At the barbecue shop, Gekko Chizan and Pakura were devouring grilled meat like maniacs.
"Hahahaha! I'm telling you, barbecue always tastes better when you're eating it with a beautiful girl!"
"Fss... ha..."
"Boss! Two more bottles of sake!"
Pakura looked at the flushed-red face of Gekko Chizan and couldn't help but shake her head.
They had just started eating, and the little bastard was already asking for alcohol.
She was still a minor! How could she drink?
And what did Gekko Chizan say?
"Minor? Don't joke!"
Fuming, she gave up trying to reason with him. Let him drink if he wanted.
To be fair, Gekko Chizan, though not even 16 yet, already looked quite mature.
If no one exposed the truth, no one would think he was underage.
Once they'd eaten and drunk their fill, Chizan, ever the responsible one, reached into his pocket to pay—only to realize...
Crap. No money. They hadn't exchanged their sand gold yet. They didn't have a single ryo on them...
"Uh, boss, hold on a sec..."
Under the sharp gaze of the shop owner, Gekko Chizan instantly sobered up. He pulled Pakura to the side and asked,
"Pakura, do you still have any money?"
"Nope. I spent it all buying bags and scrolls for you."
Now Gekko Chizan was really sober.
"What do we do? I totally forgot—we didn't exchange the sand gold. All we've got is a pouch of it..."
"We can't exactly pay with sand gold..."
Pakura's vision went dark. This bastard... brought her out to eat without any money??
Wasn't this just screwing her over?
"Um, boss, can I stay here as collateral while she runs home to get the money?"
It wasn't that Gekko Chizan didn't want to dine and dash—it was just that this barbecue shop was right in the middle of Konoha Village. If he ran out without paying, the Uchiha Police Squad would be knocking on his door in no time...
Shop owners who could survive doing business in a shinobi village? Every one of them was cutthroat.
"Hm? Fine. But I'm only giving you thirty minutes. If she's not back in that time, I'll have to notify the Police Squad."
Gekko Chizan: Damn! Just like I thought! Always calling the cops!
Those red-eyed freaks were such a pain!
"Pakura! I'm counting on you! Go find Sayo-san and get the money!"
"I'll be waiting!"
Pakura nodded and immediately ran for the door.
"Kid, is she your girlfriend? She's pretty cute."
"You're a real piece of work—bringing your girlfriend out for a meal without bringing any cash. What were you thinking?"
Faced with the boss's mocking tone, Gekko Chizan was totally lost.
He'd been so caught up in having fun, he completely forgot about exchanging money. Now, all he could do was rely on Pakura.
Pakura dashed out of the barbecue shop and sprinted straight to Gekko's house without pause. But when she got there, Sayo wasn't home.
"Sayo-san!"
"Sayo-san!"
"Ugh!! Where did she go at a time like this?!"
Panicked and unable to find her, Pakura turned around and headed straight for the Ninja Academy.
She had the day off today, especially since Gekko Chizan had just been discharged from the hospital.
Bursting into the school without stopping for breath, she went straight to find Principal Hatake Sakumo.
"Sakumo-sama... I need a favor."
Hatake Sakumo looked at Pakura with a hint of confusion.
"Weren't you taking care of that brat Chizan?"
"What are you doing here at the academy? Don't tell me something happened to the kid?"
"Is he being resuscitated?"
"No, wait. If he was being resuscitated, coming to me wouldn't help, right?"
"Wait—do you want me to put him out of his misery?"
Apparently, teasing Gekko Chizan was quite amusing, because Hatake Sakumo actually started laughing.
Pakura's face turned green listening to him. Was this really Hatake Sakumo? The infamous White Fang of Konoha?
How did he become this unserious the moment Gekko Chizan was mentioned?
What she didn't know was that Hatake Sakumo had changed entirely because of Gekko Chizan.
