Chapter 191: Meeting Sakura

"They really grew up ... Maybe apart from Sakura." With a slight chuckle, Shikamaru turned to Kakashi and then stopped abruptly. Hatake's pupils narrowed, and then it darkened in his eyes, he took just a step, and then fell unconscious. Chakra depletion at its best.

Shikamaru smiled and disappeared after Haku. Now it was time to wait a little longer. True, if the opportunity arose ... With one last glance at Sakura, Shikamaru smirked with a measure of anticipation. He had one thought about this pink-haired cutie, and once the chance came there was something he could do. Just, end up with some intelligence. He may have known about Haku and Zabuza, but he wanted to understand exactly how strong their connection was. It's not easy to recruit someone who already has an owner ...

***

Haku and Zabuza hid. The swordsman needed to recuperate for the next encounter with Kakashi. The loss of personal shinobi instruments did not disappoint Gato in the least. Therefore, an unpleasant conversation was brewing. Although, Haku did not particularly care, he was ready to kill anyone who would harm the person most dear to him.

Watching everything from the shadows, Shikamaru rubbed his chin gloomily.

“It will not be easy to lure him over to his side, this guy does not even leave him ... It is quite difficult to destroy such a relationship. It was to be expected ... It's too early to try resurrection, I don't have enough materials yet. ”After watching Haku carefully treat Zabuza, Shikamaru shook his head in disappointment.

“While the elder is alive, the small one is unlikely to serve. Plus, I'm not sure if the kid will agree to do the dirty work for me if he loses touch with his boyfriend. Although, if you think about it, maybe you shouldn't even try and spoil your nerves. Resurrect Mito or Kushin from them will be more useful. A simple kid with a genome is not that useful ... At least I could have some fun with a woman as a last resort. In addition, their bodies can hide secrets, but he ... "- looking at the rather feminine faces of Haku, Shikamaru grinned strangely:

“In fact, you can have some fun with him. I don’t even know if he’s worth it ... ”- Still deciding, Shikamaru shook his head.

“Okay, I'll save his skin, maybe it will do for something.” After finishing with a little supervision, Shikamaru decided to return to Team Seven. A couple of apostates did not particularly attract him, maybe earlier he could find values ​​in them, but now they will only have more problems from them. The swordsman will certainly not be of any use, even with his skills. Well, and the boy ... Who knows, maybe we will be able to do something with him. In an extreme case, Shikamaru was ready to use the forbidden technique and subdue the boy, or just get rid of him.

Stopping near Tazuna's house, Shikamaru watched again. While he waited and looked out for Zabuza's hideout, it took quite a long time. So when Shikamaru arrived at Team Seven's hideout, he was not at all surprised to see them training. Kakashi left them, and Naruto and Sasuke walked away from Sakura, starting a prolonged random sparring with each other. Sakura, on the other hand, was learning the basics - Walking the Trees. It's a little funny that she hasn't learned this before, although judging by her attempts, she is not far from fully mastering this ability.

Shikamaru watched the girl for a while and nodded his praise.

"The control is really good, even I could not have mastered it so quickly in the past" - at this thought, Shikamaru looked around and quietly jumped from a tree branch, finding himself only ten meters from the training Sakura.

At the same time, Sasuke and Naruto had already exchanged hundreds of blows. The Uchiha breathed heavily and jumped to the side, easily lingering in an upright position on a thick tree trunk. He clearly mastered the practice of climbing a long time ago. However, this is partly thanks to Naruto.

"Ha, I could have helped Sakura-chan!" Uzumaki grinned, flexing his shoulders.

- Why didn't you help? Sasuke asked as he descended to the ground, catching his breath.

- Well, I don’t know how to help. I told her about the chakra, where to direct it, but she, as usual, brushed me off.

“Heh, how do I understand her,” the Uchiha chuckled.

- What did you say?! Are you running into ?!

- What about you? Pfft! Sasuke snorted and his face changed sharply, dodging a rather dangerous blow from the right.

- Oh you!

As the two friends fought, Kakashi watched them thoughtfully. He already knew that these two can do a lot, so he just made them fight each other. Anyway, Hatake was so lazy to teach someone that he just decided to take a nap.

Meanwhile, Sakura could climb the tree more confidently. It was getting dark.

The girl did not notice Shikamaru watching nearby, this is not surprising, he just hid in the shade under a tree and it was almost impossible for a simple Genin to notice him. Plus, Sakura was so focused on her studies that she didn't pay attention to anything at all.

"Two more attempts if it doesn't work ..." - gritting her teeth, Sakura glanced displeasedly towards the echoes of the battle between her two teammates. It would be a lie to say that Sakura wasn't trying to catch up with Sasuke and Naruto. Moreover, she knew for sure that there was still someone who was certainly superior to her in skills! Okay, Shikamaru, but, in the graduation from the academy, almost everyone else was so skillful in everything that it was just depressing!

About to make another attempt, Sakura suddenly froze in place as soon as she heard someone laugh. It seemed as if it sounded right above the ear!

Sakura turned abruptly and did not find anyone, immediately tensed, and then ...

“I'm here,” was heard from behind, from which the girl shuddered, grabbed the kun and jumped to the side, turning around. But, she immediately froze in amazement when she saw the one who had just appeared behind her.

- Sh-shikamaru!

She just couldn't believe her eyes! Even though she had changed, she immediately recognized him.

- Hi, - the guy smiled, not moving. He calmly watched Sakura, continuing to examine her matured face and body. Not that she had grown too much since their last meeting, but now she still looked a little more like a teenager of about fourteen. Still not mature, especially in some places, but at the same time gaining some of the charm of a young girl. All the same beautiful face, fair and clear skin, as well as those captivating green eyes.

Sakura, in turn, looked shocked at the guy in front of her, at first she opened her little mouth in surprise, and then suddenly broke into a smile, but then froze again in amazement, as she realized that, unlike all her peers, Shikamaru looked completely different! He was as tall as Kakashi, their sensei! His face, body, everything has matured, and he no longer looked like a child, but like a grown-up guy. Sakura just didn't know what to say to her in this situation. At first she wanted to rush to hug him, but then ...

"Damn it, do it!" - Suddenly a furious tone flashed through my head and Sakura obeyed without any questions! She was too glad to see him. Not realizing her actions, she just ran to him ...