Not far from the Konoha shops, Chichi had also brought Gohan along to make some money.
With Son Goku off to Planet Namek, the mother and son had nothing to do, so when Ino suggested it, Chichi readily agreed.
Speaking seriously, Chichi's culinary skills were quite good, no worse than a professional chef's. Combined with the extremely delicious ingredients from Mount Paozu, her shop attracted all sorts of intelligent lifeforms and tournament contestants.
Chichi fried, stir-fried, cooked, and deep-fried, while Gohan helped serve the dishes to guests. The mother and son were incredibly busy; those who didn't know better might have thought this was a widowed single-parent family...
The Martial Arts Village gathered over five thousand three hundred famous gourmet shops from across the galaxy. Everyone was very interested in the food from other worlds; many dishes were things they had never seen before, making it a rare opportunity.
Under the leadership of Choza Akimichi, the Akimichi clan arrived with more than thirty chubby members. They completely ignored the food from their own village, and each one, holding a rice bowl, went off to eat at other people's establishments.
Direct relatives like Hinata and Little Himawari naturally received different treatment. Including Inoichi and Rino, they were all received by Ino to live on the Grand Kai's Planet. Later, Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton also moved in. Others could only temporarily stay on the asteroids outside the Grand Kai's Planet, but she was different—she owned a house here!
After resting for a night, she took her family to wander around the Martial Arts Village the next day.
Having prepared for so long, the five leaders above basically didn't manage anything; she had handled everything, big and small. There wasn't a merchant in the Martial Arts Village who didn't know her.
All kinds of food, toys, clothes, and accessories were stuffed into Little Himawari's hands. Ino offered a few polite words of refusal, but in the end, she accepted them all.
The World Martial Arts Tournament was expected to last for a month. On the third day after the guests arrived, it officially opened.
Salza, Jeice, Recoome, and Burter first performed a passionate war dance. The four of them put in extreme effort. The war dance looked very dorky at first glance, and upon careful consideration... it was still very dorky!
"So handsome!" Gohan, having been directed by his own mother to work as child labor for three days, proved that the Saiyan constitution was indeed strong. Chichi was already so tired she could barely stand, yet he was fine, as if nothing had happened.
The groups from Konoha and Earth were all arranged by Ino to sit in the front rows of the spectator stands. Seeing the performance of Recoome and the others up close this time, Gohan grew even more fond of this handsome style of entrance! If he could do that... how great would that be!
Himawari also nodded gently: "Indeed very handsome. Actually, wouldn't 'cool' be a better description?"
"Right, right, it's just very cool!"
After the war dance ended, the grand stage rose up, and Ino and the Grand Kai's band officially made their entrance.
Ino had combed her blonde hair into a high ponytail, wearing a dark green vest and a denim jacket, with ripped pants below and ten-centimeter high heels on her feet.
She sank her qi to her dantian and first played a solo on the suona.
The crowd below the stage: "..."
The sound of the suona struck directly at the soul. The living instantly lost the will to live, and the dead wanted to die all over again!
"Big Brother, you play rock and roll; what's the use of playing that!" The Grand Kai began to sing with heart-rending lung power. The old man was in extremely high spirits today, his pitch fluctuating wildly. He sang a rendition of "Xian'er" that nearly gave the audience beneath the stage a cerebral thrombosis.
Afterward, the Grand Kai felt the atmosphere wasn't enthusiastic enough, so he made the four Kais, Ino, Tapion, Killer B, and himself sing together.
The Supreme Kai, who was already sitting on the high platform, shrank his neck. Fortunately, the Grand Kai gave him some face and didn't drag him down to sing along.
Eight people, eight different keys. The North Kai and West Kai were competing with each other, shouting at the top of their lungs. Killer B played the drums while incorporating his rap into the mix, and Ino improvised by adding a segment of suona into it.
Once the song finished, the audience below was silent as the grave, unable to recover for a good while.
"Good! Good! The Vice-Captain sang really well!" Recoome shouted at the top of his voice from below the stage.
The others, especially Salza, felt this music was too distressing, but they didn't dare say it sounded bad, so they forced smiles and applauded.
"Clap clap clap—!" Even more enthusiastic applause rang out. Didn't you see how happy the Grand Kai was? Who dared to say it sounded bad? Did you not want to live anymore?
The people on stage swapped positions. Ino descended from the suona position and changed into a new outfit below. When she reappeared, she was already at the lead singer's position.
She wore a sheer, light-colored long-sleeved crop top on her upper body and sequined shorts below, revealing a pair of long legs.
With triangular earrings and a blue striped silk scarf, she looked capable yet sexy.
The song she sang was "Blue Bird".
Her voice was high-pitched and powerful. Hearing this very ninja-esque song, Killer B drummed even more vigorously.
The ninjas below the stage also seemed to see their own pasts in the singing. Whether the past was bitter or joyful, it was ultimately their lost youth, a part of themselves. Kakashi, who had previously covered his ears with his mask, pulled the mask down a bit to listen carefully to this song.
The high-spirited feeling of breaking free from restraints and flying towards the sky in the singing voice caused a surge of emotion in the ninjas. Had they broken free from their restraints? Each person had their own answer in their heart.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance at a certain moment, then quickly looked away.
Neji pursed his lips, and from the side, Tenten held his hand, silently encouraging him.
"Your dad is really beautiful," Gohan said, moved by the sight.
Little Himawari had heard quite a few compliments over the past two days. At this moment, she raised her chin, her small face full of pride: "That's right, my dad's elegance is famous across all four galaxies."
After "Blue Bird" ended, the four Kais sang one by one.
Although the South Kai was a bit off-key, to tell the truth, his singing skills were considered the best. The remaining North Kai, West Kai, and East Kai sang worse than the last. However, the audience dared not say it was bad; whenever a Kai finished singing, there was a round of applause below.
"Wah! My mom went up too?" Seeing Hinata board the center of the stage, Little Himawari was greatly surprised.
Being watched by so many people, Hinata was incredibly nervous.
"You can do it; I'm always by your side," Ino encouraged softly at the right moment.
The two chose the song "Tonight, I Feel Close To You," a duet by a niche singer and Mai Kuraki, as the grand finale of the opening ceremony. Translated, it means "Depend on You Tonight." This is a song that sounds very straight before you listen to it, but after listening to it and looping it twice, the more you listen, the more "bent" you become...
Tonight, I feel close to you
You open my door and light the sky above
When I need a friend, you are there right by my side
I wish we could stay as one
Sakura watched the two of them from below the stage, tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.
A certain person bullied her whenever there was nothing to do. She couldn't say she enjoyed it like sweet candy, but she hadn't refused it either.
She had treasured and stored away the straw hat, books, notes, and even the various IOUs that Ino had given her. Sometimes, she would trace the signature on the IOUs with her finger, imagining the way that person looked when writing.
Actually, at a certain moment, when she stood at the crossroads, whether to go left or right, she had also had a chance. It was just that she stuck to her original thoughts. Did she regret it? It couldn't be called regret, she just felt a little bit of pity, that's all.
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