Shogi, as the name suggests, is very similar to Chinese chess, but it is actually more similar to chess, with more complex rules, with special rules for leveling and punching (converting captured pieces into one's own combat power) to increase the difficulty of calculations.

Interesting doesn't have to be complicated, but complex is often funny. Shogi is a complex board game that can be considered an interesting pastime even for "highly intelligent creatures" with an IQ of more than 200.

At least Shikamaru is happy with shogi. Of course, it may also be that shogi can make time go a little faster than sleeping on the clouds.

"Hit the step. ”

"Hey, don't be so aggressive!"

Katsura is a very special kind of piece in shogi, and although he is one of the five foals, he is the only character who can leapfrog the other pieces. Shikamaru is very good at using Katsura in chess, and this nimble chess piece is like his nimble brain that can change the tide of a battle at a critical moment.

Asma once compared himself to silver, thinking that Shikamaru was the Katsura of Konoha. Shikamaru thought so at first, his flexible way of thinking was indeed similar to Katsurama, but lately he felt that it wasn't like that. Compared with Guima, who can only move forward and cannot retreat, can the lazy self really take on the heavy responsibility at a critical time?

"The king takes the flying car. ”

"Tsk!"

may be good at self-preservation, with the help of team strength, the corner line is more compatible with yourself. Especially after the defeat of the end valley by Sasuke, Shikamaru confirmed this even more.

[That's what I said, Shikamaru, don't put all the difficulties on others. Even if you are a think tank, you must have the strength to protect yourself. 】

Sasuke's mocking words seemed to still echo in his ears. Shikamaru still clearly remembers that at that moment, when he was proud of the progressive plan, Sasuke almost wiped out the crusade team with a forbidden technique.

That's right, it's quite useful in the early stage of the chess game, and the corner line that can only be chased by a speeding car in the later stage is indeed more like himself.

Shameful and brave, after just being defeated by Sasuke and returning to the village, Shikamaru also worked hard for a while. But just like Katsura Ma, who was pressed to the second line of the enemy formation, would be forcibly upgraded to Katsura who couldn't jump chess pieces, Shikamaru felt that his strength had reached the point where he couldn't be limited by his talent.

"Three-step Guima checkmate, Teacher Asma, lost again. ”

It's like this by nature, maybe that's why when Dingji and Ino are working hard, he will play chess with Asma here.

"Since you accidentally ate Guima, I didn't feel good, and I really can't underestimate 'Guima', the three Guima completely forced the jade to death. ”

Asma was a little annoyed, took out a lighter, and lit a cigarette. The blue-purple gas that rose seemed a little lazy on this summer afternoon, and Shikamaru reached out to disperse the smoke that drifted in front of him, and lay down on the wooden board with his head in his hands.

"I went to see it before I came, and Ding Ji and Ino are working very hard, and they are training hard even in this hot weather. Shikamaru, although you became a shinobi first, aren't you afraid of being caught up when you rest here?" Asma teased.

"Who made them fail the middle ninja exam this time, and the losers have no room to rest. The sweat that runs under the scorching sun is the water in their minds during the exam. ”

"You can't say that, I remember that your mistakes in the second middle ninja exam dragged them down, right? ”

"Okay Asma, aren't you also here to play chess with me?"

"I am...... Anyway, you're a little ghost, and you don't understand what adults say. ”

Asma stealthily tilted her head to the side, and when a shadow came into view as expected, she looked back as if relieved.

Shikamaru couldn't help but sneer when he saw this. What else is there to understand, this forest garden is very close to the house of the pommel horse, and you can often see Teacher Hong who takes care of the young lady of the Kurama family. He liked the location of the clouds here, and Asma, who was rejected by Red three times, obviously couldn't have been for this purpose.

"Women are so troublesome~"

"What does the little ghost know, you'll understand in a few years!"

Asma angrily pressed his regular cigarette into the dirt and reinvigorated himself.

"Now, I'm just mentioning it briefly. Not to mention Sasuke, Naruto followed Jiraiya-sama out to practice, and his strength must have increased a lot. You're good right now, but is that okay?"

Shikamaru was silent. Looking up at the sky, the clouds drift slowly in the wind. In addition to the clarity and depth, the little clouds are like the white lace on the scarf, which makes people feel calm.

Isn't that bad? Every day is peaceful, and you can earn money to survive by completing tasks moderately. In your spare time, you can play shogi with Asma or Dad, or simply watch the clouds drift by and fall asleep. Maybe it's true as Asma said, in a few years, he will find a woman who is neither beautiful nor ugly to marry, and then his quiet life goal will be achieved.

"Ah, that's it. ”

"What is it like this! Bastard Shikamaru, you made me look for it for a long time!"

