26 "Shinobi is not a profession."

Weaving through paperwork and making short work of it, I gained a much better understanding of where the village, and I as the Hokage stood. The paperwork being given to me had similar issues to the Uchiha clan's record. Only this time I had to consider the relationship between the clans as well. Thankfully, with the Uchihas gone, there was much higher stability.

Getting up from the Hokage seat, I made my way towards the window, leaning on it as I spoke.

"Have you come to accept your defeat?"

Looking to the right, Shikaku was there, leaning against the wall outside my office. As he turned his head towards me I could see his brows furrow.

"… I understand going after the Hokage position… I understand why you used Homura as an example… I even understand why you want Jiraya to bring Tsunade back… what I don't understand is why you went through all this." – Shikaku said, his expression serious.

Eyeing him from the corner of my eye I returned a question.

"Wouldn't my position be much more stable after I do this rather than just take the position?"

He simply shook his head.

"No, taking care of stabilizing your position would have been simple for you, even more so seeing the lengths you are willing to go to do so. It might even have been easier. You purposely took this particular route to the Hokage position. You knew Jiraya would reach out to me and you knew I would agree, you knew my every move. So why take this long road with variables instead of a short and guaranteed one?" – he said, his eyes narrowing at me.

"Hahaha… you flatter me, but more importantly… you flatter yourself too much." – I said as I turned my head towards him

"What?" -He asked as he raised his brows

"I only knew your objective, that being the case I took steps to prevent you from achieving it. I didn't know any of your moves, Shikaku Nara, I merely blocked your way to the objective. 'Check' means that you are under imminent danger and need to move… I was courteous enough to warn you and yet here we are."

"So this was all a game for you?"

"A game? Please do not lower me to your level Shikaku-san. While you were playing a game, thinking moves and strategies on your board I won in the real world. Shogi might allow you the luxury of waiting but I won't, while you debated my previous move I had already made the next."

"… You still haven't told me why…"

"Training… would be my answer had you asked me yesterday, what would I gain if I fought a Nara using brute force, and a shogi match has set rules that would impede both you and me. This small war was the best I could provide as training against someone like you, and I believe it has taught me much. You worked hard, Shikaku Nara-san, and yet it proved insufficient." – I said as I turned around, resting my back on the window.

"And what changed?"

"Try hard as you might, you acknowledge shinobi as individuals and yet try to make them move as pieces on the board. You strive to be a competent shinobi and a respectable person. That is why you lost, why against me you will always lose."– I said, turning my head and looking at him in the eye.

"if you had executed a few councilors before me you would have won… but being a shinobi is a profession to you, not a way of life. You could not, in clear conscience, sacrifice a few pieces for what you thought was best." - I shook my head at him.

"Are you questioning my commitment Hokage-sama?" – Shikaku asked, his eyes narrowed but the voice still low.

"No, you are committed to being a shinobi… the problem being when it is that you decide you are one before you go home? Before you see your son? After you leave the house? When you are not on vacation or before your shift ends?" - I asked rhetorically.

"Where you hesitate I act, after contemplation on our brief skirmish I realized that this is my greatest strength… and your greatest weakness. You want to have it both ways, and that is not possible. If you want relationship and friends that you are unwilling to let die, leave the shinobi way behind, if you want to be a shinobi, be ready to cut down your own blood if it becomes necessary." – I said smiling at him.

Shikaku shook his head towards me.

"This village was built upon the principles of cooperation and co-existence by the First Hokage. What would…" – He continued as I laughed out loud.

"Hahaha… that is a good one, please do not tell me you actually believe that, or I will be a little disappointed."

"What do you mean?" – Shikaku asked as his eyes narrowed once again towards me.

"What I mean is that this village wasn't built upon principle, it was built upon strength. No matter what principles the first Hokage preached about unless he had enough power he might as well be talking to the wall. People gathered because the most powerful shinobi was there. They gathered around power because when Konoha was founded it could be found in spares. Everything else, and I mean every single thing that did not include his strength about the first Hokage was simply a bonus. He was a person and a shinobi because he had the strength to be both. But now Konoha doesn't have that luxury."

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As Shikaku had left, I looked near a corner of the room, Neji standing there in his new outfit.

"What I said to Shikaku was meant mostly for you Neji, I hope you learned something during this time."

"So… are you a shinobi?" – I asked with a smile on my face.

"For now."

"Is that so… and will that change?"

"Yes."

I looked at him as I suddenly asked another question.

"…Do you know why Itachi killed his entire clan?"

"…"

"Because he is the best shinobi. Would you be able to do that?"

"…no."

"Then you have yet to become a shinobi. "

"And his brother?"

"A very extensively calculated risk. The man is indeed the perfect shinobi. Too bad I was born a little late or I might have called dibs on him. You would have had a senior brother, hahaha…"

Neji snorted at that, but his eyes became serious.

"Hn… I will try to do better."

I turned my head towards the window as I sensed something.

"Then this is your chance. It seems the perfect shinobi has stepped on our doorstep. Let's see how you fare against him." – I said with a grin on my face, my Sharingan rotating menacingly.

(A/N: I think we went long enough without a fight, what do you guys think? I'm kind of getting bored of doing these fillers and conversations to be honest, but then again I cant go making a fight every chapter. Hope they don't bore you too much and hope you enjoy 😊)

(P.S: Sorry I wasn't able to upload but I wasn't done editing this chapter, and I would like to deliver a proper chapter than for you to read a badly written one and then have to read it again while already knowing what happens.)