"Lord Danzo, the other party's cells are far too aggressive."
"What do you mean?"
Danzo was immediately annoyed. He had turned to Uzumaki cells because Hashirama Cells were unusable.
And now the other party was telling him that Uzumaki cells were unusable too.
"Please don't worry, my lord." Seeing Danzo get angry, the man remained completely calm. He wouldn't have dared report the situation if he had no results.
"What results? Hurry up and tell me." Danzo was an impatient man. Seeing that the other party still wasn't speaking, he was displeased. If the man's abilities weren't so important, he would have been six feet under by now.
Naruto knew nothing about Danzo's scheming—or rather, he had never cared about Danzo's existence.
After returning to the village, Naruto couldn't help suggesting that they celebrate.
Hinata was very excited, and Kakashi eventually agreed too. Of course, Kakashi was paying.
The three of them went to a yakiniku restaurant.
"Sasuke, Naruto." As soon as they stepped through the door, they heard someone call out to them.
"Shikamaru, Choji! It's been ages." Seeing his two friends, Naruto was delighted. It really had been a long time since he'd seen them.
"You just got back from a mission?" Shikamaru asked curiously.
"Yeah, it was a long-term mission. We were away for more than half a month." Thinking about it made Naruto grumble.
"I'm jealous. We haven't even left the village in all this time." Choji cast a resentful glance at their Jonin leader.
Asuma scratched his head awkwardly and greeted Kakashi.
"I'm the one who's jealous. Look how good your Jonin leader is to you. He's nothing like Kakashi-sensei, who pinches every penny." Naruto leaned closer and quietly complained about Kakashi.
At that, Choji couldn't help feeling a little smug. By comparison, he felt their Jonin leader was pretty generous.
After chatting for a bit, the group went to another table to order food.
"That Naruto really is just like before." Shikamaru watched Naruto's smiling face and couldn't help smiling himself.
"Yeah, he hasn't changed at all. But I feel like he and Hinata have gotten even closer." Choji was happy too.
"Hinata, Kakashi's treating us today, so make sure you eat well." As soon as they sat down, Naruto said to Hinata.
Hinata immediately blushed. Now that she was with Naruto, he fed her every day, and Kakashi and the others had learned just how much she could eat. Hinata actually wanted to say that her appetite had gotten much smaller. With Naruto's chakra nourishing her, she no longer needed to eat so much. But Naruto was having so much fun feeding her that she couldn't bring herself to say it.
When Kakashi heard Naruto, his expression changed.
Over the past half month, he had learned how much Naruto and Hinata could eat. The two of them had appetites even more terrifying than the Akimichi. Thinking about how much they'd eat if they really let loose, Kakashi's hand trembled.
Sasuke's mouth twitched. He wanted to say something, but seeing how happy the two of them looked, he wasn't sure if he should.
Kakashi had lost his appetite. All he could hear echoing in his mind was Naruto's "Make sure you eat well."
Could Naruto be so strong because he eats so much? Kakashi couldn't help letting his imagination run wild.
Sasuke had the same thought. Whether it was Naruto Uzumaki or Hinata Hyuga, both of them had far more chakra than he did. Add in their one shared trait—their huge appetites—and it was hard not to start wondering.
As soon as the grilled meat arrived, the three of them began eating heartily. Even Sasuke felt like his appetite had grown a lot.
Seeing Sasuke stuffing himself, Kakashi knew they were thinking the same thing.
He couldn't help complaining inwardly: Even if you eat until you burst, you'll never have as much chakra as Naruto.
Naruto had no idea what was on their minds. He was still wondering why Uchiha Sasuke had such a good appetite today. Had eating too much fish over the past half month done it?
Seeing the three of them eating so enthusiastically, Kakashi picked up a slice of grilled meat, but he just couldn't bring himself to eat it.
He felt a little sorry for his wallet.
The lively atmosphere at their table affected Choji, who was still eating at the other one.
"Just as you'd expect from Naruto!" Seeing Naruto eat, Choji was instantly fired up.
Shikamaru and Ino couldn't help getting a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the next moment—
"I'm not going to lose to Naruto!" Choji began stuffing himself with meat.
Asuma was speechless, and at the same time, he felt sorry for his wallet.
He couldn't help blaming Kakashi for treating them today.
Although Naruto had said that, he knew his limits. Most of the time, he was grilling meat and feeding it to Hinata. He didn't eat that much himself.
He didn't actually need to eat. He only ate to satisfy his appetite.
The Six Thief Immortals was an incredibly mysterious power. Calling it the power of an earthly immortal was no exaggeration.
He didn't need to eat, so naturally he didn't need to poop either. Anything he ate would be completely digested, leaving behind no waste at all. He would also live forever, remaining forever young.
Even in a fantasy world, the Six Thief Immortals had a mysterious origin. In this world, there were so many things Naruto could devour that even he didn't know what he might ultimately become.
Just as everyone was still eating and drinking heartily, an eagle cried out overhead.
Kakashi, who had been feeling troubled, immediately became serious.
"Naruto, you guys keep eating. I'll go settle the bill." Kakashi said, then disappeared.
"What's going on? Did Kakashi-sensei just run off?" Sasuke quickly stopped eating and asked in confusion.
"Jonin must've been summoned. Something's up." Naruto gestured toward Asuma, who had also left.
Sasuke understood at once.
It must have been that eagle's cry.
"It's fine. It has nothing to do with us. Keep eating." Naruto reassured Hinata and continued grilling meat for her.
But he was actually a little excited.
Is it happening?
Chunin Ninja Exams
Just as expected, the Third Hokage summoned all the Jonin who were still in Konoha and weren't out on missions to a meeting in the Hokage's office. The purpose was to discuss the joint Chunin Ninja Exams.
"The Sand shinobi have submitted a request to hold joint Chunin Ninja Exams with us. We've agreed, and the exams will be held in seven days." The Third Hokage looked at the Jonin standing before him and made the announcement.
He also had a mission to give them.
They were to notify the other minor shinobi villages and invite them to participate in Konoha's Chunin Ninja Exams.
The other major nations would be notified as well, but they probably wouldn't come. The exams were being jointly hosted by Konoha and the Wind Hidden Village. Although it was peacetime, there was no peace in the Ninja World. They were all building up their strength, waiting for the next Great Ninja War.