(47/100, if you reach 100, Sunday would be a chapter, otherwise Monday)
"Guys, it might look a bit shabby to you. Sorry about that. If it doesn't look shabby to you, then I'm concerned about the future you come from," Kasumi said as they arrived at the gates of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clan.
"It's fine. To be honest, our technology might have advanced a lot, which really increases the convenience of our time, but during this era, seals were used extensively by the Nara Clan. So, that counteracts this, making it not that much different from our time. The only difference is that in our time, the use of seals has decreased by the Nara Clan," Shikamaru yawned as he said this.
How that was possible is a mystery only known to those of the Nara Clan.
"That's sad. The Naras would be sad that they can't be lazier in the future," Kasumi said, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"It's indeed sad. I guess our Nara Clan has declined over the years," Shikamaru said, his tone also filled with disappointment.
"Shouldn't it be the opposite? Less laziness means more work by you guys, so more development," Ino sweatdropped.
However, both of them ignored her.
She wasn't a Nara. How could she understand the pain of not being able to relax properly?
They arrived at the gate.
The guards bowed to Kasumi.
They didn't ask why she had gone out earlier in haste or why she was back with four kids.
After entering the gates, Kasumi led them to the Yamanaka Clan area, which was between the Akimichi area and the Nara area.
She clapped her hands, enhanced with chakra, attracting the attention of everyone who was outside their homes.
"Guys and gals, these are my guests. Don't ask them any personal questions, and show them your hospitality," she said in a normal voice, but with chakra, it was heard throughout the whole hideout.
The squad was not expecting their existence to be announced to everyone.
They also weren't expecting a big party to be thrown to show their hospitality.
I mean, in their time, guests are personally attended to by the Clan Head or a few more people.
Not by all three clans.
And not on such a large scale.
The party went on for two days straight!
Yup, these people seemed to be too free to throw a party.
To be honest, it was quite obvious to almost everyone that Sora was a Uzumaki.
It was a no-brainer to even a Uchiha, let alone smart people like Ino-Shika-Cho.
Also, people present would have to be either blind or have some issues not identifying Choji as an Akimichi with the amount of food he was eating—no, inhaling.
After coming to this conclusion, it also didn't take most people long to deduce that Shikamaru and Ino were of the Nara and Yamanaka Clans.
Some Naras were also able to deduce that these guys were definitely clan heirs after observing their movements over these two days.
They also weren't attuned to their culture; more like they knew some obvious things, but not the details of either their clans or the common sense of the current era.
The Nara Clan Head, who was in his late 20s, was also able to deduce that they were either part of a secret branch of Ino-Shika-Cho, which seemed to be different from the current era, or that they were time-travellers or people from another dimension.
However, nobody questioned these guys, as they couldn't just defy the orders of their leader.
Despite Kasumi not ruling with an iron fist, people still obeyed her orders.
Why?
She was a very charismatic ruler and actually cared about her people.
If we have to compare her to any of the Hokages, she could be said to be a ruler similar to the Fourth Hokage.
"Damn, that was awesome. I've never been to such a huge party. Actually, this was my first time attending a party at all," Sora said, dropping onto the mattress with his face buried in the bed.
"Yeah, the food was good too," Choji said while patting his stomach. He had pushed his limits multiple times in the last two days.
"Yup, my expectations were also exceeded," Shikamaru mumbled. He had lain on the bed most of the time over the last two days. He had even learned the seals that could increase the comfort of the material.
Using that on a bed really makes one not want to get up.
"Yeah, I guess calling this the golden age of Ino-Shika-Cho in history isn't a false claim," Ino added her own two cents.
Nobody took her two cents, though.
As the current money system didn't have cents as a valid currency.
"I talked to Nee-chan. We'll be going to the Land of Hot Springs tomorrow to investigate the Zashiki Warashi," Sora informed everyone.
"Well, I guess it's better than waiting for the Neko-chan to recover her chakra," Ino said, looking at the cat who was given a bed of her own.
She was currently no different from Shikamaru.
Happily in dreamland.
"Wouldn't it affect the Ino-Shika-Cho? As its head is going outside for an extended period?" Choji asked.
"Well, the other two heads are still present, plus they seem to be capable. The current Nara head probably deduced that we are from the future," Shikamaru said, shocking everyone who was awake.
"Really?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, I also observed him while he was observing us. I could tell that he had the capabilities to predict this."
"I thought you were sleeping. I guess you can be useful sometimes," Ino said.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Well, I was awake for a few minutes during these two days." Everyone thought he was just saying it metaphorically.
He was actually telling the truth.
He also recognized that they misunderstood him.
But he was too lazy to correct them.
After all, speaking takes effort.
***
"So, how did you guys sleep last night?"
"It was nice."
"Awesome."
"It was tantalizing."
"I want to sleep again."
"Well, I'm glad you liked our beds. They were specially modified by our Seal Masters. Let's get ready to go to the Land of Hot Springs."
"Yup."
The quintet headed out.
They were also given a proper farewell by all the people.
This journey will take three days as they have to go a long way.
It took this long because, first of all, they had to take a lot of detours while heading toward the hot springs.
Also, Shikamaru didn't use his cart, despite having the urge to many times, as he didn't want Kasumi to recreate the seals and cause more of a butterfly effect.
To be honest, Shikamaru was worried that all the people of Ino-Shika-Cho knowing about this would create a butterfly effect.
However, Kasumi promised him that she would erase all their memories and seal her own memories of their encounter.
She had already done the former, in case something unexpected happened while she was away, or maybe she died during this ordeal.
So, it was kind of a backup plan.
After all, she was a Nara too.
They finally reached the land where it all started—the Land of Hot Springs.
The Land of Hot Springs, after all, was very different from their future; however, it was still the same place with some similarities and some landmarks still there.
"This should be the place. The basement was completely empty as we free-fell until we reached here," Sora informed them.
"Interesting," Kasumi said, placing one finger on the ground.
"Nope, no holes here. Did you go to the wrong place?"
"No, I'm sure this was the place," Shikamaru confirmed.
"Hmm, what now?"
"I sense a disturbance in the force," the cat, who had been sleeping until now, woke up and said in a deep voice, startling everyone.
"Whoa, Neko-chan, you sound intelligent now, not like the Uchiha anymore. What do you mean by that statement?" Sora asked.
The cat looked at him like she was looking at a fool.
Sora was perplexed.
"I mean, what type of disturbance?" he elaborated.
"A disturbance very similar to you," the Neko said.
"What?"
"Has the cat finally gone senile?"
"Maybe she ate something bad yesterday?"
"Hoomans, do you want me to lead you to the disturbance? It seems that it is calling to you," the cat ignored the words of the lesser beings.
"Hmm, what should we do, Shikamaru?"
"Can you come back to this location?" Shikamaru asked the cat.
"It's possible. I know this location now."
"So, it's farewell, huh?" Kasumi said with a light smile.
"It was fun meeting you, Nee-chan."
"You really live up to your reputation of being one of the greatest clan heads of our clan."
"The food was nice, so thank you."
"It was too troublesome talking to you. Then again, it was fun," Shikamaru smirked.
"Neko-chan."
The Neko started using her chakra, initiating the technique.
"Hehe, I also had fun meeting you guys. It was a fun experience." A black ring originated from the Neko, encompassing the quartet.
"Till we meet again."
The ring disappeared along with the four people from another time.
"After all, I have a feeling that we will meet again" Kasumi smirked and looked at the sky.
***
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