海野一角 (Umino Ikkaku) has always been very concerned about the affairs of the Shinobi Tavern.
He has occasionally visited the tavern to check on the renovation's progress. Naturally, he also knew about its opening tonight.
He was so concerned about this not only because he helped find a location and construction team for Natsuhiko but also because he felt a strange sense of responsibility and had an unknown reason.
That is... he wanted to play with those Stimulated Ninja cards...
Yes, a man's happiness can be so simple.
Honestly, he has been eyeing this game for a long time.
After all, this game allows players to fight side by side while using familiar and legendary ninja warriors of the Warring States period.
Isn't this the dream of every ninja?
Recently, many students have found it strange that Director Umino patrols the first floor daily.
It was him taking the opportunity to peek at everyone playing Geki-nin.
After days of peeping, he had figured out the rules and gameplay of the game. He had even repeatedly simulated battles in his mind and secretly made a deck of cards to study the routines.
As a veteran player of a deck of cards, every time he sees young ninjas make mistakes; he can't help but want to rush up and take over the duel disk to play himself.
Although, while considering his relationship with Natsuhiko, he could borrow a duel-disk anytime.
But he found that there were no suitable opponents in the school.
After all, he was no longer a student but a thirty-something-year-old teaching director, Umino Ikkaku.
He couldn't bear the idea of playing cards with students, and even playing with Natsuhiko or Kushina felt awkward.
Those teachers around his age tried to maintain their dignity, thinking that only children play with this, and they were not interested in it.
So he had no face to propose to duel with them.
Therefore, when he learned that there was a Stimulated Ninja game machine in this tavern that adults could play openly, he started marking days on his calendar till it was the day of the opening of the Tavern.
Tonight, he did all the household chores early, changed diapers for his daughter, and only after getting permission from his wife did he finally arrive at the entrance of this Ninja Tavern.
He took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the tavern door.
As soon as he entered, Umino Ikkaku noticed that the layout of the tavern had completely changed from what he had seen before.
The platform in the tavern's center was the most eye-catching thing.
The platform was rectangular, about one meter high from the floor, with a machine resembling a podium at each end, and there were also positions for people to stand around the platform.
Around the platform were many uniquely shaped square tables, with two chairs leaning against each other as a pair at each end.
Umino Ikkaku thought these should be the Stimulated Ninja game machines that Natsuhiko told him about.
It is said that because of the limited space in the tavern, the images projected by these game machines will be slightly reduced.
And that platform should be the arena for one-on-one projection duels.
Finally, he saw that there were also some ordinary tables and chairs near the bar, provided for those who didn't want to play cards.
Finding that the whole tavern still looked decent, Umino Ikkaku finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The only regret was that the interior decoration of the tavern was quite ordinary, not ugly, but it felt monotonous and boring.
What made him even more helpless was that Natsuhiko insisted upon this style.
His taste was worrying.
It made Umino Ikkaku present the idea of a flower arrangement class to Biwako-same to increase students' aesthetic sense.
At this moment, Natsuhiko also walked over from the bar with a smile.
"I knew Ikkaku-sensei would come tonight."
Umino Ikkaku felt that Natsuhiko's words had hidden meanings and said with a slight glare, "Although this tavern has nothing to do with me, I took care of the storefront, construction team, and a bunch of miscellaneous matters. Is it not okay to come and see the results?"
"Of course, of course."
Natsuhiko raised his hands in surrender, somewhat puzzled by Ikkaku's strong reaction. Did he sniff on some gunpowder today?
And what he said about the tavern not having anything to do with him was wrong.
Natsuhiko had already secretly gone to his house and found Aunt Kohari, letting her invest a little money in the tavern.
He even used "Auntie, don't you want your husband to be safe?" as a reason, asking Aunt Kohari to keep it a secret and not tell anyone.
After all, when the tavern prospers, he and Kushina will be fine, but Ikkaku's family will have to deal with the people on the front line.
At this time, Kushina and Might Duy also walked over, each greeting Umino Ikkaku.
After exchanging pleasantries, Umino Ikkaku looked around the tavern again and started to frown.
"Why is there no one in the tavern?"
Natsuhiko sighed helplessly and repeated what he had said to Kushina and Might Duy earlier.
"Right, it's better to be cautious at the beginning."
Umino Ikkaku nodded, very much in favor of Natsuhiko's cautious approach.
After asking about the situation, Umino Ikkaku also prepared to discuss tonight's main topic: starting his own Stimulated Ninja card experience.
And it seemed like Natsuhiko had some tactical understanding as he suddenly spoke up:
"By the way, Ikkaku-SEnsei, would you like to experience our tavern's signature product?"
Umino Ikkaku felt secretly happy.
He was still figuring out how to suggest playing Stimulated Ninja naturally, but he didn't expect Natsuhiko to bring it up first.
However, he still pretended to be indifferent on the surface and casually said, "Since I'm here, I might as well give it a try, although I'm not very interested in this kind of thing."
Natsuhiko smiled slightly and snapped his fingers:
"Well then, Mr. Duy, give this gentleman a glass of green juice."
"No problem!" Might Duy run excitedly to the bar?
Umino Ikkaku: "???"
"What is this?"
