Ino-Shika-Cho Gathering

"Ino, Choji, Shikamaru! Why did you all come together?"

Seeing the three figures enter the shop, Samu Kokaze called out in surprise.

Shikamaru, with his pineapple-like ponytail, followed them inside and first glanced toward Sasuke and Itachi, who were standing in the room. Hearing Samu Kokaze's question, he looked helplessly at Ino, who was walking ahead.

Just as expected...

Watching Ino skip around the shop, Samu Kokaze thought helplessly.

"My apologies. Please take your time looking around, guests. I'll have to excuse myself for a moment." Seeing Ino and the others enter, Samu Kokaze gave Sasuke and Itachi an apologetic look.

"Please, Master Kokaze," Itachi said with a slight nod.

"Ino, were you really that impatient to see your birthday present? But I'm not showing it to you before the time comes!"

Walking over, Samu Kokaze looked at the prettily dressed Ino and teased her softly.

"Hmph... you jerk!" Ino snorted. "Why is there another scent in this shop?"

Ino twitched her cute little nose, continuously sniffing at the scents in the room.

"You could smell that?"

Samu Kokaze was slightly surprised. The scent emitted by the Violet Goldwood he had carved that morning had long since faded after dispersing for so long. Ordinary people would only think it was the woody fragrance of the shop.

"Hmph! I know every corner of this place like the back of my hand. Tell me, who brought this scent here?" Ino put on a fierce expression as she pressed Samu Kokaze for an answer.

"A scent?" Hearing Ino's words, Choji, who had been continuously stuffing himself with potato chips, sniffed the air.

"It smells kind of like the scent from a piece of furniture at my house!" Choji said as he stuffed another handful of chips into his mouth.

"Got it now?" Samu Kokaze shot Choji an approving look and teased Ino.

"I-I'm going to see if your carving skills have gotten worse."

Embarrassed crimson by Samu Kokaze's look, Ino's eyes darted around. When she spotted the newly added carvings on the wooden shelves, she hurriedly ran over.

Watching Ino's shy retreating figure, Samu Kokaze smiled. He moved closer to Choji and Shikamaru and asked quietly, "Did she drag you two here as well today?"

Shikamaru rolled his dead-fish eyes at that, clasped his hands behind his head, and sighed as though he could not be bothered to explain. "Women are troublesome."

Even Choji's hand holding the chips paused for a moment as he said indignantly, "I hadn't even finished breakfast before Ino dragged me straight out of the house. The worst part was that Dad actually helped her!!!"

As he spoke, he grabbed another huge handful of chips and viciously stuffed them into his mouth, chewing hard enough to make a chilling crunching sound.

Seeing the two of them so aggrieved, Samu Kokaze laughed awkwardly a few times. Back when he watched the anime, he had never noticed that Ino had been this difficult as a child. Who would have thought it would turn out like this after he transmigrated? It probably... yeah, definitely had nothing to do with him.

"Oh, right. I heard Ino say you became friends with that child in the village everyone calls a monster." As they spoke, Shikamaru suddenly turned serious.

"Yeah, Naruto and I became friends. And he isn't a monster. What, is there a problem?" Samu Kokaze frowned slightly at Shikamaru's words and asked in return.

Shikamaru studied Samu Kokaze seriously for a moment before returning to his usual indifferent demeanor. "You're a smart person. Since you've already thought through the consequences of becoming friends with him, there's no need for me to say more. But no matter what backup plan you have, please think more about Ino. Don't drag her into it, or else..."

Mid-sentence, Shikamaru suddenly chuckled a few times and said nothing more.

Just as Samu Kokaze frowned and was about to retort, Choji suddenly spoke up beside them. "What are you two talking about? Why can't I understand any of it?"

Interrupted by Choji, Samu Kokaze no longer felt like arguing with Shikamaru. After giving him a deep look, he turned to Choji. "It's nothing. Oh, right, Ino told me that your family's food is all specially made high-energy food. Could you sell me some? My appetite is too big, so it's kind of a problem."

"Food?"

Choji's hand paused as he held his chips, and he glanced at Shikamaru from the corner of his eye. Only after Shikamaru gave a faint nod did he—

—put another chip into his mouth and chew. "It shouldn't be a problem. I'll talk to Dad about it later."

Samu Kokaze's expression did not change as he watched everything unfold. Instead, hearing Choji's answer, he smiled happily. "Then I'll be troubling you, Choji."

"It's fine. We're friends. It's only right!" Choji replied with a nod as he ate his chips.

Hearing Choji's words, Samu Kokaze looked toward Ino, who was still examining the newly carved wooden figures on either side and had not spared a glance for Sasuke, whom she had liked in the original story. His mood suddenly improved greatly.

Glancing in Ino's direction, he asked, "What did you two prepare as gifts?"

Hearing Samu Kokaze's question, Shikamaru and Choji exchanged awkward looks.

Shikamaru: What a pain.

Choji: How about potato chips?

Seeing one turn his head away while the other raised the half-eaten bag of chips in his hand, Samu Kokaze held his forehead in pain.

"Don't tell me you didn't prepare anything?" Samu Kokaze wore an incredulous expression.

"Who knew it was her birthday today? She only told us after dragging us out of bed this morning. There wasn't any time to prepare anything at all!" Choji said resentfully as he stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth.

Shikamaru sighed as well. He gave Samu Kokaze a complicated look and said faintly, "Ino has never specifically looked for us on her birthday before. This is the first time. Even when she notified us, it was only after she dragged us out and happened to remember to mention it. But she notified you in advance!"

"Forsaking friends for a pretty face!" Choji nodded beside him and drove the point home.

"Ha..." Samu Kokaze laughed awkwardly a few times. "Is it really that exaggerated?"

"What do you think?!" Choji and Shikamaru shouted in unison.

"Master Kokaze, we've chosen." While they were talking, Itachi approached from the other side of the shop with Sasuke.

Turning his gaze over, Samu Kokaze was startled to see the panda carving in Sasuke's hands. He had never expected Second Pillar to like something so cute as a child. Sure enough, his beloved national treasure was adorable no matter where it was.

"Thank you for your patronage. Fifty thousand ryo, at the half-price discount we agreed on beforehand," Samu Kokaze said softly as the two approached.

"So expensive!" Sasuke's grip on the panda tightened as he cried out in surprise.

Itachi, standing beside him, also frowned slightly, but he said nothing and took out money from Huaizhong to pay.

Watching the two leave through the door, the people remaining in the shop clicked their tongues in amazement.

Looking at the money in Samu Kokaze's hands, Choji said somewhat awkwardly, "Are all your carvings that valuable? Then... then I should return the ones I took before!"

"You're overthinking it!" Seeing the slightly nervous looks on their faces, Samu Kokaze laughed. "That one was so expensive because the raw material was expensive. Didn't you see that carving was violet-gold?"

"The ones you usually took were carved from ordinary wood. Setting aside my craftsmanship, they were just pieces of wood found everywhere."

"Besides, you're all my friends. How could gifts that have already been given away ever be taken back?"

Shikamaru and Choji exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief. They had both been very fond of the carvings they had taken before.

But if the things they had taken before had really been that expensive, they could not have helped worrying about it. Since it was not as they had imagined, though, it did not matter.