It hurt when he fell and slammed his face flat onto the floor. But what hurt even more was the embarrassment that came along with it as he realised that he really thought he could get away with spying on not one, but two jounin. One of which was his dad too. And one more Mizuki-san, who claimed that he wasn't a shinobi. Combo attack, nose pain and 'I-want-to-die-in-a-hole-jutsu'! Aaand it was a critical hit!

He was pretty sure he hadn't even felt this level of chills from Iruka-sensei's rampages before. When he locked eyes with Kakashi, he understood that jounin really were on a different level.

But now, you may be wondering how Shikamaru Nara got himself in this situation.

First of all, Shikamaru Nara is, from the very start, a Nara. With the urge to lie on the couch all day also came the need to find something more interesting in life than the same shogi board with his dad as the only opponent.

Well, he does own quite a few mystery novels. But after buying seven in a series, he decided that they were way too boring. After all, it was just fiction- unlike Ino who found herself crushing on non-existent characters, he was unable to develop a long term attachment to these novels.

Then there was Naruto. He wasn't exactly sure why the boy was discriminated against by so many at first, but there were lots of rumours about him being related to the Kyuubi that wreaked havoc in the village seven years ago. Though, It wasn't a fun mystery since the answer was shoved in his face without his permission. He can't figure out exactly how they were related, but Shikamaru figured that was for the tailed beast experts to find out.

Then came Mizuki, and Shikamaru could tell instantly, that man is weird. All of a sudden, he came in there asking if they knew Naruto, which was stupid, because anyone in the village who hates Naruto enough would know that the only people who hang out with him are the Nara and Akimichi clan heirs. And anyone who lives in Konoha in this era has witnessed Naruto's stupid pranks that were secretly supported by Shikamaru and Chouji sometimes.

But Mizuki? He didn't know a thing. Not about the three of them, and clearly not enough about Naruto's shenanigans, if he fell for the paint bucket prank without thinking that Naruto would ever pull something like that. It's as if he had been locked in isolation for years without knowledge of the outside world, and it left Shikamaru wondering if he even knew about the Kyuubi attack.

In the face of a mystery like Mizuki, of course Shikamaru's mind replayed every moment of him when he wasn't paying attention to anything else. Every detail. Every movement. Every smile, every frown. What caused them? What is Mizuki feeling? Why is Mizuki doing that?

Who is Mizuki?

It wasn't the best question, since Shikamaru had gotten what he could out of the man. He didn't seem to be lying about the seal making, but surely there has to be more. How is he so ignorant to what is going on around him? Why does he get on so well with Naruto? Why was he looking for Naruto in the first place?

According to Mizuki's answer, it was an errand for the Third Hokage. Which brought up another question- What was Naruto's relation to the Third Hokage? The only people Shikamaru has heard address the Third often is his dad, the Hokage's right hand man, and Naruto. And Naruto was different, because he was the only one who would ever call the Third Hokage an 'old man' out in public. And from the looks of it, the Third Hokage seemed to be fine with it as well. But why? Why was the Third Hokage so interested in Naruto?

Shikamaru's brain continued to turn. That's right- The Kyuubi. The Kyuubi's rampage was a huge event that caused the deaths of many people including the fourth Hokage. There were many people who called Naruto the Kyuubi, but obviously that couldn't be true. After all, everyone knows that the Fourth Hokage killed the Kyuubi seven years ago, but if so, why is everyone saying Naruto is at fault for it?

Naruto's Kyuubi mystery was going nowhere. So, his brain wandered to the Hokage. The Kyuubi who killed, and the one who killed the Kyuubi. Say the villager's words were true, the first would be Naruto, and the second is Lord Fourth. Did the Third Hokage want to check on Kyuubi's conditions? But he hasn't seemed to have seen Naruto in a while, cus if he did, Naruto would be talking about him the next day. So how was he to check on him without showing up?

Shikamaru gasped- it clicked. Mizuki made seals, and the Third Hokage sent him on an errand to see Naruto. Mizuki wasn't looking for Naruto without reason. The Hokage wanted to check on the Kyuubi's condition, so he sent Mizuki, who was a seal master. And it made more sense if Naruto was being blamed for the Kyuubi's rampage- He wasn't the Kyuubi...he was the host.

"Holy shit," Shikamaru muttered aloud. He blinked a little realising he had said that out loud, clearing his throat at the stares directed at him. He'd forgotten completely that he was still in a classroom.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" Iruka questioned with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Shikamaru quickly shook his head, but he couldn't hide the shock in his eyes. Glancing at him one last time, Iruka sighed before continuing on with the lesson.

Attention was gradually drawn away from him, and Shikamaru retreated back into his train of thoughts. His brain felt like it was on fire- what kind of realisation had he just made? He glanced over at Naruto who was sitting at the back of the classroom.

