Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Page 319

Things didn't go as she expected. You and Nara Shikamaru walked into the living room one after the other, your eyes not even lingering on the coffee table that had been prepared for a second.

"Sakura, let's go to the study." Your calm voice interrupted Sakura's invitation just as she was about to speak.

"Huh? Why go to the study? Can't we just write together here?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

Shikamaru yawned, his tone dismissive and matter-of-fact, "There's something... I need to discuss some academic issues separately; the living room is too noisy."

Learning problems? Should we discuss them individually?

Sakura looked at the two people in front of her, each seemingly less likely to actively discuss studying, and several question marks popped into her head.

Before she could think it through, you and Shikamaru had already walked straight to the study at the end of the corridor in perfect unison.

With a soft "bang," the study door closed, and there was even a faint sound of it being locked from the inside.

Sakura stood alone in the living room, looking at the closed door, then down at the pile of homework spread out on her table, and inexplicably felt a sense of being isolated and wronged.

But she quickly shook her head, her fighting spirit rekindled. "It's okay! I'll just try my best to finish it first! I'll ask them what their discussion resulted in later!"

She clenched her little fist and threw herself back into the battle with her homework.

Unlike the bright and warm living room, the study is lit by only a solitary desk lamp, its dim light casting shadows over most of the space, which actually better reflects your mood at this moment.

As soon as the door closed, the composure you had been trying so hard to maintain on your face dissipated slightly. You deftly stacked your homework in the center of the desk and pushed it toward Shikamaru, who was sitting opposite you.

The actions were decisive and the intentions were clear.

Shikamaru looked at the stack of homework notebooks in front of him, which symbolized the root of all the trouble, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

"Sigh..." He felt as if all his bones had been removed, and he slumped limply onto the cold table, his cheek pressed against the surface. His voice was muffled as he said, "To be honest, I don't really want to do my homework."

He abandoned his pretense and laid his cards on the table. He felt he had little chance of winning by playing mind games with Uchiha Nagi, whose observation skills were terrifyingly sharp. He figured it was better to be honest and perhaps find allies.

Looking at Shikamaru sprawled out like a rag doll, you asked with a hint of genuine doubt, "A kindred spirit? How are we going to explain this to Iruka-sensei tomorrow?"

You've raised a very real question; there has to be an explanation for not doing homework.

Shikamaru remained lying down, too lazy to even move, only rolling his eyes as he lazily suggested, "Perhaps we can choose not to hand in our report?"

This bold suggestion made you pause for a moment, and then it very objectively pointed out the potential risks of the plan: "Standing outside the classroom is embarrassing."

You try to get him to give up this dangerous idea and start doing his homework properly.

Shikamaru clearly had a different opinion on this and had already prepared his explanation. He raised his head slightly, rested his chin on the table, and spoke with a kind of nonchalant attitude.

“Naruto Uzumaki, that guy, is always late and stands outside the classroom. Have you ever seen him feel ashamed?” He gave a vivid example.

"Besides, it'll just be the two of us tomorrow. With more people around, it won't seem so awkward, and it might even look a bit cool."

His logic is peculiar, but upon closer examination, it seems to make some sense: the law does not punish the masses, and the shame is shared by others.

You weigh the pros and cons of spending time and energy doing boring homework and standing outside the classroom with Shikamaru for a while, and in the end, the principle of efficiency prevails.

Standing requires only a tiny, negligible cost to save face, but can save a lot of time and energy.

Doing homework is a pure waste of life; this is an easy number to calculate.

So, under the dim light of the desk lamp, facing Nara Shikamaru who was looking at you expectantly, you made a decision: "Fine, then I won't write anymore."

Crisply and without any hesitation.

In less than three minutes, you reached a swift and efficient consensus to form an "Anti-Homework Alliance" to jointly deal with Mr. Iruka's wrath.

Upon hearing your affirmative reply, Shikamaru smiled, as if the trouble was temporarily resolved, and buried his head back into his arms, as if he had accomplished something of great difficulty.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly in the corridors of the ninja academy, but outside the classroom of a first-year class, four figures stood in a row.

Teacher Iruka walked over carrying lesson plans. When he saw the four of them, he stopped in his tracks, and a vein on his forehead throbbed involuntarily.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the turbulent emotions surging within him.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" He called out the most familiar name first, his tone filled with the usual helplessness, "You're late every day, I'm practically saving you a seat outside!"

Naruto scratched his head and chuckled foolishly, seemingly completely unashamed.

Iruka's gaze shifted to the other three, his expression of heartache deepening. "Uchiha Nagi! Nara Shikamaru! You two!"

His voice rose slightly, "I originally had high hopes for you all! With your abilities, completing those basic assignments shouldn't have been a problem at all! Why didn't you even hand in your homework today!"

