"That brat! Hmph!"
Whenever Yamanaka Inoichi thought of how Ino had run to his house early yesterday morning, he could not help but snort coldly.
"Tsk, tsk! Looks like someone's daughter is about to get whisked away!" Muzi teased as she looked at Inoichi's displeased face.
"I'd actually like Feng to become my son-in-law. At least carving wooden sculptures is far better than becoming a ninja and fighting to the death!" Ino's mother said upon hearing Muzi's words, shooting Yamanaka Inoichi a glare as she spoke.
Faced with his wife's gaze, Yamanaka Inoichi did not dare argue back and could only glare viciously at Samu Kokaze.
"Shikamaru, this is for you!"
In a corner of Ino's home, Samu Kokaze handed over a sheet of paper covered in writing.
"What is this?"
Shikamaru, who had been watching Sakura and Naruto bicker ahead of them, casually took it and asked.
"Ahem! Didn't you tell me to make a list? This is it!" Samu Kokaze said awkwardly after coughing twice.
Hearing that, Shikamaru's outstretched hand paused. In the end, he let out a long sigh and carefully examined it.
As time passed, Shikamaru's expression grew increasingly unpleasant.
Samu Kokaze chuckled awkwardly, then turned away, unable to look at Shikamaru's face, which had become the picture of grief and indignation.
"You... you... damned... bastard!" Shikamaru ground out word by word, sparks practically flying from his eyes as he stared at Samu Kokaze.
"Do you take me for some kind of all-purpose miracle worker?! You actually wrote down one hundred jin of Chakra-Conductive Metal. That stuff is sold by the gram! Sell me and see whether I even weigh a hundred jin!"
"And what's this stone that gives off light and is harmful to the human body? You don't even know where it is yourself! Where am I supposed to find it?"
"And all this!" Shikamaru angrily slapped the paper onto Samu Kokaze's face. "Look at this densely packed list of yours! If I had all this stuff, I wouldn't need to be a ninja. I could retire right now!"
Samu Kokaze peeled the sheet off his face and gave the fuming Shikamaru an awkward smile.
"Fine! I did go a little overboard, but I don't need much of the stuff on there, just a tiny amount!" Seeing Shikamaru about to say something else, Samu Kokaze quickly added, "I'll pay!"
Hearing that, much of Shikamaru's furious expression faded, though he still said irritably, "I can only use the clan's channels to help you look. I can't guarantee I'll find everything!"
"Don't worry, don't worry! As long as we can get a few of the important things, that'll be enough! If you find everything, you can pick whatever you want from my woodcarving shop!"
Seeing Shikamaru agree, Samu Kokaze said with a beaming smile.
"Hmph!" Shikamaru snorted, took the paper from Samu Kokaze's hand, and stuffed it into his pocket. "Becoming friends with you is definitely the unluckiest thing that's ever happened to me!"
"Come on, don't say that! At worst, I'll go easy on you when we play shogi next time!"
"Who wants you to go easy on me?!" Shikamaru's cheek twitched. The urge to beat Samu Kokaze senseless, which had just begun to subside, surged back up within him.
"My mistake, my mistake. With the strength of the young master of the Nara Clan, there's naturally no need for me to go easy on you." Samu Kokaze raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru's exasperated expression.
After saying that, he ignored the half-dead-with-anger Shikamaru and turned to Choji, whose mouth had not stopped moving, saying, "I'll leave my food to you, Choji."
"No problem! I'll bring it over tomorrow!" Choji, who was eating while watching them, agreed without hesitation.
That only made Shikamaru feel even more stifled as Samu Kokaze gave him a look that said, See? You're so petty.
"Achoo!" Just as Samu Kokaze was about to tease Shikamaru a few more times, a chill suddenly washed over him, making him sneeze.
"Who's talking about me?"
Samu Kokaze rubbed his nose and muttered quietly as he spoke with Choji and Shikamaru.
"It must be because everyone found out that a scheming bastard like you did something bad!"
Shikamaru rolled his dead-fish eyes and said so from the side.
"Hey! Don't talk nonsense! What do you mean people found out I did something bad? My reputation in Konoha has always been excellent, okay?" Samu Kokaze looked at Shikamaru in great dissatisfaction.
"Heh." That single "heh" from Shikamaru perfectly conveyed his feelings. Without waiting for Samu Kokaze to retort, he asked, "Where's your gift? Ino has been watching you this whole time!"
Following Shikamaru's gaze, Samu Kokaze saw Ino repeatedly glancing in his direction. He lost interest in continuing to bicker with Shikamaru, got up, called out to Naruto, who was still trying to get friendly with Sakura, and headed toward the door.
"What are you two going to do?"
Seeing Samu Kokaze and Naruto heading for the door, Choji called out from behind them.
"Naruto and I are going to bring over the gift I prepared. Then you'll see what the art of carving truly is!"
Hearing the question behind him, Samu Kokaze turned back with a confident smile.
"Hey, Ino, it looks like that handsome guy you've taken a fancy to is going to get the gift he prepared for you." Sakura waggled her eyebrows at Ino and teased, "So? Are you looking forward to it?"
"Who's looking forward to anything?! Forehead girl!" Ino said, her face turning red from Sakura's words.
"Hmph! Ino-pig!" Hearing Ino call her Forehead girl, Sakura's forehead bulged with a large vein as she shouted back.
"Forehead girl!"
"Ino-pig!"
"Forehead girl!"
"Ino-pig!"
"Women are such a pain," Shikamaru muttered, rolling his dead-fish eyes as he watched the two argue.
"Mm-hm!" Choji stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth and nodded in deep agreement.
Night fell.
Countless stars glittered in the night sky. Under their starlight, two small figures could be seen carrying a large box as tall as a person out of the carving shop.
"The weather's getting colder and colder!" Samu Kokaze could not help saying as the biting cold wind hit him the moment he stepped outside.
"It's not that bad! I don't feel cold at all!" Naruto said, shivering behind him.
"Stubborn." Samu Kokaze curled his lips as he listened to Naruto.
Whoosh...
A faint sound of something cutting through the air came from the rooftop behind them. If Samu Kokaze's senses had not far surpassed those of ordinary people, he truly would not have noticed it.
Hearing the sound, Samu Kokaze, who was nearly at Ino's front door, suddenly stopped and sharply turned around.
"Killing intent?" Samu Kokaze murmured.
"F-Feng... wh-what's wrong?" Naruto asked, shivering as he looked at the suddenly turned Samu Kokaze while holding the box.
Samu Kokaze raised his head and carefully examined the rooftops ahead. A flicker of silver light occasionally flashed through his eyes. After a while, having found nothing, he smiled upon hearing Naruto's chattering teeth and said, "It's nothing. Something just felt off for a moment. Maybe I was mistaken."
Before you continue