Birthday Banquet 2 (Bonus Chapter for Reaching the Top Ten on the New Book Rankings!)

"That brat! Hmph!"

The thought of Ino running to Samu Kokaze's home early yesterday morning made Yamanaka Ichi snort coldly.

"Tsk, tsk! Looks like someone's daughter is about to be stolen away!" Muzi teased as she looked at Ichi's disgruntled face.

"I wouldn't mind having Kokaze become my son-in-law. At least carving wood sculptures is far better than becoming a ninja and fighting to the death!" Ino's mother said upon hearing Muzi's words, shooting Yamanaka Ichi a glare as she spoke.

Faced with his wife's gaze, Yamanaka Ichi did not dare talk back and could only turn his vicious glare toward Samu Kokaze.

"Shikamaru, this is for you!"

In a corner of Ino's house, Samu Kokaze handed over a sheet of paper covered in writing.

"What is this?"

Shikamaru, who had been watching Sakura and Naruto bicker up ahead, casually took it and asked.

"Ahem! Didn't you ask me to make a list? This is it!" Samu Kokaze said with two awkward coughs.

Hearing that, Shikamaru's outstretched hand froze. In the end, he let out a long sigh, picked it up, and examined it carefully.

As time passed, Shikamaru's expression grew increasingly unpleasant.

Samu Kokaze laughed awkwardly twice and turned his head away, unwilling to look at Shikamaru's face, which had become grief-stricken beyond measure.

"You... you... damned... bastard!" Shikamaru ground out word by word, sparks practically flying from his eyes as he glared at Samu Kokaze.

"Do you take me for some all-powerful being?! You actually wrote down one hundred jin of chakra-conducting metal. People sell that stuff by the gram! Sell me and see if I even weigh a hundred jin!"

"And this thing you wrote about—a glowing stone harmful to the human body—you don't even know where to find it yourself! Where am I supposed to look for it?"

"And all this!" Shikamaru furiously slapped the paper onto Samu Kokaze's face. "Look at all this densely packed stuff you wrote down! If I had these things, I wouldn't need to be a ninja. I could retire right now!"

Peeling the paper off his face, Samu Kokaze 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 that Shikamaru still wanted to say something, Samu Kokaze hurriedly added, "I'll pay!"

At those words, much of Shikamaru's furious expression faded, though he still said irritably, "All I can do is use the clan's connections to help you look. I can't guarantee I'll find everything!"

"Don't worry, don't worry! It'll be enough if we can gather a few of the important things! If you find everything, you can pick whatever you like from my wood sculpture shop!"

Seeing Shikamaru agree, Samu Kokaze said with a broad smile.

"Hmph!" Shikamaru snorted, took the paper covered in Samu Kokaze's writing, and stuffed it into his pocket. "Becoming friends with you was definitely the unluckiest thing that ever happened to me!"

"Come on, don't say that! At worst, I'll go easy on you when we play shogi!"

"Who wants you to go easy on me?!" Shikamaru's cheek twitched at those words, and the urge to beat Samu Kokaze senseless rose in his heart once more.

"My mistake, my mistake. With the strength of the young master of the Nara Clan, you naturally don't need me to go easy on you." Samu Kokaze raised a brow at Shikamaru's furious expression.

After saying that, he ignored the half-dead-from-anger Shikamaru and turned to Choji, whose mouth had not stopped moving the entire time. "I'll leave my food to you, Choji."

"No problem! I'll deliver it tomorrow!" Choji, who was eating while watching them, agreed without hesitation.

That made Shikamaru, who saw Samu Kokaze giving him a look that said, See how stingy you are?, feel even more stifled.

"Achoo!" Just as Samu Kokaze was about to taunt Shikamaru a few more times, a chill suddenly swept over him, making him sneeze.

"Who's talking about me?"

Samu Kokaze rubbed his nose and muttered softly as he spoke with Choji and Shikamaru.

"Someone must have found out that a schemer like you did something bad!"

Shikamaru rolled his dead-fish eyes and said this from the side.

"Hey! Don't talk nonsense! What do you mean, someone found out I did something bad? My reputation in Konoha has always been excellent, okay?" Samu Kokaze looked at Shikamaru with great dissatisfaction.

"Heh heh!" Shikamaru's laugh perfectly conveyed his feelings. Without waiting for Samu Kokaze to retort, he asked, "Where's your gift? Ino's been watching you this whole time!"

Following Shikamaru's gaze, Samu Kokaze saw Ino repeatedly glancing his way. He lost interest in continuing to bicker with Shikamaru, rose to his feet, called out to Naruto, who was still trying to get close to Sakura, and headed for the door.

"What are you two going to do?"

Seeing Samu Kokaze and Naruto heading for the door, Choji asked from behind them.

"Naruto and I are going to bring over the gift I prepared. Then you'll see what the art of carving is all about!"

Hearing the question behind him, Samu Kokaze turned back with a confident smile.

"Hey, Ino, it looks like that handsome guy you like is going to fetch the gift he prepared for you." Sakura waggled her brows at Ino and teased, "So, are you looking forward to it?"

"Who's looking forward to it?! Forehead girl!" Ino said, her face flushing at Sakura's words.

"Hmph! Ino-pig, you lovesick fool!" Hearing Ino call her Forehead Girl, a large vein bulged on Sakura's forehead as she shouted back.

"Forehead girl!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Forehead girl!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Women are such a pain," Shikamaru said, rolling his dead-fish eyes as he watched the two arguing nearby.

"Mhm, mhm!" Choji stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth and nodded in deep agreement.

Night fell.

Countless stars glittered across the night sky. Beneath their light, 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 when he stepped outside.

"It's not that bad! I don't feel cold at all!" Naruto said from behind him, shivering.

"What a tough guy." Samu Kokaze, walking ahead, could not help curling his lips at Naruto's words.

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 would never have noticed it.

Hearing the sound, Samu Kokaze, who was nearly at Ino's doorstep, suddenly halted and sharply turned around.

"Killing intent?" Samu Kokaze murmured.

"Kokaze... wh-what's wrong?" Naruto asked with a shiver as he held the box.

Samu Kokaze raised his head and carefully scanned the rooftops ahead. A silver glint occasionally flashed in his eyes. After a while, finding nothing, he heard Naruto's chattering teeth and smiled. "It's nothing. I suddenly felt something was off just now. Maybe I was mistaken."