Chapter 208: Shikamaru's Exclusive Skill [Part I] (Patreon)

Chapter List: Naruto: Sakura Blizzard

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

"Here they come…" Zabuza responded, carrying Kagetsuki and walking towards Haku, not forgetting to turn his head to the bewildered Hidden Cloud village Jōnin leader, reassuring him, "Don't worry, big brother. Your student is safe with us. We guarantee to return them to you unharmed!"

"Thank you both so much!" The Jōnin leader of Kagetsuki expressed his gratitude, looking as if he had gained a great advantage.

"No trouble at all, it's our duty!" Zabuza chuckled, his words brimming with righteousness. "As medics, our mission is to save lives and heal the wounded!"

"Such dedicated and responsible doctors…"

Only after Haku and Zabuza left did the Jōnin leader of Kagetsuki sigh with appreciation, unaware that the two 'dedicated doctors' were secretly planning to trouble his student.

"Cough, cough. The match is about to begin. Please, Shikamaru Nara from Konoha's Hidden Village and Temari from the Hidden Sand Village, make your way to the arena…"

Standing in the arena, repaired with Earth Release, Gekko Hayate coughed violently, yet, despite looking on the verge of collapse, he didn't forget his duty.

"Is it my turn already?" Temari, sitting on her fan, flew down, a glint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes upon seeing her opponent's name. "What a coincidence, Shikamaru Nara…"

Recalling the contract she was tricked into signing by Sakura, Temari felt an urge to pulverize Shikamaru's pineapple-shaped head. If he accidentally died in this match, the contract would be void, right?

"Shikamaru Nara?!" Gekko Hayate waited a while but only saw Temari appear. Concerned, he called out again. "Shikamaru Nara, please enter the arena!"

"Where's Shikamaru?" Sakura looked around, noticing Shikamaru's absence. She quickly said to Hinata and Neji, "Quickly use your Byakugan. I suspect this lazy guy is hiding somewhere, avoiding the match."

"There…" Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan and pointed to a corner hidden by chairs, "He's sleeping behind those chairs!"

The group hurried over and found Shikamaru, sitting cross-legged on the ground, dozing off.

"Shikamaru Nara, if you don't appear now, you'll forfeit your exam qualification!" Gekko Hayate took a deep breath and called out again.

"Shikamaru is coming…"

Sakura's sudden shout caught everyone's attention. They looked up to see a chubby boy throwing someone towards the arena. The thrown person, sporting a pineapple hairstyle, looked utterly confused.

"Hey, Choji, what are you doing?" Shikamaru, narrowly landing on his feet after being tossed, looked bewilderedly at Choji who had thrown him.

"Uh, Sakura and Hinata said since you have to fight anyway, and you won't come down voluntarily, we might as well throw you. You won't die from it!" Choji scratched his head, wearing a colorful little gourd made by Sakura, and honestly relayed Sakura and Hinata's words.

Shikamaru, unharmed from the fall: "…"

"Can I just surrender now?" Shikamaru asked weakly to the people in the stands. "I really don't want to fight. Violence is bad. It's a time for a good sleep."

"If you dare surrender now, prepare to be tied to a chair with canned herring!" Hinata's emotionless voice came from the stands, sending a shiver down Shikamaru's spine.

"Cough, well, I think occasionally fighting and stretching my limbs isn't bad. Sleeping all the time is unhealthy!" Shikamaru immediately swallowed his words of surrender, not ready to be suffocated by herring.

"Please get ready, both contestants. The match begins…"

Gekko Hayate waved his hand and quickly moved to a safe distance. These youngsters were known for their heavy hands, and he had no wish to be accidentally injured.

"Let's make a deal!" Shikamaru, appearing listless, suggested to Temari, "How about we just sit here and chat, and then after a while, I'll surrender. What do you say?"

"No way…" Temari instantly refused. She was counting on this match to cause Shikamaru an unexpected death. How could she sit and chat with him, especially when she felt they had nothing in common?

"If you don't like chatting, we can play shogi. If you don't like shogi, I have flying chess. If not that, we can sit and discuss novels and their plots…"

Shikamaru pulled out a set of shogi, flying chess, and several novels, almost all rare collector's editions unavailable in stores.

"Collector's edition novels…"

Temari's eyes lit up. She had long desired such a collection, but they were either unavailable or beyond her modest income. Now, seeing the collector's editions in Shikamaru's hands, she was captivated.

"Oh, these were distributed for free internally. I'm not too fond of reading, so I haven't touched them much!" Shikamaru glanced down, realizing he had pulled out Sakura's gifted complete series of 'Misguided Love'. He had barely read them once.

"Free?!" Temari's face showed her heartache. She couldn't afford a single page, yet Shikamaru got the whole series for free. The disparity pained her.

"As a shareholder of the publishing company, they naturally don't charge me!" Shikamaru casually stated a fact, then suggested, "Let's sit down and discuss the book's plot, and then I'll surrender later, okay?"

"Uh, this…" Temari wavered, torn between her love for the books and her plan. She had only a few volumes in her bedroom for occasional reading. Now, with the chance to explore the entire series, should she seize it?

[Read at www.patreon.com/bokuboku, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter >>Chapter 209: Shikamaru's Exclusive Skill [Part 2]