Chapter 26: Completing Shikaku's Task
Naruto sighed and briefly explained the situation regarding the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki Clan to Ino and the others.
Sakura looked at Naruto in disbelief and said, "You're saying... the Uzumaki Clan and Konohawere allies? But when the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, why didn't Konoha go to their rescue?"
Naruto smiled at Sakura but said nothing.
Shikamaru patted Sakura on the shoulder and said, "There are some questions you shouldn't ask, even if you want to."
Ino seemed to realize something and quickly grabbed Sakura's arm, saying, "That was so long ago. Even if we knew, what difference would it make?"
Just as Ino finished speaking, Naruto's Shadow Clones returned carrying several wild rabbits and pheasants.
Naruto's Shadow Clones had specifically caught a few small rabbits for the three girls to play with.
Seeing the silly, cute look of the small rabbits, Inoscreamed and jogged over to Naruto's Shadow Clone, saying, "You're not planning to grill these adorable bunnies, are you?!"
Naruto smiled and said, "Those small rabbits are gifts for you. The big ones are for us to grill."
Ino happily snatched a small rabbit from one of Naruto's Shadow Clones and squealed, "Naruto-kun, you're so thoughtful!"
At that moment, Hinata, who was lying on the rocking chair, was woken up by Ino's scream. She sat down next to Naruto, shyly lowering her head.
Naruto took a small black rabbit from a Shadow Clone and handed it to Hinata, saying, "This is for you!"
"Th... th... thank you, Naruto-kun!"
Although the boys weren't particularly interested in the small rabbits, they didn't mind the girls liking them.
Inuzuka Kiba took the game from Naruto's Shadow Clone and noisily walked to the riverbank to clean them.
Once all the ingredients were prepared, Narutodispelled all his Shadow Clones, including those training behind the house.
To avoid raising suspicion from those monitoring him in the shadows, Naruto feigned a moment of lightheadedness.
Shikamaru was about to step forward to support Naruto's arm, but Naruto held out a hand to stop him.
"Don't touch me! I'm still maintaining a Body Tempering Technique. You'll get hurt if you touch me. I'm fine, I just need a short rest."
Ino, Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Shino Aburamelooked at Naruto in disbelief. This was a bit too crazy—Shadow Clones studying theoretical knowledge while the real body was forging itself every moment. They couldn't imagine how strong Naruto had become by now.
Seeing that his act was sufficient, Naruto rubbed his temples and said, "Alright, I'm okay! We'll have to do the grilling ourselves for the rest."
Ino smiled and shook her head, saying, "Of course we'll grill it ourselves! If your Shadow Clones did everything, would it even count as us coming out to play?"
Shikamaru and the others nodded in agreement. They each picked up some ingredients, marinating what needed marinating and grilling what needed grilling, asking Naruto whenever they were unsure.
Halfway through the barbecue, everyone realized that Naruto had an answer for every single question they asked.
Even for the questions Naruto didn't answer, they could roughly guess that there was something wrong with the question itself—either it was something that couldn't be answered, or something they shouldn't be asking.
Naruto made an excuse to go inside and took out some drinks he had obtained from sign-ins in the Spirit Spring Space.
"We're still kids, so we can't drink alcohol. We'll have to stick to these drinks."
"Drinks? What are those?"
"Uh...!"
This made Naruto feel a bit awkward. Was there no such thing as 'drinks' in the Naruto world?
Naruto looked at the drinks in his hand. Fortunately, they were things like orange juice and not carbonated sodas.
"How should I explain this... Just think of it as me crushing fruit, adding some water, and putting in a bit of sugar."
Hearing this, Ino rolled her eyes at Naruto and said, "So it's basically the same thing as Vegetable Juice, right?"
"Uh... yeah... roughly... probably... something like that!"
Shikamaru, listening to their conversation, was aware of Naruto's living situation. It was normal for him not to know many common life facts.
So, Shikamaru quickly explained to Ino, "You all know Naruto's situation in the Village. There are some things Naruto isn't clear on, so don't make things difficult for him."
Ino playfully stuck out her tongue and said, "I wasn't blaming him! Naruto, you're not allowed to be angry."
After saying that, Ino moved a couple of steps toward Naruto, intending to grab his arm.
This gave Naruto a fright, and he quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge.
Seeing Naruto's reaction, Ino seemed a bit hurt.
She puffed out her cheeks and looked at Narutocrossly, saying, "Naruto, you're too much...!"
Ino was interrupted by Naruto before she could finish.
"Wait, you misunderstood...! I have the Lightning Release Body Forging Technique active. I was afraid of hurting you; it's really not that I don't want to be close to you. If you don't believe me, look..."
After Naruto finished speaking, he took off his upper garment.
Immediately, everyone saw electrical arcs dancing all over Naruto's body.
Ino gasped and looked at Naruto, saying, "This is too terrifying!"
Inuzuka Kiba's mouth twitched as he looked at Naruto. "How much must that hurt? You're really ruthless to yourself."
Naruto smiled and said, "I've already gotten used to it."
Shikamaru frowned as he looked at Naruto and said with some sympathy, "Don't do the body forging today. It's not often we get to play together; it would be bad if you hurt someone."
Naruto thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright! Then I'll relax for a day."
After Naruto dispelled the Body Tempering Technique, the atmosphere became much more subdued.
Except for Sakura, everyone present was the young head of a Konoha noble clan. They all knew something of Naruto's situation, but his bitter cultivation had dealt them quite a blow.
Although Naruto had fulfilled Shikaku's request, he had made the atmosphere awkward!
So Naruto's eyes darted around, and he looked at Ino, saying, "The meat skewer in your hand is burnt."
Ino gave a little scream and scrambled to fix the skewer.
But seeing that the skewer wasn't burnt at all, she looked at Naruto crossly and said, "Naruto, you're so annoying!"
Naruto laughed loudly and said, "Who told you all to get so distracted? Even if seeing me train hard makes you want to train hard too, it doesn't have to be today! Just work hard after today is over. If you worry about it now, you won't play well, you won't eat well, and you can't train anyway. What's the point?"
Shikamaru shook his head and said with a smile, "Naruto is right! We should come to Naruto's place to train often in the future. With how hard he works, he definitely knows more than us. If there's anything we don't understand, we can ask him for advice."
Everyone nodded and happily went back to their barbecue.