The women had been waiting outside the door for a while.
The midday sun hung directly overhead, making Uzaki Hana and the others increasingly uncomfortable.
For most superpowered individuals, this level of sun was nothing, but the Uzaki Family and Toyomi were still ordinary people and were already showing signs of heatstroke.
Just then, a slender, tall, short-haired beauty walked out from the street corner.
Her chest wasn't as exaggerated as Toyomi's or Hinata's, but her lines were well-proportioned, in the same league as Ran.
She carried a canvas shopping bag, with the corner of some daily necessities peeking out from its opening.
The girl saw the group of people gathered in front of her shop. Her step faltered for a moment. Her gaze swept across face after face: Megumi, Utaha, Saeko, the Nakano quintuplets...
Every single one of these faces had been seen countless times on the news and the internet.
'They were all that man's women!'
"Chisa-chan!" Hana rushed out from the crowd, threw her arms around her neck, and hung onto her like a koala.
Chisa's shopping bag fell to the ground, the daily necessities inside almost tumbling out. She instinctively caught Hana and stepped back two paces to steady herself.
Toyomi also walked over and gently patted Chisa on the shoulder. "Sorry for the sudden visit, Chisa-chan. We mainly wanted to give you and Nana-san a surprise."
Inside the shop, hearing Toyomi's voice outside the door, Nanaka didn't know what expression to put on her face anymore.
She didn't have time to worry about anything else right now... she was frantically cleaning the bloodstains off the floor with a mop, thinking to herself, 'I could do without this kind of surprise in the future.'
If Toyomi had given her a heads-up that she was bringing Makoto, she would never have entertained Tokita and his gang.
Just then, Makoto, with his men, turned around to leave. His expression betrayed no emotion.
However, as Yu walked out the door, he glanced back at the people inside. His gaze moved from Nanaka's face to Azusa's, then from Azusa's face to the diving club's members, led by Kotobuki. Although he didn't speak, everyone instantly understood the meaning in his eyes.
Nanaka's legs went weak. Makoto could indeed be considered relatively magnanimous... no one had ever heard of him indiscriminately killing innocent people.
But Yu was notoriously petty. Anyone who displeased Makoto, he would eagerly track down and kill. If Makoto just left like that, would Yu think, "These people made my master unhappy," and then suddenly return in the middle of the night to gift them a few bursts of gunfire?
Thinking of this, everyone in the shop felt a chill run down their backs.
"Why are you all waiting outside? Please, go in."
Chisa's voice came from outside the door, inviting everyone as she prepared to push open the shop door.
Nanaka, watching the group of girls peering through the crack in the door from outside, only two words remained in her mind: 'It's over.'
Azusa was the first to react. She turned her head to look at the Teddy Devil, her expression shifting from terror to an almost fawning smile. "Um... this Devil-sama, weren't you wanting to eat him earlier? Please, go ahead."
The Teddy Devil's several fangs curled out from under his lips as he looked at Azusa in disbelief, 'Wasn't this woman's change in attitude a bit too drastic?'
Nanaka followed closely, her voice urgent and fast: "Commander, you must be tired after traveling all the way from the capital. Please, have a seat. I'll prepare some iced tea for you right away."
At the same time, she turned her head and, lowering her voice to a minimum, said to Kotobuki and the others, "Go out the back door."
Kotobuki and his group, as if granted a reprieve, bent over and shuffled towards the back door in small, quick steps.
Tokita's body still lay where it had fallen, but no one dared to ask for it. After all, they knew this is the only way.
Azusa quickly walked over to the Teddy Devil, her voice carrying an almost pleading urgency: "Please, Devil-sama, just eat it. It's just getting in the way here."
The Teddy Devil looked at Makoto.
Makoto gave no indication.
The Teddy Devil's body expanded again.
Crack, crack, crack.
The sound of bones breaking was exceptionally clear in the quiet shop.
Nanaka's hands trembled as she poured the tea.
Outside the back door, Kotobuki and the others, who had just run out, hadn't gone far. Hearing the chewing sounds coming from behind, they quickened their pace.
Nanaka put down the teapot, took out a mop and bucket from the bathroom, crouched down, and began wiping the remaining bloodstains on the floor.
By the time Chisa led the group of Nishikawa wives inside, the bloodstains had been almost completely cleaned up.
Kotegawa Chisa walked up to Makoto and bowed properly. "N-nice to meet you, Commander."
Makoto grunted in acknowledgment.
Chisa let out a breath and turned to look at her sister. "Onee-san, starting to clean so early?"
Nanaka gave a sheepish smile. "It was a bit dirty, you see."
Chisa's gaze fell on the mop and she noticed the cloth was an unnatural shade of red. Chisa frowned, about to speak, but was promptly interrupted by her sister.
"Alright, Chisa, go serve tea to the guests."
Chisa was pushed a few steps and looked back at her sister. Nanaka's face held a somewhat unnatural smile.
Nayuta, amidst the envious gazes of the other women, sat directly on Makoto's lap. She looked around the shop and said unceremoniously, "It's really quite small. Will we all fit for the night?"
Makoto looked down at her. "Don't you have Wood Release?"
Back in the Naruto World, Nayuta had made a contract with Yamato, precisely to conveniently build houses anytime, anywhere when traveling to other worlds.
Everyone started chatting enthusiastically.
Finally, they decided to eat lunch first and go swimming in the afternoon when the sun wasn't as harsh.
Uzaki Yanagi noticed her brother's complexion was a bit off. "Nii-chan, what's wrong? Heatstroke?"
Kiri lifted his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his face. "N-no, nothing."
Although he had watched videos of Makoto and his group's battles countless times online, seeing a living person die right before his eyes was a completely different experience from watching it on the internet.