Normalcy or as close to it as possible

" With all due respect commander, when people hear about your 'accord' they will consider you touched in the head and I'm not exactly confident about your sanity after this either "

Genma of course ruined the moment with his statement, even though it is the truth and seeing as none will speak up I pick up the slack as it were. Still laying in my father's lap with my eyes closed I speak

" You are right. When people hear that a Father has accepted the conditions I have put forth, much more when they realize that it is their jonin commander they will think Father is insane "

But I open my eyes and look at Genma

" But the father in question is mine. The child who put forward this conditions is me and that changes everything "

At this point, Uncle Iniochi speaks out while looking at me

" You are one of the brightest children I have ever seen, I could even say that you are the brightest. So I'm asking you how will the world recognize that you are different from others. "

When put like that it is indeed something that should be cleared, after all, while I need to keep training and grow stronger to face what is to come

Anonymity is my best friend at the moment after all the rest of the villages will not allow Konohagakure to have another potential kage.

For certain this period is the lowest Konoha has ever been since its creation

' The Fourth Hokage dead alongside his wife who was a seal master and previous Jinchūriki of Kyuubi, who is now sealed in a newborn who has no idea of it. The legendary Sannin is pretty much broken up and with the coming genocide of the Uchiha clan is there any doubt why the invasion was wildly known as Konoha crush '

To make it clear that I understand the importance of what he's speaking about I stop lazing around and sit up, even though all I want to do is to sleep

" The rest of the villages will not leave me be if I show potential to restore the strength we have lost. After all this era if played correctly has a great chance to be theirs, to finally knock us off from the metaphorical throne we sit on "

And uncle Iniochi clasps onto it and continues speaking and he does not hide the worry he has

" So don't you think that some things should be shelved Shikamaru? We cannot hide your training from the world forever, we cannot hide it from the people of our own homes even if we tried. "

" Uncle Iniochi you are family regardless of anything or anyone might say otherwise however and I am telling you this because I respect you "

And I leant forward to them as if I was to whisper the secret which would solve this dilemma and they leaned towards me, even father looking interested in the secret

However

" I don't give a damn about what they want or what the status quo indicates!! We can't hide, yes that's true but who said I was planning on hiding in the first place "

And the rest of them seems stricken by my words

" They will kill you Shikamaru. Not on their first try or even on their 100th try but by their hands or similar hands they will write your fate "

Uncle Chouza speaks softly despite the weight and certainty of his words. Asai-san continues the thought further

" Even though none of us here likes this outcome, it remains the truth. "

" Even when a village is at its prime its enemies will attempt such operations to weaken it and we are nowhere near our prime kid " Even Genma being a realist briefly loses his humour

" And you just proved further why I won't hide. We each can realize that I cannot hide in the first place so why the hell should I even try it? The best safety is indeed anonymity however the best anonymity at the moment is normality. How will they realize I'm special if I don't stand out as they expect "

At this point, they are confused so I try to make my point clear

" You said I was one of the brightest children you have ever seen Uncle Iniochi and each of you stayed silent because you too believed that. So aside from me who do you think exists in that particular section? "

And their answers are pretty much what I expected Shisui, Itachi, Kakashi and Minato to name the usual suspects

" And how did they enter this bracket? What distinguished them from the others? " Father catches on to what I'm speaking about

" They were recognized as geniuses "

" I don't understand Shikaku "

" Yes, could you dumb it down for the normal folks here "

So I clap my hands to invite their attention and explain what I'm thinking of " Minato Namikaze, our fourth hokage was a genius with excellent grades in the academy, a stellar mission record and these particular things I'm assuming are common to the others as well "

" Well yeah "

" May I inquire how this helps us "

" What they said "

" They stood out, they were noticed too early by their accomplishments and this is something I want you to think about, Minato Namikaze is a Kage-level shinobi and both the Uchiha plus the Hatake are jonin. But they aren't the only shinobi with that level of strength, are they? "

At this point aside from me and dad who figured it out, no one has still gotten it so Dad explains it further which I think is not needed but whatever

" Their advancement was publicized and their records matched against others to prove their superiority by all of the villages. Imagine the difference between Gai and Kakashi if you still need to understand it "

And Asai-san got it

" You don't truly believe that you can accomplish your safety with this? They will know your ploy "

" How will they know? "

" I assure you Shikamaru-kun they will know "

" How am I like the others Asai-san? I'm not the kid who entered the Academy ahead of the others and I certainly didn't pass within a year! I mean I'm just the typical Nara who sleeps in class and is just a step away from being dead last in my year! "

At this point, everyone is on the right topic

Genma immediately coughs out a "bullshit"

And I go in for the cliche

" I mean my father has to bring in wild animals just to make me train and don't you know that I'm such a talentless person that my training doesn't show results and my father had to throw me in a forest for me to take my training seriously "

At this juncture in my words, everyone is staring at me like they can't believe me and my father says what's in their minds clearly, though his tick is back " I'm the slave driver here? "

" We're gonna have so much fun dad "

At this point, however Uncle Chouza laughs softly and is immediately joined by everyone aside from dad and Asai-san

Genma points his finger at me and says in an approving tone

" You are gonna be a hell of a shinobi "

However that's not something I can slide

" Let's agree to disagree "

" What? you don't think you have what it takes? "

" I'm gonna be the worst shinobi "

And mom just chuckles out loud louder than the others do of course that stops when I say my next words

" Let it not be said that I didn't tell you "

" You're being serious? "

" And here we go again. Can you pour me another cup, I'm gonna need it "

" This is quite flummoxing "

" Honestly being a shinobi doesn't appeal to me that greatly "

" Then what the hell are you training towards? To be a civilian? "

" The only difference I see between shinobi and a ronin is that the ronin serves themselves "

" That doesn't make sense "

" Trust me, it makes a lot of sense "

And that's my cue to crash on Dad while I ramble on

" What's the difference? You guys kill just like they kill, you guys protect just like they protect, you guys have a code just like they do and those who break it are treated as an outsiders on both sides. Both of the creeds share a lot of similarities at their polar ends "

However this statement opens up the debate and boy are they an eager bunch

" Yes but I assure you there are a lot of differences between us "

" Samurai are considered more honorable than us for a reason kid. We're more accepted for breaking codes and crossing lines they can't and won't cross for our home and ourselves if needed, believe me when I say it kid, we do a lot of shit that guarantees us a seat in hell "

" Are we to presume you walk the path of the samurai then? " Asai-san gets straight to the point as usual and the answer to his question is intriguing enough for the rest of them to hear

" I already said that ninja and samurai are equal in my eyes...so no. I won't walk their path either "

" Shikamaru what path are you planning to walk on then? "

" All I know is that I'm probably gonna wield a sword and be strong enough to throw fists with anyone while being awesome at the rest "

" Ninjas do that " They deadpan at me

But I get ready to shock them again because I want to see if I can do it consciously and because I want to do it

So I try to go through the motions I do in the lobby

" Not like me you don't, I'm gonna make them all bow to me!! "

And there it is... my own reason for pride

My own...Conquerors haki

And once again I pull it off successfully but It lasts even shorter than the first time

" Stop that "

" What the hell is that? "

" How are you doing that? "

But it's enough to mess with them again

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As always I thank you for reading my story, your opinions and thoughts as always are welcome and appreciated

And I really thank Pual_Arzt, Muiyuki_Snowfall, THEOS, Joshua_Welsh, Jackwa88, Dao117, Muktars_Game, QuantumSt1ck for giving their precious stones to the story

And most importantly I wish you guys have a great day, be happy and stay safe