"I never thought there'd be such a strong opponent even in the Preliminaries. It was so exciting! Too bad my skills weren't up to scratch. I got injured and poisoned, so I missed the rest of the matches... Sigh."
Rock Lee couldn't help getting up from his seat and throwing a few punches into the air, letting out a frustrated howl.
"Keep it down a little, Lee!"
Neji, who already felt somewhat out of place at gatherings like this, frowned. Seeing the other customers looking over at Rock Lee's commotion made him feel embarrassed.
"S-sorry."
"It's fine! We got together today specifically to celebrate Lee getting out of the hospital, after all. He must've been going stir-crazy in there these past few days... Oh, I'd like some orange juice too. Sorry for the trouble, Hinata!"
Tenten smiled sweetly and passed her glass to Hinata, who was sitting beside Naruto.
Karin took the opportunity to hold up the menu and ask Sasuke whether there was anything he particularly wanted to eat, hoping to learn about his tastes and interests. Unfortunately, Sasuke dismissed it all with a single "Whatever."
The ten people gathered here were the members of Naruto's team, Neji's team, and Shikamaru's team who had taken part in the exams. Although everyone on Shikamaru's team had been eliminated, they had all seen just how difficult these exams were. Even making it to the Preliminaries had been no easy feat.
Before long, the table was laden with meat for grilling, and Choji's eyes were already sparkling.
"Let's start with a toast! Congratulations to Lee on getting out of the hospital, and to everyone who made it to the third round!"
Naruto, who had organized the gathering, cheered, raised his juice, and drained his glass.
"Cheers!"
As their glasses clinked, everyone relaxed