Seeing Umino Ikkaku's puzzled expression, Natsuhiko explained with a smile:
"Don't underestimate this green juice, it's Mr. Duy's ancestral secret recipe, made from seventy-two ingredients such as tender barley leaves, sweet potato leaves, kale leaves, etc., which helps to restore energy, supplement nutrition, and has therapeutic effects on insomnia, constipation, headaches, kidney deficiency, and other common ninja occupational diseases."
"Mr. Duy has been practising martial arts for many years without damaging his body, all thanks to this green juice."
"So when he gave me the honour of ravishing his secret recipe, I decided to make it our tavern's signature product."
"Kidneys... Then I really have to try it—Wait a minute!"
Umino Ikkaku suddenly realized.
"Why do I have to drink something so health-conscious when I come to a tavern?"
"And shouldn't the signature product be the Stimulated Ninja game machine?"
Natsuhiko looked solemnly into the distance: "I invented Stimulated Ninja cards to bring smiles to everyone, so the Stimulated Ninja game machine will be provided for free for guests to play."
"So it has transcended the category of products—it's art! Yes, it has been elevated to an art form!"
Your sense of aesthetics is just worrying!
Seeing Natsuhiko in self-ecstasy, Umino Ikkaku had the expression of an older man looking at a young person absorbed in their smartphone.
If he had known that Natsuhiko was planning to make money by selling card packs, he would have almost believed it.
At that moment, Might Duy had gone through forty-nine processes and completed the preparation of the green juice. He ran over excitedly with a glass of green liquid, handing it to Umino Ikkaku with both hands.
"Is this thing truly something to be consumed by humans ?"
UminoIkkaku held the glass of green liquid, lost in thought just like Natsuhiko had earlier.
...
After a moment, a trip to the restroom and a face turning green, Umino Ikkaku finally sat in front of the Stimulated Ninja game machine he had longed for, feeling amazed that it wasn't easy to play this game.
He fiddled with the Stimulated Ninja game machine on the table before him but couldn't get it to work.
Which reminded him of his wedding night.
He asked Natsuhiko, "Why isn't this thing starting?"
Huh? Didn't Koharu say the same thing that night...
"Teacher Ikkaku, you have to inject your own chakra into the machine first."
Natsuhiko patted the metal sphere at the end of the chair's armrest and explained, "Just put your hand on it and inject chakra into it."
So Ikkaku followed what Natsuhiko said.
After injecting his chakra into the sphere, he saw a screen slowly appearing on the tabletop.
[Stimulated Ninja Card Game is starting...]
[Detecting new user, creating account...]
[New user 005 created, Stimulated Ninja Card Game officially begins.]
[Ding, welcome to the world of Stimulated Ninja Cards; for first-time players, please choose your initial card deck.]
Several lines of text appeared on the screen successively, making Umino Ikkaku somewhat puzzled.
But three card decks and their corresponding characters' shadows soon appeared on the screen.
[God of the Ninja World·Senju Hashirama Deck]
[Shura of the Ninja World·Uchiha Madara Deck]
[Illusionary Third Person·Sarutobi Sasuke Deck]
There was also a shadow of the corresponding character behind each deck.
This time, UminoIkkaku finally understood. He was supposed to choose which deck to start with.
"Why do I have to choose? Can't I have them all?"
He couldn't help complaining to Natsuhiko.
Isn't this deliberately making things difficult for people?
Natsuhiko spread his hands helplessly, "This is to prevent new players' decks from being exactly the same, which would be too monotonous."
Of course, the more important thing is to force some OCD sufferers who feel uncomfortable without completing everything to draw cards like crazy to complete the other two decks.
After hearing that, Umino Ikkaku also felt it was reasonable, so he reluctantly began to choose.
First of all, he could exclude the Uchiha Madara deck.
Because of a mysterious power's interference, Uchiha Madara has almost no matching cards. Although the individual cards were strong, they gradually fell behind in versions.
More importantly, Umino Ikkaku wasn't very interested in the Uchiha clan.
The problem was the remaining two.
The First Hokage was naturally the first choice, but considering Natsuhiko's nature, perhaps Sarutobi Sasuke was the best choice.
After all, Sarutobi Sasuke's practicality in the cards played by students was even higher than those two.
This also made Ikkaku sigh; this kid, Natsuhiko, was even more cunning than himself.
After a moment of hesitation, Umino Ikkaku decided to follow his inner thoughts and fulfill his childhood dream.
"The First Hokage, it's you!" Umino Ikkaku shouted.
Unfortunately, the machine didn't respond at all.
Natsuhiko was speechless, "Teacher, the machine isn't voice-activated, you have to touch it with your hand."
Umino Ikkaku's face turned red, and he awkwardly reached out and touched the Senju Hashirama deck.
Immediately, the other two decks disappeared from the interface, leaving only the chosen deck, which displayed all forty cards in front of him.
Umino Ikkaku couldn't help but lean forward and carefully examine each card he had just obtained.
"Senju Tobirama... Senju Itama... Superhuman Strength... Palm Senjutsu... Soldier Pill"
He repeatedly read the effects of each card several times before continuing to look through them, feeling very interested.
But as he reached the end, his expression became somewhat strange.
"Wait a minute, Natsuhiko, why isn't there Senju Hashirama in the Senju Hashirama deck?"
(End of this chapter)
P.S. Apologies for the late chapter; I have been sick for the past week, and my internet connection is quite unstable(as of recently). I will try my very best to be regular in the upcoming days.
Chapter 83 is up on my Patreon.
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