Sasuke's voice faltered noticeably as he chatted with the girls, his small hand suddenly caught in Naruto's grasp beneath the table.
Who among those present wasn't a prodigy from a major clan?
Seeing the slight change in Sasuke's expression and the obvious hitch in his speech, Shikamaru and the others immediately noticed something was off.
One of the girls clicked her tongue softly and muttered, "Hmph, that disgusting stink of romance."
"Uh... did something happen?" Sasuke asked, forcing himself to remain calm.
"No, nothing. Nothing at all."
Not wanting to expose the pair to their faces, everyone hurriedly laughed it off.
Sasuke took the opportunity to quickly free his hand from Naruto's grip.
The meal lasted around two hours.
Whether it was the atmosphere, the dishes, or the service, Juxia Tower offered something no other restaurant in Konoha could match, and everyone was thoroughly satisfied.
Sure enough, once the girls steered the conversation toward the team assignments in two days, everyone grew excited.
"I wonder which jonin I'll be assigned to."
"Hmph, hopefully someone strong."
At the mention of this, Sakura Haruno's eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at Sasuke and Naruto, thinking that if the team assignments separated those two while putting her together with Sasuke, she would still have one last chance.
The gathering soon ended. Before they left, Shikamaru even invited everyone over to his house.
But Sasuke's mind was entirely on practicing Shadow Clones. How could he possibly agree?
Naruto was even more eager to get back and study his forbidden technique.
After saying goodbye to everyone, the two returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound hand in hand.
Naruto hurriedly took out the shinobi world mother insect he had asked Shino for. With a thought, he continuously divided his chakra into tiny strands to feed it.