Noon.
"Shikamaru, isn't that Naruto?"
Choji, squinting his eyes, saw Naruto skipping towards the rooftop and turned to Shikamaru, asking.
Shikamaru, who had been closing his eyes, looked over with his deadpan eyes.
"It's him indeed, but what is he going up there for at this time?"
Shikamaru didn't harbor much ill will towards Naruto. On the contrary, his father often said that if possible, he should try to be friends with Naruto.
"How about we go up and see?" Choji said as he followed him.
"Wait! Choji…"
Before Shikamaru could reach out, he saw Choji disappear around the stairwell. He could only sigh and follow him.
"This is troublesome."
Pushing open the rooftop door, Shikamaru looked around but didn't see Choji or Naruto, so he asked, "Naruto! Choji, where are you?"
"Shikamaru, over here, over here!" Choji's muffled voice sounded from around the corner.
"Honestly, why did you two run over there?" Saying that, Shikamaru lifted his feet and walked over.
Arriving at the corner, before Shikamaru could speak, his eyes widened.
"Se… sensei!"
He saw Shinji sitting upright on the ground, while Naruto and Choji were continuously stuffing things into their mouths. Their cheeks were puffed out.
Shinji looked up, and smiled, saying, "It's Shikamaru. Come over and eat with us."
"Alright, sensei."
Shikamaru quickly shed his lazy demeanor and sat down between Choji and Naruto.
Choji quickly greeted him, "Shikamaru, hurry and try it, Shinji-sensei's bento is so yummy."
As he spoke, Choji picked up a rice ball and handed it to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru looked at the rice ball in front of him, then at Shinji, who was smiling.
Then he said, "I'll dig in."
Looking at the three little brats in front of him, Shinji focused his attention on Shikamaru. After all, he was Konoha's future top strategist, with the most active mind.
If he wanted to take him as a disciple...
Thinking of this, Shinji looked at Choji, who was eating happily.
'Hmm, it seems I can try to start with Choji.'
As long as Choji accepts, Shikamaru basically won't run away either.
Shinji couldn't refuse Hiruzen's request for him to leave the village for a mission. He could only focus on getting stronger, and taking on disciples was the fastest shortcut.
Thinking of this, he turned to Naruto and asked, "Naruto, how are you doing with the training book I gave you?"
Naruto was stunned when he heard this, thought for a while before realizing what Shinji was talking about, and quickly said, "Sensei, that book is amazing."
"I originally thought it would be obscure and difficult to understand, but I immediately succeeded as soon as I started practicing it."
"It's just… it works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't."
As he spoke, Naruto scratched his head. He didn't know what was going on either.
Shinji irritably tapped Naruto's forehead and said helplessly, "Calm your mind, you're most prone to this during training."
"I think it's probably because you got excited just as you were about to succeed, which disrupted the flow of Chakra."
"It's fortunate that it's just a perception Ninjutsu, otherwise you'd be in for it."
Naruto rubbed his head when he heard this. It seemed that was indeed the case last night.
"It seems I'll have to train your mindset more in the future. If you keep being so boisterous, you might get injured during training one day."
Shikamaru couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, sensei and Naruto are?"
"I'm Shinji-sensei's first disciple!"
Naruto had no intention of hiding it. When he heard Shikamaru ask, he spoke directly.
Shinji, however, patted his forehead with a hint of helplessness.
Choji, who was eating, looked up, and asked seriously, "So, Naruto, is it because you became Shinji-sensei's disciple that you get to eat the bento he brings every day?"
"That's right." Naruto nodded proudly.
He was just like a child who has received a beloved toy and can't help but share it with his friends.
Choji immediately turned to Shinji beside him and shouted, his expression serious, "Shinji-sensei, I want to be your disciple too!"
The rooftop fell silent for a moment.
Shinji was a little disbelieving, just from one meal?
"Hold on a minute! I don't agree!"
Naruto was not happy, how could his teacher be snatched away just from eating a meal?
Yes, in Naruto's eyes, this was equivalent to Choji trying to steal his teacher.
Shikamaru rubbed his brow helplessly, he knew Choji was serious about food.
Shinji said, "Uh, Choji, I think it's better to go home and discuss this with your parents first before deciding."
Although Shinji had many thoughts about the Ino–Shika–Chō combination, he didn't intend to accept Choji directly.
Naruto was different. He had Hiruzen's specific instructions to take care of him. Also, Naruto had no parents and didn't need permission before deciding.
Shikamaru, who had originally intended to persuade Choji, looked at Shinji with some surprise when he heard this.
After all, the Ino–Shika–Chō were old family friends, and their teachers could only be decided by their family elders.
To put it bluntly, even if Shikamaru highly approved of Shinji's teaching, regarding this kind of individual apprenticeship, Shikamaru held a certain degree of caution.
Following Shinji's words, Shikamaru spoke, "That's right, Choji, you still need to ask Uncle Choza about this first."
As he spoke, he gave Choji a pre-arranged secret signal between them.
Choji, who received the signal, was conflicted. He looked at the delicious food in front of him, and after a long time, he reluctantly nodded.
"Then, sensei, I'll come to you after I ask."
Shinji wanted to laugh when he heard this. Although Shikamaru's movements were very subtle, he saw them.
Without saying more, Shinji just nodded.
He then turned to Naruto and started talking about his training.
Although he could rely on Choji to determine if Shikamaru would also become his disciple, he felt that he also needed to put some weight into it.
The intelligence of the Ino–Shika–Chō, the Nara's advice, had always been the important foundation of these three clans' cooperation.
Shinji believed that Shikamaru would explain these situations to his father when he returned today. Therefore, he felt that he could use the opportunity to guide Naruto and let Shikamaru listen in as well.
The first prerequisite for taking on a teacher is that the teacher must have some substance. Otherwise, the Ninjutsu within their own clan would be enough for Shikamaru and Choji to learn.
Asuma, the Jonin instructor for the Ino–Shika–Chō later on, who was his father?
As staunch supporters of the Hokage faction, the clans would certainly advance and retreat together.
As Shinji clarified, Shikamaru, who had originally intended to leave, became increasingly engrossed in listening.
Shinji wasn't just talking about Kagura Mind's Eye. Various Chakra control techniques were also emerging one after another.