After snapping out of his thoughts, Kakashi turned his head to look at Shikamaru beside him, and without beating around the bush, he asked directly where the document was submitted from.
"I'm not sure, it was a joint proposal from several higher-ups." Shikamaru glanced at the document and immediately had an idea in his mind, "While it was submitted anonymously, it is now possible to narrow down the likely suspects."
"No need." Kakashi wasn't impulsive enough to act rashly. Even if they identified the individuals behind it, there was little they could do, after all, submitting the document was completely in line with the regulations.
Once a file was submitted, regardless of Kakashi's stance, it would inevitably end up in a high-level meeting. Those guys would find a neutral party to raise the issue before pushing for discussion.
Kakashi understood perfectly that this wasn't about 'dealing with Nohara Rin'. It was aimed squarely at him. His actions as Hokage had already stirred discontent among certain factions.
His backers were already gone, and he didn't have overwhelming popularity like his predecessors. They might be afraid of the Sandaime or the Godaime, but they are definitely not afraid of the Rokudaime Hokage.
Kakashi temporarily suppressed the document, but secrets could never stay buried. The regular high-level meeting was scheduled in three days.
At night.
Shikamaru lay alone in bed, wide awake. His wife slept in the next room. Ever since he was transferred to the Hokage's Office, the couple had started sleeping separately.
The office's work pressure is too great, leaving Shikamaru with barely any rest. Sometimes, he even worked from home to save time. In order to ensure that Shikamaru get proper sleep, the two have been sleeping in separate rooms for a while.
After tossing and turning past midnight, Shikamaru finally got up and knocked on his wife's door. After a while, they lay together, talking softly, "You seem troubled?"
"Yeah, work stuff. Can't really talk about it." Shikamaru lay on the bed, his hands behind his head, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
"If you encounter trouble and you can't solve it yourself, you should find someone who can." Shikamaru's wife smiled lazily, with a gentle temperament. The bedside lamp softly reflected the outline of her cheeks.
"Find someone?" Shikamaru turned his head and looked at his wife.
"That's right. No matter how complicated the problem, as long as you find the right person, you can get twice the result with half the effort." She said with a chuckle. As a wife, she tried her best to comfort her husband.
…
The next morning.
Shikamaru went to Naruto's house early, but found that the guy didn't seem to be at home. Just as he was about to leave, he was startled by a flash of fiery red fur rushing out in the corridor.
The morning passed with routine work.
At lunch, he made an appointment with Choji to have lunch together, and asked about Naruto's whereabouts at the table. Choji was confused at first, and then screamed.
"That damn Naruto! He promised me that he would treat me to barbecue tonight, but he's not even in the village?!"
'That's not the point here!' Shikamaru sweatdropped. He was starting to realize Naruto's movements were unusually elusive. He even checked the village's departure records, but naturally found nothing.
"By the way, Shikamaru, is it urgent? Why're you looking for Naruto?" Choji suddenly asked.
"Ah… that's not the case." Shikamaru scratched his head, his eyes wandering in the distance, "It's just a little work matter. I have encountered some trouble and want to ask Naruto for help."
"Oh, then you can go find Ino, maybe she knows." Choji squinted his small eyes, holding chopsticks in his chubby hands and said seriously.
"Naruto?" Ino stood in the Intelligence Division's hallway, narrowing her eyes, "We were still together two days ago, but he said he had something to take care of outside."
"How long will it take for him to come back?" Shikamaru asked.
"Not long, it seems to be... three days. Yeah, three days!" Ino said with certainty, and then turned to look at Shikamaru, "Is it something urgent?"
Shikamaru hesitated for a while, and finally nodded.
"Well, it's very important, related to work… but more important than just work."
He's not joking. Kakashi's face was so gloomy these two days that water could drip out.
Shikamaru was practically walking on eggshells around him, so how could it not be important?
It's extremely urgent.
Shikamaru was as sharp as ever. Even though he usually stayed quiet in the Hokage's Office, it didn't mean he'd stopped thinking.
From the time Rin suddenly appeared until now, all her identity records and files had passed through his hands. No one understood better than Shikamaru what Rin meant to Kakashi, and he'd also read that document long ago.
He didn't say anything at that time and just submitted it silently, just to see Kakashi's reaction. After all, workplace hierarchy meant subordinates couldn't overstep.
Now, he didn't even need to guess what Kakashi was planning. His face has been gloomy for two days, so if Shikamaru doesn't find someone to persuade him, he is afraid that Kakashi will flip the table at tomorrow's meeting.
Kakashi might be mild-mannered, but that didn't mean he lacked a temper. Shikamaru was keenly aware of this, and he noticed Kakashi seemed to be having issues with Rin lately.
As a man, he knew exactly what kind of chemical reaction would brew when all these frustrations piled up. If this blew up, the Hokage's seat might change hands.
Kakashi naturally wouldn't care about the Hokage's position. After all, he'd been dragged into the role by Tsunade as a last-minute replacement and became the Rokudaime Hokage 'voluntarily'.
So far, the only thing Shikamaru had seen Kakashi genuinely invested in was handling Rin's affairs… from physical examination to intelligence search to formal registration, and even reissuing her Konoha's forehead protector.
Now that the higher-ups wanted to suggest 'dealing' with Rin, all because her origins were unclear, Shikamaru's head was pounding. After all, his fate was tied to the Rokudaime Hokage's, and they will rise and fall together.
It's not that he particularly cared about his position as the Hokage's secretary. It was just his sense of responsibility, as he wanted to do right by everything under his charge.
"Well, if that's the case… if it's really urgent, maybe you should try asking Hinata?" Ino hesitated for a while before suddenly suggesting.
"Hinata?" Shikamaru was stunned, obviously didn't expect her to say that.
"Yeah! That idiot might've lied to me!" Ino raised her fist and said through gritted teeth, "Who knows what story he fed her? You might piece it together if you ask."
"Uh…" Shikamaru was a little confused. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
'Yeah. That's Naruto for you.'