"Mm."
Ryo nodded, then added, "Also, starting tomorrow, add a new rule—if someone in line doesn't begin learning a skill within two minutes of their turn, they'll have to go to the back and queue again."
This was something he had to address. If everyone acted like that flamboyantly dressed man earlier, barely anyone would get to learn skills by the end of the day.
Eliza frowned. "Boss, isn't that a bit harsh?"
Two minutes wasn't a lot. Unless someone already had a clear goal in mind, most people would hesitate when standing in front of the skill-learning machine.
Out of 200 people in a day, at least 150 would probably freeze up.
And that hesitation? It usually lasted longer than two minutes.
Ryo understood what Eliza meant—he'd seen the behavior for himself.
He nodded. "It stays. Two minutes. If they're not learning, they leave."
Seeing how firm he was, Eliza nodded back. "Got it, Boss. I'll start letting people know tomorrow."
With that handled, Ryo gave a quick wave and left the area.
Meanwhile, Eliza returned to her post, guiding first-time customers through the process of using the skill-learning device.
Ryo made his way through the other store areas. With the Pokémon battle tournament coming up, it wasn't just the skill-learning zone that was packed—every section had way more traffic than usual.
After checking the different departments, Ryo returned to the storefront, where Konan was holding things down.
"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing his furrowed brow and deep-in-thought expression. "With this many customers, I expected a different look on your face."
Ryo shook his head. "Nothing… just realizing there are some serious flaws in how we're running things."
He'd visited before, sure—but back then, the crowd wasn't as big, and the issues weren't as obvious.
Today? They were everywhere.
Not just in the skill-learning zone. Other areas had their own messes.
Like the merch area—total chaos. One word summed it up: disorder. It felt more like a street market than a professional store.
"Yeah," Konan said with a shake of her head. "But it's just for a few days. People from all over are flocking to Konoha for the tournament. Once it's over, things will calm down."
Of course she noticed it too. She saw the customer volume daily.
And honestly, a little chaos made sense given how many Pokémon trainers had converged here.
Still—
"No," Ryo said firmly. His eyes sharpened. "Even if it's just one day, we have to fix this."
Konan leaned back in her seat, clearly done arguing. "Fine. Then you fix it."
She wasn't about to get involved—business operations just weren't her thing.
Sure, she used to be the Angel of the Hidden Rain Village, a known leader. But that was more image than management. When it came to actually running things, she wasn't confident.
Ryo shook his head, not surprised. After living together for years, he knew her well enough. He didn't push further and headed straight for the back—he needed to talk to Cynthia.
Someone who grew up in the Pokémon world would have better insights into all this.
Meanwhile, at a Konoha training ground…
A group of people stood on the field.
"Lord Jiraiya, are you sure this is okay? Lady Tsunade is almost done with her work," Shizune asked. Her tone was hesitant as she glanced at the figures ahead—faces calm, but eyes brimming with battle spirit.
Jiraiya crossed his arms, looking relaxed. "It's fine. Won't take long. Besides, it's been ages since they've seen each other like this."
Shizune didn't press further and turned her eyes to the group.
"Kakashi-sensei, I've gotten a lot stronger recently. You'd better be careful!" Naruto said with a confident grin.
Kakashi, standing opposite, closed his book with a quiet sigh and said to Naruto and Sakura, "Let's see how much you've improved. Same rules as always: get the bell, and you pass."
"You sure about that, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto looked skeptical as he eyed the familiar bell.
"Yeah, seriously," Sakura chimed in, raising an eyebrow.
Neither of them were fresh genin anymore.
Their current strength was nearly on par with elite jōnin. Naruto especially—he was already rivaling full-fledged jōnin-level fighters.
Seeing their doubt, Kakashi simply shook his head and said, "Come. Show me how much you've grown these past years."
Before they could answer, he struck first.
"Alright then, Kakashi-sensei. Hope you're ready!" Naruto responded eagerly, charging forward to meet the attack.
Boom!
A powerful clash, and they quickly pulled apart.
Kakashi's eyes gleamed with surprise. "Not bad… you've improved a lot. But now, I won't be holding back."
Naruto grinned. "Me neither. Bring it on, Kakashi-sensei!"
Without another word, Kakashi formed hand seals and released a massive fireball jutsu.
Naruto dodged swiftly, his movements clean and precise. In a flash, he also weaved signs and launched a barrage of Shadow Clones.
The clones instantly closed in on Kakashi.
Kakashi's expression turned serious. He drew the short blade from his back and slashed through the incoming clones with quick, fluid movements.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each impact echoed through the training ground, as the clones disappeared into clouds of smoke one after another.
"Rasengan!"
The shout came from above.
Kakashi immediately pulled back his sword and looked up.
There was Naruto, diving down from the air with a glowing Rasengan in his hand.
Seeing this, Kakashi stopped focusing on the clones and dodged backward in a blur.
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