Back then, Uchiha Madara said, "Konoha is one; without the wood, the leaves cannot flourish, and without the leaves, the wood cannot survive long." He named the Village Konoha Village, proving that he still cared about the Village and the dream he shared with Senju Hashirama, and held hope.
A self-fulfilling prophecy, the wood is gone, and the leaves are almost gone.
Aside from Ino and a few elders, hardly anyone remembers the name Uchiha Madara, but the name of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, is practically a household name.
Even if they truly didn't know, a head that big on the Hokage Rock is right there; anyone with a bit of curiosity would ask about it and inquire.
Haruno Sakura didn't have Ino's family background. After their friendship fell apart, she studied very hard and her grades were excellent. Although the Village always used First Hokage as a substitute, she quickly connected Senju Hashirama with the title of First Hokage.
Shikamaru would hesitate before using an Exploding Tag, Hinata would get excited for half a day over a Kunai given as a prize in a store's lottery, and Ino was so poor she was already considering "renting out spare rooms." Haruno Sakura, a Ninja from a commoner background, was even poorer. She desperately wanted the First Hokage's treasure.
Without notifying anyone, she placed the scroll at the bottom of her backpack, planning to study it carefully once she got home.
Currently, she had something more important to do: study hard and surpass Ino in academics! This directly related to whether she could win back Sasuke's heart—at least, that's what she thought. Treasure was important, but love was more valuable!
Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji encountered the boisterous Kiba at the entrance of the school building. Seeing the three of them skip class, the dog-lover's expression was particularly calm. He picked up Akamaru, the Ninja dog he had raised since he was small, and followed them out.
"Where are you going?"
"To eat yakiniku, Kiba, coming?" Shikamaru asked.
"Why not? Let's go!" Kiba never knew how to refuse free food and drink, so he readily agreed.
The three-year-old Ninja dog, Akamaru, knew he could get free food and barked happily twice.
Ino glanced at Shikamaru, meaning, 'You know we don't have enough money, and you're inviting more people? Are we really going to wash dishes at the yakiniku restaurant today?'
Shikamaru lazily spread his hands, indicating he couldn't help it. Since they had already met, they couldn't just say, 'We're going home to study,' could they?
One more person meant one more mouth to feed. From Kiba's demeanor, he clearly intended to bring his Ninja dog along for a free meal, which meant two more mouths.
Ino scratched her head, worried. Money was becoming even scarcer. Should she call Naruto? She remembered Naruto seemed quite wealthy.
"Anyway, there are already four of us, and you're the only girl here. Let's call another companion," Shikamaru gestured with his lips, indicating she should look to her right.
Who? Ino followed his gaze and saw Hinata carefully carrying a bucket, preparing to go back and clean.
Call Hinata too? Good heavens! If we call her, we definitely won't have enough money!
Ino clearly understood Shikamaru's intention: he wanted Hinata to help share the cost of the meal.
A dying camel is still bigger than a horse. No matter how down-on-their-luck the Hyuga Clan was, they were still a top Konoha noble family. As a legitimate daughter, Hinata had a good amount of pocket money, and with her gentle personality and minimal spending, she was definitely a rich girl at this stage—at least, that's what Shikamaru thought.
Ino was a little speechless. She could only say that even a wise man makes mistakes. With unequal information, your 200 IQ, Shikamaru, was useless. You also had times when you misjudged.
"What? Is there information here that I don't know?" Shikamaru was so sly; he immediately noticed Ino's hesitation. He didn't know the basis of this hesitation and observed Hinata very carefully.
What else could Ino say?
Say that although Hinata looked pitiful, weak, and helpless, she could eat a lot? That couldn't be said.
Never mind, hopefully, this one really is a little rich girl.
With quick reflexes, she grabbed Hyuga Hinata, who looked like a little rabbit and seemed very easy to bully.
"Hinata, come on, let's go eat yakiniku together."
"Ah, this, this, we're still in class... Ms. Suzume...?" Hinata was utterly bewildered, flustered, and didn't know how to refuse.
"They're all boys, just come with me. Come on, come on, we've been classmates for so many years and haven't eaten together. Today's perfect to catch up. I remember your birthday is in December, right? Haha, you're three months younger than me." Ino pulled and dragged the legitimate daughter of the Hyuga Clan out of the school.
Two girls, three boys, and one dog—this lineup wasn't too unusual.
As they walked, Ino calculated.
Three of the Konoha 12 were from the previous year, already graduated, and currently unreachable, so they were disregarded.
Sasuke, that cold-faced guy, didn't need to be called. Even if the sun rose from the west, that self-proclaimed "avenger" would never go eat yakiniku with a bunch of classmates.
Naruto was currently washing the ramen noodle tears off the Hokage Rock, and Haruno Sakura had also been tricked by Ino. With these three removed, twelve minus six equals six. Currently, there were five of them here. Who was the last one missing from the Konoha 12?
"Are you looking for me?"
"Huh?" Ino turned around and saw a boy wearing a beige hooded jacket and sunglasses, with most of his face obscured, standing not far behind her to her left.
They were now outside the school campus.
She paused: "Shino, have you been following us this whole time?"
"I followed this guy over," Shino Aburame said, pointing to the dog-lover, Kiba, beside him.
Good heavens! Ino exclaimed, "Good heavens!"
A living person, without any concealment, followed them for over a hundred meters before being noticed. His presence was truly low! Not becoming a Ninja would definitely be a loss for the Ninja World.
"Then, want to come eat yakiniku with us?"
"Okay."
His answer was as crisp and straightforward as ever.
The Yamanaka Clan, Nara Clan, Akimichi Clan, Hyuga Clan, Inuzuka Clan, and Aburame Clan—without exception, the families of these six individuals were all Ninja families in the Village. Among them, Hyuga Hinata's Hyuga Clan was a prominent family in Konoha Village that could rival the Uchiha Clan back then.
They actually had no intention of excluding commoner Ninja, but without realizing it, the six of them gravitated together, leaving the commoner Ninja out.
Entering the Yakiniku restaurant, the somewhat plump proprietress saw them, especially Choji, as if they were her own family.
"How many are you?"
"Madam, six people."
"Alright!"
For Ninja, being active at night and resting during the day was common, so their daily schedules were quite chaotic. Even at just past ten in the morning, there were many people eating in the yakiniku restaurant.
Ino saw her cheap foster father's subordinates, and Shikamaru also saw elder relatives from his clan. They each went over and politely greeted them.