Tsunade Can Hear My Inner Voice

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: The Nara Father and Son

"I’m home!"

After returning home, Shikamaru called out, then stepped into the room.

"What in the... What happened to you?" Seeing his son’s bloodied hands, Shikaku furrowed his brow, asking with concern.

Shikamaru forced a bitter smile. "It’s all thanks to Hikari-senpai’s training. Sigh..."

"Now, now—what’s with that defeated look? That’s not like my son!"

"Come on, Dad. If I were as energetic as everyone else every day, you’d start wondering whether I’m really your kid!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shikamaru sensed danger and instinctively crouched, covering his head.

*Thwack!*

A sharp slap landed on his head. "Listen here, brat! You can question whether your old man’s your real dad, but you better not question if your mom’s your real mom!"

"I get it, I get it, my dearest, most beloved mother!" Shikamaru deployed his ultimate survival tactic. "Mom, I’m hungry!"

"If you’re hungry, eat! And you, Shikaku—spend more time paying attention to your son’s training! How could you let his hands get like this without even treating them?" After smacking her son, Shikamaru’s mother looked at his hands with a pang of worry.

The backs of his fingers were scraped raw, the flesh mangled—a gruesome sight.

Luckily, the bleeding had stopped. Otherwise, Shikamaru might’ve passed out from blood loss.

"Ugh, I’m too embarrassed to even treat these wounds." Shikamaru grabbed a cushion, plopped down, and stared at Shikaku, lost in thought.

"What’s that look, kid? Plotting something sneaky?" Though Shikaku felt bad for his son, he also knew this was the path to becoming stronger. Every elite shinobi had endured harsh training since childhood.

But the look in Shikamaru’s eyes irritated him.

It was a gaze full of doubt.

Was this brat questioning whether he was really his kid, or doubting his old man’s 200 IQ?

"Sigh..."

Shikamaru exhaled deeply, then raised his injured hands toward Shikaku.

"Dad, between me, Ino, and Chōji, who do you think is the smartest?"

Shikaku glared at his son. Was this kid spouting nonsense on purpose?

Didn’t this kid know his old man was Konoha’s top strategist?

Maybe he wasn’t the strongest in battle, but his brain could easily outmatch two shinobi at once.

"From the way you’re asking, did someone bruise your ego?" Shikaku’s curiosity was piqued.

He knew his son well—Shikamaru had always been sharp, but his laziness and over-reliance on his wits had held back his growth.

"Yeah. Today, Hikari-senpai was guiding our training. Wanna guess who finished first?"

Shikaku smirked. Nice try, kid. You think you can trip me up?

"Definitely not you."

Shikamaru nodded.

"Yep. It was Chōji."

"Funny thing is, I wasn’t second either. Ino was."

"Then third place has to be you, right?" Shikaku offered some consolation.

Even if he wasn’t first or second, third wasn’t bad.

Shikamaru looked like he was about to cry. "Nope! Third wasn’t me either! Actually... I still haven’t completed the training! Aaargh, this is so frustrating!"

"Pfft—!"

Shikaku couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Shikamaru stared at his father, eyes full of suspicion.

"Dad... Are you really my dad?"

"I get crushed like this, and not only do you not comfort me, you’re laughing?!"

Shikaku stifled his grin. "I wasn’t laughing at you. I just remembered something funny."

Shikamaru: (ಠ_ಠ)

’Yeah, sure. Like I’d believe that.’ noveldrama

’Whatever. A good son shouldn’t argue with his father.’

"Honestly, I’m starting to doubt my own intelligence." Shikamaru muttered.

Shikaku’s expression turned serious.

This won’t do.

His son could doubt his strength—that was fine. The Nara clan didn’t rely on raw power to thrive in the shinobi world. But doubting his intelligence? Unacceptable. If a Nara lost confidence in their brain, they might as well retire.

"Alright, son. Tell me what’s going on. Maybe your old man can help. And don’t worry—sometimes, being too smart can make you overthink things. So, how exactly were you training?"

Shikaku was genuinely curious. What kind of technique had Kamizuki Hikari taught them that allowed Chōji and Ino to grasp it faster than Shikamaru?

"Nothing complicated. We hung a stack of paper on a tree, got into a horse stance, and kept punching the paper. That’s how my hands ended up like this."

Hanging paper on a tree and punching it... sounds like taijutsu training.

"And what’s the benefit of this training?"

"I don’t know. I haven’t even cleared the first stage."

"Then just quit!"

"But after Ino finished her training, she punched me once and I hit the ground so hard I couldn’t get back up. If Hikari-senpai hadn’t healed me with medical ninjutsu, I might’ve lost my manhood forever!"

"WHAT?! Kid, don’t scare me like that!" Shikaku lunged forward, hands reaching for Shikamaru’s pants—clearly intending to check if everything was still intact.

"Whoa! Dad, what the hell?!" Shikamaru clutched his pants, horrified.

Had his father been reading too much ’questionable’ content lately? Was he about to cross a line?!

"Relax, I’m just making sure your ’little brother’ is still there. The Nara bloodline depends on it!" Shikaku was dead serious. If his son had lost his manhood, he’d need to consider starting over with a new heir.

"That’s not where I got hit! It was my kidney! My kidney, got it?!"

*Whoosh!*

Shikaku immediately let go, his face briefly flashing with embarrassment. "Then show me where you were injured!"

Realizing his mistake, Shikamaru relaxed. As long as their father-son bond wasn’t tainted, he was fine.

"Right here. Ino’s punch felt like it shattered my kidney. But after Hikari-senpai’s treatment, I could stand up fine. Maybe I just imagined it."

Shikaku touched the spot Shikamaru indicated. As an elite shinobi, his observation skills were top-notch.

Even after healing, the residual damage to the muscle fibers told him just how brutal that punch had been.

If he had to guess, that strike had ruptured Shikamaru’s kidney. But if Kamizuki Hikari healed it without surgery... Just how advanced was his medical ninjutsu?

Though not a medical-nin himself, Shikaku knew enough.

Mastering the Mystical Palm Technique already made you a lead physician at Konoha Hospital. Those who surpassed that level were rare—even Tsunade might not be able to fully repair a shattered kidney without invasive procedures.

"Son."

"Yeah?"

"After dinner, I’m taking you to Konoha Hospital for a checkup."

"Seriously? I feel fine!"

"We’re going. Unless you want me to knock some sense into you."

"Dad, you—"

"What about me?" Shikaku smiled warmly.

Seeing that smile, Shikamaru instantly surrendered. "Dad, you’re just too cool."

"That’s more like it. Remember, your dad will always be your dad, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

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