Suddenly, a huge force came from below, and the ground cracked a gap towards Shikamaru, who was lying flat, and all of this was done by the pink-haired woman in front of her.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, this is not a training ground, don't use strange powers casually!"

Shikamaru jumped up in a hurry, but was just grabbed by Sakura's neckline with a straight punch.

"Don't talk nonsense to the old lady, if you have something, hurry up!"

Watching Shikamaru, who had been dragged out of the smoke and dust, gradually move away, Asma stiffly took out his lighter again and lit a cigarette. He glanced at Sakura in the distance, then quietly glanced at Red and Yakumo, who were about to go back, and let the ash of his cigarette fall to his hand.

"Maybe Shikamaru is right, women are really troublesome creatures. ”

※※※

Nakashinobi is the main force of the village, and since Shikamaru and Sakura were promoted to Nakashinobi, they have both started their careers as independent team leaders. Although they are still nominally subordinate to the original Seventh and Tenth Shifts, more often than not, they are still separated from each other. It is impossible for high-end combat forces like Asma and Kakashi to teach Shinobi all the time, and they also have to take on A-rank S-class missions.

And not long ago, Shikamaru had just taken on a very ordinary D-class mission, which was to find a ferret with black fluff on its hind legs. The task of capturing the flower cat that Naruto Sasuke did when he first became a shinobi is of the same type, and in Shikamaru's eyes, it is a time-consuming but brainless task that is in line with his money-making philosophy.

It's such a simple D-class mission, but it incurs Sakura-chan's violent iron fist for Shikamaru.

"How can I say that I am also a senior who is one year higher than you, give me some respect!"

"Do you mean you want to have some more contact with the ground?"

The floor of the research room was made of tempered porcelain, and Shikamaru looked at Sakura-chan who twisted his wrist and recognized it spinelessly.

"Well, why are you in such a hurry to pull me here?"

Sakura didn't say anything and threw Shikamaru a few photos. The photograph shows a traveling caravan station, which, unlike what you might have imagined, is a mess and littered with corpses. Strangulation marks on the neck of the corpse are also evident in some photographs.

"I have the impression of the logo of this caravan, is it the caravan that came to the village to issue a mission before?"

"That's right, it's the caravan you led the team to complete. Sakura finally put her fists away. "Originally, I had gone to collect the honorarium as agreed today, but when I got there, there was no one left. Only photographs and laboratory samples can be brought back. ”

"Huh, is there no revenge for my mission?"

With a bang, Lu Maru's face successfully came into close contact with the tempered porcelain floor tiles in the research room.

"Bastard, is it time to care about pay!"

Standing and talking doesn't hurt my back, do you know how many hills I climbed to catch that ferret?

Shikamaru wanted to retort, but the cobweb-like cracks in the ground made him wisely shut up. No, it's the focus on the photo.

"It's peacetime, what village would brazenly attack a caravan?" Shikamaru scratched his head.

"Could it be a nearby bandit? This is the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, and there may be bandits or something. ”

It was a female ninja in the research room who was in charge of helping with the test, named Shiho. With thick glasses like beer bottles, it is almost impossible to see her eyes. Pale hair hangs down on the shoulders, but there are always countless differences.

In short, it looks like a professional researcher.,The type that basically doesn't care about dressing up.。 As a young woman, it is embarrassing, but listening to the voice is quite good. It's quite in line with Shikamaru's ordinary aesthetic standards.

"Impossible, this thing will not be done by ordinary people. ”

Shikamaru glanced at Shiho and laid out several successive photos on the table.

"You see, from here to here, there are traces of almost the entire caravan, which are left by ninjutsu. Very coherent, it is certain that this is a large ninjutsu, and it takes at least two ninjas above the middle ninja to work together to unleash it. ”

"There is no trace of resistance, it can only be said that the opponent is strong enough to annihilate the entire caravan in an instant. Either there are a large number of people, or the strength is particularly high, which is not something that a wandering ninja or a small ninja village can do. The old man who came to apply for the mission that day is gone, probably kidnapped. ”

"But if it was the five major villages who did it, no matter who did it first, what was the reason?" Sakura asked, following Shikamaru's analysis.

"I don't know, but anyway, it's not something that the two of us can solve. This is all information that can be seen at a glance, Sakura, you should report to Hokage-sama sooner rather than have time to inflict violence on me. ”

Shikamaru said as he put a photo in his pocket and left the research room as if he had no bones. Seeing this, Shiho wanted to step forward to save her, but Sakura stopped her.

"Shikamaru is right, even if he stays, he can't do anything, so you better analyze the samples you brought back first. ”

"And the guy is starting to get serious. ”