Chapter 13: The Ino-Shika-Cho's Unwitting Role
Despite Ren Arakawa's best efforts to promote the benefits of the VIP membership, the powerful figures in the live stream remained unmoved. It was no surprise. After observing him for a while, they had already discerned his cunning and treacherous nature. This guy was just looking for new ways to swindle them. As individuals who had once dominated the ninja world, how could they so easily fall for such a scheme?
"It seems no one has realized the opportunity they're missing by not becoming VIPs. But that's alright, there's always next time!" Seeing that the two prime targets, Uchiha Izuna and Senju Tobirama, weren't biting, Ren wasn't worried. There would be plenty of time later to make them understand the harsh realities of the world.
After leaving the academy, Ren didn't head straight home. Instead, he went to a nearby barbecue restaurant for a hearty meal. He found a relatively quiet corner, ordered several plates of beef, and began devouring them. Perhaps due to awakening the Uzumaki physique, his appetite had increased dramatically. If not for his limited funds, a few plates of meat wouldn't have been nearly enough to satisfy him.
Looks like I'll need to find a way to earn some money after becoming a genin, Ren thought to himself. The big spenders in the live stream could reward him with skills and bloodlines, but not money—at least, not yet. He figured his only option for income was through conventional means.
He had been eating for a while when Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chōji, and Yamanaka Ino also entered the restaurant.
"Wow, I didn't expect to see him here eating barbecue too!" Spotting Ren sitting in the corner, Yamanaka Ino's eyes lit up considerably. Ren had always been considered handsome at the academy and was quite popular with the girls, but his lowly status had always held him back. Now, things were different. After shattering all the academy's assessment records and beating the arrogant Uchiha Sasuke into the hospital, he had become a full-blown celebrity.
Especially among the clan girls who had previously looked down on him, the reaction was frenzied. Before, Ren was just a penniless, powerless nobody—handsome, but ultimately useless. While the girls themselves might not have minded, they all knew their clan elders would never approve of a relationship with someone like him. In the ninja world, good looks didn't put food on the table; strength was what mattered.
But Ren was different now. He perfectly fit the image of an ideal husband in the eyes of those clan girls: handsome, incredibly talented, and with no living parents to complicate things. In the ninja world, that was practically the stuff of legend.
"Hey, Ren! Fancy seeing you here! What a coincidence!" Ino dragged a reluctant Shikamaru and Chōji over with her, her face beaming with a spring-like warmth.
"Yeah, I was hungry, so I came to grab a bite," Ren replied, looking up at the trio before returning his attention to grilling the meat.
"You've got a table for four. Mind if we join you?" Ino glanced at the empty seat beside Ren and asked with a feigned air of politeness. She had originally planned to get a private room, but seeing Ren changed her mind.
"Hey, Ino, this is a bit much," Shikamaru interjected, grabbing her arm. "The three of us came here to celebrate our graduation."
"That's fine! Ren is in our class anyway. Besides, he's the top graduate now. It's an honor for us to eat with him," Ino stated with utter seriousness. She was determined to have this meal with Ren.
Seeing her insistence, Shikamaru could only shake his head in resignation. "Sigh... Fine, we'll share the table. Women are such a hassle."
Akimichi Chōji stood behind the two, not saying a word. For him, it didn't matter where they sat as long as there was food. Ren, of course, didn't mind at all. He was secretly delighted at the prospect of someone else footing the bill.
Once the three sat down, Akimichi Chōji quickly ordered ten large plates of barbecue. He had planned to feast heartily to celebrate their graduation. However, every piece of meat he placed on the grill was promptly picked up by Ino and deposited into Ren's bowl or plate. After more than a dozen rounds, he still hadn't managed to eat a single piece of the meat he'd grilled. It all ended up with Ren.
After a few more minutes, Akimichi Chōji finally put down his chopsticks, a look of utter misery on his face. "Ino... can we please just eat?"
Ino, however, smiled magnanimously. "Go ahead and eat! I'm not stopping you. Everyone, eat as much as you want today. It's my treat."
Being told to eat his fill should have been good news, but Chōji was anything but happy. He glanced at the heaping bowl in front of Ren, then at his own spotless, empty plate, and finally said with a bitter smile, "But... you've put all the meat I grilled into Ren's bowl. How am I supposed to eat?"
"Sigh... I never thought even eating a meal could become so troublesome," Nara Shikamaru sighed from his seat beside Ren, propping his chin on his hand with a bored expression. Unlike Chōji, with an IQ over 200, he understood the situation perfectly. Ino had another crush, and whenever that happened, it was always him and Chōji who suffered.
[Minato Namikaze: That kid with the spiky ponytail looks just like Shikaku. Could he be his son?]
[Kushina Uzumaki: And that chubby little guy who can't get any food, he looks a lot like Chōza!]
"You two guessed right," Ren explained through a mouthful of barbecue in the live stream. "These three brats are the children of Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and Yamanaka Inoichi."
[Minato Namikaze: Is that so? It seems the next generation of Konoha's Ino-Shika-Cho trio has been decided!]
[Hashirama Senju: Konoha's Ino-Shika-Cho trio? What's that? Can you eat it?]
[Minato Namikaze: First Hokage, you... passed away too early, so you probably don't know. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is one of Konoha's ace teams. Their combination jutsu is incredibly powerful; when they work together, even a hundred men can't get close!]
[Hashirama Senju: You need combination jutsu to deal with a mere hundred people?]
Minato Namikaze: ...
[Uchiha Madara: Hashirama, it seems Konoha isn't as impressive as you thought. These brats are so weak. Back in our day, we could take on a thousand with just a casual wave!]
[Hashirama Senju: Don't pin this on me! Tobirama! What in the world happened? How did the village's combat strength fall so far? Even a mediocre team like that is considered an ace unit now?]
[Tobirama Senju: Brother... it's a long story.]