Chapter 35: A Group Attack
The crowd was composed mainly of the elderly and children, most of whom were regulars at the Storyteller's Tea Hall. However, there was no shortage of young people, including a number of ninja. Shikamaru even spotted two Jōnin among them!
Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai also saw Shikamaru. Asuma took the initiative to greet him. "Yo, little Nara! What are you doing here?"
"Good afternoon, Lord Asuma, Lady Kurenai." Shikamaru, still a student, gave a respectful bow before answering, "I know Makoto-kun. He invited me here for a meal."
"Oh? In that case, could you ask that guy if he can let us in first? Otherwise, it looks like we'll be waiting for a long time." Asuma looked helpless. He had heard from some of the elders in his family yesterday that a new yakiniku place was opening with a 50% discount. Looking for a cheap meal, he had invited Kurenai, but he hadn't expected it to be this crowded.
"About that... I can ask." Shikamaru really didn't want to get involved, but the man was the Hokage's son and could very well be the next Hokage. As the heir to the Nara clan, Shikamaru could afford to offend many people, but not Sarutobi Asuma.
He walked over to Makoto, who was currently handwriting queue numbers for everyone. Beside him, Ino and Tenten were serving fruit platters and snacks to the people waiting in line. This level of service was unheard of in Konoha, and as a result, everyone, from civilians to ninja, was waiting happily in line without a single complaint.
"What is it, Shikamaru? Do you need something?" Makoto asked, feigning ignorance as Shikamaru approached.
Shikamaru steeled himself and made his request, not holding out much hope.
To his surprise, Makoto said, "Of course. But you two will have to share a table with the two of them. That way, it won't count as cutting the line."
"So it can be solved like that! That's great!" Shikamaru clapped his hands together and walked over, deliberately raising his voice. "Excuse me, you two. I've already reserved a spot for you. Follow me."
Asuma immediately got the hint and laughed heartily. "So it was you, Shikamaru! I couldn't find you just now. You really kept us waiting!"
"Let's go, let's go! Lead the way!"
Asuma's acting couldn't be called bad; it was practically in the negative. But no one in the crowd called him out on it. Who could, when his father was the Hokage? Fortunately, this world had no concept of absolute equality, so their line-cutting didn't cause any chaos.
Under the organization of Makoto, Tenten, and Ino, the crowd began to enter the restaurant in an orderly fashion. In the back kitchen, besides the owner, staff from Tenten's and Ino's family shops had come to help with prep, so they were able to manage the rush.
This order could have continued smoothly, until an angry voice boomed out. "What are you doing?! Who gave you permission to write my name up there!"
Shimura Taiji arrived swaggering, only to be bewildered by the large crowd. He was trying to figure out what was going on when he saw his own name hanging on the wall, clearly stating that he owed 50,000 Ryō.
Didn't this mean that Makoto had announced his business to all of Konoha? Taiji hadn't thought he would dare. Makoto was just a commoner, while he was a Chūnin of the Shimura clan! So what if he knew Guy's student and someone from the Yamanaka clan? They were just little brats. What kind of trouble could they possibly stir up?
And yet, he had actually done it!
The furious Taiji felt a vein throbbing in his temple. He roughly pushed through the crowd, intending to tear down the banner.
But his hand was firmly grabbed by another, larger hand. The man who stopped him was also a Konoha Chūnin.
"What are you doing? Why are you hurting a civilian!"
Faced with the accusation, Taiji felt the blood rush to his head. He immediately turned to see who he had supposedly bullied, only to see an old woman clutching her back and groaning on the ground. "I think I'm dying..." she muttered.
"Grandma Yamashita, what's wrong?" Makoto rushed over and helped the old woman sit up.
When she faced him, she showed a cunning smile born from a commoner's wisdom for survival. "Makoto, my boy, I think I'm dying. If I die, tell my son his mother just accidentally fell."
The old woman's grandson burst into tears, his red, slanted eyes glaring at Taiji, looking as if he were about to fight him to the death.
Taiji felt like he was about to lose his mind. He had barely pushed her, without even using chakra. How was this old woman about to die? He was about to argue when several more ninja surrounded him. A kunoichi even knelt beside the old woman to examine her.
Makoto had thought the act might be exposed, but the kunoichi said, "We should still take her to the Konoha Hospital for a check-up, just so everyone can be at ease."
At this point, Makoto was certain: Shimura Taiji had provoked public outrage. No one was going to speak up for him. This was exactly the outcome he had wanted today. The only thing he hadn't expected was that his friends, young and old, would also contribute in their own way.
"Alright. Could I trouble you, Lady Ninja, to take her to the hospital? The expenses can be put on my account."
Seeing the old woman about to be carried away, Taiji couldn't hold back any longer. If they actually found something wrong with her, with so many witnesses, he would have to make a trip to the Military Police Force. How would that make him any different from his own foolish subordinates? If he were confronting Makoto over the debt, he would be annoyed but not feel wronged. But to be sent to the Military Police because this old woman fell over—Taiji would bring utter disgrace to the Shimura clan and become a laughingstock. This was something he absolutely could not tolerate!
Taiji forcefully broke free from the surrounding ninja. "I will personally take her to the hospital, and I will pay for the expenses!" This was the only solution he could think of. As for confronting the old woman to prove his innocence, this crowd wouldn't give him the chance!
But right at that moment, Makoto said in surprise, "Oh? Lord Shimura, you brought money with you? Does this mean you're here to settle your 50,000 Ryō bill?"
Hearing this, old Mrs. Yamashita suddenly hopped out of the kunoichi's arms, twisted her waist, and hugged her crying grandson. "I think I'm alright now... Sorry to have worried you all."
Almost everyone gradually began to understand the situation. The ninja, especially those who already disliked the Shimura clan or Danzō, looked at Taiji with poorly suppressed smirks, waiting to see how he would respond.
Taiji's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He was considering whether to lose his temper when the door to the restaurant opened.
Might Guy, Yūhi Kurenai, and Sarutobi Asuma all walked out. The commotion outside had made it impossible for them to ignore.
"Well, a Shimura. You're here to eat too... Wait a minute, don't tell me you're the one who ate 50,000 Ryō worth of yakiniku in ten days? Is it really that good?"
Asuma, a toothpick dangling from his mouth, shot him a hostile glare. He was also one of the people who disliked Danzō, and to a very high degree.
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