He was genuinely disappointed, especially since Shikamaru clearly possessed extremely high intelligence. Although you have an eccentric personality, your calmness and insight shouldn't be used in this kind of situation.

Finally, his gaze fell on Kiba Inuzuka, and he was almost bursting with anger. "And you! Kiba Inuzuka! If you didn't want to do your homework, you could have just admitted it like the other two! I would have just said a few words to you! But you actually... you actually lied and said that Akamaru ate your homework!"

He pointed to the innocent white puppy in his arms, feeling that his dignity as a teacher had been challenged.

Kiba Inuzuka, clutching Akamaru, looked on the verge of tears, trying to explain, "Iruka-sensei! I... I was telling the truth!"

Heaven knows that when he woke up in the morning, he saw Akamaru carrying his drool-soaked, tattered workbook, wagging his tail and looking proud of himself!

He's the victim!

“Enough!” Iruka interrupted him, clearly not believing his explanation.

He initially dreamed of becoming a loving, tolerant, and guiding teacher, but only a few days into the semester, he felt prematurely aged and on the verge of a heart attack, tormented by these problem students!

"You four little devils!" Iruka suppressed his anger and delivered the final verdict. "Right now, write your self-criticisms right here! Before school ends, I want you to stand on the platform and read them aloud in front of the whole class!"

Leaving behind this frustrated remark, Iruka snorted heavily, clutched his lesson plan, and walked into the classroom without looking back, as if even glancing at it would shorten his lifespan.

The classroom door slammed shut, isolating the inside from the outside, and a brief silence fell over the corridor.

You breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to being lectured endlessly, writing or reading a self-criticism was more direct and straightforward.

Naruto's eyes lit up. Far from being dejected, he seemed to have discovered a new continent, excitedly lowering his voice to say, "The 'Demon King' sounds incredibly powerful! It really suits our style!"

He even puffed out his chest with considerable pride, and as soon as he finished speaking, he received death stares from the other three parties.

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine under those three gazes. He shrank back and muttered guiltily, "N-Is it not allowed...?"

Shikamaru was the first to look away, leaning lazily against the wall, yawning, and commented, "Interesting, but not very useful, except for increasing Iruka-sensei's blood pressure."

But you seemed to have a nerve touched, as if you were seriously considering, "At least I can more openly... not do my homework?"

Shikamaru's eyes lit up! That's right! If being a troublemaker becomes a label, wouldn't it become acceptable to occasionally or frequently skip homework?

Iruka-sensei's threshold will also be forced to rise, which is simply the perfect cover for rationalizing laziness!

“That makes sense!” Shikamaru rarely expressed clear agreement.

Naruto was immediately excited when he saw that you and Shikamaru seemed to have reached a consensus, feeling that he had made a brilliant suggestion.

He immediately seized the opportunity, pointing at you and suggesting, "Let Nagi-chan be the boss of our troublemakers! We have to be considerate of the girls!"

His logic is simple and direct.

You thought about it briefly, and it meant more autonomy and a greater voice, which might also make it easier to manage these troublesome members and prevent them from causing you even more problems.

"Okay." You nodded calmly, accepting your role as the boss without hesitation.

“Agreed.” Shikamaru had no objection. He didn’t care who the leader was, as long as they didn’t cause him trouble, or even help him avoid trouble.

Naruto immediately turned his gaze to the last person. He leaned over and nudged Kiba with his elbow, "Hey! Kiba! Want to join our Mischievous Kings group? It sounds super cool!"

Kiba Inuzuka was speechless. Looking at the three people in front of him who seemed genuinely serious about forming a problem gang, he felt his worldview being shattered. "Why do you guys think this is something to be proud of? Is being punished by standing in the corner and writing a self-criticism something to be proud of?!"

Just then, you, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke softly, your gaze falling on Akamaru in Kiba's arms, your tone calm yet carrying a deadly allure.

"I can... give my homework to Akamaru."

Kiba Inuzuka gasped. This suggestion... was too tempting!

From now on, there's no need to rack your brains to make up excuses; you can even perfectly shift the blame to Akamaru, although it's not very stomach-friendly for him...

“I can too.” Shikamaru expressed his support for your proposal.

"Mine's fine too! Give them all to Akamaru!" Naruto didn't quite understand the deeper meaning, but he figured he should just follow along with you and Shikamaru and shout the slogan!

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kiba Inuzuka finally realized what was happening and tightened his grip on Akamaru. "The point isn't whether Akamaru eats his homework or not, it'll really get diarrhea if he does!"

His protest seemed somewhat weak.

You turned your head to look directly at him and asked again, your tone carrying a strange certainty, "So, do you want to join?"

Kiba Inuzuka met your gaze, looking at that exquisite yet aloof face, her heart skipped a beat for no reason, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

He turned his face away somewhat uncomfortably, trying to hide his inner turmoil with arrogance. "Hmph! Yes, you invited me to join! It wasn't my own choice!"

