Shikamaru's Sky-High IQ

The Ninja Academy graduates were having their final exchanges. After today, they would officially become ninja and could no longer stick together every day like they had in the past.

But...

According to the Third Hokage's way of thinking...

He had only placed students with good relationships together. Most of them were still chatting with their own teammates.

Shikamaru Nara stood by the window, watching Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha form the Reconciliation Seal. A smile touched his lips as he called over his friend. "Hey, Choji, who do you think would win if Naruto and Sasuke kept fighting?"

"Obviously Sasuke!"

Choji Akimichi was still engrossed in his chips and had no interest in responding. Ino Yamanaka, one of Sasuke Uchiha's biggest fangirls, spoke first. "Sasuke is the top student at the Ninja Academy! Naruto is just a Dead Last!"

"Not necessarily..."

Shikamaru Nara picked at his ear.

Seeing his gesture, Ino Yamanaka widened her eyes and shouted, "Hey, Shikamaru, didn't you see Sasuke use Fire Style Ninjutsu just now?!"

"If Jonin Kakashi Hatake hadn't stepped in to save Naruto Uzumaki, that Dead Last would be in the hospital by now!"

"Heh... not necessarily!"

Shikamaru Nara clasped his hands together, using them to conceal both his voice and his expression. "People like us rarely get access to information about the Hokage..."

"As far as I know, apart from the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Fourth Hokage's famous jutsu was the Rasengan, which he developed himself! Isn't that right, Choji?"

"Ahaha..."

Choji Akimichi gave an awkward laugh, poured out the last chip, and carefully put it into his mouth. He chewed for a while before swallowing.

After hearing Shikamaru Nara's question, he thought for a long time before reluctantly speaking. "Ino, it's pretty much like Shikamaru said..."

"How did you two know that?"

"Because Choji's father and cousin were once teammates of the Fourth Hokage. As for me, of course I figured it out with these eyes!"

Shikamaru Nara pointed at his eye sockets. Based on his observations, the jutsu Naruto Uzumaki had used perfectly matched the characteristics of the Rasengan.

That was a forbidden technique rarely seen since the Fourth Hokage's death! Shikamaru Nara had only heard about it from his father...

Even though he was only twelve, as a genius inheriting the wisdom of the Nara Clan, his intellect and keen observation far surpassed anyone present. Even some chunin and jonin could not compare to him!

For example, that watermelon-headed jonin instructor from the previous Team Guy, along with his beloved disciple who had the same hairstyle. Those two lunatics who always wore bodysuits had unbelievably low IQs...

It was truly hard to imagine. Apparently, Jonin Might Guy had a classmate whose IQ was even lower than his, whose brain was even duller?

Wouldn't that make him brain-dead?

That was indeed the truth. Later, that classmate had sacrificed himself at Kannabi Bridge during the Third Great Ninja War. Interestingly, the hero who died at Kannabi Bridge had also shared a close relationship with the Fourth Hokage.

But how had Naruto Uzumaki managed to become proficient in the Rasengan in just a few days?

Shikamaru squeezed his friend's shoulder and smiled. "Choji, looks like we both underestimated Naruto!"

"Hmph! You're the only one who underestimated Naruto!"

Choji Akimichi shakily rose to his feet and said seriously, "I've always believed Naruto was the best person in the academy!"

"Huh? Weren't you always saying I was the best person in the academy?"

"That was just polite talk because of the friendship between our families..."

"Tch, and here I was planning to lend you money to buy chips!" Shikamaru Nara took out several coins, their crisp metallic clinking ringing in his hand. "So, Choji, you still have a chance to change your answer!"

The chubby boy glanced at the empty chip bag in his hand, swallowed, and frowned. "Naruto being outstanding is a fact. You saw it too. There's no changing that..."

"You beat me!"

Shikamaru Nara sighed helplessly and pointed at his backpack. "There are two bags of salt-and-pepper chips inside. Don't eat too much..."

Shikamaru Nara had always been tolerant toward his friends, especially Choji Akimichi, whom he had grown up with. Their friendship could be summed up in one sentence:

Was Choji Akimichi important? No matter how heavy, he mattered.

Their other teammate, Ino Yamanaka, was also part of the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho and clearly could not get a word in. Just as she was about to quietly slip away, Shikamaru Nara called out to her.

"Hey, Ino, you'd better not show up in front of Sasuke right now!"

Ino Yamanaka stopped, sounding displeased. "Huh? Why? How did you know I was going to see Sasuke?"

Shikamaru Nara pressed his index finger to his temple, narrowed his eyes, and answered with some helplessness. "Someone like Sasuke just witnessed a powerful jutsu. Do you think he'd be in the mood for romance right now?"

"So what!"

"Idiot, going to him now will only annoy him!" Shikamaru said irritably. "If a woman is always this troublesome, how could any man like her?"

Ino Yamanaka sneered. "Tch! You make it sound so convincing, like some girl actually likes you! Do you even understand love?"

"..."

After suffering such humiliation, Shikamaru Nara did not get angry. Instead, he leaned against the wooden wall in boredom. "That troublesome stuff had better stay away from me..."

Love between men and women might be complicated.

But friendship between men was simple to build.

After experiencing an evenly matched battle, Sasuke Uchiha reluctantly acknowledged Naruto Uzumaki. "Hey, Dead Last, don't be late for tomorrow morning's Survival Exercise!"

"I have a feeling..." Naruto Uzumaki pinched his chin and spoke with a serious expression. "Sensei Kakashi might be late."

Sakura Haruno rushed over and shouted, "Idiot! Sensei Kakashi is a jonin! He's carried out so many missions. How could he possibly be late for something this important?!"

"That's hard to say..."

Naruto Uzumaki brushed aside his wind-tousled blond hair and waved goodbye to his teammates. "I don't have anything to do this afternoon, so I'm going to practice my jutsu first!"

"Dead Last, you'll grow weak if you exhaust your chakra. How can you guarantee you'll pass tomorrow's Survival Exercise..." Sasuke Uchiha rarely offered a kind reminder. "Take care of yourself. I don't want anyone dragging us down!"

Perhaps it was because they were both orphans.

If this Dead Last named Naruto Uzumaki had a more normal way of thinking, less bizarre values, and had always been suppressed by him in terms of strength...

Then he would be a pretty good teammate.

"Don't worry, I have plenty of chakra!"

Naruto Uzumaki adjusted his Forehead Protector, a confident smile appearing on his face. "More than you can imagine!"

He had more chakra than anyone else in all of Konoha.

Even including the Hokage known as the strongest.

Please bookmark, invest in, and vote for this new book!

Second update. Recommended book: "I Thought I Could Raise a Hokage."

Choji Akimichi: I knew from the start that Naruto Uzumaki would definitely become Hokage...

Shikamaru Nara: Heh, you also thought Hinata Hyuga would become Hokage!

Ino Yamanaka: Is there some reason behind that?

Shikamaru Nara: Because Naruto eats a lot, probably...

Ino Yamanaka: What about Hinata? She's so small and skinny...

Shikamaru Nara: The record holder for Ichiraku Ramen's big eater contest: Hinata Hyuga.

Ino Yamanaka: I'm going to take pictures!

The next day, the gossip headline read: "Is Konoha's greatest noble clan merely all appearances? A look at another side of Hinata Hyuga, eldest daughter and first heir of the Hyuga Clan's main family: she never gets enough to eat at home!"