"Burp~." Choji let out a satisfied belch and patted his belly.
Shikamaru was half-lying in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Ino looked at the two with disappointment: "Asuma-sensei, can you hurry up and tell us why you called us here? I don't want to stay with these two lazybones."
Asuma smiled broadly while smoking: "Hey, hey, it's fine to wait until we're done eating."
After speaking, he blew out a smoke ring: "After that battle ended, the Five Great Nations signed a peace treaty. Now no one wants war, and we support each other. The missions we can take have decreased, and everyone hasn't had time to get together properly."
"Oh right, and to celebrate Shikamaru becoming a jonin." Asuma smiled happily.
"That's old news." Ino groaned and slumped on the table, her tone full of complaints. "I need to get back to the shop to watch it. Just say what you need to say."
"Don't rush." Asuma shook his head with a smile. "What we're talking about today is important."
Ino rolled her eyes and said nothing.
Choji munched on grilled meat: "I think as long as Asuma-sensei is treating us to food, I'm willing to wait no matter how long."
"You mean you're willing to wait as long as there's food, right?" Ino looked disappointed. "Why can't my teammates be handsome guys like Sasuke, or cool like Naruto, or elegant like Neji, or... anyone but you two!"
"I think you three make a great team." Asuma smiled. "Right, Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru: "..."
No interest in answering, too lazy to speak.
"Ah~." Ino slumped on the table, making a frustrated noise.
Shikamaru turned over, his blank eyes looking at Ino: "Ino, do me a favor."
Ino looked at him: "?"
"When Kurenai-sensei gets here, say hi to her for me." Shikamaru's voice carried an indescribable tiredness.
Asuma froze in place.
"Why would Kurenai-sensei...". Ino asked instinctively, but stopped halfway. Her disappointed expression changed instantly. She sat up straight from the table, full of energy, and looked at Asuma with disbelief. "Really...? When did that happen?"
Asuma: "..."
"Asuma-sensei~." Ino moved closer to Asuma with a sickly sweet voice, like a spoiled girl hugging his arm. "Tell me~ Tell me~"
Choji, who was eating grilled meat, looked uncomfortable and turned to Shikamaru in pain: "Shikamaru, I feel like throwing up."
Shikamaru: I feel like throwing up too, but aren't you afraid Ino will kill you for saying it out loud?
Amid Asuma's awkward smile, Ino punched Shikamaru and Choji onto the table: "Choji! Shut your mouth!"
Choji: "..."
Shikamaru covered his head with blank eyes: Why did I get hit?
Ino suddenly turned to Shikamaru, narrowing her eyes: "You didn't say anything, but you were definitely badmouthing me just now."
Shikamaru: "..."
You got it right, but no prize.
Women are such a hassle!!!
Shikamaru helplessly hugged himself, tears flowing from his blank, dead-fish eyes.
Even Asuma sensed something off with Shikamaru. He looked at Ino strangely and asked: "What's wrong with Shikamaru? He seems really weird since coming back from that last mission."
"Oh, no big deal." Ino pulled back her fist and sat down. "His last mission was with ninjas from the Sand Village. The one they sent was Temari. Something happened between them during the mission, and now Temari has it out for him. She swore to kill him within a month and scatter his ashes in the Land of Wind's desert. If she can't, she'll take his last name."
As she spoke, Ino calculated the time: "It should be... oh, today is the last day."
Asuma looked at Shikamaru with deep sympathy: "Tsk tsk tsk, I know that Temari. She's the former Kazekage's daughter. They say she's got a really fiery temper, like Ino... cough, like Anko."
Ino frowned: "Did you just say like me?"
Asuma shook his head repeatedly: "No, not at all. You misheard."
"Hmph." Ino snorted lightly. "Better be that I misheard."
In this team, Asuma had the highest rank, but Ino was at the top of the food chain.
No way around it. Kurenai was a genjutsu ninja, and Ino used the Mind Body Switch Technique. Both were yin release users, so they got along very well.
As they talked, a familiar chakra suddenly appeared in the barbecue shop. With the door being shoved open violently, everyone looked over instinctively.
A girl walked in carrying an iron fan, dressed in cool clothes, with a pair of striking long legs showing. She was pretty... if only her smile wasn't so cold.
Temari walked into the barbecue shop with an icy face. After scanning the room, her gaze landed on Asuma's team.
The next moment, the coldness on her face turned into a fierce grin: "Pineapple head!"
Choji swallowed hard and instinctively moved away from Shikamaru.
Ino scooted closer to Asuma. Asuma coughed dryly and looked innocently at the ceiling: "Cough, we can't get involved in Shikamaru's stuff."
"Yeah, yeah!" Choji nodded quickly.
The next moment, Temari came up to them. Looking at Shikamaru slumped next to Choji, her smile grew even more vicious: "Pineapple head! Time to keep your promise! Come on, let me kill you!"
The three backed away sweating again, while Shikamaru stayed slumped on the table.
At that moment, Temari sensed something wrong. She shoved Choji aside and grabbed the Shikamaru on the table, lifting it to find it was just a puppet in ninja clothes. The real Shikamaru had vanished long ago.
"A substitute?" Temari's veins on her forehead stood out more.
Without hesitation, her chakra burst out, and she turned into a gust of wind, disappearing from the barbecue shop.
"Gulp..." Choji glanced at the substitute Shikamaru, his face full of relief. "I thought I was done for."
Ino let out a long breath too: "What exactly did Shikamaru do to Temari on that last mission? Why is she chasing him down so angrily?"
"Good question, I want to know too." Asuma lit a cigarette. "She even used a high-level body flicker like Wind Instant to chase him. That mission was definitely not simple."
Choji pouted: "Shikamaru never told me. Every time I bring it up, he looks terrified."
The three looked at the puppet Shikamaru on the ground and fell into thought together.
Truth be told, nothing draws attention like gossip, especially when it's about your own teammate—and a guy like Shikamaru who's never had luck with girls since he was little.
It was really intriguing.
The three all showed regretful looks.
Kurenai, who had just arrived, stood beside the three, looking at their faces—some thoughtful, some smirking darkly, some pitying—and for a moment... she couldn't tell who the main characters were.
And why was Shikamaru a puppet?
Had he gotten so lazy that he brushed off even Asuma's summons like this?
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