"Why the sudden question?"
Shikaku stroked his mustache and said with a grin, "I know Shikamaru's personality well. Finding someone willing to marry him was already difficult enough. As for age, as long as the gap isn't too big, it's fine. Whatever he likes, your Aunt Yoshino and I won't interfere too much in his private affairs!"
"That's good!" Satisfied with the answer, Sakura handed him the contract. "Here you go, Uncle Shikaku. I've already tricked a wife for Shikamaru. She's the daughter of the Fourth Kazekage from the Sand Village and also the elder sister of the Fifth Kazekage. It's just that she's a little older than Shikamaru by two or three years."
"How did you trick her into signing this?" Shikaku took the contract and glanced at it, nearly popping his eyes out. From what he knew about Sakura, she would never do anything without confidence. This meant that Sakura must have definitely won the bet. However, Shikaku didn't quite understand how exactly Sakura had managed to get Temari to sign this agreement.
"We just talked a bit, and then she was extremely confident about the guy named Ryūshi below, believing she wouldn't lose. After that, when I proposed this bet, she agreed!" Sakura paused, then added, "You know what, Uncle Shikaku? You ought to thank Guy and Lee. If their appearances weren't so misleading, Temari probably wouldn't be this confident!"
"Are you sure she'll fulfill the contract?" Shikaku asked, then somewhat hesitantly added, "Also, our boy Shikamaru's just so helpless — somehow I can't help but feel he's not really her match."
"Are you sure Shikamaru is really your son?!"
Sakura very much wanted to ask this question, but thinking about how both Shikaku and Shikamaru looked and acted so similarly, she decided to drop this unreliable suspicion.
"Anyway, this thing is just creating an opportunity for them. Shikamaru's charm will surely capture Temari's heart!" Sakura took back the contract and said, "In the future I've seen, their married life looks quite good. They'll end up naming their son Shikadai Nara!"
"Now that's a solid name!" Shikaku nodded satisfactorily. He was one of the few who actually knew what Sakura could do. Hearing her say this changed his gaze toward Temari entirely—his son had finally found someone who truly appreciated him, and he needed to cherish this chance desperately.
"After the match ends later, we'll think of something to get them spending more time alone together, so these young people can develop some feelings first!" Sakura began discussing plans with Shikaku on how best to create chances for the couple.
Meanwhile in the arena, Lee and Ryūshi were locked in an intense, evenly-matched battle. Both were ninja specializing in taijutsu and both focused primarily on speed. Their moves flowed seamlessly from one to another, appearing for all intents and purposes as perfectly matched opponents.
"That hurts."
After taking another kick from Lee, Ryūshi rubbed his arm. He didn't even need to look to know there was already bruising. He couldn't figure out how this oddball trained—he looked like a total freak, yet was surprisingly strong. His speed was impressive, and his strikes landed with serious force.
"I'm burning up with passion!" Lee said excitedly, flames seemingly blazing in his eyes as he stared at Ryūshi. "That's what youth is all about!"
"In your dreams!"
Ryūshi cursed under his breath. He'd had enough of this guy. With that weird sense of fashion and constant rants about youth, Lee was practically driving him nuts with all that nonsense.
"Come on, let's continue this dramatic battle of youth!"
Lee extended his hand toward Ryūshi with an exaggerated, flamboyant invitation to fight.
"I've had enough," Ryūshi said, veins popping on his forehead, his expression twisted in anger. "You green-haired freak just like your teacher—stop yapping already! I'm sick of dragging this fight out. From now on, you better just wait for death quietly! Someone like you shouldn't even be a ninja. If I remember correctly, your weird-looking teacher once said you can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, right? You only know taijutsu. What qualifications do you have to be a ninja? And your teacher too—he should be old enough to stop shouting about youth! I bet he's just feeding you crap!"
Ryūshi was nearly driven mad. This stubborn bowl-cut guy wouldn't stop rambling about that damned word—"youth"—and now the term kept echoing in his mind.
"Don't talk about Mr. Guy!" Lee's hand behind his back clenched into a fist instantly, his voice dropping significantly.
"You really admire that bowl-cut teacher of yours?" Ryūshi chuckled mockingly. "What's so admirable about him? Ugly, no taste, and always acting crazy!"
Seeing Lee's barely-contained fury grow, Ryūshi felt a flicker of amusement. Hooked. He had intentionally provoked this guy named Lee, aiming to make him lose control. An emotionally unstable ninja would undoubtedly see a significant drop in combat ability, making it much easier for Ryūshi to win.
"I told you, don't insult Mr. Guy!" Lee lowered his head, hiding his facial expression, but anyone could hear the anger building in his voice.
"Heh, even if I insult him, what are you going to do about it? What can you, this greenheaded idiot, possibly do to me?" Ryūshi wore an expression of contempt, while internally preparing himself—he meant to push Lee even further until the guy snapped—and then finish this fight fast.
"You can insult me, but not Mr. Guy."
Lee released his tightly clenched fists and slowly bent over, removing the weights bound around his ankles. "Mr. Guy once told me that these weights should only come off when protecting someone important. It's time now!"
"Oh? So those were weights? No wonder your kicks were so powerful earlier!" Ryūshi's arms began aching again faintly. That explained why it hurt so much when he got kicked—the guy had actually attached metal weights to his legs!
Chapter 198 [Konoha's Lotus Shall Bloom Again]
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