That Barbecue Meal Cost the Third Half a Month's Salary

Naruto spat on his fingers and thumbed through the stack of banknotes in his hand one by one.

He muttered as he counted.

"Ten... fifteen... twenty... Tch, there really are a lot of filthy rich bastards. Damn, they're loaded."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing beside him, got a face full of black lines at his street-thug behavior.

He had just sent Naruto living expenses half a month ago. He had not acted like this then.

He glanced at the wad of money Naruto was clutching. There had to be at least three hundred thousand ryo.

By this world's calculations, one ryo could be exchanged for ten yen, and the yen's purchasing power was roughly the same as that of Japanese yen. Kishimoto had said so himself.

Three hundred thousand ryo sounded intimidating, but a bowl of pork cutlet rice with extra toppings cost over a thousand yen.

Converted like that, Naruto had only extorted the equivalent of a few tens of thousands from an ordinary family.

But compared to the reward for an A-rank mission, he could earn it back just by lying on the ground—if such a bargain existed, Naruto would have loved to lie down a few more times.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at that stack of bills, and a faint gleam appeared in his eyes.

"Little Naruto, how about I keep it for you? I'll give it to you when you grow up. You have no use for so much money right now anyway."

Naruto nearly blurted out the word "scram."

He was even eyeing a child's pocket money. Did he have no shame?

This was money Naruto had earned by shamelessly rubbing his face around. No one was touching it.

His eyes shifted, and he steered the conversation elsewhere.

"Third, you said my parents were Konoha ninja who died in service. What about the money they left behind? Are you holding onto that too?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi choked on his words and stammered.

"Your parents... were just ordinary Genin. I used their money to pay off your mortgage—you see, the house you live in is a detached home. How could there be any savings left?"

"The living expenses I give you every month come out of my own pocket."

Naruto gave him a sidelong look.

His expression was full of disbelief.

"Oh, then forget it. I'll keep this little bit of money in my own pocket. I'm going to have a good barbecue meal today. Coming?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up at once. He nodded happily.

All that effort building goodwill had not been for nothing.

He had originally wanted to pry into the Hyuga Clan's affairs, and he could mooch a free meal while he was at it.

Naruto led him to a barbecue restaurant run by the Akimichi Clan.

Only shops run by ninja clans did not look at Naruto through tinted glasses.

But because Naruto was a Jinchuriki, the restaurant was always packed, practically like an internet-famous eatery, and its prices were painfully steep.

In the past, one meal here would have made Naruto tighten his belt and go hungry for more than half a month.

The moment he entered, Naruto raised an arm.

"Bring me all the expensive stuff!"

The Akimichi Clan waiter froze at first, then shifted his gaze behind Naruto. The moment he spotted the Third Hokage, he immediately understood.

The Third was putting on another show for the Jinchuriki.

Plates of premium wagyu and all kinds of fresh vegetables were piled onto the table.

Naruto spread the slices of meat across the grill, then stuffed them straight into his mouth once they were cooked, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

He had not eaten anything this decent in over three years.

Across from him, Hiruzen Sarutobi was in no hurry to pick up his chopsticks. His mind was occupied with other matters.

With a genial smile, he asked,

"Naruto, when you went to the Hyuga Clan, did they say anything to you? Or do anything?"

Naruto did not even raise his head as he chewed the meat.

"They did."

A glint flashed in the depths of the Third's eyes.

"What did they do?"

"They treated me to a feast and stuffed one hundred thousand ryo in banknotes into my arms."

"..."

"Did they do anything else?"

Naruto swallowed the meat in his mouth, raised his head, and looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"I only helped him fight for his daughter. What else could he do? Make me his son-in-law?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyelid twitched at Naruto's idiot-staring expression.

But inwardly, he was delighted.

They had gone to such lengths to entertain Naruto. Was that not an obvious gesture of goodwill?

That great Hyuga Clan was at least still clear-headed.

With that, the only troublesome ones left in all of Konoha were those irritating Uchiha bastards.

Those lunatics became ferociously strong whenever they reached the battlefield. Otherwise, he would have sent them to the front as cannon fodder long ago, to meet the same fate as the Senju Clan.

Fortunately, the plan was nearly ready to close its net.

The Uchiha had served as city guards for too long and had become snakes with their fangs pulled.

All that remained was an opportunity to wipe them out in one stroke.

One piece of good news after another came in, and Hiruzen Sarutobi could not hide his smile.

He picked up his chopsticks, ready to enjoy this barbecue meal.

A small hand went up.

"Boss! The bill!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat there with his mouth open, staring blankly at the empty plates on the table.

Where was the meat?

A round Akimichi Clan member came over and spread open the ledger.

"I'll round it down for you. One hundred and fifty thousand ryo."

Naruto winked at the waiter, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Why are you telling me that? I'm just a three-year-old brat. Look at me—do I look like someone who can pay one hundred and fifty thousand ryo?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto had already darted out the door, vanishing so fast that even his shadow was gone.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth, still clamped around his pipe, remained open for a long while.

He stared at the empty plates and the bill held out before him, his face stiffening.

"Um... how about I write an IOU?"

The Akimichi Clan waiter: "..."