn it, he was going to have to do something about this, right? Shikamaru was one of Naruto's only friends, so he could not avoid the plague god without changing things. The last thing he wanted to deal with was the Nine-Tails getting control because he wanted to avoid the trouble the main character represented.