"I'm back!"
When Nara Shikamaru returned home, he immediately smelled the aroma of food and knew that Temari had already prepared dinner. He couldn't help but smile.
It was so much better than having to cook after coming home before. Although sometimes she was a nag, he kind of missed Temari's chatter when he didn't hear it for a few days.
"You're back, go wash your hands and eat, Lu Dai, you too, stop playing games!"
Temari announced dinner as she walked out of the kitchen and called out to Lu Dai, who was playing games on the verandah in the courtyard.
"Coming, coming... such a drag..."
"Hey, don't say that. If your mom hears you, there won't be peace at dinner again."
The Nara father and son whispered and then walked together to the bathroom; after washing their hands, they sat down at the dining table to enjoy dinner.
Once seated, Nara Shikamaru said, "Today's meal smells so good. Thanks for your hard work, Temari."
"It's nothing, just eat."
"You must be tired from running around all day. I'll draw you a bath later so you can rest early; Lu Dai, you too."
"Yes...."
Nara Shikamaru felt touched and smiled at Temari, saying, "It's okay, the real work today was done by Naruto and Sasuke. They killed the Exotic Beast... it's just that tomorrow, people from the other four Ninja Villages will come to study the Exotic Beast we killed today."
"Exotic Beast? Dad, is that what you've been busy with lately?"
Lu Dai asked. Recently, his companions were all complaining about their parents being too busy and not being home, and he was facing the same situation, not even having lunch at home.
"You shouldn't ask about this. It's a village secret, can't be shared with others."
Nara Shikamaru shook his head, even though he trusted Lu Dai, he still couldn't casually reveal village secrets. He could hint for Lu Dai to guess, but he couldn't say it outright.
"By the way, Konoha also plans to conduct its own research and intends to invite that Yoichi Yin Yang Master over...."
"What for?"
Temari suddenly spoke up, her voice a bit loud, startling the Nara father and son; then Temari realized her outburst, suppressed her anger, and quickly continued, "Isn't that guy at odds with you, yet Naruto wants you to invite him...."
"No need to worry, I don't need to go."
Nara Shikamaru explained, understanding that Temari cared about his pride, "This was Sakura's suggestion. She knows that the Yin Yang Master is collecting some rare items, and parts of this Exotic Beast might interest him, so Sakura wants to exchange them for some Secret Medicine for the village. She'll probably be the one to contact him...."
"I see, I misunderstood...."
Once calmed down, Temari sat back to eat while reminding herself not to be so impulsive, or Nara Shikamaru would definitely notice.
After dinner, having nothing better to do, Nara Shikamaru went to take a bath. He had been quite busy today and wanted to relax after coming home.
As Nara Shikamaru went for a bath, Temari returned indoors.
'That bastard....'
————————————
The next morning, outside Yoichi Pharmacy.
"The corpse of an Exotic Beast? I'm very interested, wait a moment."
After listening to Sakura, Uchiha Yoichi smiled; he chatted with Sakura briefly, then turned and went back inside, returning after two minutes.
Earlier, it was his Command Spell clone, but now it was the real Uchiha Yoichi.
"Let's go, Jonin Uchiha Sakura."
"Mr. Yoichi, just call me Sakura, Jonin Uchiha Sakura sounds too formal..."
Sakura waved her hand with a smile and said. Anytime Uchiha Yoichi got formal, she found herself doing the same, which felt a little weird and uncomfortable.
"Then I'll call you Sakura from now on. What's up? Is there something odd on my face?"
Uchiha Yoichi noticed Sakura sneaking glances at his face and pretended not to understand, touched his face, and asked.
She had no idea why she was dreaming such things, but when Sakura woke up the next day.
"No, it's nothing, let's head out; other people from the Ninja Villages are coming today, they want to study the otherworldly Summoned Beast corpse too."
Sakura quickly shook her head and replied, in the Ninja World, speaking beasts are called Summoned Beasts.
Uchiha Yoichi said, "No problem. If I find anything I like, I can pay a high price for it. This Exotic Beast was probably hunted by your Konoha, right?"
"Yeah, but we didn't find any treasure; it might have been destroyed by Naruto...."
Sakura said regretfully. Although she wasn't at the scene, she had heard the entire report, so she spoke with regret.
However, Sakura shifted the topic and asked, "Mr. Yoichi, I heard from Ino that a treasure from the first Otherworld Summoned Beast was sold to you. It was supposed to be a Flame-Flame Fruit, what does it do?"
"Hmm... since you're Ino's friend, it's not a big secret. Do you have a Kunai?"
When Sakura heard Uchiha Yoichi's words, she felt quite puzzled. Why would being Ino's friend not make someone an outsider? What's Ino's relationship with this Yin Yang Master?
"I do, here you go."
Despite her wandering thoughts, Sakura still took out a Kunai and handed it to Uchiha Yoichi.
"This fruit is really magical, it turns you into fire. Saying that might not make sense to you, but if I show you...."
Uchiha Yoichi directly used the Kunai to cut off his own arm. Sakura was shocked by this and quickly said, "Mr. Yoichi, why are you doing this to yourself...."
Before she could finish speaking, Sakura saw the arm on the ground turn into flames, and there was no blood on Uchiha Yoichi's arm. Instead, flames flickered.
Before long, as the flames burned, a new arm grew back.
Sakura was so shocked her mouth hung open, and she asked, "This, this is...."
"I can turn into flames whenever I want now; my entire body is like fire, and ordinary attacks have no effect on me anymore... It's quite unbelievable, I didn't expect the fruit to have this effect. Hahaha, it seems I got lucky."
Uchiha Yoichi feigned delight. Revealing these things was part of his plan, always a step to demonstrate some strength, starting with the Flame-Flame Fruit, to more easily explore the 'treasures' of the Ninja World in the future.
"Re-really?"
"Yes, I just discovered this not long ago, and you're the first to know. I haven't had a chance to tell Ino yet."
"Huh? Why tell Ino?"
"Because..."
Uchiha Yoichi pretended to hesitate, pausing for a few seconds before speaking, "Ino and I are friends. Initially, I found her annoying, but as we spent time together, I realized Ino is not only beautiful but also kind-hearted, which is quite rare in the Ninja World...."
"Ri-right, Ino is indeed a good person, she's also my good friend!"
Sakura said with a smile, though her smile was a bit forced; inside, she was clenching her fist, thinking these two definitely had something going on, something fishy!!
Soon after, the two arrived at the place where the Exotic Beast was stored, the former base of Root, a place Uchiha Yoichi had visited a few times.
"What a huge monster, how strong was it when alive?"
Uchiha Yoichi, unfamiliar with the Dragon-headed Lion, asked Sakura.
However, just as Sakura was about to say something, a Konoha Ninja came over, holding a ring that had just been discovered. He approached Sakura and said, "Dean Sakura, we found this ring in the Summoned Beast's mouth, the pattern on it isn't Sealing Technique...."
Uchiha Yoichi was internally surprised. Upon seeing the ring, he knew the origin of this monster; what the Konoha Ninja brought over was a Storage Ring, indicating this corpse was likely a Demon Beast when alive.
"A ring? Can a Summoned Beast use this?"
Sakura took a look at it but didn't find anything unusual; however, since it was kept in the Summoned Beast's mouth, she knew it wasn't just an ordinary item.
So Sakura turned her head to glance at Uchiha Yoichi and coincidentally met his gaze.
"Sakura, can you sell this item to me? I'll offer you a price you'll be happy with."
Uchiha Yoichi said, understanding what Sakura's gaze meant, so he spoke directly.