"Ino, Choji, Shikamaru! Why did you all come together?"
Watching the three figures enter, Samu Kokaze cried out in delight.
Shikamaru, with his pineapple-like ponytail, entered behind them and first glanced toward Sasuke and Itachi, who were standing inside. Hearing Samu Kokaze's question, he looked helplessly at Ino walking ahead.
Sure enough...
Watching Ino skip around the shop, Samu Kokaze thought helplessly.
"Sorry, please take your time choosing. 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 Zuo Mu," Itachi said with a slight nod.
"Ino, are you that eager to see your birthday present? But I won't show it to you before the time comes!"
Walking over, Samu Kokaze looked at the beautifully dressed Ino and teased her softly.
"Hmph... you jerk!" Ino snorted. "Why is there another scent in this room?"
Ino wrinkled her cute little nose, constantly sniffing at the air in the room.
"You can smell that?"
Samu Kokaze was slightly surprised. The scent emitted by the Violet Goldwood he had carved that morning had already faded after dispersing for so long. Most people would only think it was the natural scent of wood in the room.
"Hmph! I know every corner of this place like the back of my hand. Tell me, who brought this scent in?" Ino put on a fierce expression and pressed him for an answer.
"A scent?" Hearing Ino's words, Choji, who had been continuously stuffing himself with chips, sniffed the air.
"This smells kind of like a piece of furniture in my house!" Choji said as he grabbed a handful of chips and shoved them into his mouth.
"Got it?" Samu Kokaze gave Choji an approving look and teased Ino.
"I-I'll go see whether your carving skills have gotten worse."
Blushing bright red from Samu Kokaze's look, Ino's eyes darted around. When she noticed the newly appeared carvings on the wooden shelf, she hurried over.
Watching Ino's embarrassed retreating figure, Samu Kokaze smiled. He leaned closer to Choji and Shikamaru and asked softly, "Did she drag you two here as well today?"
Hearing that, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and placed his hands behind his head, looking like he did not want to elaborate. He sighed, "Women are troublesome."
Even Choji paused with the chips in his hand for a moment and 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 rather unnerving sound.
Seeing the two boys' indignation, Samu Kokaze laughed awkwardly a few times. Back when he watched the anime, he had never realized that Ino had been this much of a handful as a child. Who would have thought that after transmigrating here, things would turn out like this? It probably... yeah, definitely had nothing to do with him.
"By the way, 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 are friends. And he's not a monster. What, is there a problem?" Samu Kokaze frowned slightly and asked in return.
Shikamaru seriously studied Samu Kokaze 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, I don't need to say more. But no matter what backup plan you have, think more about Ino. Don't drag her into it, or else..."
As he spoke, Shikamaru suddenly chuckled a few times and said no more.
Just as Samu Kokaze frowned and was about to retort, Choji suddenly spoke from the side. "What are you 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 and said, "It's nothing. Oh, right, I heard Ino say that your family's food is specially made high-energy food. Could you sell me some? My appetite is too large, and that's becoming a problem."
"Food?"
Choji paused with the chips in his hand and glanced at Shikamaru from the corner of his eye. Only after Shikamaru gave a slight nod did he—
Put another chip into his mouth and chew as he said, "That shouldn't be a problem. I'll mention it to Dad when I get back."
Samu Kokaze saw everything, but his expression did not change. Upon hearing Choji's answer, he instead smiled happily. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Choji."
"It's fine. We're friends, so it's only natural!" 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 sculptures around her and had not paid any attention to Sasuke, whom she had liked in the original story. His mood immediately 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 drag.
Choji: How about chips?
Watching one turn his head away while the other raised up 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 looked utterly incredulous.
"Who knew today was her birthday? She only told us after dragging us out of bed this morning. There wasn't any time to prepare at all!" Choji said resentfully as he stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth.
Shikamaru sighed beside him and gave Samu Kokaze a complicated look. "Ino never used to specifically look for us on her birthday. This is the first time. Even when she informed us, it was only because she happened to remember after dragging us out. But she notified you in advance!"
"Choosing looks over friends!" Choji added from the side, nodding emphatically.
"Ha..." Samu Kokaze laughed awkwardly a few times. "Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"What do you think?" Choji and Shikamaru shouted together.
"Master Zuo Mu, we've made our selection." While they were talking, Itachi walked over from the other side of the shop with Sasuke.
Samu Kokaze turned his gaze over and stared at the panda carving in Sasuke's hands in surprise. He had never expected Uchiha Sasuke to like such cute things as a child. As expected, the national treasure was lovable no matter where it was.
"Thank you for your patronage. Fifty thousand ryo! Half price, as agreed beforehand." Samu Kokaze spoke softly to the two as they approached.
"So expensive!" Sasuke's grip tightened around the panda as he cried out.
Itachi, standing beside him, also frowned slightly, but he said nothing and took out the money from Huaizhong to pay.
Watching the two leave through the doorway, the people remaining inside clicked their tongues in amazement.
Looking at the money in Samu Kokaze's hands, Choji said somewhat awkwardly, "Are all your carvings worth this much?! Then... then maybe I should return the ones I took before!"
"You're overthinking it!" Seeing their somewhat nervous expressions, Samu Kokaze laughed. "That one was so expensive because the raw material was expensive. Didn't you see that it was violet-gold?"
"The ones you usually take are just carved from ordinary wood. Setting aside my craftsmanship, they're nothing more than common pieces of wood."
"Besides, you're all my friends. How could gifts that were given away be taken back?"
Shikamaru and Choji exchanged looks and both breathed a sigh of relief. They both liked the carvings they had taken before.
But if the things they had taken before had really been that expensive, they could not have ignored it. Since it was not as they had imagined, though, it no longer mattered.
Before you continue