When Naruto brought Karin to the Barbecue Restaurant, everyone else had already arrived.
Kiba called out loudly when he spotted Naruto. "Naruto, over here! Over here! What took you so long? Everyone's been waiting ages!"
His shout immediately drew everyone's attention to Naruto, and they all greeted him.
Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Something held me up, so I'm a little late."
Kiba nodded, then noticed Karin hiding behind Naruto. "Naruto, who's this?" Everyone else noticed her too and looked at Naruto curiously.
Naruto smiled. "This is my friend Karin. She'll be staying in our village from now on. Karin, say hello to my friends. They're all good people."
A little frightened, Karin addressed Naruto's friends. "Hello, everyone. I'm Karin Uzumaki. I look forward to getting to know you."
Her introduction immediately caught Shikamaru's attention. "Naruto, is she related to you? Her last name's Uzumaki too."
Naruto smiled. "You really are sharp, Shikamaru. All Karin did was introduce herself, and you figured it out. She's a member of my clan. We're both from the Uzumaki Clan."
Shikamaru looked puzzled. "Naruto, I never knew you had other clan members. But my dad told me the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out." The moment he asked, he realized it was an insensitive question, but he was genuinely curious.
Seeing Shikamaru's apologetic expression, Naruto knew what he was thinking and laughed. "It's fine, Shikamaru. I don't mind. You're right-the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out, but plenty of its members are still scattered out there. All I can do right now is try to find those who've been left wandering and mistreated, and bring them back."
Hinata came over and took Naruto's hand. "Naruto-kun, I'll help too."
Naruto was deeply touched. "Thank you, Hinata." Everyone else also offered to do their best to help him find