Star City, residential district on the eastern bank of the Nether River.
Compared with the urban bustle of the western bank, the eastern bank was much quieter, whether in its administrative district, experimental district, or residential district.
Afternoon sunlight spilled through gaps in the leaves, and the roadside trees on both sides of the street swayed gently in the breeze.
A faint floral fragrance drifted through the air. Every so often, a few sparrows flew past the branches, chirping noisily, then quickly vanished beneath distant eaves.
In a room on the second floor of a three-story building, the sound of a television program echoed through the room.
Shikamaru sat on the sofa, one hand propping up his chin and the other holding the remote, watching the TV screen out of sheer boredom.
His whole body had sunk into the soft sofa like a lazy cat, wearing a languid, unmotivated expression, as though nothing around him could really catch his interest.
On the floor behind him, Choji, Kiba, and Shino sat in a circle, clutching playing cards as they carried out a card game with a rather lukewarm atmosphere.
Choji had a potato chip between his teeth, crunching away as his eyes stayed fixed on the cards in his hand, his brow slightly furrowed as if he were considering which one to play.
Kiba sat cross-legged on the floor, casually pulling out a few cards and tossing them onto the ground while muttering something to Akamaru on his head.
Shino, meanwhile, was silent as ever, sunglasses on his face making his expression impossible to read. He only occasionally pushed the frame up the bridge of his nose, then followed with a card in silence.
On the balcony, Rock Lee was wearing his green skintight suit, doing a one-handed handstand.
"Three hundred