Shikamaru Nara considered himself to be an intelligent person. Well, considering he was a Nara, that wasn’t really surprising. The Nara clan is almost as famous for their high intelligence as they are for their shadow-based jutsus.
He was someone who tried to base all his decisions on logic and initially thought that others would do the same. But, in the recent few years, that belief has slowly corroded away due to a certain person.
A deep sigh escaped his mouth as he oversaw a bunch of shinobi slowly lifting up one of the giant party hats that were placed on the stone heads of all the Hokage in the Hokage Monument.
“Careful, we don’t know if these are bobby-trapped yet.”
*SPLAT*
A split-second after these words left Shikamaru’s mouth, a pie hit him in the face.
‘Damnit, why is the one observing getting hit instead of the people that do the actual lifting.’
He wiped away the remaining pie from his face and mustered the remains with a frown.
‘A pie? So Naruto was involved as well, huh?’
Anyway, the one who has been gnawing on Shikamaru’s worldview was obviously Yuna Uzumaki. Shikamaru did not doubt that she was an extremely smart individual as well, but she was using all that smartness in totally different ways than Shikamaru.
While Shikamaru was always aiming towards the best outcome, Yuna seemed to have an additional parameter she seemed to apply. Additionally to reaching a good outcome, she would also choose a solution that would bring her as much amusement as possible, greatly irritating everyone else.
And that wasn’t even the weirdest thing. Somehow, the solution she would choose would not only give her great amusement, but it would somehow garner an incredibly positive outcome as well.
One just had to take a look at the recent invasion of Konoha. Yuna wanted to have some fun fighting the intruders in one-on-one battles, and since she needed an excuse to get her will, she started spouting ridiculous amounts of nonsense about preserving Konoha’s potential and not making needless sacrifices by sending in weaker shinobi to fight them.
He was at the meeting where the clan heads discussed the plan as his father’s aid, and her passionate speech almost tricked even Shikamaru himself. He did not doubt that quite a few of the other clan heads genuinely believed her words.
It was clearly much smarter to overwhelm the invaders with more significant numbers, but Yuna convinced everyone only to send out their elite forces. Somehow, what seems to be the worse decision that was only based on Yuna’s whims turned out to be the perfect decision, as there were literally no causalities on Konoha’s side. Shikamaru did not doubt that at least a few people would have died if they tried to overwhelm the invaders with numbers.
Out of curiosity, Shikamaru decided to challenge Yuna to a Shogi match one time, and so far, he considered that to be the worst decision he ever made in his life.
Was Yuna better at Shogi than him? Frankly, Shikamaru would answer that question with a no. Initially, he considered Shogi to be a game of pure logic, with no place for emotions, but Yuna proved him wrong in that single match they had.
While they were playing, Yuna would constantly narrate the game. She would make guesses about his next moves, what he might try in the future, and even comment on her own moves and what she might do for her next turns.
In short, psychological warfare.
Yuna didn’t overwhelm him with her Shogi skills; she crushed his confidence while confusing his mind with her predictions.
After he lost the match, his whole body was shaking, and he could have sworn to have lost a few kilos just from sweating so much. When Yuna asked him whether he wanted a rematch or not, he almost soiled his pants in fear. He never wanted to go through that experience again.
*SPLAT*
Another one of the hats was lifted up, and for some reason, Shikamaru was targeted yet again.
‘Damnit, it’s cake this time! Why am I the one being hit!? I didn’t even say anything this time!’
Meanwhile, back at the Uzumaki compound, Naruto and Jiraiya looked at Yuna with excited expressions, instantly making her suspicious.
“What are you two so eager for? Did anything interesting happen?”
The duo’s facial expressions stiffened for a second before Naruto managed to reign in his excitement.
“The Great Toad Sage would like to meet you, nee-san.”
“So? he can come here and have an audience with me at any time.”
The duo’s facial expressions stiffened when they heard Yuna’s words.
“Err, nee-san, he is very old and can’t really move around all that much.”
“So, he wants something from me but wants me to come to him?”
“Err, yes?”
A snort escaped Yuna when she heard that, causing Jiraiya to frown.
“Can’t you be a little more respectful? He has led the toads for a very long time now and even lived while the Sage of the Six Path was still alive.”
Yet again, Yuna snorted in disdain as he looked at Jiraiya like he was an idiot.
“Old age alone does not generate respect. I have never even heard of that guy, and now he suddenly wants to see me, so I have to set off and go to him immediately? I don’t think so. Isn’t he the one who is disrespectful to me?”
“N-Nee-san, can’t you do it or me?”
Yuna glanced at Naruto, who was currently giving her puppy dog eyes, and rolled her eyes.
“Fine, let’s go.”
[Doting Grandma.]
‘I’m not deniying that.’
Naturally, Jiraiya was speechless due to Yuna suddenly making an 180 just because Naruto made the request cutely.
‘Is that the path to control her? Is how much she dotes on Naruto her weakness?’
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly as he tried to get rid of his idle thoughts.
“A-Anyway, since you have agreed, let’s go.”
Yuna nodded her head as Naruto’s hand landed on her shoulder, and moments later, she could feel the somewhat familiar sensation of space bending. Seconds later, the trio vanished in a puff of smoke due to being reverse summoned to Mount Myoboku, the home of the toads..
