Shikamaru in the Shadows

Nara Shikamaru first truly placed Uchiha Ling on his list of people who needed serious observation during an afternoon tactical simulation class.

This class was terribly boring for most children.

There were wooden sand tables, simple terrain maps, hypothetical enemy and ally positions, then questions from the teacher about how to flank, defend, and escape. Many started spacing out halfway through. Even Kiba could not help slumping over his desk and yawning.

Only a few people were taking it seriously.

Shikamaru was one of them.

And Ling was another.

Today, Iruka divided the students into groups and had them plan the simplest possible encirclement and retreat around a simulated forest. When the groups were announced, Shikamaru found himself assigned to the same team as Ling, along with Hinata.

"Such a pain..." he muttered instinctively.

Hinata was clearly nervous, while Ling merely glanced at the sand table without speaking.

"Assume there are two enemies on the other side. One excels at frontal assaults, while the other specializes in long-range harassment." Iruka planted wooden markers into the sand table. "The three of you need to bring the scroll back to the safe point through the forest. Start discussing."

The other groups quickly began arguing. Some fought to be commander, while others insisted on charging straight in. The classroom became lively in an instant.

But Shikamaru had no desire to argue at all.

Just as he was about to suggest the easiest possible plan, Ling spoke first. "I'll go in front. Hinata stays in the middle. You stay in the rear."

Shikamaru looked up at him. "Why?"

"I'm suited to breaking through the first wave head-on." Ling lightly tapped the sand table with his fingertip. "Hinata is observant, so the middle is safest for her. You're in the back not because you're slow, but because you're better suited to seeing the bigger picture."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.

That was not an ordinary compliment. It was an assessment that was far too precise.

He had barely exchanged a few proper words with Ling before, yet the other boy seemed to have already roughly grasped his habits and way of thinking.

"What if there's a trap ahead?" Shikamaru asked.

"Then I won't charge in blindly." Ling moved a wooden marker half an inch to the side. "I'll force them to reveal their positions first. You use the terrain to cut off their retreat, and Hinata determines whether there are any hidden points. We don't need to take the scroll right away. We clear the path first."

Hinata listened attentively and nodded softly. "O-okay."

After several breaths of silence, Shikamaru suddenly realized that this plan was indeed more complete than his original idea of avoiding whatever they could. It was not simply playing it safe; it made the fullest possible use of all three of their strengths.

When Iruka came over to their group, he saw three wooden markers arranged at unobtrusive yet highly deliberate angles.

"Who came up with this?"

"Him." Shikamaru pointed at Ling without hesitation.

Iruka glanced at the sand table, surprise flashing through his eyes. Children their age mostly only considered how they themselves should fight. Few would naturally place their teammates in suitable positions as well.

"Not bad." He nodded. "Continue."

After class, many people only remembered who had argued the fiercest during the lesson. They did not notice that Iruka had singled out Ling's group arrangement for praise.

But Shikamaru remembered.

After school, he unusually did not head home right away. Instead, he trailed slowly behind Ling until they were outside the school gates, then finally spoke. "Do you usually think about things like that too?"

Ling did not stop walking. "What things?"

"Who should stand where, who should do what, whether to clear the path first or take the objective first." Shikamaru shoved his hands into his pockets. "It didn't seem like something you came up with on the spot."

Ling fell silent for a moment before answering, "If you want to live longer, you have to think more."

That did not sound like something a child their age would say.

Shikamaru turned his head to look at him, suddenly finding it a little strange. This Uchiha was clearly the same age as them, yet his perspective on things was often excessively cold, as though he had already calculated every risk and price in advance.

"Sounds exhausting," Shikamaru said.

"Still easier than being dead."

Shikamaru choked on those overly calm words. After a long moment, he clicked his tongue. "That's even more troublesome."

They walked side by side for a while, yet the atmosphere was not awkward at all. To Ling, Shikamaru was one of the few people he did not need to explain much to. To Shikamaru, Ling might be troublesome, but he was unexpectedly easy to communicate with.

Before they parted ways, Shikamaru suddenly asked again, "That burst of yours lately... can it get even faster?"

Ling looked at him.

But Shikamaru merely shrugged. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not interested in prying into your trump cards. It's just that my instincts tell me you still weren't going all out against Sasuke or Kiba."

Ling neither admitted nor denied it. He only said flatly, "Your instincts are good."

Shikamaru's mouth twitched.

An answer that amounted to a tacit admission was even more of a headache than a direct confession.

That night, Ling returned to the Uchiha Clan compound and continued training the Explosive Prototype. Today, he did not pursue greater power. Instead, he focused on practicing how to keep his chakra in a precarious state on the verge of exploding at the final instant after attachment.

After failing again and again, he suddenly thought of Shikamaru's seemingly casual assessment that afternoon.

The fact that Shikamaru could even sense that he had not gone all out meant he truly was not simple.

Ling flicked out a pebble. The instant it struck the wooden post, it exploded softly, leaving behind a deep crater.

He watched the mark with calm eyes.

From now on, the people he needed to guard against were no longer limited to geniuses who would face him head-on.

There were also those who hid in the shadows, said nothing, yet could see many things with perfect clarity.