The Meeting

Shikaku Nara, a man with two scars on his face, is the leader of the Konoha Jonin Commander and a senior strategist for the Hokage. His strength isn't particularly outstanding, but his IQ is over 00. He excels in strategy and judgment, much like his son Shikamaru... although that statement should be reversed.

It's hard for ordinary people to imagine what highly intelligent people are thinking when they put their minds to work.

Sakura Haruno has an IQ of 154, placing her in the top 0.3% of people. When Sasuke and Naruto are thinking about the same problem, they can't keep up with her speed at all. However, compared to Shikamaru and Shikaku, she is instantly utterly outmatched.

Shikaku habitually arrived a little early, sitting down about ten minutes beforehand, silently observing everyone who came in. When Sakura Haruno greeted him, Shikaku smiled faintly and nodded in response; but in his mind, everything about her instantly flashed through his mind.

Sakura Haruno, female, 15 years old, ninja ID 01601. A disciple of the Fifth Hokage, skilled in Water Release, Ice Release, and Medical Ninjutsu, her strength has reached the 'Kage' level, a rising star of Konoha. She has a relatively peaceful and gentle personality, but also a rough and violent side...

Although both are Jonin, Shikaku usually associates with people in the Jonin circle and has little interaction with Sakura Haruno, who is mostly involved in the Anbu. The only reason he's somewhat familiar with her is because he has a son who looks exactly like him...

"But it seems like Shikamaru and she have a pretty good relationship."

Shikaku pondered.

It would certainly be good to build a good relationship with a future Hokage figure. However, Shikaku wouldn't stoop so low as to desperately try to get close to Sakura. Based on Sakura Haruno's personality, Shikamaru's friendship with her is already very strong, serving as a sufficient bond. Besides, the Nara Clan is a direct descendant and advisory family within the Hokage Faction, holding a very high position. They don't need to rely on a fifteen-year-old girl.

But he still felt a bit emotional.

Look at them. And look at Shikamaru.

The Haruno family is a legitimate Konoha clan, but they haven't produced a single outstanding ninja over the years, making them a clan with little foundation. There are countless ordinary clans like this in Konoha, yet a golden phoenix somehow manages to fly out of the chicken coop.

What about Shikamaru? He's so intelligent, his family's heritage is quite strong, and he's consumed a lot of deer antler elixirs, yet he's the kind of person who only takes things one step at a time. His favorite thing to do is slack off and sunbathe. He's been a little better these past two years, a bit more diligent, but compared to others, he's still too lazy. Sakura Haruno has already Jonin, while Shikamaru is still dragging his feet, unwilling to be promoted to Special Jonin, finding it too troublesome.

Shikaku Nara sighed inwardly. Even a man with an IQ of 16 can't control his wife or manage his son; that's just fate.

Not long after Sakura Haruno arrived, the other big shots also arrived one after another.

Shikaku pulled himself out of his reverie and keenly noticed the subtle shift in the atmosphere of the room.

"Strange." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's just a regular mission briefing, even if it involves important intelligence about Akatsuki, it shouldn't be like this..."

His gaze swept subtly across the faces of the Hokage Advisor and the Hokage. The bigwigs all wore expressionless faces, with only barely perceptible micro-expressions hinting at something.

This meeting... seems to have something going on.

While listening attentively to Sakura Haruno's mission report, Shikaku's mind raced with countless speculations.

Sakura Haruno's mission report this time was also very interesting. With Shikaku's intelligence and experience, he quickly discerned the hidden meaning in the girl's words.

"Something's fishy." Shikaku didn't know Itachi's spy identity, but he could keenly sense that there was something wrong with Sakura Haruno's fight with Itachi. Considering the Uchiha Clan Massacre and Itachi's past personality, "One possibility is that Itachi still has connections with Konoha. Could he just be pretending to be missing-nin? Then... the Uchiha Incident back then... never mind, don't speculate without evidence."