Was it true? As Shikamaru searched his brain for any holes in his theory, he found none. Everything was just clicking together. The Kyuubi is a strong military force for the village, there's no way the Hokage would throw the greatest weapon away like that. But it only brought up more questions. Why was it sealed into Naruto? Does Naruto even know anything? Who unsealed the Kyuubi, who was the previous holder of it? Was Mizuki involved in any of it?

Shikamaru's thoughts wandered to Mizuki. The man had been visiting the Nara household everyday since he first came for discussions with Shikamaru's dad. The white haired guy was there as well, though. That guy's a mystery as well. He wasn't able to eavesdrop on their conversation well, but he was able to make out something along the lines of 'Uchiha' and 'Hiruzen'. But what stuck with him the most was the conversation on the first day.

Lord Fourth. He mentioned Lord Fourth, and no matter how much Shikamaru thought about it, he couldn't find much relation in between that and the topics they discussed. But Mizuki's sentences were enough to drive him insane trying to think of what they meant.

"Oh, never. I couldn't possibly dream of being as great as Lord Fourth is. To be known at a global scale is impressive, even as the exact same person from-"

And it was cut off. At the most crucial part too! But it's fine, Shikamaru is a Nara. He was going to find the answer, no matter what. For now, he'd have to make do with what he has. Mizuki couldn't possibly dream of being as great as Lord Fourth? So is he trying to replicate some sort of sealing technique that was possibly used on Naruto by the Fourth Hokage? Since he was a seal maker, it makes sense.

But the last part didn't. Exact same person from what? There were way too many possibilities from this sentence. It could be referring to a pair of twins, but twins weren't the same person either. A clone? But Lord Fourth is already dead, how was he supposed to make a clone? And he was pretty sure there wasn't another Lord Fourth in this world.

It brought him back to Mizuki's limited knowledge of his own surroundings. Everyone in Konoha knew Yakiniku Q, it would be quite impossible for someone of Mizuki's age to not know if he's been in Konoha for that long. Yakiniku Q had been around even before the sannin's era. So perhaps Mizuki wasn't from this village? A distant relative of Lord Fourth?

Shikamaru groaned aloud as he pressed his forehead against the desk, eyebrows furrowed. His head was hurting, what is up with Mizuki? Well, at least he got Naruto's Kyuubi mystery figured out.

The bell rang, and Shikamaru slid out of his seat smoothly, heading for the exit of the classroom. He was about to leave, until Iruka stopped him. "Hey, Shikamaru. You okay?"

"...Say, Iruka-sensei. How much do you know about Mizuki-san?" Shikamaru asked, looking up at the man who blinked at the question in confusion. Does Iruka know anything? Maybe he does if he's a chunin, an academy instructor. Maybe Shikamaru could get a hint. Anything.

"Er...Well, if you're talking about Mizuki-sensei, I know him quite well. We've been classmates since childhood. Or are you referring to the other Mizuki?" Iruka chuckled. Having two Mizukis around him does get pretty confusing. He could only be thankful the two Mizukis weren't right next to each other.

"Yeah...the Mizuki-san that's always with Naruto," Shikamaru answered. Iruka's hummed in thought, and it slowly came to him that he really didn't know much about the man. All he knew was that he works under the Hokage as well, so all should be fine. Seeing Iruka's defeated sigh, Shikamaru switched to another question. "What about the Fourth Hokage?"

"Aha. That, we've taught in class before," Iruka chuckled, lightly smacking a rolled workbook on top of Shikamaru's head, earning him a yelp. "Pay more attention in class. We learnt about Lord Fourth in last month's history class. If you stay back, I'll give you extra classes about him."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in determination. Just this once, he'll stay back willingly. This was itching at his brain more than he thought it would. "Is right now okay?"

Iruka's eyes widened in surprise. He had asked that question teasingly, but he hadn't expected Shikamaru to actually take up on the offer. The student who slept through more than half his classes? Iruka couldn't be more proud as he smiled. "Sure! Let's head to my office."

All Shikamaru ended up getting was pretty general knowledge, but for someone who doesn't really look back at history and prefers reading news in the present, it did give him more information. After all, the only thing he knew was that Lord Fourth was a national hero who 'killed' the Kyuubi.

Minato Namikaze was known across the whole world as 'Konoha's Yellow Flash', and that name came with his impressive use of the Hiraishin, granting him his speed. But what was ultimately his most impressive achievement was ending the Third Shinobi War, forcing Iwagakure to retreat even after they sent a thousand shinobi. Though there wasn't much stated about him in the academy textbooks other than his achievements, Iruka did introduce Shikamaru to a biography from the Konoha Library.

