Chapter 22: The Nara Clan

Getting up early in the morning, Shikamaru quickly washed up, brushed his teeth and headed to the kitchen.

At the same time, Yoshino was still making breakfast. When Shikamaru entered the kitchen, the woman froze in surprise.

After taking a good look at the energetic-looking son, the woman could not believe her eyes. She was the first to see him like this ... Although Shikamaru is still a child, he, like his father, was not very active. He always liked to sleep a little longer, and to get up so early, this is generally the first such case.

- Son, are you all right? The woman asked worriedly. Even at their first meeting, after his awakening, she noticed a strange thing in her son. Somewhere in her soul she felt that he had changed. Even his gaze is no longer that childish, but like the gaze of an adult formed man. Of course, she, like many in the Nara clan, is used to this. All the shinobi in their family grew up earlier than even many other ninja, but not at the same age. It was very strange, and after telling Shikaku about his changes, the woman became even more convinced that the current Shikamaru is not the same as before. There was no longer the old lazy look, but rather shining eyes, wanting to know everything in the world.

"Ah, has he finally begun to mature. Maybe at least he will not be such a lazy mediocrity as his father "- smiling at her son, Yoshino asked:

- How did you sleep?

- Great mom, can I eat?

- Of course, sit down, we have Miso today.

Shikamaru nodded curtly and settled down on the Zabutone, surveying the kitchen along the way. She, like the rest of the Nara house, was quite spacious. The smell of fresh vegetables and soup, pleasantly awakened the appetite.

Shikamaru had many plans today: learn about the clan, visit Konoha, scout the situation. As he already understood, their clan is different from the same Uchiha or Hyuuga. The hierarchy was probably different here too. This was all quite interesting, so while he waited, he decided to ask:

- Listen, mom, can you tell me about the clan?

Yoshino served a plate to her son and sat down opposite.

- And what do you want to know?

- Well, how everything works here, what can the head of the clan and everything else.

Yoshino smiled.

- Wow, you are interested in the clan, this is a commendable young man. Well, since you are asking so, I will try to explain. "Making herself comfortable, Yoshina began her story:

- Our clan is not that big by the standards of other clans. But, a hundred people should be recruited. There are not so many jonins among them, mostly chūnins. The part is responsible for the collection of medicinal ingredients and for our research center. So there are many Iryonins and explorers among the clan. In this we are just like Yamanaka and Akimichi. In fact, we always work together, and the affairs of our clan are not very different. All three of us, of course, have fighting shinobi, these are often the heads of the clan and all its descendants, elders and their descendants. They also have their own work, which you will learn about later ...

Hearing about the elders, Shikamaru asked with interest:

- Do we have elders?

- Of course, we're a big family. It's just that Shikaku was from the main branch, and I, for example, from the side branch and was the daughter of one of the elder. Your grandfather Yoshado, died in the war, as did your two uncles. So the title of Elder passed to me. Therefore, like your father, I have a lot of work, - with a sad sigh, Yoshina was silent for a moment. Shikamaru smiled calmly and said:

- They were heroes, I am glad that I have such relatives.

Hearing her son's words, the woman smiled warmly and ruffled his hair a little:

- I am glad that I have such a son ... In fact, your second grandfather, Shikaku's father, also died in the war. Usually, in wartime, our clan performs special tasks to capture, and in the Third World War, there were many of them. Perhaps you will find out about this later, well, what about the clan ... In total, we have five elders, and all the rest are just ordinary members of the clan. That's all ... Well, if it is talking about hierarchy or rules, then everything is simple. The elders control certain industries and then report to the head of the clan. The head, in turn, reports to the Hokage. Well, our internal affairs are not as complicated as those of the same Uchiha or Hyuuga. Simple rules based on seniority and respect.

Then Yoshino began a story about the internal structure and some rules. Basically, the entire Nara clan system was like one big company. Where were the elders, and after them other elders and ultimately the head of the clan. The structure was straightforward, and the rules were fair enough. The shinobi was even completely free to leave the clan. After all, the Nara techniques were not only not particularly in demand, but someone else would not be able to use them either, but rather it would be too difficult. Over the years, the ability to manipulate shadows seemed to merge into our DNA, so we were adapted to it. It was already like hair or eye color inherent in certain ethnic groups.

Shikamaru, as the son of the head of the clan, had a good position, but he certainly was not here a prince capable of giving orders. Simply put, the Nara clan is one small organization working for one big organization - Konoha.

Yoshino also talked about her relationship with Akimichi and Yamanaka, but she skimmed it, emphasizing that Shikamaru is too early to know about it. But, she also made it clear that the two clans are close allies and colleagues. Very often, members of three clans marry each other. But in principle, no one forbids anyone to choose a pair of ordinary people or other shinobi. Any clear purity of blood is not observed here. This is exactly what distinguishes these clans from the same Hyuuga or Uchiha.

After listening to his mom and finishing breakfast, Shikamaru thanked her and went to workout. He still hadn't studied the Master Scroll of Taijutsu, so he should have taken the time. Well, and only then you can do business outside of your home. Very soon, Shikamaru was planning to get the first genome. But first, it was worth exploring Konoha and shinobi history in general. Yet from anime and manga, he had limited knowledge. Although I watched everything I could, from movies to Boruto. As such, there was not much information about the world and politics. Although, already from this, it was possible to draw some conclusions. Especially about the horribly disastrous policy of the hidden villages.

It was not a bad idea to simply build up strength, and as a last resort, it was possible to leave the village altogether. It's just that if you don't know the world in which you live, you can either miss something or get something unpleasant. And leaving the hidden Leaf can be problematic. Still, some tasks were related specifically to the village, although there were not very many of them. But Shikamaru didn't want to lose them either. So leaving was a last resort.

Putting his thoughts of politics aside, Shikamaru finally arrived in the woods behind the house. I wanted to inspect the possessions of the clan, but now it will wait ...