The topic of death was too heavy; Sato's group decided to stop sulking and have some fun instead. This was how ninjas normally overcame their trauma. Ignore it until it goes away. It was not the best way but it worked.

Anyway , they were having a blast right now, eating and drinking for free. Choji's father's restaurant was pretty great.

"Excuse me, is there a Sato Nii here?"

When suddenly a waiter walked up to their table and asked. Sato stopped eating fish and nodded.

"It's me; what's the matter?"

The waiter bowed and gave Sato a piece of paper.

"Someone asked me to give you this letter, Sato Sama."

Sato raised his eyebrows and took the letter, but Ino snatched it from his hands and opened it herself. 

Sato twitched his eyes yet didn't blame her, because there was a pink heart drawn on that letter.

It was clear why Ino was desperate enough to snatch and read what was inside. 

*Fold*

Ino opened the letter; Sato, Choji, and Shikamaru moved their seats and saw the words.

"Sato kun, did you miss me? It's a shame we couldn't talk properly in the forest, but that's not a problem.

You know why? Because I am outside, waiting for you. I won't tell you where I am. I am sure you can find me yourself.

P.S. Your body seems weird; does it have cat traits?"

Ino tilted her head, Choji ate a piece of salad, and only Shikamaru and Sato looked at each other.

"Orochimaru??"

Both Sato and Shikamaru spoke together, and that letter was suspicious as hell.

"What?! Orochimaru?? Is this Orochimaru's letter? Hey, who told you to give this letter to Sato Kun?"

Ino exclaimed, then asked the sweating waiter. The waiter quickly bowed and explained. 

"It was a girl; she had long black hair and pale, sickly skin."

Choji heard the waiter's description, then remembered how Orochimaru was supposed to look.

He shuddered; that description fit Orochimaru perfectly.

"Those looks..? Hey, look closely; did she look like this?"

Sato made a hand sign, used the transformation jutsu, and transformed into a girl.

This was the same girl he saw at the exam center—the girl they thought was Orochimaru at first. 

*Poof*

Smoke erupted, and Sato turned into a sick-looking girl.

"Yes, she's the one."

The waiter quickly confirmed, Sato frowned and cancelled his transformation. 

He asked the waiter to leave and folded his hands.

"I met her at the exam center; I thought she was Orochimaru at first, but Orochimaru was hiding as a boy instead."

"I am honestly not sure who this person is."

Sato explained, Shikamaru was frowning while Ino and Choji were blank.

"Then she isn't Orochimaru?"

Ino asked, but Shikamaru shook his head and denied. 

"We can't be sure; maybe she is Orochimaru's clone."

Sato folded his hands; maybe, they can't say anything for certain. She could be anyone. 

"Give me the letter."

Sato asked Ino for the letter; Ino handed it over, and Sato brought it close to his face.

His nose was twitching once in a while, he was trying to identify the smell on this letter. 

"There are three kinds of smell here: one is the waiter, one is Ino, and the last one is unknown."

"I can track her by this smell; I can find out where she is."

Sato identified the smell, and put the letter back in his pocket. 

Meanwhile, Ino was holding her cheeks, thinking they were so close that Sato knew her by smell. Completely ignoring that she was right there, sitting beside him for reference.

"We should tell Hokage Sama instead of going ourselves."

Choji put forward his opinion: he was not interested in taking such a large risk.

Ino seemed to agree; only Shikamaru was holding his head.

"No, we should go. We have the advantage this time. But next time, she might catch us off guard."

"We should track her while we still can."

Shikamaru analyzed, and Sato agreed. Only Ino was struggling.

"We should at least tell someone before doing something so dangerous."

Ino hissed urgently, but Shikamaru smiled wryly.

"We can't; there might be spies watching us. If we call for backup, she might not show up."

"We have to go alone. Don't worry, she can't attack us in the middle of Konoha."

Shikamaru was sure nobody could fight in the middle of Konoha. They were safe as long as they stay in Konoha. 

"You are right about that, but you guys are not coming. I will go alone. Taking you is too risky. You three will sit this one out."

Sato didn't want to take Ino Shika Cho with him. This mysterious girl was strong. At least Elite Jonin level strong. 

The current Ino Shika Cho would be massacred. 

"But Sato kun-"

"No buts, I will go alone. Don't forget, I am a hidden cloud ninja. I don't need Konoha's help."

Sato didn't let Ino speak; he smiled and got up from the table. Without a moment of hesitation, Sato turned and left.

He was going to follow the smell and see where it led.

"Shikamaru, we can't let Sato Kun go alone!"

Ino grabbed Shikamaru's collar and pulled him desperately. Choji also stopped eating for once.

"We should follow him, Shikamaru."

Choji said this while touching three colorful balls in his pocket. These balls were his clan's trump cards. This gave him confidence.

Shikamaru quickly raised his hand and surrendered. 

"Okay, okay, don't shake me! I don't want to hide either, you know."

"We can't let our friend risk his life alone. Let's go; we will follow him secretly."

Shikamaru and his team smiled, and they quickly snuck out of the restaurant without telling anyone. 

The Ino Shika Cho trio was woefully inexperienced; they were yet to experience absolute despair at the hands of Hidan.

The three genin didn't know how bad of an idea it was to interrupt a kage-level battle. 

'I knew it; these idiots snuck out on their own!'

Thankfully for them, Sato was alert; he smelled them the second they started following him.

'Idiots, all three of them. I left them behind so they could call for backup.'

'But these guys directly followed me.'

Sato clicked his tongue; now he was truly alone with no backup. The situation depended entirely on who this girl was and what she wanted.

'Who could this be? If this isn't Orochimaru, then why do they seem so interested in me?'

'The pink heart on this letter, her paying attention to me during the exams, her speaking as if she knows me, there are a lot of clues.'

'If I figure out her identity using these clues, I will have the upper hand.'