Good News from Kakashi

"They aren't Konoha ninja. Look at those forehead protectors."

Shikamaru Nara had also noticed Karin, who was at the center of the argument. He recognized her identity as a ninja. "They're from Kusagakure."

"Kusagakure? If I remember right, that's the ninja village of the Land of Grass, a small country bordering the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth... Why would they be in Konoha?"

Prompted by Shikamaru, Sakura was puzzled as to why ninja from the Land of Grass had appeared in Konoha.

"Probably because of the Chunin Ninja Exams."

Naruto answered Sakura's question in a speculative tone.

"Lately, Konoha has been flooded with unfamiliar faces. Sakura, you must have noticed at least a few... I think I even saw someone who looked like a Daimyo before. The only thing I can think of that would bring a Daimyo to Konoha so suddenly is the Chunin Ninja Exams."

As he spoke, Naruto looked toward Shikamaru.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, Asuma Sarutobi mentioned it before. I heard this time's Chunin Ninja Exams will be a joint exam attended by the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind—Konoha and Sunagakure—as well as other friendly neighboring small countries."

"So that means they came to Konoha to take the Chunin Ninja Exams..."

Ino also turned her attention toward the Grass Ninja. "But aren't they teammates? Why are they arguing?"

The dispute inside the barbecue restaurant was easy enough to understand if one listened to the argument for a moment.

The red-haired female Grass Ninja was being cursed at by her two male companions.

The reason she was being berated was rather ridiculous. Simply put, the three had disagreed over how to divide their team's funds.

"Hey, Karin! What do you mean, we shouldn't eat lunch here?"

The two male Grass Ninja spoke angrily.

As for the female Grass Ninja they called Karin, she looked timid in the face of her companions' furious questioning, yet she still argued her case. "This place is too expensive. If we eat here, we won't have enough money left to buy ninja tools and supplies later."

In other words, the three Grass Ninja in the barbecue restaurant were having a fierce argument over such a trivial matter.

And the dispute quickly reached a conclusion.

"Then just deduct it from your share for ninja tools and supplies. You're nothing but useless deadweight anyway!"

The two male Grass Ninja made their decision at once, shoving Karin aside as they selfishly chose to satisfy their appetites.

Those two Grass Ninja were about the same age as Naruto and the others, around twelve or thirteen. If they had been ordinary people, they could still have been considered children.

But they were ninja, which made such behavior unbearably childish and earned the contempt of everyone watching.

"Do people like that really have what it takes to become Chunin?"

Ino was clearly displeased with the two male Grass Ninja.

"Just taking the Chunin Ninja Exams doesn't mean they'll ultimately become Chunin. Besides, small countries lack talent to begin with. All they do is throw every Genin who meets the entry requirements into the exam. If even one person out of dozens becomes a Chunin, they've already made a profit."

Naruto was in an unusually good mood as he explained the situation of the smaller countries in the ninja world to Ino.

Running into Karin here and confirming that she would be taking this Chunin Ninja Exam was already enough for Naruto.

As for stepping in to resolve Karin's current predicament, Naruto had no such intention.

And this was not the right time anyway.

This was Konoha. The Konoha ninja responsible for monitoring foreign ninja had surely already arrived nearby.

Even setting that aside, Naruto was not the only one who had witnessed the Grass Ninja team's conflict. Sakura and the three members of Team 10 had seen it as well.

Acting rashly would only invite unnecessary trouble.

Once the Chunin Ninja Exams began, Naruto would have plenty of chances to approach Karin.

"Ino, don't go thinking about helping them. We know nothing about those Grass Ninja..."

Shikamaru suddenly spoke up. As Ino's teammate in Team 10, he naturally understood what she was thinking.

In a tone that suggested he found it all troublesome, Shikamaru reminded Ino, "Cheap kindness usually doesn't bring any benefits. Instead, it can easily drag you into a whole pile of thorny problems—we're ninja too now. You understand that, right?"

Ino glared at Shikamaru, but he did not back down in the slightest.

"I know!"

Ino answered with a terrible attitude, but she still took Shikamaru's words to heart.

But Ino truly did not want those two infuriating Grass Ninja in her sight any longer. She stood up from the barbecue table. "I'm full!"

With that, she left the barbecue restaurant alone without waiting for Shikamaru and Choji Akimichi.

"What a pain..."

Shikamaru sighed helplessly and nudged Choji, signaling that the meal was over.

Then Shikamaru looked at Naruto. "Naruto, that's just how Ino is. Sorry about this... I'll treat you next time."

Naruto smiled and said he did not mind. Shikamaru said nothing more and left with Choji to catch up with Ino.

This barbecue gathering had begun in an unpleasant atmosphere and ended in one as well.

But Naruto felt that the meal had been perfect.

He had achieved his goal. Ino would no longer recklessly bring up the sensitive matter of him being a rogue ninja.

He had even received the unexpected bonus of confirming that Karin would indeed participate in this Chunin Ninja Exam.

The only slight disappointment was the unexpectedly high bill when it came time to pay.

As expected of the Akimichi Clan!

And this was with the meal ending halfway through—Choji had not even eaten his fill!

If Choji had eaten to his heart's content, Naruto truly did not dare imagine the cost...

After paying, Naruto and Sakura also left the barbecue restaurant.

Naruto looked up at the sky, just about to suggest that he and Sakura go their separate ways.

Kakashi, who had supposedly had "urgent business," appeared before them.

Sasuke, who should have been training, was also with Kakashi.

"You two have already had lunch, huh? Sasuke also said he grabbed something to eat earlier."

Kakashi glanced at the barbecue restaurant. "I was planning to treat you all to a meal."

"Kakashi-sensei, saying that at a time like this will make you seem very hypocritical to others, no matter what you actually think."

Sakura, who had already been resentful over Kakashi breaking his promise, spoke up.

"Well, um... I really was planning to treat you to lunch!"

Kakashi hurriedly defended himself.

But all three wore expressions that clearly said they did not believe him at all, leaving Kakashi thoroughly deflated.

"Kakashi-sensei, didn't you have urgent business? Did you take care of it?"

Naruto steered the dejected Kakashi back to the point. He could roughly guess why Kakashi had appeared again.

"Of course. And it concerns the three of you as well."

Kakashi put away his dejection over being distrusted by his students, took out three application forms, and handed one to each of them.

A large character for "Chunin" was written on the forms. Combined with the rest of the contents, it was clear that the applications Kakashi had handed Team 7 were for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"Though I didn't discuss it with you beforehand, it's not too late to tell you now... I recommended the three of you for this Chunin Ninja Exam."

Naruto merely lowered his head and looked at the Chunin Ninja Exam application in his hand...

Kakashi had brought the good news Naruto had been waiting for most.

So far, everything had gone as smoothly as expected.