Morning sunlight bathed Konoha in warmth. Birds sang and flowers bloomed, making it seem like a paradise on earth.
Yet inside the Hokage Building at the center of the village, the atmosphere was rather strange.
Tsunade sat behind the Hokage's desk, her chin resting on her hands.
Her gaze was calm as she looked straight at Shikamaru across from her. This time, however, she did not keep staring at him. Instead, she got straight to the point.
"I just received word that Sasuke Uchiha left the village last night! We can now be fairly certain he's heading to Otogakure."
"Huh?"
Shikamaru Nara's face filled with surprise. Bewildered, he asked:
"Sasuke left? Why?"
Tsunade's gaze sharpened, and she said gravely:
"Because Orochimaru lured him away. Otogakure is Orochimaru's territory."
Hearing Orochimaru's name only deepened the uneasy feeling in Shikamaru Nara's heart.
Flustered, he hurriedly asked:
"Wait... what exactly happened? How did Orochimaru manage to lure Sasuke away?"
Tsunade's expression grew solemn as she slowly said:
"It's complicated, and we're short on time. Don't worry about the reasons for now."
"I'm giving you your first mission since becoming a Chunin!"
Shikamaru Nara's mind stirred. He had already guessed what the mission would be.
He asked directly:
"So as long as I bring Sasuke Uchiha back, the mission is complete?"
If there were no enemies involved, it would not be much of a hassle.
Then he saw Tsunade blink, and his heart sank.
This is going to be bad!
Sure enough, Tsunade said quietly:
"This mission is extremely urgent, and it could become very difficult.
Several of Orochimaru's subordinates are very likely guiding Sasuke Uchiha."
Shikamaru felt utterly helpless at those words. Troublesome things were what he hated most.
At the same time, he felt something else stirring within him.
He had never