Shikaku Nara unaware that his guesses, based on some clues, were already quite close to the truth.

Shikaku's colleagues were clearly not as perceptive as he was, and they noticed the discord; they focused their attention on analyzing Akatsuki's strength, and discussed in an orderly manner how to deal with Itachi's Genjutsu, as well as how to detect and deal with those strange and numerous half-plant, half-human creatures.

The meeting proceeded as planned.

"The Byakugan is the most powerful Dōjutsu for reconnaissance... It can instantly see if other people's Chakra is disordered, thus waking up allies under Genjutsu immediately, making it particularly effective against Sharingan Genjutsu. It can also efficiently search underground, finding those rats hiding there..." Hotaru Hyuga explained gently, "Lady Tsunade, I have an idea—"

"I understand what you mean." Tsunade Teuchi Hotaru Hyuga.

Hotaru Hyuga wanted to pull more Branch Family out of the Main Family's clutches and into the Hokage's directly subordinate Anbu, making it difficult for the Hyuga Clan to exert influence. Tsunade, of course, understood her intentions. However, now was not the right time to discuss this issue.

"I will discuss this matter with Hyuga Hiashi again. So, is there anything else you would like? If not—"

" --Lord Fifth Hokage," Koharu Utatane suddenly raised her hand and said, "I have a question."

"The main event is finally here," Shikaku Nara thought to himself. He slumped his eyelids and stared at the empty conference table in front of him, sitting up straight and minimizing his presence.

Tsunade looked at the old man who had raised his hand to speak, her smile seeming to grow even brighter, "You."

"I have an autopsy report here..." The old woman slowly took out a document and placed it on the table. "The time of death was three years ago, the location of death was in the Land of Waterfalls, not far from the battlefield at the time, and the deceased was..."

"--Eight Konoha Ninja died in battle."

Mitokado Homura took off her glasses and rubbed them as she continued to listen to Koharu Utatane's words.

A slight murmur rippled through the meeting room.

Koharu Utatane banged on the table to signal for quiet, then looked at Sakura Haruno: "We're not doubting anything; I believe in the loyalty and conviction of every Konoha Ninja... However, since the time and place of their deaths coincide with Sakura Haruno 'Jonin mission, I'd like to ask Sakura Haruno Jonin..."

Were their deaths related to your mission at the time? Was Xiao's person the one who killed them?

The smile on Tsunade's face gradually disappeared.

If their question was simply about the conflict between Sakura Haruno and Danzo, they wouldn't have asked it this way. It's clearly a deliberately tricky question...

The fact that the two advisors acted this way indicates that they possessed certain evidence... Yes, since there was an autopsy report, it meant they had the body, which means... In order to counter Tsunade's growing power, they chose to join forces with Danzo!

"I thought you guys just liked to maintain a balance, but I never expected you to be this stupid. I've disliked you for a long time..." Tsunade thought coldly to herself.

At this moment, everyone's attention turned to the pink-haired girl next to Tsunade, who had been so serious just moments before, but now she was smiling.

A smile devoid of emotion.

Sakura Haruno also realized what was happening.

Ha, politicians.

She actually got involved with that despicable Danzo; no wonder she's a politician with even less integrity than a prostitute.

The Lord Third and the two Hokage Advisor aren't questioning me; they're trying to pull a fast one!

Sakura Haruno looked at Koharu Utatane, her eyes showing no respect whatsoever for the Konoha High Command, and a slow smile played on her lips.

"Koharu Utatane," she narrowed her eyes, her fake smile sickeningly sweet, but a shrewd glint lurked beneath her eyelids, "I can answer that question."

At this moment, even the most oblivious person could sense that something was wrong.

"Damn, this is truly a battle of gods."

Shikaku Nara was merely a high-ranking strategist; he had neither the interest nor the ability to intervene in the power struggles among the top leaders. He simply wanted to protect himself...