Chapter 84: This Is Basically Asking to Die
Dosu turned around stiffly.
"U-Um… is there anything else?"
His voice trembled.
All the previous arrogance was gone.
Naruto pointed casually at Kin, who was still lying unconscious nearby.
"Take her with you too."
Dosu nearly jumped out of his skin.
He thought Naruto was about to keep tormenting him.
But it was just this?
That was easy then.
Dosu gave an awkward laugh: "Okay, okay—I'll do it right now."
Once the three Sound ninja had truly left,
Naruto finally turned back to the group.
"Have you guys eaten yet?"
The question almost made everyone faint.
Was eating really the issue right now?
Uh…
Ino—still clinging to Naruto's back—raised her little hand and smiled brightly.
"Nope, nope!"
"Naruto-kun, what delicious food are you treating us to?"
Shua—
Sakura's face flushed red with anger. She marched over to the two of them.
"Ino! What are you doing climbing on him again? Get down right now!"
Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura and giggled: "Bleh~ No way!"
The two girls were like powder kegs—one spark away from exploding.
But honestly—Naruto really was hungry.
After all that fighting, he still hadn't eaten.
"Ino—come down first."
"I need to eat something too."
Hearing that,
Ino reluctantly jumped off with a pout.
Shikamaru and Chōji went to check on Rock Lee's injuries.
Rock Lee had thrown himself into the fight earlier
to protect everyone.
He had taken some damage.
Fortunately—nothing fatal.
One more person had come to watch the show…
Yep—Neji, who—like Naruto—had stayed hidden in the trees spectating the entire time.
In the original story, Neji was considered quite ruthless.
A genius, after all.
Definitely.
But unfortunately—he ran into the current Naruto.
1 vs 9.
Naruto 1, opponent 9.
That's just how it was…
"Big brother-in-law???"
Naruto looked up at Neji—still perched on the branch maintaining his lofty demeanor—and asked in confusion.
Everyone fell silent again.
Big brother-in-law??
Who was he calling that?
Because of cultural differences,
they didn't immediately understand
what Naruto was trying to say.
Neji—having been spotted by Naruto—frowned.
"What big brother-in-law? Don't talk nonsense!"
Bang—
Neji leaped down from the tree.
He walked over.
"Naruto—what exactly are you trying to say?"
Neji looked like he was facing a great enemy.
He wasn't as calm on the surface as he appeared.
He had seen everything just now.
Uchiha Sasuke was already a worthy rival.
As for Uzumaki Naruto—
one casual hand chop had knocked out Sasuke in his bizarre berserk state.
Clearly someone not to be underestimated.
He wondered what would happen if they fought.
But thinking about the main family's eldest daughter Hinata—
who had been getting quite close to Naruto lately—
Neji felt deeply frustrated.
"And he's supposed to be the future head of the Hyūga clan!"
"He can't possibly not know the clan rules, right?"
Neji muttered under his breath.
Naruto had no idea what he was saying.
Looks like big brother-in-law is still pretty young.
Hasn't been beaten down by society yet.
Naruto didn't really care about it.
He waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing."
Sigh… cultural differences make communication so difficult.
If he used professional slang, these well-off ninja would understand even less.
So Naruto decided not to waste time on this topic.
"Sakura, Ino—go get the four bear paws from under that tree over there."
"I'm going to make roasted bear paws."
Hearing that,
Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura immediately dashed off.
They seemed eager to compete in front of Naruto.
Chōji and Shikamaru woke Rock Lee up.
Once Rock Lee groggily came to,
they briefed him on everything that had happened.
Rock Lee was stunned.
"So Naruto is actually that strong."
Then passion flashed in the young man's eyes.
He clenched his fist.
"Looks like I need to work harder too!"
"This is youth!!!"
He had been beaten badly earlier.
But after learning Naruto could suppress the enemy with just a glance,
in that moment—Rock Lee felt like he had found the light of his life.
Shikamaru and Chōji exchanged glances.
For some reason—they felt deeply speechless.
Tenten—the walking human ATM—also came over to join the group.
Originally she and Neji had planned to stay on the sidelines watching.
But Rock Lee had jumped in.
The crisis was over.
If they didn't show up now—it would look bad.
Since Naruto already had the Earth Scroll,
Team 7 could act relaxed.
As for the other two teams—
with Shikamaru's brains and Neji's combat power,
taking a scroll would be easy.
So now everyone started barbecuing.
The bear paws were set up—
sizzle sizzle
Soon the huge bear paws were oozing oil.
The fragrance spread everywhere.
"Holy crap? Naruto—you even brought seasonings?"
Seeing Naruto take out cumin powder,
Chōji swallowed hard.
His eyes were glued.
For a hardcore food lover—
what could possibly be more important than eating?
Shikamaru paused, then gave a wry smile: "You're really just here on vacation, aren't you?"
"We're supposed to be taking an exam."
Rock Lee gave a thumbs-up. "As expected of Naruto—this is youth!"
"Cough cough… Lee—what does this have to do with youth?"
Shikamaru asked, baffled.
Rock Lee's train of thought was way ahead of his age group!
Couldn't understand it. Couldn't understand it.
Four massive bear paws.
More than enough for nine people to feast on.
Originally Neji planned to leave.
But after Tenten's persuasion,
he arrogantly stayed.
Just one bite!
Only one bite!
When Naruto sprinkled his homemade Lee Ming-hua seasoning on the bear paws,
the entire vibe instantly changed.
Spicy, fragrant, mouth-watering.
Everyone couldn't stop drooling.
After the meal,
everyone rested for a bit.
Then they began to part ways.
After all—they still needed to find scrolls.
Naruto wasn't worried about them.
With their strength—getting a scroll was just a matter of time.
Just wait.
So everyone went their separate ways.
Team 7—Naruto's group—headed toward the destination.
Along the way, some ninja tried to ambush them for the scroll.
All of them were taken care of.
Picking the wrong target to rob.
Specifically robbing the prince!
Weren't they just asking to die?
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