As Shikamaru headed home, he skimmed through some of the pages of the biography, but it didn't seem to be of any use. The book does say, however, that he was an orphan born in Konoha, which rules out the theory that Mizuki is Lord Fourth's distant relative. They didn't even look alike, anyway.

"What else...?" Shikamaru muttered, running thoughts through his head. If Mizuki is just a seal maker, why was he so deeply tied with Konoha's politics? Why does he need a jounin to guard him? A Hokage candidate? The Third Hokage only resumed his position after Lord Fourth's death, after all. And Mizuki himself said he wasn't a shinobi. The Daimyo's son? Why is he working as a seal maker, then?

Shikamaru's thoughts were interrupted when he saw some unfamiliar figures in front of his house from afar. Eyes widening, he quickly hid behind a fence to observe. Of all days something has to happen, it had to be on the day when he was going home alone without Chouji.

He noticed his dad in front of the house as well, facing the few other figures. Judging by the look in his eyes, this was serious. But wasn't he supposed to be with Lord Third right now? Why was he still at home? No, if he weren't there... Shikamaru might've been in serious trouble.

It would be fine. His dad is a jounin commander, after all. Shikamaru's knuckle's whitened as he gripped onto his book.

Shikaku had to admit, even this scenario hadn't crossed his mind after so many days. He had been way too busy thinking of possibilities and proposals for the Uchiha's massacre situation, that he had let his guard down. Even from the silence of a Wednesday night, he had forgotten completely about them.

"You're acting rashly. Is this your way of taking your chance?" Shikaku muttered with narrowed eyes at the shinobi before him, each holding weapons in their hands. "I've got to say, this is bad timing. I'm supposed to be having a talk with Hokage-sama at the moment."

"You can have a talk with him when you're both in the same cell," One of the shinobi sneered, eyes glowing in the darkness of the night. They raised their weapons, getting into a fighting stance.

"Well, aren't you troublesome..." Shikaku breathed out as he raised his hand up into a sign, ready for a fight. Truly, it was troublesome this time. As much as one would expect a Nara to excel in the dark, it was the complete opposite. Their power only weakens and goes out of control without any light. At that moment, all he had to cling on to was the faint light emitting from his house that shaped a blurry shadow.

"Troublesome?" A pair of sharingan blazed into life as the shinobi glared at Shikaku. "We are taking what rightfully is ours. We were robbed of all we had based on accusations. How fair do you think it is for you to suddenly take our position as head of the police force?"

It was partially on him as well. After all, they had been so concerned for the Uchiha's lives, he'd completely forgotten- It was all because of the Uchiha's coup d'etat to begin with. Who was to say the Uchiha wouldn't start it while they were busy trying to save them from a massacre?

He could only be glad that Shikamaru wasn't home yet. Chouji had come over after school to inform him that Shikamaru was staying for extra lessons, which was pretty surprising to him. Surely if he was with his academy teachers, he'd be safe. It was a little concerning that he still wasn't home yet, but Shikaku was pretty sure he could sense Shikamaru nearby.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. Really, he didn't want to be a part of the police force at all- He was only there because of his position as jounin commander. But even if he wasn't the head, he would probably still be targeted for being the Hokage's right hand man. "Are you going after Lord Third as well?"

"You should be more concerned for yourself," The three immediately ran towards Shikaku in varying directions, pushing themselves off the fences as they headed for him mid air. Struggling to pinpoint their shadows, Shikaku's eyes narrowed.

"The Uchiha's revolution begins today!"

----

The more i write this book, the more it feels like an uchiha revolution rather than a story focusing on minato. the uchihas have too much lore i guess. haha. they're very fun to work with.
i should probably clear my mind before I continue writing because rn it feels like the story doesn't have a direction especially for minato and its going nowhere at all. but im just tryna squeeze some writing in with the limited time i have lol. sorry if the writing starts getting messy. if my brain and time allows it, i can reread my drafts and rewrite them before finally posting them. the minato centric might turn out to be not so minato centric after all. geez. i'll try to readjust it though
and looking back at this chapter, i feel like the events are escalating way too fast in my drafts. will try to fix that too. haha. no more brain
i think it's cus i felt like all the events have been going too peacefully. time to add some spice bwahwhahahwhahahah

Anyway, here's a sneak peek into how my planning looks like:

'Fourth hokage? Geez, if ud pay a little more attention in class, ive talked abt him a lot. But i guess i can tell u a bit abt him if ur curious.' Then he yappa yappa and shikamaru listen 'oh damn.'

this part was supposed to be in this chapter but i didnt wanna break the atmosphere:
'Wanna be a hokage like naruto?' 'No way.'
'I ALSO WANNA BE HOKAGE' 'Where did you even come from???'