Konoha Notes

Chapter 441 Short and Long

The word "holiday" is something that makes people's hearts flutter and smiles just by mentioning it.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, Shikamaru had already prepared himself for a long vacation of the next two or three years, and was probably mentally prepared not to expect anything from it.

Therefore, every short holiday is all the more precious.

However, in reality, he was taken to the Joint Affairs Bureau by his father, Nara Shikaku.

"The holiday is only three days long."

"There's still homework during the holidays..."

He tried his best to persuade them.

But I received this reply.

"There's nothing we can do about it; we've been too busy these past few days," said the director of the Joint Affairs Bureau. "As for the assignments... the reason the Ninja Academy gave you three days off was so you could observe the duels of outstanding Genin and Chunin and gain experience."

"As a temporary staff member of the secret service, you can find excellent viewing spots backstage."

"Don't worry, the job is the same as before, just running errands."

Shikamaru gave his father a disdainful look.

Shikaku coughed lightly: "The tickets are expensive, Shikamaru. My mom and I worked really hard to get two good seats, so you can watch for free while we're running errands."

"I don't have to watch the game," Shikamaru said expressionlessly.

“Men shouldn’t say things like that,” Shikaku suddenly said seriously, patting his son’s shoulder. “Besides, Director Kakashi over there has a lot of power now, and even Dad can’t do anything about it.”

"That's it, I'm going to meet up with your mother."

After saying that, the head of the Nara clan turned and left.

"It's really going too far for Mr. Shikaku to say such things," Kakashi said with a smile as he watched his retreating figure.

Shikamaru watched his father's figure disappear, then looked at the one-eyed bureau chief behind the desk.

Finally, I had to accept the reality that was my own.

For two days, Shikamaru perfectly fulfilled his role as a human teleportation device, shuttling back and forth between the venue area and the secret service.

Occasionally catching a glimpse of the stadium lights through the gaps in the passageway and hearing the cheers from the stands only made him more acutely aware of the difference between watching for free and being a leisurely spectator. The former is a fleeting glimpse during a work break, while the latter is a true enjoyment of a holiday.

On the last day of his holiday, when he stepped into the office building again, he found that there were more people dressed in luxurious clothes in the lobby.

Those people were obviously not ninjas.

“Those are nobles from the Land of Fire, close advisors to the daimyo.” A Konoha clerk explained when he stopped. “Their schedules were delayed a few days ago because of… well, those rumors. Now that everything seems alright, they’ve started arriving one after another.”

Shikamaru understood. He was afraid of dying, so he observed; now that he felt safe, he came to enjoy the excitement.

He didn't look around any longer and walked familiarly toward the director's office.

Kakashi seemed even more listless than the previous two days, practically slumped in his chair, a thin document clutched in his hand. Seeing Shikamaru enter, he raised an eyelid, his other hand sliding across an envelope on the table.

"Perfect timing. Take this to the fourth-floor lounge area and give it to Killer Bee and the others."

Shikamaru accepted the plain envelope without any markings.

"Ask them for their opinions while you're at it," Kakashi added. "No need to rush back to report. That's all for today."

Shikamaru's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

Is this some kind of mercy on the last day of the holiday?

The original common lounge on the fourth floor now seems to have become the exclusive space for the band members.

When Shikamaru came in, he didn't see anyone outside the band.

Kirabi was sitting cross-legged on the floor, writing and drawing in a small notebook.

On the other side, Fu sat next to Yugito, and the two were talking. Gaara, Naruto, Han, and Utakata were together.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto waved to Shikamaru as soon as he saw him.

"Shikamaru-kun!" Fu even jumped up, ran to Shikamaru, and shook hands with him formally. "Long time no see!" This excessive enthusiasm caught Shikamaru off guard. He pulled his hand away and placed the envelope on the table between them.

"This is for you."

"Huh? What's this?" Naruto immediately leaned closer, staring curiously at the envelope. He deciphered the words on the envelope, "An application form?"

Yukito reached out and took the envelope, deftly pulled out the papers inside, and quickly glanced through them.

“It’s a request,” she concluded. “They hope we can perform on stage one more time.”

"It's paid, and the compensation is quite substantial."

Chirabi immediately sprang to his feet: "We can't refuse the requests of an enthusiastic audience!"

"Encore! Encore! Let's give them another round of applause!"

The others exchanged glances, showing no sign of refusing.

After all, the fact that the application was sent over means that it has gone through a round of screening. It's just a matter of going back to the same place again, nothing serious.

Naruto chuckled, "We've become celebrities now! But... it seems like the holiday ends tomorrow, and we have to go back to school."

"We can only rehearse in the evenings now," Fu replied, sighing. "Time flies, the holidays are almost over."

"This vacation is so slow," Shikamaru silently corrected himself. Finally, he could go back to school.

After delivering the message, and since Kakashi had instructed him not to reply immediately, Shikamaru left the secret service office. He wandered aimlessly around the stadium area, keeping track of the time, until he felt it was almost time to leave work, at which point he leisurely returned to report.

Kakashi simply waved his hand at his efficiency without even looking up.

Shikamaru finally returned to his familiar and regular ninja academy life.

It was noisy, competitive, and full of the excess energy and minor annoyances typical of teenagers.

But there were no mountains of official documents, no endless running around, and no bureau chief who was always sleepy but could always accurately conscript men.

Aside from Naruto, Gaara, and Fu becoming celebrities at school because of their opening ceremony performance, with people pointing and excitedly chatting with them wherever they go, everything seemed to be back on track.

This is what his ideal vacation should be like.

A few days later, Naruto and his friends suddenly stopped coming to class.

Shikamaru looked at the empty seat next to him and a thought flashed through his mind: Was it because of the performance added for the nobles?
He didn't pay much attention. It wasn't unusual for ninja academy students to occasionally take leave, especially given their special status.

When he got home from school, he saw his father, Shikaku, sitting in the living room, looking tired.

"There shouldn't be any urgent work at the command center lately, right?" Shikamaru asked casually, putting down his backpack.

Shikaku raised his eyes: "Yes."

"Moreover, this matter... in a way, also went through your hands."

Shikamaru was stunned for a moment: "Me?"

"You sent Killer Bee and the others an application for an additional performance, right?" Shikaku asked, looking at him.

Shikamaru nodded.

"The performance went well, and afterwards, the nobles made new requests."

"They want to invite the band to perform outside of town."

Inviting the Jinchuriki to leave Konoha? Shikamaru almost immediately understood the meaning behind those words and instantly guessed the choice the village would make.

“Of course, they were rejected,” Lu Jiu continued. “Then, they expressed their desire to meet the band members up close and get an autograph.”

"This is not an excessive request, so it was naturally permitted."

He paused for a long time. So long that Shikamaru was almost about to ask him a question before Shikaku slowly uttered the next sentence.

"Last night, those nobles who had contact with the band members died."

(End of this chapter)