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"Natsuki, you bastard, you got a girlfriend and didn't tell us?"
Shikamaru played a card as he muttered his complaint.
Natsuki grinned. "It just became official recently. But hey, you all got to meet her today, right? I'll give you a proper introduction over lunch. For now, keep playing."
Tenten came over to help as well.
Shino also tried to lend a hand, but Natsuki and Tenten gently pushed him back into his seat.
This day was meant for their friends to enjoy the game—cooking was their job as hosts, no help needed.
Soon, everyone had mastered the rules and jumped right into Hidden Village Defense Mode. They began drawing identity cards—and the results immediately made everyone's faces shift.
Shikamaru was the Kage.
Kiba groaned, "How are we supposed to win now? With Shikamaru's IQ, aren't we doomed?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Kiba, your complaining just gave away your identity. The game starts the moment identity cards are drawn. Only the Kage's identity is public. Everyone else is a mystery. This is the intel-gathering phase. What happened to your basic ninja training?"
Kiba immediately shut up. He knew he'd slipped and would be targeted first by Shikamaru—and the Kage's allies would probably join in taking him out.
The others kept straight faces, but Shikamaru was already scanning the room with that calculating gaze. He'd likely already pegged a few people's identities. A smirk crept onto his lips.
Normally lazy, Shikamaru thrived in strategy games like this.
Let the hunt begin.
Everyone drew their Character Cards, received their Health Cards, and drew ten starting cards. With the Kage's turn beginning, the Hidden Village Defense officially kicked off.
Shikamaru: "I'll equip Katon jutsu and blast Kiba with a Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
Kiba: "Hehe! Substitution Jutsu!"
Sasuke: "Naruto is definitely the spy. Raiton: Jibashi!"
Naruto: "Sasuke, what are you talking about?! You're the spy! No—you're the rogue ninja! I dodge! And now I activate Byakugan. Sasuke, show me five of your cards!"
Sakura: "Naruto! Shuriken Slash!"
Ino: "Everyone calm down! If we keep attacking randomly, we might end up killing allies! I'm passing."
Chōji: munch munch "Why overthink it? Suiton: Dam Surge!"
Shikamaru: "Chōji, are you nuts?! That's an AoE attack—everyone has to dodge! You're the enemy ninja, aren't you?!"
Shino, sitting calmly beside Shikamaru, played a card called Uncle Repairs the Gate, blocking Chōji's attack for the Kage—but Shikamaru didn't trust him either. Shino could be the traitor.
Everyone was having a blast while Natsuki and Tenten flirted in the kitchen.
Luckily, it didn't delay lunch. Around noon, Natsuki began serving dish after dish to the table.
The courtyard was still loud and chaotic. Natsuki overheard some of it and couldn't help but snicker. Apparently, Naruto had mistaken Shino for the traitor and kept targeting him—turns out Shino was an ally. Meanwhile, the person Naruto tried so hard to protect—Sakura—was the rogue ninja, and nearly got Shikamaru killed.
If not for Chōji's accidental but timely AoE move that finished off Naruto, Shikamaru might have lost due to poor teammates.
Sasuke, acting all helpful as the traitor, was eventually found out by Shikamaru too.
Even with all the enemy ninjas, rogues, and traitors working together, they couldn't outsmart Shikamaru. The Kage survived, and the Hidden Village secured victory.
In short: total chaos, tons of laughs.
But beneath all that, the game really tested a ninja's fundamentals—information gathering, jutsu combos, teamwork—all of it subtly woven into the gameplay.
Naturally, everyone fell in love with it.
"Alright, time to eat. After lunch, I'll give each of you your own deck. Play as much as you want."
Natsuki and Tenten called everyone to the table and personally dished out the food.
Then Natsuki did something strange: he scooped two big bowls of rice—one for Chōji, expected—but the other he handed to Hinata, even placing the main rice pot closer to her than to Chōji.
Naruto blinked. "Natsuki, what's up with that? Why'd you give Hinata so much rice? She's tiny—how's she gonna eat all that?"
Natsuki gave a mysterious smile. "Exactly because she's tiny, she needs to eat more. You should focus on yourself—short guys like you need to eat up too."
Naruto choked but didn't argue.
With a round of Itadakimasu, everyone began eating—and the next moment, the compliments came pouring in.
"Wow! Natsuki, your cooking is amazing! This is the best food I've ever had!"
"What the heck? There's food better than Ichiraku Ramen? This world doesn't make sense anymore, dattebayo!"
"Natsuki, are you some kind of cooking god?!"
"So good! I want seconds!"
Those were the newbies. As for Shino, Shikamaru, and Chōji—they just buried their heads in their bowls. No time for words.
Then came the real shocker.
Despite her petite size, Hinata destroyed the table—she ate more than Chōji. No wonder Natsuki had served her a large bowl and moved the rice near her. This girl could really eat!
What's more—she didn't look full at all. No bloated belly, no weight gain. Her stomach was like a bottomless pit.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
"Hinata, you're amazing! How do you do that?!"
"I-I don't know…"
Hinata turned red as a beet, sneaking a glance at Naruto, terrified he'd think she was a glutton and hate her. That'd break her heart.
But Naruto grinned. "Hinata, you're incredible, dattebayo! If you can eat that much, you'll definitely grow strong one day!"
Hinata's eyes sparkled. "Naruto-kun…"
And then… Naruto turned back to fawn over Sakura again.
Hinata's heart shattered on the spot. Drama galore!
After the meal, everyone sprawled across the table like corpses—then got right back into gaming. Natsuki and Tenten ditched the dishes and jumped in too, filling the courtyard with laughter once again.
It wasn't until evening that the games finally wrapped up.
Natsuki smiled and said, "We had a blast today. There'll be plenty more chances to play, but don't forget to keep up with your training too."
Then he and Tenten handed out the promised card decks. No empty promises here—everyone got one.
Grinning from ear to ear, the kids started planning who to play with at school tomorrow. As the sun dipped low, they all said their goodbyes and left one by one. Peace returned to the yard.
Tenten took Natsuki's hand and smiled. "You've got great friends."
Natsuki gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "They're your friends now too."
(End of Chapter)
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