He nods. It could be worse, he supposes. At least Shikamaru was involved in planning for the war; he isn't too far behind.
"And the war? How much have you heard?" The unspoken question here is, 'How much do you want to hear?' Shikamaru knows him well enough to understand it without Chouji having to ask. If a number of his friends are from further back, Chouji assumes that some of them will have questions while others won't want to hear anything about the future.
Chouji prides himself on being able to predict his teammates, but he has never had to think about what they'd want if time travel figured into things. Ino is easy; she wants answers and stories. Ino hates being left in the dark. She's already asking questions. Shikamaru, though, who analyzes everything in a process that seems as involuntary as breathing, may or may not want the same. He'll be running through scenarios soon enough if he's sent home. Chouji doesn't think it will necessarily help Shikamaru to start doing so before he can do anything about them.
[Action]
"And the war? How much have you heard?" The unspoken question here is, 'How much do you want to hear?' Shikamaru knows him well enough to understand it without Chouji having to ask. If a number of his friends are from further back, Chouji assumes that some of them will have questions while others won't want to hear anything about the future.
Chouji prides himself on being able to predict his teammates, but he has never had to think about what they'd want if time travel figured into things. Ino is easy; she wants answers and stories. Ino hates being left in the dark. She's already asking questions. Shikamaru, though, who analyzes everything in a process that seems as involuntary as breathing, may or may not want the same. He'll be running through scenarios soon enough if he's sent home. Chouji doesn't think it will necessarily help Shikamaru to start doing so before he can do anything about them.