I woke up with a splitting headache as memories that weren't my own rushed into my mind. I learned of the events that took place even before the Chunin exam, events of my father and sensei in this life.
When I opened my eyes, I knew who I was and couldn't believe it. I was reborn as Shikamaru, one of my favourite characters within my favourite anime ever, Naruto.
T-this was the greatest second life I could ever hope for. I looked around and saw Naruto with short hair seated on the Hokage chair, snoring with piles of paper occupying the entirety of the desk.
'I guess he really does work hard.'
I looked behind him outside the window and realised it was night. Sighing, I wondered when the Hokage ever gets some much-needed rest besides when he passes out due to overwork. He probably won't be able to go home even when he wakes up, neither will I it seems.
As he was sleeping, I decided to finish up my portion of the paperwork and let him sleep, he really deserves it. And it was an apology for what I was planning to do with his wife when I get the chance.
While turning into Shikamaru doesn't give me his intelligence, his memories are enough for me to bridge the gap, as I'm not exactly an idiot myself, just hit bad luck in my previous life.
It took me three hours to finish up and wake up Naruto. "Oh, Shikamaru, what time is it?"
Man, even his voice is as I remember from the anime but exhausted. "About 4:30 PM."
"Oh man, I'm not yet done with the paperwork. You can go ahead and go home, I'll finish up here."
I didn't argue. "Thanks, I'll be back at 10:30 AM, but send for me if it's an emergency, okay?"
He nodded off absentmindedly, I guess not fully awake. I walked out of the office and headed straight to the training hall of the Hokage Mansion.
From Shikamaru's memories, the Hokage's residence has at least five training rooms. I chose one of them with no scrolls or books inside, just a windowless white room.
I walked inside and immediately sat at the centre of the room, cross-legged, and looked into my chakra reserve. I closed my eyes, breathed in and out very slowly, allowing my chakra to flow from the centre through my channels.
It was surprisingly refreshing but also disappointing learning of my limits. I opened my eyes and bit down on my lower lip before stopping. I can't afford to be caught acting any different from how Shikamaru acts, that means stopping any old habits from my past life.
Looking at my limits, there's no way I'll be dumb enough to go after Hinata. Naruto might not be too smart, but he has matured and is way stronger than I am. If I were to be caught with Hinata in any capacity that isn't within the friendly limits, I'll die from his anger.
And here I was looking forward to bedding Sakura, well that's that, a dead dream. But that begs the question, what am I supposed to do here? I mean, my only mission in life was banging Hinata, with that dream gone everything is hopeless.
I looked up at the ceiling, sighing when something unexpected but pleasantly welcomed happened.
[Ding! System Awakening Due To Host's Desires]
[Ding! System Name: (Konoha) Babes Give Me Shadow Version Of Their Powers]
[Ding! Three Cheats As Starter Pack:
—You Remind Me Of My Husband
—Extraodinary Stamina (Note: This also means a huge increase in chakra reserve, complete nine-tailed beast level)
—Skill Update]
This is what I am talking about, a cheat on top of a second chance reincarnation inside the verse of my favourite manga and anime. Could things get any better?
I definitely have a guardian angel going out of his way to make things possible for me. I seriously just got a cheat that might help with my current predicament.
I mean, look at the second cheat, Extraodinary Stamina. It fixes two of the main weaknesses of the Nara Clan's shadow technique, stamina and large consumption of chakra when utilised.
If it weren't for the Nara Clan's high intelligence covering that huge weakness, their technique would be rendered obsolete. But now, that's no longer a problem.
From both the anime and manga, Naruto's chakra reserves are basically a cheat on their own but unfortunately held back by the author's imagination.
But with me, that won't be a problem.
Now, let's think about the overall plot here. Right now I'm at the starting point of the story, Shikamaru's son and Boruto haven't yet entered the academy.
Which means it'll take roughly a year before the Chunin exam and the Momoshiki attack, something I don't want to get myself involved in. Me being involved will derail the plot to an unpredictable path.
It's not like I'm one of those reincarnated protagonists with an obsession with keeping the plot exactly the same, it's just that I need the Chunin exam and the Momoshiki attack to happen exactly the same.
So this leads to an important question: if I can't go after the main babe cast except my wife, who shall I go after instead? Hmm, well there are clans in the Hidden Leaf Village who aren't taken into consideration like the Izuno Clan.
I'll target women of these lesser-known clans within the Hidden Leaf Village, and after the Momoshiki attack has been dealt with, then I can start changing the plot however I want.
Now, let's test out this Skill Update first. I'll start with Shadow Imitation.
[Ding! Request Confirmed: Kagemane No Jutsu Update]
[Ding! Skill Update Complete]
[Ding! Shadow Imitation Is Now Shadow Control]
[Ding! Shadow Control: Instead of host using your own shadow to bind another's, this time if you have more chakra reserve than your opponent you can take control of their shadow instead and connect it to yours.]
Holy fuck, this is a busted update. There's not many shinobi who can match Naruto's chakra reserve, if any at all. That means with the use of this skill, I'm a threat to anyone beside Naruto and possibly Sasuke.
Let's do another update, this time Shadow Strangle.
[Ding! Request Confirmed: Kage Kubi Shibari No Jutsu Update]
[Ding! Skill Update Complete]
[Ding! Shadow Strangle Is Now Tangible Shadow]
After reading up on the update, I went ahead and updated all of Shikamaru's Nara shadow techniques, reaching a whole new level in both power and practicality. But as I read up on the function of my system, I started to reconsider not messing up the plot earlier on instead.
Oh well, let's think about these things later on. It's time to visit my wife.
"What a drag," I sighed, before a wide smile stretched on my lips. This is turning out to be more exciting than I thought.