The moment Teuchi said that, the entire venue fell silent.
The Hokage and two clan heads had all shown up for an ordinary Ramen Contest?
Everyone standing nearby was dumbfounded.
What were those three doing here?
The same thought ran through Kakashi's mind.
With the Third Hokage and their own clan head staring at them, the three Uchiha felt chills run down their backs, their legs going stiff.
Why had the clan head and Lord Hokage come here?
Why had Father and Lord Hokage come here?
"Wow! Grandpa Hokage's here too!"
"And the heads of the Uchiha and Akimichi Clans!"
"All right! I've gotta give it my all and finish the challenge!"
Naruto shouted loudly enough for the entire street to hear.
Once word spread, every ninja who could still walk rushed over to join the crowd.
Lord Hokage and two clan heads had come to judge a Ramen-Eating Contest?
People could understand the Hokage and the Akimichi clan head coming to show their support.
Neither man usually stood on ceremony, and both liked mingling with their subordinates.
But the Uchiha-the same Uchiha who usually looked down his nose at everyone-had come too?
To judge a Ramen-Eating Contest?
Just thinking about it felt bizarre.
Anyone who missed a sight like this would regret it for the rest of their life.
The tiny contest venue was instantly packed with ninja, with people even perched all over the branches of the nearby trees.
Countless pairs of eyes fixed on the contestants.
"Next, I'll have my special assistant host the contest for everyone!" Teuchi smiled, his whole face creasing.
"Please welcome our host-Uchiha Satoru!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure flipped down from above.
With white hair fluttering, a black eye patch covering one eye, and the Uchiha's signature clan attire on his body, the newcomer planted himself brazenly before the crowd.
He was none other than Uchiha Satoru, who had been missing for quite some time.
Earlier, while everyone was resting at the venue, he had gone out alone with Teuchi.
They had done more than chat; they had also discussed whom to invite as judges.
Uchiha Satoru had readily agreed to find a few reliable judges to help Teuchi lend the event some prestige.
So he had made his way to the Hokage Building to see the Third Hokage. After a lengthy chat, the Third Hokage had cheerfully agreed, bringing his old friend Torifu Akimichi along as well.
His father Fugaku had been even easier to handle. All he had needed to say was that the Third Hokage was going too.
Uchiha Satoru grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth as his smiling eyes swept across the venue.
"Uchiha Satoru!" Uchiha Itachi's face instantly darkened, and he forced the name out through gritted teeth, one word at a time.
"You bastard!" Sasuke ground his back teeth together, cursing his second-oldest brother.
Bastard!
So many people!
Even Father was here!
Just imagining having to compete in a ramen-eating contest under his father's watchful eye made him want to pin that bastard to the ground and beat him up.
Damn it!
The smile slowly vanished from Shisui Uchiha's face as well. He felt as though a mountain had been dropped on his shoulders.
Had he really had nothing better to do?
Why had he come here to join the fun?
He held his forehead, his head throbbing.
The rumors going around had been right. Uchiha Satoru really was something else.
Kakashi, who had deliberately approached this group for his mission only to get dragged into the contest, felt the corners of his mouth twitch. His eyes were utterly lifeless.
Lord Third Hokage!
I've really put everything on the line for this assignment!
Could you approve a long vacation once it's over?
He really needed some time to recover.
Of everyone there, only Naruto still wore that carefree grin.
"Wow! So this is where you were, big bro!"
"You went off to be the host! That's so cool!" he shouted, jumping up and down.
"Are you an idiot? Haven't you figured it out yet?"
"He called us here to compete, then disappeared himself!"
"And now he's the host!" Sasuke puffed out his cheeks, seething.
"Huh? What's wrong with that?"
"We're friends, aren't we?"
Naruto's smile was open and sincere.
Wasn't being friends all about cutting each other some slack?
"You're not so bad," Sasuke said, his expression cold.
Both Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi froze for a moment.
They had not expected the boy to say something like that.
But the moment Uchiha Satoru spoke again, the anger Naruto had just extinguished flared right back up.
"Hi, everyone! I'm Uchiha Satoru, the host of today's Ramen-Eating Contest!"
"Welcome to the contest! Today, you'll be taking on Ichiraku's miso chashu ramen."
"The time limit is thirty minutes. Whoever finishes first wins."
"Of course, today we have more than just our regular Ramen-Eating Contest. We also have a challenge event."
"Five brave souls have signed up today to take on the toughest challenge in the shop-the Super-Sized Challenge."
"Let's give them a big round of applause!"
"The challenge event also has a thirty-minute limit. Whoever finishes first within that time takes first place!"
"All right, next we'll..."
Uchiha Satoru paused strangely, that signature radiant grin appearing on his face again.
The five contestants facing him, all blessed with exceptional eyesight, felt their hearts sink at the same time.
"Let's read out the roster. Our contestants are..."
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