"Who are you people?"
Seeing that the two didn't respond for a long time, Shikamaru asked again.
"We, we are performers, traveling performers," Sasuke said quickly.
He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but after spending so much time with Boruto, he felt his own mind had become much slower.
"Performers?" Shikamaru looked at the two skeptically.
The people Naruto asked him to observe were performers?
Who was he kidding?
But recalling Naruto's earlier instructions, he didn't expose them.
Coincidentally, he had nothing else to do today, so he could play along with their act.
"What are you doing in Konoha?"
"Konoha, as the number one village in the shinobi world, has a large flow of people and is full of wealthy merchants. It's a good place to make money," Sasuke said, pushing Boruto behind him, his words becoming smoother as he spoke.
It really was this kid who was affecting his intelligence.
"Hmm." Shikamaru nodded slightly after hearing his explanation.
"Since I have nothing to do today, I'll accompany you."
Sasuke and Boruto exchanged a glance. How were they supposed to find anyone like this?
"There's no need to trouble you. Konoha is so safe, why would we need personal protection?" Sasuke said.
"Not protection, surveillance," Shikamaru said casually.
Sasuke, Boruto: "??!"
"Don't make that face. It's not specifically targeting you. A ninja recently defected, and the village has ordered us to keep an eye on every suspicious person entering or leaving Konoha," Shikamaru fabricated an excuse.
Judging by their furtive behavior, they probably wouldn't dare to go and confirm this with any Konoha ninja.
"A ninja defected?" Boruto poked his head out curiously.
Future Sasuke, however, remained silent. At this point in time, who else could have defected besides him?
"Just pretend I don't exist," Shikamaru said with a smile. "Do whatever you want."
Sasuke pushed Boruto's head down, giving him no chance to speak. He mentally reviewed the remaining items he had on him and walked towards a nearby intersection bustling with people.
A few minutes later.
"Uhh..." Shikamaru was a bit speechless as he watched the two, who had actually started performing acrobatics in the distance.
They sure could adapt!
They were really performing acrobatics.
But, he had to admit, they did have some skill.
Before long, a crowd had gathered around them.
"Uncle Sasuke, when did you learn acrobatics?" Boruto couldn't help but swallow as he looked at the sea of heads around them.
"Aren't you going to collect the money?" Sasuke said irritably. If Shikamaru actually figured something out, how would they find their target?
The Sharingan could copy even ninjutsu; what difficulty was there in a few acrobatic tricks?
"Oh, oh." Boruto also realized and walked around with a top hat in his hands.
Two hours later.
"Thank you, everyone! Today's performance is over." The two bowed to the surrounding crowd in thanks.
As the crowd dispersed, Boruto collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
For the first time, he realized that earning money was hard work. No, collecting money was also hard work.
"A good haul. We've gathered enough for our expenses," Sasuke said, weighing the hat full of tips.
"Uncle Sasuke, what do we do next?" Boruto asked.
"Find a place to stay."
"Aren't we looking for someone?"
"With Shikamaru around, do you think you'll have a chance?" Sasuke retorted.
"Err..." Boruto scratched his head. That did seem to be the case.
The two were happy to act, and Shikamaru was happy to play along, following them for the entire day.
To avoid arousing their suspicion, he didn't interact with them much.
"You've been busy all day. Get some good rest," Shikamaru said to them inside the inn.
"Thank you for your trouble." Sasuke, as if he truly considered himself a performer, took off his hat in thanks.
"Goodbye!" Boruto waved.
Shikamaru paused, then waved back. Why was this kid so enthusiastic?
It felt as if he knew him.
Closing the door, Sasuke looked out at the cloudless, starless, and moonless night sky and instructed:
"Get a good night's rest tonight."
"What about you, Uncle Sasuke?" Boruto was taken aback.
"I want to try and see if I can find Naruto," Sasuke said.
Being watched all day, he hadn't had any opportunity to act.
"I'll go too," Boruto said quickly.
"You get some rest. You worked hard today." Sasuke shook his head, refusing.
Konoha wasn't like other places. Bringing along a deadweight like Boruto would slow him down considerably and increase the risk of exposure.
Although, with his strength, even if he was exposed, there wouldn't be much real danger.
But ultimately, it would be detrimental to their subsequent actions.
"...I understand." Feeling his limbs starting to rebel, Boruto nodded helplessly.
"Then, be careful."
"I understand." As his voice fell, Sasuke's figure disappeared from the room.
Tap, tap, tap~
Feeling the movement behind him, Naruto, who was preparing dinner, turned around and asked:
"How did it go?"
The reason he had changed his plans for the day was because he had sensed their chakra.
One of them had a terrifying amount of chakra, so much that it almost rivaled his own.
Of course, if it were just the amount of chakra, it wouldn't have made him react so strongly. More importantly, the other person's chakra, while not large in quantity, was strangely eighty percent similar to his own.
Generally speaking, such highly similar chakra would only appear in immediate family members...
"It's strange. Both of them give me a familiar feeling," Shikamaru said, plopping down beside him.
"Especially the taller one."
"Is that so." Naruto looked at the soup starting to bubble in the pot and nodded slightly.
"They seem to be looking for someone," Shikamaru picked up a piece of firewood and tossed it into the campfire. "Although they're being very subtle about it."
Naruto: "..."
He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Thanks for your help today," Naruto said, ladling a bowl of fish soup and handing it to him.
"You went fishing again?" Shikamaru took it and glanced with surprise at the chunks of fish simmering in the pot.
"Looks like you had a good catch today."
Naruto's face darkened. Who was he looking down on?
It wasn't like he'd come back empty-handed many times before, right?
"Do you need my help to deal with them?" Shikamaru asked.
"Hmm?!" Naruto looked at him in surprise. "I didn't expect this. It's only been a few months, and your strength has grown to this extent."
"What are you talking about!" Shikamaru waved his hand. "Anyone who catches your attention could probably crush me with one finger."
"This small frame of mine wouldn't dare to go head-to-head with them."
"But don't forget, this is Konoha."
"True." Naruto couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose. "Haven't been involved with a hidden village for so long, I almost forgot the power of the collective."
"No." Shikamaru shook his head.
"Hmm?"
"It's not that you forgot. It's just that because you're too strong, you've selectively forgotten about leveraging external power."
"You overestimate me," Naruto shook his head. "I just got beaten up a few days ago."
"Is the shinobi world really that terrifying?" Hearing this, Shikamaru couldn't help but ask.
Who was this next to him?
This was a formidable individual who could threaten the Four Great Shinobi Villages; an enemy publicly acknowledged by the entire shinobi world.
To be able to beat him up.
Did the shinobi world have to be so fraught with danger?!
"There are quite a few shady characters out there," Naruto sighed slightly. Just Akatsuki alone had so many strong individuals.
Who knew how many other hidden organizations similar to Akatsuki existed in the shinobi world.
"I'll handle those two. With Lord Jiraiya not around, no one in Konoha can touch them."
"No way?!" Shikamaru was speechless. He had just been complaining, and now he was encountering the hidden shady characters of the shinobi world?
"Regrettably, yes."