"Your judgment is very accurate."
Although Shikamaru's judgment couldn't be called entirely correct, Shikaku still gave him affirmation.
"It's nothing, really. Those two stand out too much in class. They're both lonely types in the same situation: one is rejected by everyone, the other wants to distance himself from people… Hm, they're both problem students."
Shikamaru said.
"Speaking of problem students, you, who sleep through class every day, are one of them too, aren't you?"
Shikaku laughed.
Shikamaru coughed once.
"I can't help it. Training at home is exhausting, so of course I don't have the energy to study at school the next day. Besides, I've already completely mastered everything before fourth grade. No problem."
"Being too full of yourself isn't a good thing. Compared to those real geniuses, you're still far behind. And in the end, all that knowledge is just theory from books, lacking the verification of practice. Don't become someone who only fights wars on paper."
Shikaku's expression turned serious.
"I get it."
Shikamaru curled his lips.
"Forget it, after the New Year I'll take you out to look around a bit. It won't take much time anyway."
"What about your work?"
"I'll ask Hokage-sama for leave. We're only going out for a short while."
"We going abroad?"
"Within the country is fine. The current international situation is a bit severe for Konoha. I can't go too far from Konoha."
Shikaku answered.
"I heard there's a war going on outside, is that true?"
Shikamaru thought for a moment and asked.
Shikaku hesitated for a moment, then still nodded.
His son had shown exceptional intelligence since he was small; sometimes it was hard to treat him as a real child.
In some ways he was a bit childish, but in others he was mature to a frightening degree.
Therefore, in educating his son he used a kind of freedom within rules: guide him when necessary, and when not, let him absorb knowledge and grow on his own.
He couldn't restrict him too tightly, but also couldn't completely let him run free.
"It's just that the Daimyo's Mansion has dispatched Ninja Squads. Konoha's Ninja Squads are only stationed at the borders, to prevent Ninja Squads from the Land of Demons from breaking into the Land of Fire. They haven't directly entered the battlefield."
Shikaku continued.
"War, huh… what is it like?"
Shikamaru asked curiously.
He remembered that four years ago, Konoha had still been fighting other Ninja Villages; the opponent was the Hidden Cloud.
That year they also signed a ceasefire agreement, but when the agreement was signed, there was quite a stir, and it had something to do with the Hyuga Clan.
Shikamaru didn't know the details; he only vaguely remembered that at the time many people pointed fingers behind the Hyuga Clan's back and said some pretty nasty things.
"In any case, it's not something happy. A lot of people die, both our own and the enemy."
Shikaku said in a low voice.
"Then why still fight? Since both sides lose people."
Shikamaru couldn't understand.
"There are many reasons, but when two sides go to war, it's hard to say who's just and who's evil. What matters is deciding the winner and loser. Our clan's duty is to do everything we can to help the Hokage defeat all enemies hostile to the Land of Fire. That is the task of the Nara Clan. Sooner or later, this task will fall on you as well."
Shikaku answered.
"What a drag."
Shikamaru clicked his tongue.
Things like war were far too distant from him.
And Konoha was such a large village; even if it lost, it wouldn't be brought down that easily.
At least, he couldn't see any sign from his father's face that the enemy was so strong as to drive the clan to despair.
Which meant this was probably an evenly matched battle.
"More than that, there's something I've been wondering about."
After placing a piece, Shikamaru looked up.
"What is it?"
"I can understand why I should pay attention to Sasuke. He's the survivor of the Uchiha Clan and draws a lot of attention. But why Naruto too?"
This was the part Shikamaru couldn't figure out.
"He's a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan."
"Uzumaki Clan? I did see that in the textbook. Seems the Land of Whirlpools where the Uzumaki Clan lived was destroyed a long time ago."
Shikamaru recalled something.
"Exactly. The Uzumaki Clan used to be Konoha's allies."
"If that's the case, then why do some adults in the village dislike Naruto so much?"
Shikaku frowned.
Even as a kid, he found some adults' words hard to watch.
And Naruto was just a bit mischievous in daily life; he hadn't done anything truly evil.
His clan had also been allies with Konoha; he ought to be treated with respect.
"The Uzumaki Clan used to be Konoha's allies, but the reborn Uzumaki Clan has now thrown in with the Land of Demons and stands against the Land of Fire and Konoha."
Shikaku said, eyelids not even lifting.
"…"
The hand with which Shikamaru was holding the piece froze in midair, his expression slightly stunned.
Konoha's ally, defecting to the enemy country?
That sounded almost theatrical.
"Of course, the villagers' hostility toward Naruto isn't because he's from the Uzumaki Clan. Naruto's parents were both Ninja loyal to Konoha. He has nothing to do with the Uzumaki Clan in the Land of Demons."
"Then what is it because of?"
"I'll tell you when you're older. This isn't something a child like you should know."
Shikaku refused without hesitation.
It involved the private matters of two generations of Hokage and was also connected to Root. Obviously, it wasn't something that could be casually spoken of.
Even if he were to tell his son Shikamaru, now was not the time.
"Oh right, from now on at school, don't sleep for too long. At least listen during history class. You also need to ease up a bit on Ninja Techniques training at home. I'll find some historical documents for you to read and study in depth."