It was noon.
"Shikamaru, isn't that Naruto?"
Choji, his eyes narrowed, saw Naruto bounding toward the rooftop. He turned to Shikamaru beside him and asked.
Shikamaru, who had been resting with his eyes closed, looked over with his dead-fish eyes.
"It is him. But what's he going up there for at this hour?"
Shikamaru didn't have much ill will toward Naruto. In fact, his father often told him to make friends with Naruto if he could.
"Want to go up and see?"
As Choji spoke, he followed Naruto.
"Wait! Choji..."
Before Shikamaru could reach out, he saw Choji disappear around the turn in the stairs.
He could only sigh and follow him up.
"What a... drag."
Shikamaru pushed open the rooftop door and looked around. Seeing neither Choji nor Naruto, he couldn't help calling out:
"Naruto! Choji, where are you?"
"Shikamaru, over here!"
Choji's muffled voice came from around the corner.
"Honestly, why did you two go all the way over there?"
With that, Shikamaru headed over.
When he reached the corner, his eyes widened before he could say a word.
"T-Teacher!"
Hagoromo was sitting upright on the ground, while Naruto and Choji kept stuffing food into their mouths beside him.
Their cheeks were bulging.
Hearing someone call him, Hagoromo looked up and smiled.
"Shikamaru! Come eat with us."
"Yes, Teacher."
Shikamaru quickly dropped his carefree manner and sat down between Choji and Naruto.
Choji hurriedly called to him, "Shikamaru, hurry and try some! Teacher Hagoromo's bento is sho good~"
As he spoke, Choji picked up a rice ball and handed it to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru looked at the rice ball in front of him, then at Hagoromo, who was smiling.
Then he said, "Let's eat!"
Looking at the three little kids in front of him, Hagoromo paid particular attention to Shikamaru.
After all, he was Konoha's future top strategist, with the quickest mind of them all.
If Hagoromo wanted to take him as a disciple...
At that thought, Hagoromo looked over at Choji, who was happily eating.
Hmm—looks like I could try starting with Choji Akimichi. As long as Choji agrees...
Shikamaru basically won't get away either.
Hagoromo couldn't refuse when Hiruzen sent him out of the village on a mission.
That left him with no choice but to work on increasing his strength, and taking disciples was the quickest shortcut.
At that thought, Hagoromo turned to Naruto and asked:
"Naruto, how's the training from the book I gave you going?"
Naruto paused, then took a moment to realize what Hagoromo meant before hurriedly answering.
"Teacher, the training in that book is amazing!"
"I thought it would be hard to understand, but who knew I'd succeed as soon as I started practicing!"
"It's just... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."
Naruto scratched his head as he spoke. He didn't know what was going on either.
"Calm yourself. That attitude is the last thing you want when you're training."
Hagoromo poked Naruto in the forehead with some exasperation and said helplessly:
"I think you probably got excited just as you were about to succeed and disrupted the flow of your Chakra."
"You're lucky it was only a Sensory Ninjutsu, or you would've been in for it."
Hearing that, Naruto couldn't help rubbing his head. That did seem to be what had happened last night.
"Looks like I'll have to train your mindset more from now on. If you keep getting so worked up, you'll end up hurting yourself during training one day."
Shikamaru couldn't help asking from the side:
"Teacher, what's your relationship with Naruto?"
"I'm Teacher Hagoromo's first disciple!"
Naruto had no intention of hiding it. When Shikamaru asked, he answered at once.
Hagoromo slapped his forehead, feeling a little helpless.
Choji Akimichi, who was eating, heard Naruto and raised his head to ask with a serious expression:
"So, Naruto, is it because you became Teacher Hagoromo's disciple that you get to eat the bento he brings every day?"
"That's right!" Naruto nodded proudly.
He was like a child who had received a beloved toy and couldn't help sharing it with his friends.
"Teacher Hagoromo! I want to be your disciple too!"
Choji Akimichi immediately turned to Hagoromo beside him and shouted, his expression utterly serious.
...!
The rooftop fell silent for a moment.
Hagoromo could hardly believe it. Had it only taken one meal?
"Wait a minute! I don't agree!"
Naruto wasn't happy. How could someone be trying to steal his teacher away in the time it took to eat a meal?!
Yes, in Naruto's eyes, this really was the same as stealing his teacher.
Shikamaru rubbed his brow helplessly. When it came to food, he knew Choji was serious.
"Uh, Choji, I think you should go home and talk to your parents about something like this before you decide."
Though Hagoromo was very interested in the members of Ino-Shika-Cho,
he had no intention of accepting Choji on the spot. After all, Naruto was different.
Not only had Hiruzen specifically instructed Hagoromo to look after Naruto, but Naruto also had no parents, so there was no need to ask anyone before deciding.
Shikamaru, who had been about to persuade Choji, looked at Hagoromo in some surprise when he heard that.
After all, the Ino-Shika-Cho families had been close for generations, and only the elders of their families could decide who their teachers would be.
To put it bluntly, even though Shikamaru thought highly of Hagoromo's teaching,
he was still somewhat wary when it came to taking him as a personal teacher.
Following Hagoromo's lead, Shikamaru said:
"That's right, Choji. You need to ask Uncle Choza first about something like this."
As he spoke, he gave Choji a signal the two of them had agreed on.
After receiving the signal, Choji looked conflicted. He gazed at the delicious food in front of him for a long time before reluctantly nodding.
"Then, Teacher, I'll come back to you after I ask!"
Hearing that, Hagoromo felt like laughing. Though Shikamaru's gesture had been very discreet, he had still seen it.
Without saying anything more, Hagoromo simply nodded.
Then he turned and began discussing Naruto's training with him.
Although he could rely on Choji to determine whether Shikamaru would also become his disciple, Hagoromo felt he needed to add some weight of his own.
The deer was the brains of Ino-Shika-Cho, and his advice had always been an important foundation for cooperation among the three families.
Hagoromo also believed that Shikamaru would explain the situation to his father when he went home today.
So Hagoromo felt he could take the opportunity to guide Naruto
and let Shikamaru listen in. After all,
the first prerequisite for taking someone as a teacher was that the teacher had to have some real substance.
Otherwise, the Ninjutsu of their own clans would be enough for Shikamaru and Choji to study.
Even Asuma, the Jonin instructor who later guided Ino-Shika-Cho—just look at who his father was.
As steadfast supporters of the Hokage's faction, the families would naturally stand together.
As Hagoromo answered questions, Shikamaru, who had been thinking of leaving, grew increasingly absorbed in listening.
After all, Hagoromo wasn't just talking about the Mind's Eye of the Kagura; he also kept bringing up one Chakra control technique after another.