Embarrassed Beyond Belief

A few minutes later.

Kiba Inuzuka finally woke up again, though his face remained dark, clearly showing his displeasure.

Seeing his expression, Kurenai knew his resentment had yet to fade. She wanted to comfort him, but she had no idea where to begin.

After all, being grabbed and smashed hard into the ground three times could not have felt good.

So Kurenai did not say much. Instead, she continued guiding everyone through their tests and training.

Perhaps because he still refused to accept it, Kiba Inuzuka trained with exceptional effort. Every attack he made was impressive, showcasing his strengths in every aspect.

He seemed to want to prove that his earlier defeat had only been an accident and salvage his damaged image.

Before long, training ended.

Kiba Inuzuka pulled Shino Aburame aside and asked hopefully.

"Shino, what do you think of my combat ability? I only lost to Naruto because I was careless, right?"

"Careless?"

Shino Aburame hesitated for two seconds before answering honestly, "Naruto is very strong. In terms of strength, you really did lose."

"Obviously. He's from the Uzumaki Clan, so his physique is naturally stronger. I mean overall combat power, overall fighting ability!"

As Kiba Inuzuka spoke, he desperately hoped Shino Aburame would say he was stronger than Naruto.

After hearing that, Shino Aburame fell silent for a moment before saying again, "But you still lost."

"You idiot, don't forget Akamaru. He didn't take part in the fight," Kiba Inuzuka said angrily.

"He was frightened like that by Naruto. He lost before the fight even began."

"Shino Aburame!!"

Kiba Inuzuka was furious. "Can't you just say I'm stronger than Naruto?"

"But you really did lose."

"I..."

Kiba Inuzuka decided not to keep talking to Shino Aburame. He felt this guy was far too inflexible, and the more they talked, the angrier he became.

Depressed, Kiba Inuzuka still felt that he was capable, that his defeat had merely been an accident. He wanted to make excuses for himself, but the truth told him that he had indeed lost, and lost badly.

Being defeated by the dead last was something he could not accept. He refused to admit defeat and wanted to surpass Naruto again, but Akamaru could not help him. Having lost his greatest support, he no longer had absolute confidence against Naruto.

In the end, Kiba Inuzuka decided to go back and train Akamaru properly before challenging Naruto to another duel.

Elsewhere.

After training, Hinata was chatting with Naruto. Though she was always timid, she answered promptly whenever Naruto asked her something.

It could be said that she valued every word Naruto said and was willing to talk with him. Even simply standing beside Naruto made her happy.

[Experience Points +1]

The Experience Points notification appeared.

Watching the Experience Orbs around Hinata completely disappear, Naruto frowned to himself. To restore his Experience Points, he could only wait for the plot to unfold.

Because the next plot involving Hinata seemed to be the Chūnin Exams, he could only wait for now.

Fortunately.

Kurenai and the others still had some Experience Points left. Absorbing all of them would still be a decent gain.

Thus, Naruto remained there earning Experience Points until noon, when he finally absorbed them all.

"Naruto, it's noon. Let's go back. Sensei said we should return here at two in the afternoon to train."

Standing beside Naruto, Hinata blinked her large eyes as she spoke, faintly revealing her inner foodie.

Seeing Hinata's expression, Naruto instantly understood what she meant and asked with a smile, "Hinata, what do you want to eat for lunch?"

"I... I want braised pork." Hinata tapped her chin with her fair little index finger, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Braised pork, huh? Sure. Actually, there's another dish called sweet and sour ribs. It tastes pretty good too. Want to try it?" Naruto suggested.

"Mm-hmm, of course I do!"

Hinata hurriedly nodded her little head, her large eyes filled with anticipation as she looked at Naruto.

She knew Naruto's cooking skills. If Naruto said something was delicious, it definitely would not taste bad.

So she showed great interest in this new dish.

While they were talking, Kurenai and the others nearby heard everything clearly.

Over the past two days, they had heard Hinata mention several times that Naruto was a good cook, especially that his braised pork was incredibly delicious. Now that sweet and sour ribs had come up as well, they became even more interested.

Unfortunately.

Until Naruto took Hinata away, none of them had the nerve to ask. They could only stand there and watch.

"Sweet and sour ribs... What kind of dish is that? Could Naruto really be such a good cook?" Kurenai murmured.

"It should be delicious. Otherwise, Hinata would not praise him so highly. And that braised pork... I wonder what it tastes like." Shino Aburame was also curious and wanted to try it.

"Hmph, how old is Naruto? How good could his cooking possibly be? Hinata only says that because she likes Naruto," Kiba Inuzuka said sourly.

"So that's how it is."

Kurenai was somewhat disappointed. She had thought Naruto was genuinely good at cooking, but it turned out there was another reason.

"Of course. You can tell just by looking at Hinata's expression. Naruto's cooking might be terrible. Even if you beat me to death, I still wouldn't eat it," Kiba Inuzuka declared firmly.

"Alright, enough. Let's head back," Shino Aburame said, not wanting to continue the topic.

"Alright, let's go."

The three returned to eat. When two in the afternoon came, they returned here to train again, but Kiba Inuzuka was in a bad mood and only ate a few bites.

Not long afterward.

Hinata hurried over with a backpack on her back and said happily, "Everyone, come over! Naruto said he's very grateful to you all, so he asked me to bring you some delicious food."

As she spoke, Hinata walked to a rock and took out a box of sweet and sour pork tenderloin and a box of braised pork from her backpack, then took out some chopsticks.

Her words and actions left Kurenai confused. She asked, "Grateful to us? Why?"

"I don't know either. Right after lunch was finished, Naruto suddenly burst out laughing and said his luck was amazing, and then..."

Hinata suddenly remembered something. Her little face turned slightly red before she continued, "Then Naruto said he had to treat you all to a meal."

"Huh? But we didn't help him with anything, did we?" Kurenai asked uncertainly.

"I don't know either. Come eat, everyone. It's really delicious," Hinata urged everyone over.

"Is it really that good?" Remembering what Kiba Inuzuka had said, Kurenai felt worried.

"It's super delicious. Try it if you don't believe me."

As Hinata spoke, she opened the boxes. Instantly, the rich aroma of meat drifted through the air. The enticing smell drew everyone's attention, and even Akamaru looked as though he was drooling.

Only Kiba Inuzuka wore a sour expression, deliberately acting as though he hated the food.

"It smells so good. It actually smells this good. Let me try some."

Kurenai picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she said in surprise, "It really is delicious."

"I'll try some too."

Not to be outdone, Shino Aburame picked up his chopsticks and tasted it as well. The next second, he stopped speaking and doubled his eating speed.

"Kiba Inuzuka, you should try some too. It's really delicious," Kurenai said, waving him over.

"I'm not eating it. It's just a meal. How good could it possibly be? Akamaru, don't you agree?" Kiba Inuzuka looked at his dog.

Woof!

Akamaru darted to Hinata's feet and began wagging his tail pleadingly, his eyes fixed on the braised pork as he took on the posture of a shameless lapdog.

"Get back here, Akamaru!"

Kiba Inuzuka was furious. He had never expected his dog to act like this. It was infuriating.

The key was that he had just said the food tasted bad, yet his dog had been lured away by it. It was far too embarrassing. Depressed, Kiba Inuzuka wanted to give Akamaru a beating.

Grrrrowl!

The sound of a growling stomach suddenly came from Kiba Inuzuka's belly, drawing everyone's attention.

Under everyone's strange gazes, Kiba Inuzuka stood there as if stunned. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground, crawl inside, and never come out again. He had embarrassed himself beyond belief.