Naruto slapped two large banknotes onto the desk in front of Sasuke.
No one had expected this.
Not only did Sasuke fail to react for a long moment, but Ino, Sakura, and the others were left staring blankly too.
They had thought Naruto would use his victory to make a grand declaration of love to Sasuke... Who could have imagined this instead?
Sasuke recovered first. Seeing that Naruto was merely repaying him in front of everyone, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmph."
Sasuke gave a soft snort and took only the 100 silver taels that belonged to him. He picked up the remaining 100 and pressed it back into Naruto's hand. "Only 100 taels belong to me."
"What? Sasuke actually... accepted it?"
"What the heck? Why did it turn out like this?"
"Naruto, you've gone too far!"
Before Naruto could say anything, Ino, Sakura, and the boys immediately snapped at him.
Since Sasuke insisted, Naruto tucked the extra 100 back into his pocket.
Naruto left Sasuke's desk, arrogantly surveying the classmates glaring at him as he walked. He sneered. "A bunch of losers I already beat, and you still dare to embarrass yourselves?"
"You... what did you say?!"
Ino clenched her fists, grabbed the drowsy Shikamaru beside her, and hauled him to his feet. "Shikamaru's on our side, and he hasn't played yet!"
Trouble had fallen into Shikamaru's lap out of nowhere, leaving him no time to object.
"That's right! Once Shikamaru plays, he'll wipe the floor with you!" Sakura chimed in.
Naruto smiled at the sight of Shikamaru rolling his eyes and looking utterly miserable.
"Heh... Your helper doesn't seem very interested. Is your friendship not all that strong, or is Shikamaru's skill at shogi just an empty reputation?"
Without giving anyone a chance to argue, Naruto plopped into his seat and looked ready to fall asleep.
At that point, however troublesome Shikamaru found this, Naruto's words dispelled a little of his drowsiness.
The Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka were Konoha's renowned Ino-Shika-Cho clans, with deep bonds stretching back to their fathers' generation.
Influenced by their fathers, the younger generation-Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji-had also been close since childhood.
Of course, Naruto's words hardly counted as a deliberate attempt to sow discord among the three clans. At most, he was using their friendship and doubts about Shikamaru's shogi skills to bait him.
Although Shikamaru was a far-sighted strategist, he was only seven or eight right now. Surely he couldn't be that absurdly gifted yet.
Sure enough, under Naruto's subtle prodding, Shikamaru's eyes changed slightly.
"Shikamaru, he's looking down on you!"
"I have no doubt that Shikamaru is the best shogi player in the school." Hearing Naruto question Shikamaru's ability, Choji put down his chips and firmly voiced his support.
Now, almost everyone in the class except Sasuke was looking at Shikamaru.
"This is a drag, but..."
Shikamaru shrugged helplessly and announced to everyone, "In that case, Naruto, we of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans accept your challenge."
"Nice! Well done, Shikamaru! Make sure you wipe the floor with him after school!" Hearing Shikamaru agree personally-and announce it before the whole class-finally put Ino at ease.
"Naruto, Shikamaru agreed. Do you dare take him on?"
With Shikamaru secured, Ino confidently turned toward the silent Naruto.
Everyone's gaze shifted back to Naruto.
Shikamaru's prowess at shogi was well known, but they knew nothing about Naruto's.
Seeing that the class was sufficiently worked up, Naruto stood and surveyed everyone before finally resting his gaze on the smug Ino.
"Don't get it wrong. I didn't challenge her. She challenged me."
His words left Ino, Sakura, Choji, and the other classmates stunned.
"Hmph, so what? You're going to lose horribly anyway."
At that, Naruto pulled out 1,800 taels in banknotes. "Fine. One game decides it. If I lose, I'll return every one of these banknotes to you."
The confidence Naruto casually displayed as he spoke made Shikamaru frown slightly.
Seeing Naruto bring out the money they had lost to him left Ino, Sakura, and the boys feeling embarrassed.
"Shikamaru, you get plenty of pocket money. Let me borrow the stake for our game after school."
Naruto had already won all their pocket money over five games, so Ino and the others could only ask Shikamaru for a loan.
"Are you sure? I don't mind. It's only 1,800 silver taels."
Seeing how worked up Ino was, Shikamaru checked again.
"Yes. I trust your shogi skills, Shikamaru."
At that, Shikamaru could only nod helplessly.
"Naruto, see? Shikamaru agreed."
"Okay. I'll be waiting after school."
Naruto was delighted.
He hadn't expected Sasuke to make his plan to rake in their money go so smoothly.
Just as the two sides reached an agreement, Iruka-sensei walked into the classroom carrying his books.
"Good morning, sensei!"
"All right, everyone, sit down." Iruka wore a professional teacher's smile.
But when his gaze swept over Naruto, his brows furrowed slightly.
Naruto was getting more and more out of hand. He used to sleep in class, but never this blatantly.
Now he was already asleep the moment I walked into the classroom.
Though annoyed, Iruka remembered the secret assignment the Third had given him last night and ultimately held his temper.
"Everyone, today's lesson is..."
Time flew, and before long, Naruto had spent nearly three lessons asleep on his desk.
He had gone to bed late last night. According to his original plan, he should have been able to get four and a half hours of sleep.
But who could have guessed that his consciousness would end up with the Nine-Tails after he fell asleep?
He had gone back and forth with the Nine-Tails until his alarm rang, then gotten up and headed out to train.
That amounted to an entire day and night without sleep. Even if he wanted to show Iruka some respect, his body wouldn't let him.
Ring, ring...
The dismissal bell rang, and someone woke Naruto just after Iruka left the classroom.
Naruto groggily opened his eyes, about to lash out at being woken up. But when he saw the impenetrable crowd surrounding him, he was briefly at a loss.
"Big brother Naruto, school's over," Hinata said apologetically.
Seeing that Hinata had woken him, Naruto nodded without saying anything.
"Naruto, it's time to keep your promise."
Ino wore a smug smile. With a wave of her hand, the classroom windows were promptly locked, and a boy shut and locked the classroom door as well.
They had clearly planned this beforehand, afraid Naruto might seize a chance to jump out a window and escape.
Seeing this, Naruto smiled and took a folding shogi set from his Canvas Bag.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Naruto asked as he unfolded the board. "It's only a game of shogi."
"Hmph, this is just a precaution."
"Exactly! If you go back on your word and jump out a window, where are we supposed to find you?"
The classmates around him all argued back.
At last, Shikamaru, the center of everyone's attention, left his seat, with Ino and Choji following behind him.
Seeing Shikamaru's confident expression, Naruto smiled. "How do you want to play-a full game or an endgame puzzle?"
The moment those words left his mouth.
Some of the confidence in Shikamaru's eyes gave way to shock.
"You know how to set up endgame puzzles?"
Before you continue