Once the proud and lofty deputy Hokage, he'd been ambushed by a kid's Thousand Years of Death, tricked time and again... even the calmest man would snap eventually.
"Alright, alright, I'm just kidding. Tell me what's going on."
"You came to me personally—it must be serious."
Only then did Pakura explain the whole story of their dine-and-dash situation.
When Sakumo finished listening, he nearly died laughing.
"Hahahaha, that little brat! Took you out for a meal and ended up skipping the bill? What was he thinking?"
"Did a hospital stay fry his brain?"
He laughed for a solid half-minute before slowly calming down.
"Good thing I always carry money when I go out, or else that kid would've been taken away by the Uchihas for sure."
"Here's 50,000 ryo—should be more than enough. Go bail him out, hahahahaha!"
Pakura gratefully accepted the money and sprinted back toward the barbecue shop.
What she didn't know was... the thirty-minute time limit had already passed.
...
By now, a small crowd had gathered at the front of the barbecue shop, and the most eye-catching figures were two people wearing fan symbols on their backs.
"So you're saying he skipped out on the bill and sent his companion off alone?"
"That's right."
"How much did he eat?"
"45,700 ryo."
"Whoa. Didn't think he could put away that much."
Gekko Chizan was now in deep trouble. No matter what he said, the shop owner had called the Uchiha Police Squad the moment the thirty minutes were up.
And just his luck—the ones who showed up were none other than Uchiha Arashi and Uchiha Muren, the very same guys he had thrown into the women's bathhouse before.
Enemies meeting like this? Sparks flew. Both Uchihas immediately activated their red-eye—Sending Gekko Chizan's heart thumping with dread.
"I didn't skip out! She really did go to get the money!"
"Can't we wait a little longer?"
After all, he did eat without paying, so Gekko Chizan was trying to keep his attitude calm.
But Uchiha Arashi and Uchiha Muren weren't in the mood to be nice.
"Hmph! Every dine-and-dasher says the same thing!"
"Chizan, come on. Be a good boy and come back with us to the Police Station."
Seeing the wicked grins on both their faces, Gekko Chizan's fingers started itching again.
But right now, he had to stall. He had to believe that Pakura would come to his rescue!
"Wait a second, Uchiha Arashi, Uchiha Muren—how about a bet?"
"I bet that within ten minutes, someone from my family will show up with the money."
"If I lose, I'll come with you willingly and take whatever punishment you give."
"But if I win, you each have to take one hit from me. Don't worry—it'll be pure taijutsu."
Originally just a stalling tactic, Gekko Chizan never expected the two revenge-hungry Uchihas to actually accept the wager.
"Fine! We'll take that bet."
"Ten minutes. You've got ten minutes. If no one shows up..."
Thinking about getting revenge on Gekko, Arashi and Makito felt their minds and bodies tingle with delight.
They were already fantasizing about whipping Gekko while hanging him up.
"Sorry, you've already lost your bet!"
"I'm back!"
Suddenly, a cold female voice rang from behind the crowd.
Pakura, her face stern and cold, strode quickly toward the barbecue restaurant entrance.
She never expected that while she went to get money, these two Uchiha would already come to cause trouble.
Did they think she didn't notice their sly grins?
"Ah! Pakura! You finally came back!"
Seeing Pakura, Gekko instantly came back to life.
Pakura said nothing and handed the 50,000 ryo to the boss, who carefully counted it and immediately gave change.
Taking the change, Pakura stared hard at Uchiha Arashi and Makito.
"You've lost now. Isn't it time to accept your punishment?"
"Gekko!"
Hearing Pakura's words, Gekko laughed immediately and flexed his wrists as he walked toward the two.
Thinking happily to himself: As expected of Pakura, after spending so much time together, she really understands his style!
"Alright! Watch closely!"
"This is the ultimate technique of the White Fang of Kumogakure, which I have mastered perfectly!"
"I guarantee they'll never forget this in their lives!"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo