Almost graduating, right?

A small grove outside Konohagakure!

Ever since Naraku brought most of the Twelve Strong Kids here for a barbecue, this spot has become their hangout!

"Turn the heat down a bit, it's almost burnt, Sasuke, you idiot!"

"Stop nagging, you're so annoying!"

"Huh?? After all these years, you can't even grill properly, and you have the nerve to say I'm annoying? Tch, you're useless!"

"Hmph, you laggard, try grilling with ninjutsu if you think you can!"

By the creek, a massive grill continuously rotates!

Naruto grips the grill's handle with both hands, constantly turning the roasting wild boar!

On the other side, a dark‑haired boy keeps spouting flames beneath the boar!

The fire formed by ninjutsu is clearly hotter than ordinary flames; now the raging blaze sears the boar, its sizzling fat popping.

But his fire control is clearly lacking; several spots on the boar are already on the verge of burning.

The person is none other than Uchiha Sasuke, the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan!

Four years have passed since Naraku became a Jonin; Naruto, Sasuke and the others are now twelve, about to graduate from the ninja academy!

Four years earlier, after the Uchiha clan's extermination, Naraku saw Sasuke drowning in grief, so whenever he escorted Hinata and Naruto, he deliberately—or unintentionally—got close to Sasuke!

After all, he had promised the boy's brother to look after Sasuke!

However, Sasuke was initially wary and resistant to Naraku's approach!

But as time went on, he realized Naraku truly meant no harm!

Moreover, Naraku often gave him pointers during training!

Sasuke admitted he had nothing particularly noteworthy for Naraku to be interested in, and gradually accepted his kindness, integrating into Naraku's little group!

Thus, nine of the Twelve Strong Kids from the same class gathered around Naraku!

Additionally, with Yakumo, Hanabi, and Xiangling by his side, every outing turned into a massive troupe!

At this moment, Naruto and Sasuke—arch‑rivals entangled for generations—are grilling together, while other boys fish in the creek or play with dogs and insects!

The girls gather on the side, simmering soup or arranging the picnic blankets!

The atmosphere is truly harmonious!

"Haah!"

Naraku stretched comfortably, blinking his sleepy eyes open!

"Sasuke, your fire control is lacking; you can't perfectly regulate the flame's temperature and intensity, which means you'll waste extra chakra in battle!"

"Don't underestimate that chakra; in a pinch, lacking chakra can be fatal!"

Naraku glanced at Sasuke and said, "Grilling with ninjutsu flames—that's the training method I set for you!"

Sasuke initially resisted fiercely, thinking it was a joke!

But after Naraku forced him to try twice, he noticed a slight improvement in his fire‑ninjutsu control and began dutifully taking the role of grill master!

"Ah, big brother Naraku, you're awake!"

"Naraku, the soup's almost ready, want a taste?"

The girls, seeing Naraku awake, greeted him enthusiastically!

"Oh, this soup smells amazing—who made it?"

Naraku leaned in toward the girls and said, "If you can't find it by title, try searching by author; maybe it was just renamed!"

"I made it, Naraku‑kun, try it!"

After four years, the now even prettier Yakumo replied, serving a bowl to Naraku!

Naraku took a sip and couldn't help but drink it all down!

"Mmm, delicious—Yakumo's cooking is superb. She's truly a perfect wife‑and‑mother type; I wonder who'll be lucky enough to marry you someday!"

Naraku kept praising Yakumo, "N…Naraku, are you hinting at something?" Yakumo blushed instantly; after all these years, she still can't shake her shyness around Naraku!

"Dinner's ready!"

Naraku set his bowl down, glanced at the boar, seeing it almost done—any longer and it'd burn!

He lifted the grill with one hand, tossed it skyward, then drew his Zanpakuto!

Swish swish swish

The blade flashed, slicing the massive boar into pieces!

"Oh, here it comes!"

.

Hearing that they could finally eat, Naruto, Kiba and Denshi were, as always, the first to arrive. The three rushed to the tablecloth, gathered together, and started wolfing down the food!

"By the way, big brother Nairaku, we've been eating a lot these past few years, and I've noticed the game animals around here are getting scarcer, sigh!"

"We only managed to catch that huge wild boar after climbing over a ridge!"

Shikamaru sauntered over and said to Nairaku:

"Eh?? Really? I guess we've been eating so hard these years that we scared the small animals away. No wonder something feels off!"

In recent years, Nairaku has occasionally brought people here for picnics, which has been a nightmare for the mountain's wildlife—tiny birds and wild rabbits up to boars, bears and even blind creatures—no creature has escaped Nairaku's dinner plate!

However, lately the animals have been dwindling, and Nairaku started to feel something was off. After Shikamaru mentioned it, he finally realized!

The animals on this mountain are either being wiped out or are so terrified they flee with their families!

The atmosphere turned a bit awkward!

"By the way, you guys are graduating in a few days, right? Time really flies!"

Nairaku changed the subject and addressed everyone:

"Yeah, the graduation exam is next week. If we pass, we'll become Konohagakure's official genin!"

The others all chimed in:

"But we can't compare to big brother Nairaku. We only become genin at twelve, while he was already a jonin at ten!"

Sakura, when she spoke up, couldn't help feeling a bit discouraged!

"Don't think that way; genin are still powerful!"

"Let me tell you something: when jonin fight, it's just pots and pans; when genin fight, they can bring about heaven and earth's destruction!"

"Just don't underestimate genin!"

After saying that, Nairaku gave a mysterious smile while looking at Naruto and Sasuke!

"Hey, Nairaku, why are you staring at me?"

Seeing Nairaku staring at him, Naruto was a bit confused and asked, "Ah, nothing. I just wanted to know how your preparation's going. Don't mess up at the crucial moment!"

"When everyone else graduates successfully as genin and you're the only one who fails, that'll be embarrassing!"

Naruto swallowed the meat forcefully, patted his chest, and said to Nairaku, "Don't worry, Nairaku, I'll definitely succeed!"

Nairaku was just teasing Naruto, knowing full well Naruto would become a genin!

Although the Nine‑Tails' chakra disturbance made it hard for him to control his chakra, preventing him from mastering even the basic transformation and leading to a failed exam, fortunately a hidden figure named Mizuki, who wanted to steal the Sealing Scroll, caused a commotion that ended up strengthening Naruto's bond with Iruka and helped him graduate as a genin!

Can't find the book title? Try searching the author; maybe it was just renamed!

In response to readers' requests, we now offer a VIP membership ad‑free feature.

Click to view