"Eh, rare, there are new guests today."
The newcomer saw Ryun and Tenten, revealing a seemingly simple smile, and said, "My name is Shimura Tani, I really like the taste of this yakiniku restaurant."
"If you two are eating here too, how about we have a drink later?"
He squinted his eyes, a flicker of mockery seeming to flash in the corner of his eye, "After all, I and Might Guy-sama also have a senior-junior relationship, we can take this chance to get closer."
Ryun looked the guy up and down. It seemed he was indeed the one causing trouble for the proprietress over those two Genin.
And compared to those two Genin who directly used force on villagers, this Chunin before him was clearly more clever and more difficult to deal with.
Owing money and running up a tab, even if this matter was brought before the Hokage, at worst he would just have to pay the money back, basically wouldn't bear any charges.
But afterward, he could still use similar methods to bully Kazune. If the proprietress didn't have the courage to keep fighting, closing the shop was already a rational choice.
Tenten couldn't think as far ahead as Ryun. She understood what was happening and glared at the person before her, saying, "So it's you who eats without paying every day? You've driven the proprietress to the point where she can't even keep the shop open!"
Shimura Tani put away his smile and said, "Junior, I really don't have the money to pay right now, but that's no reason for you to slander me."
"A yakiniku restaurant this big can't operate because of one person eating here, this is slander against me."
"The Shimura clan will not acknowledge such slander!"
Tenten was so angry her face turned pale, saying, "The Shimura clan eats without paying?"
"Audacious! Eating without paying is my personal matter, what does it have to do with the Shimura clan?"
Tenten was momentarily speechless, seemingly not expecting there to be such shameless people in this world.
She could only tentatively look towards Ryun.
However, she didn't actually expect Ryun to solve the problem, but wanted to discuss with Ryun whether they could help this poor proprietress.
Shimura Tani was also staring at Ryun, his gaze full of mockery.
He had berated his two subordinates for being brainless more than once, wasn't it simple to pressure an ordinary person?
They had to resort to violence and get themselves thrown in jail, causing him to have no usable subordinates and be unable to take missions for a while now.
This score, naturally, had to be settled on certain people.
"Nojuro-kun, Tenten-sama, please leave."
The light in the proprietress's eyes was completely gone, as she spoke timidly, "I can't keep the shop open anymore, I believe Shimura-sama won't hold it against me."
"Really not opening anymore? Ah, what a pity, I really like the taste of your yakiniku restaurant."
"In that case, transfer the shop to me, I'll find someone to run it, same deal, running a tab and paying you later..."
Tenten couldn't bear it anymore, exclaiming, "Shameless!"
"Junior, stay out of adult matters." Shimura Tani dug at his ear, looking completely unconcerned.
He was determined to take advantage of this widow, even if it really went to the Hokage's office, he wasn't afraid.
Ryun had remained quiet, he was thinking about what to do.
The most rational decision should be to not get involved, after all, he and this proprietress weren't really related, strictly speaking she still owed him wages.
Especially since this Chunin before him was named Shimura, if pushed, he might even go to Shimura Danzo and lodge a malicious complaint.
But this always reminded Ryun of that night he was choked by Genin.
If he just left like this, what was the point of all his efforts these days?
No matter how arrogant the other side was, he was just a Chunin.
One on one with him now, as long as he didn't have a special jutsu, Ryun had a good chance of winning.
If he felt fear because of the other's surname, Ryun felt that in the coming years, he might find it hard to muster the courage to face those terrifying enemies one by one.
"Hey, you two, are you leaving or not?"
"Don't delay the proprietress's business, okay?"
Shimura Tani's voice became impatient, he didn't want to keep acting, it was tiring.
At that moment, Ryun suddenly smiled. The smile seemed gentle but suddenly made Shimura Tani feel a slight chill.
"Tenten, do you have money with you?"
"Yes, how much do you need?"
Tenten took out a ninjutsu scroll containing over two hundred thousand ryo, including the one hundred fifty thousand ryo she needed to give Ryun.
"One hundred thousand ryo."
"Alright!"
Tenten formed a hand seal and summoned one hundred thousand ryo, handing it to Ryun, who then gave it to the proprietress. Under her astonished gaze, he said, "I plan to invest in this shop. I'll take thirty percent of the monthly profits. Do you agree, proprietress?"
A glimmer of hope flashed in the proprietress's eyes, but then it dimmed again.
She fearfully stole a glance at Shimura Tani, whose face had become very gloomy.
"Good, investment is good, that way I can keep eating here, right? Hahaha, proprietress, go buy ingredients quickly and start cooking."
Seeing the hope in the proprietress's eyes turn to despair, Ryun said with a smile, "If we lose money, you don't need to be responsible."
"I understand very well that investment carries risks."
The proprietress shakily reached out her hand, but Shimura Tani snorted coldly, scaring her into pulling back.
Just then, Tenten handed fifty thousand ryo to the proprietress, saying, "I'll also invest fifty thousand ryo, I only want five percent of the profits."
Shimura Tani's eyes turned sharp, still wanting to do something, when a light, cheerful voice rang out, "Then I'll invest fifty thousand ryo too."
Several people turned their heads together. Ino walked up to Ryun's side with a smile, her hands behind her back, looking Ryun and Tenten up and down, saying, "I looked for you all morning, so you went on a date with Tenten..."
"It's not a date!"
Tenten quickly denied, saying, "I just took Nojuro-kun for training."
But judging by her evasive eyes, she probably didn't even believe her own words from just now.
"Alright, I don't care what you two were doing, but next time at least leave a note at the door."
"Nojuro-kun, you're a bit of a celebrity in Konoha now, you should let everyone know where you went."
Ryun caught the underlying meaning in Ino's words and pretended to be remorseful, lightly slapping his forehead, saying, "My mistake, Ino-san, I'll be more careful in the future."
Hearing the name "Ino," Shimura Tani's face became ugly, but he still stiffened his neck and remained motionless.
Hope finally ignited in the proprietress's eyes. Trembling, she took the money from the three of them, tears in her eyes, saying, "I will work hard to make money, please wait for my good news."
"Good, good, that's right!"
Shimura Tani said with a cold face, "Prepare the food for me. I'm happy today, I want to eat a big meal."
Afterward, the three of them, Ryun, watched as Shimura Tani and the proprietress entered the shop.
Only then did Ino say, "This isn't a solution. Using my name will at most stop him from acting recklessly, but the matter of him owing money and not paying is still hard to resolve."
"Should we file a complaint at the Hokage's office in my name?" Tenten tentatively suggested.
But Ryun shook his head, smiling confidently, saying, "Leave it to me."
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