It's Too Troublesome to be Hokage

Cold and bloated.

A strange sensation flooded Nara Shikadan's mind. He felt something invade his consciousness—thick and foreign—and suddenly his thoughts became drowsy and sluggish.

He couldn't tell if it lasted a second or an hour.

When he finally regained awareness and opened his eyes—

He saw himself standing across the room.

Yakushi Nono stood nearby, pale-faced, anxiety etched into every feature.

'No… That's not someone who looks like me... that person is me!'

Realization struck like lightning.

Nara Shikadan's point of view shifted—suddenly elevated, as though he were looking down from above.

A memory perspective.

He glanced down at his current "self."

At the door of the room, a short, scarecrow-like doll lay limp on the floor.

Its frame was wrapped in tattered burlap, and its straw-stuffed face had two vertical holes for eyes.

Most striking of all was a strip of special white paper affixed to its forehead.

Moments ago, a kanji was glowing on that talisman paper—

"Curse."

This was the core of the jutsu the strange woman's voice had mentioned—

The Body and Mind Transformation Puppet Curse Seal Technique.

Any ninja who attacked the scarecrow triggered the cursed talisman, activating the Mind Body Switch Technique sealed inside.

A trap-type curse seal developed by Root.

Yakushi Nono stared at Shikadan beside her, then at the scarecrow near the door. Her lips trembled as she bit down hard—nearly drawing blood.

Just moments ago, she had suffered the same fate.

She had reflexively counterattacked during a surprise assault, only to be caught by this exact curse seal.

The moment she fought back, her body was hijacked by a Heart Turning Technique, and she had completely lost control.

'Shikadan…'

Despair clouded her eyes as she quietly reached into her hidden pouch for a kunai or senbon.

She didn't know the Yamanaka clan's secret arts well—

But she did know how to break genjutsu.

'Shikadan only escaped by inflicting intense pain on himself…'

She acted cautiously, knowing she had no access to chakra now.

There might only be one chance to attack.

She had to succeed.

Even if it meant sacrificing herself—she had to break Root's control over him.

"The Nara clan's shadow techniques."

"Shikadan" moved the surrounding shadows stiffly, a sneer curling on his lips.

"Like tentacles... how revolting."

Now fully in control, Yamanaka Hayashi, a Root ninja of the Yamanaka clan, stopped masking his emotions.

While familiarizing himself with shadow techniques, he turned to Nono, his expression turning cold and murderous.

"A traitor who endangers the stability of the village… must be—huh?"

Suddenly—

A new consciousness awakened inside the body he had taken over.

Within the spiritual realm.

Nara Shikadan reemerged.

He faced a female ninja-shaped presence, and the shadows beneath his feet surged restlessly.

"What's going on?!"

Yamanaka Hayashi's voice trembled in disbelief.

"You have two spiritual consciousnesses?! Who the hell are you?!"

Two spiritual consciousnesses.

One from the original.

The other—from a clone.

Nara Shikadan curled his lips, offering no explanation.

"Did you think there wouldn't be consequences for barging into my mind?"

Beneath him, swirling shadow energy gathered into a colossal demonic silhouette.

A towering entity wrapped in blazing black flames rose behind him—its form like a deity of ancient myth. In its hand was a shadow-forged blade as massive as a mountain.

The flaming demon raised its sword—

"The ignorant will not escape."

BOOM!

The spiritual domain of the [Shadow Clone] was shattered by a single, world-ending slash.

As for Yamanaka Hayashi's spiritual presence?

Like an autumn grasshopper—it was swept away, ejected forcibly back into his real body.

Bang!

The [Shadow Clone] exploded into a puff of smoke.

Yakushi Nono, senbon in hand, froze in place.

"…Shikadan exploded?"

She took a stunned step forward—

When a hand grabbed her right calf.

And a familiar voice drifted up from the floor.

"Sister Nono, you're stepping on me."

Nono looked down.

Nara Shikadan lay there, half-risen, his hand on her calf. The warmth of his palm climbed up her leg.

"?!"

She quickly stepped back, flustered, and stared wide-eyed as a second Shikadan emerged from the floor.

"You… I…"

Even for a seasoned ninja, the sight was surreal.

"I cracked his technique," Shikadan said simply, rotating his wrist.

As usual, it was a [Shadow Clone] that had taken his place in daily life, while his true self rested.

The [Shadow Clone], his first S-rank Yin Release technique, was a spiritual container—capable of holding his real consciousness.

Yamanaka Hayashi's trap had sealed the consciousness in Shikadan's body.

But that only brought forth the clone's mind.

And in that mind—Shikadan had launched a mutual destruction strike that obliterated the invader's spirit.

Now, the clone destroyed, Shikadan's original consciousness returned—along with full memory of everything that happened.

'I wonder what state the Yamanaka guy's in now…'

He turned to Nono.

"Sister Nono, where did you encounter the ninja just now?"

To Shikadan, the most important thing now was chasing down the enemy—likely from Root—before they could escape with sensitive intel.

Nono reflexively raised her hand and pointed.

But a second later, the wandering nun's eyes widened.

"Shikadan, don't go!"

Her voice trembled with urgency.

"They're Root ninjas! Sent by Konoha's leaders! Their target is you!"

Shikadan only left her with one sentence:

"Then my target… is also them."

He vanished in a flash, using [Body Flicker Technique].

Near Kikyo Orphanage.

"Pfft!"

Yamanaka Hayashi jolted upright in a dark room and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His face turned ashen, breath shallow, spiritual energy drained to near zero.

"Lin, what's wrong?"

The Root ninja codenamed Xin, his partner, frowned behind his mask.

"Did the mission fail?"

"…Failed…"

Yamanaka Hayashi's voice trembled with lingering fear.

"That brat… That guy… Stay away from him…"

He slumped unconscious.

"Trash."

Xin raised his foot and kicked the collapsed ninja hard.

"So much preparation, all that intelligence… and he still failed!"

If not for Hayashi's still-useful secret technique—

Xin would've killed him on the spot.

Cold, ruthless eyes swept across the room to the orphanage in the distance.

"Then I'll finish the mission."

"Kill Yakushi Nono. Capture Nara Shikadan."

"Danzo Shimura…"

A cold voice echoed through the room.

Xin's eyes widened.

He spun and hurled a kunai toward the sound without hesitation, leaping backward at the same time.

Thud!

The kunai embedded into the wall, gouging a small crater.

[B-Rank Ninja Battle Mission Triggered!]

Mission: Root Elite

Objective: Defeat or kill the invading Root ninja

Reward: B-Rank Ninja Secret Scroll

'Another B-rank mission…'

Shikadan, still cloaked in [Camouflage Technique], scanned his updated system panel.

'Good. And the last one auto-completed when the [Shadow Clone] self-destructed…'

He didn't have time to reflect.

Xin formed hand seals at top speed.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!"

Swish!

A condensed blast of wind chakra surged forth, cutting the air with shrill force and terrifying speed.

Shikadan evaded with a simple [Shadow Transformation Technique]—slipping through like liquid shadow.

'Traditional hand-seal type.'

Shikadan raised one hand.

At his fingertip, a pitch-black bullet of shadow spiraled into form.

'The moment you lose track of me…'

[Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullet]!

A supersonic projectile shrieked through the air.

It punched straight through Xin's chest—blood erupting like a geyser.

The elite Root ninja never even saw the attack coming.

He crumpled to the floor.

[Target of B-Rank Battle Mission Eliminated!]

[You have obtained a B-Rank Ninja Secret Scroll.]

-End Chapter-

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