Members of the Nara clan have more or less heard of Shikamaru in the past. After all, Nara Shikaku has been active on the battlefield as a jounin for many years. Together with Yamanaka Kaiichi and Akimichi Choza, they have made quite a name for themselves in the world.
The reputation among the clan is not low. As his son, Shikamaru has always held the first place with stable results in the ninja school for several years, even surpassing Sasuke, the descendant of the Uchiha clan.
The suppression naturally attracted the attention of many people, especially the ninjas of the same race.
If a ninja wants to have a greater say in the ninja village, he must have matching strength so that the ninja village can pay more attention to it.
Within the Nara clan, some far-sighted clan members, after collecting and analyzing Shikamaru's performance since the ninja school and some intelligence, have determined that if Shikamaru continues to grow, he will definitely take charge of his own role in the ninja world in the future and become a supporter of the Nara clan's reputation.
The ninjas can win more benefits and status for the Nara clan in the village.
Therefore, when the news spread that Nara Shikaku was in the clan and killed Shikamaru and Asuma together to kill Zabuza, the Nara clan began to spread the news in the shinobi village intentionally or unintentionally.
People tend to like dramatic rumors - or gossip - for the Konoha villagers who have lived in Konoha Ninja Village for generations and are closely related to Konoha Ninjas, Shikamaru's deeds are indeed somewhat legendary and dramatic.
, it also spreads very quickly.
…………
At the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, it was already the third day since Shikamaru and the rest of Team 10 returned from the Land of Waves.
The four Genin Team Seven had just completed a C-level escort mission. With Naruto's instigation and the support of Sakura and Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi had to agree to invite the three subordinates to have lunch together to enhance their friendship.
What Naruto meant by "friendship", even though he was glaring at Sasuke when he said this.
"Naruto, Shikamaru Nara is the genin who graduated from the ninja school with you?" After serving ramen to the four members of Class 7 one by one, the owner of the ramen restaurant, Tate, suddenly asked Naruto.
Naruto, who was rubbing his hands and staring at the ramen with salivation, heard this and turned his gaze to the face of the ramen shop owner. When he heard Shikamaru's name, for some reason, he seemed to feel a dull pain in his lower abdomen again, and his face showed joy.
Slightly restrained: "What's wrong, boss, did Shikamaru not pay for the meal? Although he and I are classmates, we are not familiar with each other at all..."
"Didn't you hear that rumor?" The ramen boss looked at Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura a little strangely, and realized that they were also unaware, so he explained aloud: "It's about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
rumors."
"Ninja Doki people? Is that some weird ranking?" Naruto looked confused, scratched his face lightly, turned to look at Hatake Kakashi beside him, and found that the other person's expression condensed after hearing this word,
Obviously he knew some details, so he asked aloud.
"In the Kirigakure Ninja Village, which is also one of the five major Ninja Villages in Konoha, there are seven famous swords that have been passed down from generation to generation." Kakashi Hatake crossed his hands and frowned as he explained: "Hold
The seven Kirigakure ninjas who wield these seven ninja swords are known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in the ninja world. They can be said to be the top masters in the Kirigakure village besides Mizukage. Unfortunately, the Kingdom of Water was established many years ago.
It seems that there has been civil strife, and the policy of seclusion has been maintained until now. I heard that some ninja swords have even strayed outside Kirigakure Village."
"That's true." The owner of the ramen shop nodded in agreement after hearing Kakashi's explanation, and added: "One of the ninja swords is now in Konoha Village."
"Oh?" Hatake Kakashi, who had been looking dull and lazy, cheered up after hearing this, looked at the ramen shop owner with interest, and asked: "What's going on?"
"I heard this rumor yesterday and got confirmation from Genjian (Shiranui Genma)," the ramen shop owner rubbed his chin gently, thinking, "It's the Genin Class 10 led by Asuma.
It is said that while performing an escort mission, they encountered Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure Village, and his men. As a result, they were all killed in the hands of Team 10. The famous sword of Kirigakure Village, the Beheading Sword, was also destroyed.
Keep it and become the trophy of genin Nara Shikamaru!"
"It's an escort mission..., and even the decapitating sword was given to Nara Shikamaru!?" Kakashi Hatake thought thoughtfully. He was also a jounin of Konoha, and he still had a little bit of the general strength of Sarutobi Asma.
For those who know, even though they have not fought against Zabuza Momochi, they feel that the gap between the two will not be too big. Even if Asuma is stronger than Zabuza, it is unlikely that he will be able to defeat Momochi while protecting important people.
Zabuza and his minions stayed behind, so Kakashi said with certainty: "Nara Shikamaru must have contributed a lot in the battle!"
"I heard that Mochi Zabuza was restrained by Nara Shikamaru using secret techniques during the battle, and then was easily killed by Asuma." The ramen shop owner looked at Kakashi in admiration and explained.
"I didn't expect that Zabuza Momochi, known as Kirigakure Kijin, would die indirectly at the hands of a genin." Kakashi Hatake heard this and sighed before saying.
"You can't say that!" The ramen boss laughed and said in a joking tone: "I heard that the kid was always ranked first when he was in the ninja school, and he even created the ninjutsu that the Fourth Hokage had used on his own.
He is a genius of the Nara clan. In terms of strength, other ninja villages may have been able to grant Jonin qualifications! This incident may prove that the strength of Konoha ninjas has far surpassed the ninjas of other ninja villages.
opened!"
Hatake Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. Naturally, he knew that the ramen boss was joking, but there was a hint of pride in his tone. He obviously felt that this incident had greatly increased the reputation of Konoha Village.
"Momochi Zabuza? What a strange name..." Naruto on the side saw that the ramen boss and Kakashi had been discussing Shikamaru. He pursed his lips, cursed secretly, and asked Kakashi aloud: "He
Is it strong?"
"Didn't I already say it? The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are the only ninjas in the Kirigakure Ninja Village after the Mizukage!" Kakashi narrowed his eyes, remembering the rumors about Zabuza, and said in a low voice
Said: "Keijin Zabuza, when you were your age, he was a ruthless man who killed all the ninja school graduates by himself!"
"Kill all the graduate candidates!?" Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura gasped in unison after hearing this. Sakura, who had been silently listening to the conversation of several people, couldn't help but scream.
Hatake Kakashi turned his head and saw Uchiha Sasuke who looked unwilling. Thinking that the Chunin Exam was coming soon, he wanted to advise the three of them, especially Naruto and Sasuke, not to provoke Shikamaru during the process, but
When the words came to his mouth, he stopped them in time. Retreat and cowardice are not good things for the growth of ninjas, especially at an age like Naruto and Sasuke who are still growing and gradually forming their own values of life (nindo).