A large group of them headed towards the restaurant in a grand procession.
After today, each squad would return to the daily routine of taking missions. The next time they met might be a chance encounter on the street a few days later, or perhaps a meeting months from now.
The group sat around a table at Konoha's Yakiniku Q.
Although there had been quarrels and spars during these short seven days, at this moment, all grudges vanished like smoke into thin air; everyone was a good companion.
"Cheers!" As more than a dozen cups clinked together, laughter and cheerful voices filled the small restaurant.
Even Neji, who had always harbored hostility towards Naruto, showed goodwill towards him.
"Naruto! I really admire you! Not only do you have talent, but you also work harder than everyone else!"
Neji, his face flushed from drink, was even a bit unsteady on his feet, nearly falling several times. Fortunately, with Rock Lee's support, he managed to stand firm.
After saying this, Neji's head lolled to the side, and he collapsed into Rock Lee's arms. His peaceful, sleeping face even nuzzled against Lee's chest. Perhaps sensing those solid pectoral muscles, Neji suddenly revealed a simple, honest smile.
Rock Lee's face instantly turned green.
This scene caused a roar of laughter from the crowd.
It was believed that this would become an embarrassing black mark on Neji's life.
As the grilled meat was served, Guy directly brandished his tongs, roaring loudly, "Come on, Kakashi! Let's have our 102nd match! The winner is the one who completes the most delicious and visually appealing grilled meat in the shortest time!"
"Yeah! Go, Guy-sensei!" Guy's team cheered him on.
"Hmph, we can't lose, Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke stared intently into Kakashi's eyes, a spark igniting within his own as he spoke coldly.
"That's right! Go, Kakashi-sensei! You can't lose!" Sakura chimed in from the side.
What a boring competition, Naruto thought, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. But seeing everyone so fired up, he didn't want to be a wet blanket. He put on a gentle expression and encouraged, "Go for it, Kakashi-sensei."
"Then I'll be the judge," Kurenai said with a smile from the side.
"What a troublesome bunch of guys." Kakashi adjusted his eye patch, looking helpless, his tone still lazy. "Since that's the case, then bring it on." A pair of grilling tongs suddenly appeared in Kakashi's hand.
"Let's begin! There's a legend circulating in the true world of grilling! Top masters can control two tongs at the same time, perfectly grilling food on two grill plates! And our Party A today is Konoha's Green Beast, Might Guy!" The lively Tenten and Kiba acted as commentators for the match.
"This time, my youth will burn fiercely!" Guy clenched his fists, roaring loudly.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Guy picked up the meat with both tongs, creating a spinning arc in the air.
"It's appeared! The Green Beast's ultimate move, Konoha Whirlwind! Through rapid wrist movements, a wondrous airflow is generated around the meat! The moment it's placed on the grill, the airflow will cause the flames to surge, thereby imbuing the meat with a charcoal-grilled aroma while also reducing grilling time! What astonishing skill!" the commentators provided a real-time play-by-play.
"Kakashi, my fated rival, this time, you lose!"
Guy smugly turned his head to look in Kakashi's direction, and his pupils instantly quaked. "Nani?!"
In his line of sight, three Kakashis occupied three grills, grilling meat at extreme speed.
"Heavens! This is the Copy Ninja's Shadow Clone ultimate technique! By using Shadow Clones, he perfectly utilizes the extra grill plates, thus greatly increasing the speed of grilling meat!"
"As expected of my fated rival! My youth is already burning! Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Opening, open!"
"Second Gate, Gate of Healing, open!"
Powerful chakra erupted from Guy's body. His hands instantly became a blur that couldn't be seen clearly.
Countless pieces of grilled meat were placed on the trays for grilling.
"My fated rival, do you feel my passion?! This is my speed, a speed that surpasses all!"
"Primary Lotus!" Countless pieces of meat were tossed into the sky by Guy, then bandages flew out, binding the meat, allowing it to fall onto the grill in a rotating fashion.
"Amazing! As expected of Guy-sensei!" Guy's team cheered.
"What a troublesome competition." Kakashi directly formed hand seals. "Then let's settle this with Fire Style!"
Scorching flames shot towards the grilled meat.
In the end, Guy won. Because all of Kakashi's meat was burnt.
After this little interlude of a competition, everyone felt a bit closer.
The aroma of grilled meat filled the air. While everyone enjoyed themselves, they also chatted about interesting incidents from their missions.
When they heard that Naruto's trio had already completed a bandit subjugation mission, the other squads looked envious.
"Damn it! We're still doing these boring missions!" Kiba gritted his teeth, envious, then turned to Kurenai. "Sensei, when are we going to subjugate some bandits too?! Our strength isn't bad either!"
"No, you're still far from it," Kurenai said slowly, taking a sip of tea. "With your impetuous nature, you'd likely cause trouble if you went to subjugate bandits. Besides, your team receives client complaints even when executing the simplest missions. How can I dare to confidently accept higher-difficulty missions for you?"
"Damn it! This is so frustrating!" Kiba looked defeated.
Indeed.
Kiba had a typically reckless and hot-blooded personality, making him prone to errors during missions.
Although these mistakes would ultimately be compensated for by the composed Aburame Shino and Hinata, Kurenai still wasn't at ease.
"As expected of Naruto! To be able to execute bandit-type missions so soon after becoming a Genin! We seemed to have done D-rank missions for three months back then," Lee remarked from the side.
"That's because their team is strong! And Naruto-kun has a gentle and steady personality; he can definitely complete missions well," Tenten said admiringly, resting her chin on her hand.
"Of course! Naruto is the goal I'm constantly striving to catch up to!" Hearing Naruto being praised, Lee felt as happy as if he himself were being praised.
"But speaking of which, Kiba, how are the missions on your side?"
"Our side, ah, same as usual. But it's all thanks to Hinata! Several times when clients had bad attitudes, it was Hinata who intimidated them."
"What? Hinata?!" Everyone looked at the gentle, harmless-looking Hinata with shock and disbelief.
The Hinata in their impression was shy and gentle.
"Yeah, Hinata is very strong," Kiba nodded, beginning to describe Hinata's heroic deeds.
"Once, an old lady wanted to default on payment. But our Hinata didn't back down at all and argued with her for a long time! To be honest, that was the first time we saw that side of Hinata," Kiba said, scratching his head with a smile.
Hinata, at the side, blushed and hid, her gaze occasionally darting towards Naruto.
She was terrified that Naruto would show any hint of disgust.
The Yakiniku restaurant was filled with laughter and cheerful voices. Naruto sat among them with a smile, occasionally chiming in with a few words.
However, his heart was always so calm.
The eyes hidden behind his glasses were even more undisturbed by any ripple.
The Yakiniku gathering ended.
As they parted, Guy was once again overwhelmed with tears.
"This is the burning of youth! This is youth! I saw everyone's youth..." He reeked of alcohol, his face red, shouting at the top of his lungs. With great effort from Lee and Neji, they finally managed to carry Guy home.
After saying goodbye, Naruto walked home alone.
The brief period of training was coming to an end; next, it was time to start taking on missions again.