Autumn.
The morning sunlight, like a thin layer of golden gauze, penetrated the simple window lattice of the Nara house and fell squarely on a young face.
On the tatami, a boy was lying spread-eagled, sleeping soundly, with a glistening trail of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.
He had kicked the quilt into a corner, revealing his white pajamas.
"Nara Shikaku!!"
A roar full of vigor, with penetrating power comparable to Sound Release ninjutsu, exploded without warning in the quiet courtyard, startling several sparrows dozing under the eaves into flying away.
The boy on the tatami twitched violently, as if electrocuted, and then reluctantly opened one eye.
It was a dead-fish eye with no spirit, the pupil dilated, filled with despair for this world and complaints about waking up early.
Why do people have to get up?
Can't we just sleep until we wake up naturally, like those lazy cats basking in the sun at the village entrance every day?
Why accept missions?
Isn't lying down good?
Life is truly full of countless troublesome things.
"...What a drag."
The boy, Nara Shikaku, mumbled in a voice only he could hear.
He rolled over, trying to cover his head with the quilt, pretending not to have heard anything, and continuing his date with the unfinished chess game in his dream.
However, his mother's voice clearly wouldn't give him this chance.
"Don't play dead! The sun is shining on your butt! If you don't get up, don't think about eating today!"
The sliding door was pulled open roughly with a crash. A woman wearing a plain kimono, an apron tied around her waist, and holding a rice spoon in her hand stood at the door with her hands on her hips.
She had short, neat hair and a heroic spirit between her brows. She was the mistress of the Nara family, Nara Nono.
"Mom... let me sleep for five more minutes..."
Shikaku buried his face in the pillow, bargaining in a muffled voice.
"Five minutes? What did I tell you last night?"
Nara Nono walked over, lifted his quilt, and tapped his butt neither lightly nor heavily with the rice spoon in her hand. "Today is your squad's turn to help at the ecological farm. If you're late and make Manager Sakumo think everyone in our Nara family is as lazy as you, where will we put our faces?"
Ecological farm... Manager Sakumo...
Hearing these keywords, Nara Shikaku's drowsy brain finally started working.
He slowly crawled up from the tatami, yawning, his long black hair messy. Like a sleepwalking ghost, he staggered into the washroom.
The cold well water splashing on his face finally woke him up a bit.
Nara Shikaku looked at his face lacking motivation and those always sleepy dead-fish eyes in the mirror, and couldn't help sighing again.
This face looked completely unreliable.
He didn't know how those two guys, Inoichi and Choza, could trust this friend who looked like he would quit at any moment for ten years.
"Sigh, troublesome."
Nara Shikaku scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face, finally dispelling some of the drowsiness.
He changed into a black uniform suitable for movement and tied his messy long hair into a pineapple ponytail on top of his head in his most practiced and fastest way.
The whole process flowed smoothly, probably the most agile moment of his day.
Today, he was going to that ecological farm to... herd sheep.
Herding sheep!
Thinking of dealing with over a hundred bleating white creatures, Shikaku felt a headache.
He would rather sit in front of a chessboard at home all day.
"Shikaku! What are you dawdling in there for? Breakfast is getting cold!"
His mother's urging voice came from outside again.
"Coming, coming..."
Shikaku sighed again, resignedly wiped his face, and walked out of the washroom.
A sumptuous breakfast was already laid out on the dining table.
Steaming miso soup, grilled saury golden on both sides, and a dish of cold cucumber salad freshly produced from Sakumo's farm.
In the middle was a big bowl of white rice, each grain full and crystal clear, emitting an enticing aroma.
This was "Hokage No. 1" rice, named by Lord Hokage himself. It was said that the yield was several times that of ordinary rice, and the taste was excellent.
Shikaku picked up his chopsticks and listlessly poked at the rice in his bowl.
"What? Not awake yet?"
Nara Nono pushed a bowl of miso soup in front of him. Although her mouth was scolding, her eyes were full of concern. "Did you read until midnight again last night?"
"No, thinking about chess moves," Shikaku said.
"At such a young age, don't learn from your dad, looking at clouds or playing chess all day."
"Where's Father?" he asked casually.
"Your father?"
At the mention of her husband, Nono's tone softened. "He was called away by the Anbu sent by Lord Hokage before dawn. Said it was for some 'Brainstorming Meeting on the Linkage Planning of Konoha's Second Phase Agricultural Development and Water Conservancy Construction'."
"Pfft..."
Shikaku almost spat out the rice in his mouth.
This name was as always... full of Lord Hokage's unique style that made people not understand but feel it was very impressive.
Nono's tone held a bit of helplessness, but more of admiration. "I don't know how many things are in Lord Hokage's brain. Building roads, building reservoirs, and now even growing vegetables in winter. I think in a few years, our Konoha village will sweep across the four directions."
Shikaku also nodded in deep agreement.
For the Third Hokage of the village, even with his personality of finding everything troublesome, his heart was filled with admiration.
That man was like an omnipotent god.
Every concept he proposed seemed like a fantasy at first.
Using a barrier to create a constant temperature greenhouse to grow vegetables in winter?
And that so-called "Real Battlefield Simulation System." He heard that the ninja who went in came out as if they had lost half their lives, but their strength improved by leaps and bounds.
These things were completely beyond the imagination of these traditional ninja.
But these whimsical plans were turned into reality step by step under the execution of those two "workaholics," Lord Danzo and Lord Sakumo.
Current Konoha was completely different from what he remembered in his childhood.
The streets had become wide and clean, new shops were everywhere, and the villagers' faces always beamed with a heartfelt smile called happiness.
This change was good.
Although Shikaku found it troublesome, he didn't hate it.
"Alright, eat quickly."
Nono put another piece of fish in his bowl. "After eating, hurry up and find Inoichi and Choza. Don't make them wait long. Be smart at the farm today, watch those sheep well. If they eat the newly planted tomatoes in Manager Sakumo's experimental field, I won't forgive you."
"I know, I know, Mom..."
Shikaku dawdled through his breakfast, feeling like a condemned prisoner being pushed to the execution ground.
He tidied his clothes, then yawned and weakly pushed open the door.
"I'm leaving."
"Be careful on the road!" his mother's voice came from behind.
The autumn sun shone warmly on his body, very comfortable.
On the street, twos and threes of early risers could already be seen.
There were merchants rushing to open their shops, ninja carrying ninja pouches preparing for missions, and children in uniforms going to school together.
Everything seemed so peaceful, so tranquil.
"A sunny day..."
Nara Shikaku stood at the door of his house, looking at this vibrant scene, and yawned again.
Then, he walked towards the street corner where he had agreed to meet Inoichi and Choza.
Before he reached the corner, he saw a familiar figure waving his arms vigorously at him like a fool.
"Shikaku—! Here! Here!"
Yamanaka Inoichi's energetic voice came from far away.
Beside him stood a sturdy figure like a small mountain, smiling honestly, holding half an unfinished rice ball in his hand.
Sigh.
Shikaku looked at his two silly teammates and felt that today was going to be another troublesome day.
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