Omoikane

Walking through the beautiful twilight forest he walked past the ethereal deer's towards a shrine, " welcome summoner to the shrine of Omoikane, God of wisdom and intelligence, We sensed your presence when you first arrived in the mount Kasuga primaeval forest but we did not disturb your moment of reflection" , Shikamaru's eyes widened at the implication that the Stag had known of his appearance in their realm all along but wasn't allowed to apologise as the ethereal stag interrupted saying "There's no need to fret child, we are but mere remnants of the old gods and we have no way to aid you in your ninja ways, we are all spirits and as such you did not intrude"

"I am Uesugi, High Priest of the shrine of Omoikane and as our first summoner Please accept Omoikane's crest, We would not be able to support you in battle but we can allow anyone granted the crest comes to Kasuga by stepping into their shadow with the intent to travel here the only benefit besides our wise counsel we can provide you is that we can immediately revive a crest holder once after death and every Summoner will be brought here automatically after death"

Shikamaru was shocked, this would aid him in his plans immensely, and he could move up on his timeline, " Honourable Uesugi, I Shikamaru Nara, heir to the Nara clan of the hidden leaf humbly ask permission for my clan members to establish themselves in your realm" he asked with a bowed head only to hear a chuckle "there's no need for that young Nara, this realm is yours, and it will be for as long as you preserve it as is" .