Chapter 118 Discussion and discussion

"Then why don't you take a break? I brought lunch."

Choji sat down across from him and pulled out a bag of takeout, which Shikamaru recognized as food from the yakiniku restaurant in the square. With just one deep breath, Shikamaru realized that he was hungry.

"You're my savior." He said gratefully as Choji handed him a box. "How's Ino?"

"She's still swinging that machete of hers. I think she's in love with it."

"As long as she's happy," Shikamaru whispered, then reached out and picked up a skewer of grilled meat.

He was halfway through eating when he realized that Choji had been staring at him. He immediately touched his mouth to see if the sauce got on his face, but he didn't find anything unusual, Choji was still staring at him intently.

"what happened?"

Choji just shook his head, with a strange, half-smiley expression on his face, and said:

"nothing."

He continued eating his kebab and didn't ask any more questions.

"By the way," Choji asked after finishing his meal. "What's making you uneasy? When you cracked the neighboring rooms before, it was easy to do."

"That's because Naruto helped. And the structures of those rooms aren't that complicated," Shikamaru explained. "I think they're all connected to this room in some way, but I don't know how or why."

"How many pots have you figured out their functions?"

Shikamaru leaned back, supporting himself on his arms, his eyes fixed on the ivory basin to his left.

"I've figured out that some of the basins function to help regenerate and strengthen certain types of tissue, like bones, tendons, muscles, and the like. The six basins inside are probably related to chakra, but I'd need the Sharingan to read the composition on the wall."

"Then let's wait until the weirdo trio comes back," Choji suggested lightheartedly. "Most of the work has already been done, and the rest can be done after the exams are over."

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his brows.

"How's your 'breathing technique' going?"

"Genma-sensei is really strict." Choji complained, moving his hands. "But I have to admit, the effect is really significant."

"Indeed," Shikamaru agreed. Choji did look much stronger, even though he still had the fat that the Akimichi clan used to store energy. Combining Choji's brute strength with the calmness and rhythm brought by the breathing method, even a casual punch he threw had great power.

Shikamaru finished his lunch while Choji waited patiently by the side. He had already eaten all of his food except for the last skewer of grilled meat, which he was picking at absentmindedly.

"Is Team 8 in the village now?" Shikamaru asked while picking up the trash.

"They came back yesterday," Choji replied. "I guess they carried out some raid mission on the border of the Land of Fire."

"Well, I've been sitting here long enough, I thought I'd give Kiba a try before I go shopping with Ino."

"I think we still have time," Choji assured him, absentmindedly gnawing on the last bit of the skewered meat, "Ino's going to need a few more hours to finish her wanderings. Why are you looking for teeth? I thought you'd been sparring with Shino lately."

"Shino's endurance is very similar to mine, I need to work on that more, and Kiba has more chakra reserves than I do."

"Hinata has more chakra than Kiba," Choji pointed out.

"That's true, but she's been dealing with family matters all week and I don't want to bother her. Besides, I'd definitely die in a hand-to-hand fight with Hinata."

Upon hearing this, Choji burst out laughing.

"I don't know, bro, you're still much faster than her."

"That's true, but if she catches me once, I'm done for."

Choji laughed heartily, leaning forward and backward, while Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

He leaned back, clearing a space. Then he bit his thumb, made a quick seal, and pressed his hand onto the smooth ground.

There was a low, eerie humming sound and a blur of silver mist, and Veran appeared before him, eye to eye, her large, cupped ears moving from side to side.

She had lost some of her spots and her limbs had grown a bit, but overall she was still a small doe, less than three feet tall at the shoulder. Despite her small size, she was as quick as a dart and as nimble as a cat, able to turn quickly and scale cliffs.

"Shikamaru-sama!" Veran greeted cheerfully, walking around him and nuzzling his temple. He stroked her soft fur tenderly.

"Hey, little guy, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course," Weilan agreed without hesitation. She turned around and paced anxiously, waiting for his order.

"Can you help me find the tooth? Do you remember the tooth?"

"The wolf boy with the red fang mark? I remember. Do you want me to give him a message?"

"If he's not busy and in good shape, please tell him to find me at training ground number nine."

"Want to spar?" the young ghost deer asked excitedly. "I like sparring."

"Of course. How about we give Kiba and Akamaru a good chase?"

"Okay, okay." Weilan agreed, showing the excitement of a predator despite being a herbivore. "I'll wait for you at the training ground!" Then she disappeared in a puff of gray smoke, and Choji chuckled.

"She's so energetic. Her brothers and sisters are much quieter than her."

"She's just a child. It's normal for her to feel new and excited about everything." Shikamaru defended her.

"Yeah, yeah." Choji agreed, standing up after him. "I might have to go train with Ino. I'll come find you when we're done."

"Ok."

******************

When Choji and Ino found Shikamaru and Kiba at Training Ground No. 9, their battle was not over yet.

Ino heaved the shiny new long sword over her shoulder, and she had been talking nonstop about the weapon ever since Choji came to pick her up.

"I just love the balance of it! It has the weight and grace of a naginata, but with a blade that's twice as long! I don't know what made me not get one sooner."

Choji always thought of himself as a good listener, and as long as Ino still had that bright smile on her face, he would sit there and listen to her talk about aerodynamics until the end of time.

As they walked into the training grounds, Akamaru galloped past them, the white ninja dog leading a pack of fierce looking, blood red jackals, each two to four times its size.

"It looks like Kiba has added a lot of summoning beasts." Ino commented nonchalantly.

"He didn't just increase the number of summoning beasts," Choji said, pointing to the surrounding trees.

He focused his attention and saw countless black ghost deer running through the woods, far outnumbering the jackals. Although the jackals still had the upper hand, several of Shikamaru's summoned beasts had grown to large sizes, with sharp antlers and hooves that could crush steel.

There was a wave of shadow to their right and Shikamaru suddenly appeared in front of them as if he had stepped out from behind a curtain.