[Considering all of the pieces that would be in harm's way if he didn't, action is very necessary now. No well-played shogi strategy depends on a single piece so much as they do the ability for several pieces to work together.

The gold general can't touch the bishop from this position, and so it harries the rook.]

Of course it doesn't have to get that far. A situation like that could be mostly avoided if one side were to back down.

[He's reminded of Naruto and his talk of peace - how hate and revenge are a cycle that has to be broken by one side if they ever want to see it.

...but Shikamaru isn't Naruto; he's a realist, not an idealist. Even as he says it, he knows that there are some things that you can't just step down from.]