Chapter 345: Signs of Civil War
Unfortunate events always arrive quietly. For various reasons, though Nara Shikadai survived, he completely lost consciousness and became a vegetable.
"Where... is this place...?"
Head drooping, Mitsuki slowly awoke. His hands and feet were bound to a chair, and he mumbled to himself as he looked around the unfamiliar darkness.
"You're awake."
Standing before Mitsuki, Shikamaru spoke.
"What are you going to do to me?"
Mitsuki looked at Shikamaru and Ino in front of him and asked.
"To be honest, Mitsuki, I can't trust you at all. You've lost your memory, and your brain is still protected... Who's to say your presence in the Hidden Leaf Village isn't all part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scheme?" Shikamaru stared hard at Mitsuki, exuding pressure. "Oh, right—Mitsuki, you once dreamed of the Hidden Leaf being frozen over, didn't you? Then do you know that it was S.H.I.E.L.D. who froze the village? And... that my only son ended up in a vegetative state because of it!"
Shikamaru's emotions were on edge—his own son had been turned into a vegetable.
"..."
"Do you think silence is enough? I have another theory now—that your ability to foresee the future is fake, and all these disasters were staged by S.H.I.E.L.D. to help you sell the lie!"
"..."
"Staying quiet won't help. Ino is going to forcibly invade your mind to uncover the truth. If your precognition is fake, then we'll be eliminating a threat to the village. If it's real, then the village can study your brain."
Shikamaru turned toward Ino, who stood nearby. "Let's begin, Ino."
"Are you really going through with this, Shikamaru?" Ino asked as she walked toward Mitsuki, her face still filled with hesitation. "Naruto would never approve of this."
"Naruto's always been like that. But that kind of attitude only brings disaster to the village... This time it was my son. Next time, who will it be? Ino, trust me. Everything I'm doing is for the village."
"...Alright."
Ino could only nod. Among the trio they once formed, she had always relied on Shikamaru's strategic mind.
Ino placed her hands on Mitsuki's temples. Mitsuki gradually felt his eyelids grow heavy, a drowsiness overtaking him.
In the end, Mitsuki's head slumped forward completely.
As he watched Ino at work, Shikamaru suddenly turned and muttered to himself, "I didn't expect it to happen this quickly…"
After all, Mitsuki possessed the ability to foresee the future, which made him incredibly important to the Hidden Leaf. The moment his disappearance was noticed, the entire village's shinobi were mobilized.
"It's Shikamaru and Ino's chakra..."
Naruto, now in Sage Mode, looked at the building in front of him and ordered the nearby Anbu, "Other than Boruto and me, none of you are to enter. Just stand guard outside..."
With a loud kick, the door burst open. Boruto and Naruto stormed in.
"Shikamaru! Ino! What are you doing?!"
Naruto glared at Shikamaru and demanded an answer.
"Have you ever considered that this could all be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plot...?"
Shikamaru laid out his suspicions in front of Naruto and Boruto.
"...You might be right, Shikamaru."
"Dad..."
Boruto looked at his father. He absolutely wouldn't let anyone harm Mitsuki.
"But that's just your theory. No matter what, Mitsuki is still a part of this village. Without concrete evidence, I will never allow anyone to harm him!"
Naruto's firm response began to ease Boruto's anxiety.
Naruto walked past Shikamaru and came up beside Ino, gently patting her shoulder. Ino suddenly snapped out of her trance.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?"
"Ino, what did you see?"
Shikamaru quickly stepped forward to ask.
"...I only saw a portion of it," Ino replied, her expression grave. "I saw Sakura... killing all of us."
"That's impossible!" Naruto shouted emotionally. "Sakura would never do something like that!"
"I don't want to believe it either..." Shikamaru looked at the still-unconscious Mitsuki. "But clearly, we need to get to the bottom of what's going on in Mitsuki's brain."
"No way! I won't allow it!" Boruto shouted from the side. "I'm the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf now, and I will never allow it!"
"...From now on, no one is allowed to approach Mitsuki except medical personnel."
Naruto turned to Shikamaru as he spoke.
Shikamaru's suspicions weren't unfounded—but Naruto still couldn't bring himself to make such a harsh decision.
Mitsuki, after becoming a ghoul, had chosen to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. on his own. Naruto had always felt guilty toward Mitsuki and still regarded him as part of the village.
Sakura—his first love, a comrade-in-arms, and the wife of his best friend—was also someone extremely important to Naruto.
This whole situation gave Naruto a splitting headache.
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village
"Shikamaru? What did you want to see me about?"
Sasuke looked at Shikamaru, confused.
"It's about Sakura," Shikamaru said, nodding. He then explained Mitsuki's prophecy and the plan he had devised.
Though Sasuke's face remained expressionless, he was deeply unsettled inside.
"Does Sakura know about this?"
"Not yet." Shikamaru shook his head. "Sasuke, are you willing to support me? If we can fully investigate Mitsuki's brain, we'll know if his ability to see the future is real, and whether this whole thing is a S.H.I.E.L.D. conspiracy. Even if it is, we'll be able to use Mitsuki's brain to find a way to stop it ahead of time."
...
Hokage Tower
Hokage's Office
"Shikamaru, Sasuke? What brings you here?"
Naruto, sitting in the Hokage's office and helping Boruto with paperwork, looked up at the two.
"Naruto, I still want Ino to fully investigate Mitsuki's brain."
"Shikamaru, I already told you—Mitsuki is part of the village!"
"Then what about Sakura, Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted. "By choosing to believe in Mitsuki, are you saying you believe Sakura will kill us all in the future?!"
"That's not it!"
Naruto wanted to explain, but he didn't know how. He could only look at Sasuke.
"Naruto, between Mitsuki and Sakura, I choose to believe Sakura. She would never do something like kill all of us. So, Mitsuki must be part of a S.H.I.E.L.D. conspiracy."
"If we want to uncover the truth, we have to investigate Mitsuki's brain thoroughly!"
"Hey! Did you all forget about me or something?!"
Boruto slammed the desk and stood up, sweeping his eyes across the room. "No matter who it is—I absolutely won't allow anyone to harm Mitsuki!"
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