Shikamaru Nara simply could not place sufficient trust in someone like Sasuke Uchiha, who had once defected.
That was only natural.
Even as children attending the Ninja Academy, they had never built a true friendship.
At most, they had shared a slight bond as classmates.
As Sasuke defected and joined Orochimaru, that bond gradually faded as well.
What was more, Shikamaru had been responsible for leading a team to retrieve Sasuke back then, but that mission had failed.
So it was easy to imagine how he felt about Sasuke.
In any case, getting Shikamaru to trust Sasuke the way he trusted Naruto Uzumaki was hardly possible.
Only after Sasuke returned to Konoha and proved himself over time would Shikamaru place limited trust in him.
That could not happen in a short time.
Sasuke had still been very young when he left the village, and that was the impression the people of Konoha, including Shikamaru and the others, had of him.
It was not until the Fourth Shinobi World War broke out that Sasuke truly returned to the Allied Shinobi Forces' side.
Throughout that long stretch of time, Konoha and Sasuke had been enemies.
Something like that could not be put behind them with a few simple words.
Of course, Shikamaru and the others would not shun Sasuke over it either.
For one thing, there was no need, and for another, they had to take Naruto and Sakura into consideration.
Mostly Naruto.
Everyone present knew perfectly well how much effort Naruto had put into bringing Sasuke back, so they would never do anything that would put Naruto in an awkward position.
While Shikamaru was lost in thought, Naruto, who had eased his hunger as quickly as possible, called out, "Hey, everyone, listen to me for a second."
Naruto scratched his head,