“Did something happen with that?” Shikamaru asked.
“There’s no issue with the meeting itself,” Mirai replied. “But Lord Ikkyu will be accompanied by his son Lord Tento.”
“You’re not here to tell me what a chore babysitting is, are you?” He did not need her bringing every little thing like this to him.
“I wish that it were as simple as that.” Her face clouded over.
“What’s the matter?”
“Apparently, Mujina have their sights set on Lord Tento,” she told him.
Mujina was a group of bandits. Their boss, Shojoji, a ninja who used a jutsu called Corpse Doppelganger, was classified as one of the bigger targets in the Bingo Book.
“So then the report of Mujina showing up in the village would be in this mountain somewhere.” Shikamaru dug through the reams of paper on his desk and neatly pulled a single sheet out from near the bottom of a precarious pile. “Got it. Right. Boruto’s team was given the mission of arresting them, right?”
“Yes.” Mirai nodded.
“You still don’t look happy.”
“Most likely, causing a commotion in the village is just the tip of the iceberg for Mujina. They’re really after Lord Tento.”
“So they want us to take the bait and drop Mujina from our line of investigation?”
“I doubt Shojoji would even show himself to Boruto’s team,” she agreed.
Mujina abducts Tento… Force the enemy to take a pawn and then take the king. Maybe we can use Mujina.
“Watch Tento while he’s in the village,” Shikamaru instructed. “Don’t take your eyes off him for even a second. When Mujina starts to move, let the abduction happen.”
“What?” Mirai cried.
“Just hear me out.” A hazy bloodlust shone in his eyes. “We let them abduct him, and then we quickly move in to rescue him. Okay? Listen closely. You have to let him be abducted.”
“Why would we…”
She had brought this to him to prevent it from happening. Shikamaru gave her this order in full awareness of that fact.
“We’re going to make Madoka Ikkyu owe us one.”
Mirai was at a loss for words.
Regardless, Shikamaru continued. “You’re up against Shojoji here. Don’t let your guard down. Wipe them out after they abduct Tento and take him back to their hideout. You have to rescue Tento unharmed. And…” He took a deep breath. “Don’t tell Naruto.”
“What?!”
“If Naruto knows anything about this, he’ll set a guard for Tento and prevent the abduction. Then it will all be meaningless. Tento gets abducted, and the ninja of Konoha save him. We need this to happen.”
“What exactly are you thinking, Shikamaru?” She raised a curious eyebrow at him.
“Trust me, Mirai. This isn’t just for the sake of this village. The future of the world’s at stake.”
He was trying to prevent a war. He couldn’t bother with appearances. He’d been ready to stain his hands with darkness from the moment he decided to be Naruto’s advisor. He by himself was more than enough to handle the dirty work.
“I’ll leave the team makeup up to you. At any rate, don’t take your eyes off of Tento. Got it?”
“Yes.” Mirai left the room, looking troubled.
Three days later, Madoka Ikkyu and his son Tento arrived in the village of Konohagakure. At the same time, a report arrived from Boruto’s team that three members of the Mujina bandits had been secured. Shikamaru was in the Hokage’s office when Mirai brought word of the success of Boruto’s mission to the Hokage.
“Boruto and his team, huh? Nice work!” Naruto put his hands on his desk and pushed himself up to his feet in delight.
“Hmm. Looks like they can get the job done.” Shikamaru took a cigarette out of his pocket and put it in his mouth. “Mirai, you got a light?”
Mirai stared at him dumbfounded before answering coolly. “There’s no smoking in here, Shikamaru.”
“I know.”
He stared into her eyes. There was a flicker of resolve in the double rings of her irises. I am carrying out the mission you entrusted me with.
Nodding slightly, he said, “Anyway, you said three members, yeah? Shojoji was a no-show?”
“Corpse Doppelganger Shojoji?” Naruto muttered, glaring into empty space.
“Yeah,” Shikamaru said. “A big target in the Bingo Book. He copies the look and voice and even the memories of a person he kills and transforms into them.”
“We gotta do something about him fast.”
His friend’s voice was stern, and Shikamaru felt reassured that he’d make the right choice in keeping this mission quiet. If Naruto knew about the Tento abduction, he’d prevent the incident before it happened. He needed to stop Naruto from looking too closely at Mujina, though.
“Well, leave Mujina to me,” Shikamaru said. “You should focus on today’s big meeting.” Naruto’s attention was diverted from further thought of Mujina when the “meeting” was mentioned. And Shikamaru was consumed with guilt for distracting Naruto from his concealed plan.
And then something surprising happened. After Tento was taken hostage by Mujina, he was rescued by Boruto and his team. Boruto had been assigned to watch out for Tento while he was in the village, and the two boys ended up becoming close. They’d opened up to each other in a real way and promised to be friends. Mirai reported all this in detail.
Once he learned that Tento had been abducted, as if the kidnappers had simply been waiting for the moment when his bodyguard duties ended, Boruto snuck into the Mujina hideout alone. Halfway through the fight, his team members arrived to help, and together, they got Tento safely back home. On top of that, they managed to capture the Mujina leader, Shojoji. The squad Mirai put together hadn’t had to lift a finger.
“You don’t know what would have happened if it hadn’t been Boruto who came along. You did good. Anyway, it’s not quite how I planned it, but the fact remains that Konoha ninja saved Tento.”
“I’m sorry.” Mirai bowed her head.
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. This works just as well. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.” She paused. “Shikamaru?”
“What?” An unlit cigarette hung from his lips.
“What are you trying to accomplish here?”
He spun around on his chair. And then when he turned to face Mirai once again, the sparkle that lit up his eyes when he was on the frontlines had come to life once more.
“I am going to set up a game we can’t lose.”