6 Skipping Class

The name of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, could be said to be a household name.

Even if one truly doesn't know, with such a large sculpture on Hokage Rock, anyone with a bit of curiosity would ask and inquire about it.

Sakura didn't have Ino's family background. After the friendship boat capsized, she studied very hard and achieved excellent grades. Although the village often used the term "First Hokage" whenever one referred to him, Sakura quickly associated it with Hashirama Senju.

Shikamaru hesitated even to use explosive tags, Hinata got excited for half a day when she saw Shuriken being given away as prizes in a shop and Ino was so poor she was already considering "renting out vacant houses." As a civilian-born ninja, Haruno Sakura was even poorer. She really, really wanted the First Hokage's treasure.

Without notifying anyone, she placed the scroll at the bottom of her backpack, intending to study it thoroughly at home.

Currently, she had something more important to do, and that was to study hard and surpass Ino in academic performance! This directly relates to whether she could win back Sasuke's heart. At least that's what she thought. While treasure was important, love held even greater value!

Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji encountered the lively Inuzuka Kiba at the entrance of the school building. Seeing the three of them skipping class, his expression was particularly calm as he followed along with his ninken Akamaru, whom he had raised since childhood.

"Where are you guys going?"

"We're going to eat barbecue. Kiba, want to come?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why not? Let's go!" When it came to mooching off others, Inuzuka Kiba was always open-minded and readily agreed.

Three-year-old nin-dog Akamaru knew he was getting a free meal, so he happily barked a couple of times.

Ino glanced at Shikamaru, silently asking, "You know we're broke, right? Why invite more people? Are we going to wash dishes in the barbecue restaurant today?"

Shikamaru lazily shrugged, indicating he had no choice either. Since they've already run into Kiba, they can't exactly say they're going home to study, can they?

One more person meant one more mouth to feed. From Kiba's attitude, he clearly planned to bring Akamaru along to freeload as well, making it two mouths.

Ino scratched her head in distress. Their money was even more insufficient now.

"Since there are already four of us, with you being the only girl, let's invite one more companion." Shikamaru nudged his chin, gesturing for her to look to the right.

Who? Ino followed his gaze and happened to see Hinata, who was carefully holding a water bucket, preparing to go back to cleaning.

Are they going to invite Hinata too? Wow! If they invite her, their money definitely won't be enough!

Ino understood Shikamaru's intention very well; he wanted Hinata to help share the cost of the meal.

Although the Hyuga clan had fallen on hard times, they were still a top-tier Konoha noble family. As the heiress, Hinata had a decent allowance. Plus, her gentle nature meant she spent very little. At this stage, she was more well-off; at least that's what Shikamaru thought.

Ino was a bit speechless. She could only say that even the wisest could make mistakes; Shikamaru, with his IQ of over 200, still got it wrong because he didn't have all the information.

"What's wrong? Is there information I don't know?" The cunning Shikamaru immediately noticed Ino's hesitation and seriously studied Hinata, not knowing the basis for her hesitation.

What else could Ino say?

That despite Hinata's pitiable, weak, and helpless appearance, she can actually eat a lot? She couldn't say that.

Forget it; let's hope this girl really is wealthy.

With swift movements, Ino grabbed Hinata, who looked like a helpless little rabbit, seeming so easily bullied.

"Hinata, come with us. Let's all go for a barbecue."

"Ah, but we're still in class. What about Suzume-sensei's lesson?" Hinata looked bewildered and unsure, not knowing how to refuse.

"That is not a problem. The rest are all boys. Consider it keeping me company. Come on, come on! We've been classmates for so many years, and we've never eaten together. Today's a perfect opportunity to bond. I remember your birthday is in December, right? Haha, you're three months younger than me." Ino pulled Hinata along, leading the Hyuga heiress out of the school.

Two girls, three boys, plus a dog—this lineup isn't too unusual.

As they walked, Ino pondered.

Of the Konoha 12, three were from the previous class and had already graduated, so they could be ignored for now.

That cold-faced guy Sasuke didn't need to be invited—even if the sun rose from the west, this self-proclaimed "avenger" wouldn't possibly go eat barbecue with a bunch of classmates.

Naruto was busy cleaning the Hokage Rock, and Sakura was hoodwinked by Ino. Removing these three and the previous three left six. Currently, they had five people, so the Konoha 12 was still missing one more... so who was it?

"Were you looking for me?"

"Huh?" Ino turned around and saw a boy wearing a beige hooded jacket and sunglasses, with most of his face covered, standing not far behind her to the left.

They were already outside the campus at this point.

She was taken aback. "Shino, you've been following us?"

"I followed this guy here," Shino Aburame said, pointing to Kiba at his side.

Wow! Ino couldn't help but exclaim inwardly.

A full-sized person who made no effort to conceal himself followed them for over a hundred meters before being discovered—his presence was incredibly low! If he didn't become a ninja, it would be a loss for the Shinobi world.

"Want to come eat barbecue with us?"

"Sure."

His reply was as curt and straightforward as ever.

The Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans—without exception, they were all ninja clans of the village. Among them, Hinata's Hyuga clan was even comparable to the Uchiha clan in its heyday.

They had no intention of excluding civilian-born students, but unconsciously, the six of them ended up grouping, with the civilian students left out.

Entering the Yakiniku Q restaurant, the somewhat plump boss lady saw them, especially Choji Akimichi, and greeted them as if they were family.

"How many of you?"

"Mam, there are six of us."

"Alrighty!"

Ninjas kept irregular hours, often active during the day and night. Even at this late morning hour, the barbecue joint was bustling with people.

Ino saw one of her father's subordinates, while Shikamaru also noticed an elder from his clan. They each went over to politely greet them.