These words are tantamount to tacit agreement.

The corners of your mouth curved upwards almost imperceptibly.

Chapter 303 Cookies

The bell signaling the end of morning self-study felt like a savior. You had just sat down in your corner seat when Naruto Uzumaki eagerly came over, his face flushed with excitement, clearly filled with all sorts of unrealistic fantasies and plans about the newly formed group.

He had just opened his mouth, before he could utter a single syllable, when he was violently pushed away by an irresistible force.

Sakura Haruno stepped between you and Naruto, hands on her hips, her emerald green eyes fixed on you, filled with worry, confusion, and the grievance of being betrayed.

She trusts you so much, she even thought you were studying hard in the study last night!

When facing Sakura, your usual calm cracked, and a rare feeling of guilt welled up in your heart. Not only did you not write anything last night, but you also encouraged Shikamaru to join in the wrongdoing.

"Nagi! Tell me!" Sakura's voice was urgent. "Why didn't you do your homework? Those questions shouldn't be difficult for you!"

She couldn't understand why, when she was clearly capable of completing the task, she would choose such a humiliating method as being punished by standing in the corner.

Looking into Sakura's eyes, I remained silent for a moment. You're not very good at explaining, especially this kind of complex psychology based on efficiency and laziness.

But you can sense that Sakura is genuinely worried. He reaches out and places his hands on Sakura's shoulders, forcing her to calm down, and tries to convey his core message in an unusually serious tone.

"Sakura, perhaps... the homework itself is the biggest trouble for me." You omitted the subsequent explanations such as wasting time and being meaningless, and only gave this conclusion.

To Sakura, this reason was utterly absurd, but she still tried to argue, trying to explain the importance of the homework.

But you didn't want to continue this unsolvable topic, so you simply covered Sakura's mouth, stopping her from saying anything more.

"I'll try..." your tone softened, carrying a hint of compromise, "we'll see how things go later."

This is the biggest concession you can make. I can't guarantee I'll write it every time, but it might depend on my mood or how troublesome the assignment is.

Sakura felt the coolness of your fingertips and your compromise as you covered her mouth, and all the reasoning she had was stuck in her throat.

She understands your personality and knows that behind that short sentence is already a huge concession. Pushing further might backfire.

She blinked, and finally nodded reluctantly, a muffled voice coming from between her fingers, "Well... okay."

Although she temporarily accepted the result, Sakura's mind was already racing with calculations.

She firmly believes that you must have been influenced by the bad atmosphere in the back row! Especially that Naruto Uzumaki!

Finding a way to change your seat and get you away from these negative influences is the most urgent task.

On the other side, Nara Shikamaru had just returned to his seat when, as if all his energy had been depleted, he immediately collapsed onto his desk, ready to catch up on a nap.

His peace and quiet didn't last long. Choji Akimichi came over with a bag of potato chips, crunching away, his round face full of curiosity.

"Hey, Shikamaru! What's wrong with you this morning? Even if you're lazy, you don't have to skip your homework, do you? Don't you hate being nagged by teachers the most?"

In his memory, Shikamaru was lazy, but he usually chose the easiest way to get by. It was a bit unusual for him to refuse to hand in his work and be punished by standing in the corner.

Shikamaru buried his face in his arms and said, "Suddenly I feel that not writing is actually quite good."

At least, you don't have to waste brain cells writing those lengthy answers or perfunctory abbreviations.

Standing next to Choji, Yamanaka Ino didn't stare at Shikamaru. Instead, her gaze drifted to you in the back row, where you were talking quietly with Sakura, and a bold guess popped into her mind.

She bent down, leaned closer to Shikamaru, and gently nudged him with her elbow, a mischievous smile on her face. "Ahem... Shikamaru, tell me honestly, what's going on between you and that Uchiha Nagi?"

Shikamaru's body, which was buried under his arm, stiffened for a moment, and his exposed earlobes turned red at a visible speed.

He tried to remain calm, but his voice carried a barely perceptible hint of panic, "What could be wrong... we're just classmates."

"Oh~?" Ino drawled, her smile becoming even more ambiguous. "Just—a classmate—!"

She emphasized those two words, clearly not believing their explanation.

When did Shikamaru become so loyal to his classmates, even skipping homework together?

Choji, listening nearby, scratched the back of his head and added sheepishly, "So Shikamaru can actually have normal conversations with girls..."

In his memory, Shikamaru generally kept his distance from girls, finding them troublesome.

Although the whispers among the group were soft, Sasuke Uchiha, sitting not far away, clearly caught the keywords "Nagi Uchiha," "Shikamaru," and "situation."

He didn't turn around, but his fingers tightened slightly around the pen, and his thin lips formed a cold, hard line.