After seeing off the wealthy members of the Inuzuka clan, Haruto lay on the counter, carefully counting on his fingers how many eggs he had sold.
"Ino six, Shikamaru six, Chōji…"
After doing the calculations, Haruto found that he had sold 81 eggs in just three days.
"That's almost one diamond egg per day!" He grinned.
The Inuzuka clan alone had contributed an entire diamond egg to him.
It felt amazing!
If they could come and smash eggs every day, then he would be able to break a diamond egg daily.
However, Haruto knew that wasn't realistic. The Inuzuka clan had come for the Ninja Beast Pills, but those pills only worked three times per ninja beast.
"So this isn't a long-term business," Haruto murmured to himself.
Then, another thought struck him.
"Wait… why hasn't the Akimichi clan come to smash eggs yet?"
"Didn't Chōji go home and tell them about the Fat House Happy Water?"
While Haruto was wondering about this in the shop, Chōji was locked in his room, tirelessly producing sausages.
"Achoo!" Chōji sneezed, rubbing his nose.
He sat surrounded by neatly stacked piles of various sausages.
"Chōji has a big sausage!" He muttered under his breath.
With a faint glow, another sausage appeared in his hand.
"This boss is crazy… how could there be such a weird ninjutsu?" Chōji's face was completely red.
Ever since he got the Oscar Skill Experience Card, Chōji had been stuck inside, working endlessly.
He had no choice! The incantations needed to create these sausages were too embarrassing. If anyone in his family heard them, he would never live it down!
But the effects of the sausages were undeniable. The recovery power was much stronger than Military Pills, making them invaluable in battle.
However, the experience card only lasted for three days.
So Chōji had no choice but to work overtime, mass-producing as many as possible before it expired.
Asuma understood the importance of these sausages, so he personally approved three days off for Chōji, just so he could stay at home and make them.
And thus… Chōji became a tool man, churning out sausages non-stop.
Whenever he ran out of chakra, he simply ate a sausage to replenish it.
In just half a day, he had already filled two large boxes with different sausages.
The most valuable Crystal Caterpillar Sausage, which could heal any injury as long as the person was still breathing, was placed in a special container.
While Chōji was working hard, his teammates were also busy training.
Shikamaru, in particular, was practicing harder than ever.
Before, he never took training seriously. Even though his abilities weren't the strongest among their generation, his high IQ allowed him to compensate. He had always been content staying at mid-tier strength without pushing himself too hard.
But after getting the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, his entire mindset changed.
Suddenly, everyone around him was growing stronger.
Ino's Blue Demon Legion.
Chōji's Armament Haki and Savage Charge.
Even Naruto and Kiba, who were usually last place, had acquired powerful abilities.
If he didn't take things seriously, he would be the weakest in the team!
At first, he didn't think much of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. But once he actually started practicing, he realized just how broken this ability was.
It made the Nara Clan's Shadow Jutsu look weak in comparison.
Unlike their family's shadow techniques, which only allowed one to control their own shadow, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit could directly manipulate the enemy's shadow.
As Shikamaru experimented, he discovered more abilities—
Shadow Box.
Shadow Mage.
Shadow Revolution.
Shadow Gathering Place.
The more he trained, the more terrifying the fruit became.
If he could fully master it, he would become the undisputed ruler of the shadows. Not even a Kage-level ninja would be his match!
But this also made Shikamaru realize something else…
Haruto wasn't just a simple shopkeeper.
What kind of store could sell things like Devil Fruits?
If just one fruit had this much power, how strong was the person behind the shop?
Was Haruto… a Shadow-level ninja?
Or maybe Super Shadow-level?
Could he even be at the Sage of Six Paths level?!
And what was the real reason behind his appearance in Konoha?
Shikamaru had always been the sharpest strategist in the village. Unlike the others, who were simply enjoying their new abilities, he was thinking ahead.
If Haruto was someone with evil intentions, Konoha would be doomed.
"The village is already weak right now…" Shikamaru muttered.
Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, Uchiha Itachi… Konoha already had too many enemies.
If Haruto turned out to be another threat, then the village wouldn't be able to handle it.
Shikamaru sighed. "I just hope he's not a bad guy."
But then he remembered something—
Haruto's bad sense of humor and his constant pranks on customers.
"…He's definitely not a villain."
Shikamaru smirked, shaking his head.
Still, he had a feeling that something huge was going to happen in the ninja world.
Otherwise, a store like this wouldn't exist.
"No matter what, I have to get stronger first," Shikamaru decided.
He focused his chakra, and his shadow bats flew forward, completely obliterating a training dummy in the distance.
Meanwhile, at the Yamanaka Flower Shop—
Ino was watering a small flower, humming a tune.
The bud of a blue flower had just started to bloom.
As she watched it grow, she thought back to Haruto's handsome face, and her cheeks turned pink.
Compared to him, Sasuke suddenly seemed… ordinary.
"I wonder what kind of girls he likes…" Ino whispered to herself, covering her face shyly.
She sat in front of the flowerpot, completely lost in thought.
Spring was in the air.
End of the Chapter.
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