At Sasuke's house, they reenacted a "Brothers' Final Showdown," leaving Itachi and the others stunned.
Sasuke grumbled, "How could I possibly fight off against older brother Itachi? At least make the story convincing!"
Shindai gave them a look like he was the only sane person in the room and said, "Convincing? If you get it, great. If not, nothing I say will convince you. Those who do get it—how about a round of applause?"
Naruto and Hinata obediently clapped for Shindai.
Sasuke was left speechless — even clapping?! How kiss-up can you get!
Shindai stood up and said, "Then I'll take Naruto and Hinata and leave first. I promised them yesterday we'd go for barbecue. Want to come, Itachi and Sasuke?"
Before Itachi could speak, Sasuke quickly said, "Me and older brother Itachi aren't going!"
It had taken so long to wait for Itachi's day off from missions, and he really wanted to spend some 'alone' time with Itachi.
"Okay then, see you next time."
Shindai didn't insist; he just asked casually. If they wanted to come, they could. If not, he saved some money.
After leaving the Uchiha clan compound, Naruto looked forward to the barbecue.
Although Naruto loved ramen, he also absolutely loved barbecue.
However, whenever Naruto ate barbecue, he always tried to shove meat into his mouth before it was fully cooked, which led to diarrhea every time. Because of this, Kushina Uzumaki usually wouldn't let him eat barbecue.
Shindai warned him, "Just remember to eat slower this time — wait until it's fully cooked. Don't drag me into trouble when mom yells at you again!"
Naruto naively said, "But I learned from watching Big Brother Shindai! Every time I see him eat, he goes really fast, like it smells better that way."
Shindai argued back, "Nonsense! Alright, I admit I do eat slightly faster than normal, but at least I eat properly cooked food — unlike you, who puts the meat on the grill for only one second before stuffing it all in your mouth!"
Looking at Hinata beside Naruto, Shindai assigned her a task, "Hinata, I'm giving you a mission!"
Hinata's eyes sparkled curiously, as if asking what kind of mission.
"When we start eating, watch Naruto carefully. If he tries to eat raw meat, hit him on the head!"
"Eh?" Hinata hesitated slightly, saying, "This… this doesn't seem right…"
Naruto immediately told Hinata, "Hinata, don't listen to Big Brother Shindai!"
For once, Hinata nodded her head and softly said, "Hmm."
Shindai rolled his eyes — his words were just 'not very nice,' but when Naruto spoke she simply replied 'Hmm.'
Do you really have to be such a hypocrite?!
Shindai thought, Maybe I could borrow Hinata's eyes — they're clearly built for eye-rolling.
When they arrived at the barbecue shop, Shindai saw someone familiar.
"Hey, isn't that Choza — taking Choji out for barbecue? Oh, Shikamaru's here too."
Inside the barbecue restaurant's booth, Shindai spotted Choza Akimichi, Choji, and Shikamaru.
Choza Akimichi chuckled heartily, saying, "Hey Shindai! You've brought Naruto here to eat too? Then we might as well sit together!"
"Alright," said Shindai. "Naruto, Hinata, you two go sit over there first."
"Okay."
Naruto and Hinata walked over and sat down. Naruto grinned and asked, "Chōji, Shikamaru, is your meat cooked yet?"
Unsuspecting Choji replied, "Yeah, definitely cooked! I was watching it carefully. It's grilled just right—this is when it tastes best!"
Shikamaru had already become suspicious. "What are you planning?"
"I was thinking…"
Naruto picked up his chopsticks and quickly grabbed the meat from both Choji's and Shikamaru's bowls, putting some into his own mouth and some into Hinata's bowl.
"Hinata! Quick, eat this!"
Naruto made a show of chewing for a moment before swallowing it whole.
Naruto's sneaky stunt left Choji, Shikamaru, and Hinata completely stunned.
Choji grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, his eyes blazing with fury. "That piece of meat in your mouth was mine! Spit it out and give it back to me!"
Naruto wore a blissful grin on his face. "So delicious~ No wonder it's grilled by Choji! But no way I'm giving it back now—it's already gone into my stomach and started digesting!"
Choji glared at Naruto with deep resentment. "Naruto, how could you do something like that!"
Hinata glanced shyly at the grilled meat in her dish and murmured to Shikamaru, "Umm… Shikamaru… I haven't touched this one. Maybe… I can give it back to you?"
Shikamaru waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it. You just eat it. I should've known better than to trust Naruto asking whether our meat was done—he was definitely up to no good!"
Meanwhile, Shindai had already sat down next to Choza Akimichi and started lecturing Naruto. "Naruto, how could you act like that? You didn't even put any meat into my bowl! All the kindness I've shown you recently has clearly been wasted!"
Originally, Choji and Shikamaru thought Shindai was genuinely trying to discipline Naruto, but they hadn't expected him to only be upset about not getting a piece himself.
They overestimated him. Everyone knows Shindai—he's the kind of guy who handles both of them single-handedly and toys with them mercilessly!
Naruto spun his eyes craftily, locking his gaze onto the grilled meat in Choza Akimichi's bowl.
Choza Akimichi noticed Naruto's eyes narrowing in on his food. In an instant, faster than lightning, he dumped the entire pile of meat from his bowl straight into his mouth, chewed twice, then swallowed.
Naruto's plan was cut short before it could even start. He grumbled, "Uncle Choza, my mom always says to chew slowly and eat calmly!"
Shikamaru quipped, "Naruto, weren't you the one who just gobbled everything up? Don't you think you're kind of disqualified from saying that?"
Two bottles of alcohol ordered by Shindai arrived. He said, "Hey Uncle Choza Akimichi, let's have a drink together. Grilled meat pairs really well with alcohol."
Choza Akimichi raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Huh? You're old enough to drink now?"
Shindai filled both his own cup and Choza Akimichi's cup to the brim, then said, "I'm eighteen now. Why wouldn't I be able to drink?"
"Choza Akimichi and Shindai clinked their cups together as Choza sighed, 'Time really flies. Back then, you were just a little kid. Now you've grown into a man who can hold his own and even drink with us.'
Shindai replied with a sigh of his own, 'Yeah, you're getting old too, Choza. Your child is already three years old.'
A dark line appeared on Choza Akimichi's forehead as he retorted, 'Your tongue hasn't changed a bit, Shindai. I'm not old at all! I'm in my prime, still quite young!'
Now that Shindai and Naruto were at the table, eating barbecue was like being in a gang of thieves scrambling for treasure—you had to grab every bite before it vanished.
Half an hour later.
'Burp~ Feels great!'
Reclining comfortably against their chairs, Shindai and Naruto let out satisfying burps.
Choza Akimichi and Choji were full too.
So who hadn't eaten enough?
Besides Hinata, who preferred not to compete, and Shikamaru, who tried but couldn't get much, no one else went away hungry.
Shikamaru muttered in disbelief, 'Why do you guys eat like that? Aren't you supposed to wait for Hinata and me to finish?'
Slowly chewing another bite of barbecue, Shikamaru simply couldn't understand their bandit-style dining etiquette.
Wagging his head, Naruto said, 'You wouldn't get it, Shikamaru. Eating this way just feels more rewarding!'
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, 'Rewarding? You act like you've been starved for centuries. If I ate like this at home, my mom would have slapped me senseless.'
Just thinking about his mother at home made Shikamaru feel like he was asking for trouble."
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