At that moment, standing behind Neji's Team Three with his two teammates was a man with a pineapple hairstyle, listless eyes, and an air that practically screamed "no motivation"—Shikamaru Nara.
Along with his two teammates, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka.
Ino Yamanaka was filled with envy and blessings as she clasped her hands together, looking at Tenten and Neji with heartfelt emotion.
"How wonderful~ The pure, flawless love of a young girl~"
But then she immediately became dejected, looking somewhat disappointed.
"Sigh~ I wonder when the love meant for me will finally arrive..."
She then looked at her two teammates beside her and sighed toward Shikamaru, who had his hands behind his head as he stared blankly at the sky, and Choji, whose eyes were fixed firmly on his chips as he kept stuffing them into his mouth.
"How come Tenten and Sakura both got assigned to the same team as the people they like, while I'm so unlucky that I ended up in the same class as you two hopeless guys..."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Ino, then slowly explained.
"Can't be helped. Our fathers were on the same team, so the three of us spent more time together growing up and have better coordination. Our identities and status are also on equal footing, so we happen to be able to form the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho..."
"Enough, enough. That's not what I meant. You really have no emotional intelligence."
Shikamaru had long grown used to Ino cutting him off and was no longer surprised by it.
Still, he helplessly pursed his lips to one side and muttered quietly.
"What a drag. Especially women—they're seriously way too troublesome..."
Seeing that Neji's group had successfully bought four scrolls, he finally stepped forward, briskly took off his shoes, pulled a blank