Lunchtime!

The scene returned to the Ninja Academy.

At last, it was time, and Iruka-sensei announced the lunch break.

Sasuke took two large lunch boxes out of his bag and gave one to Hinata.

Naruto took two large lunch boxes out of his bag and gave one to Hinata.

Hinata took out three large lunch boxes of her own to eat.

No matter how many times they saw it, Naruto and Sasuke were still frightened by Hinata's appetite.

⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

But Hinata had gradually gotten used to it. She was eating in front of friends, after all.

This time, however, someone invited himself over as though they were already friends.

"Yo, hi there."

A boy holding a puppy greeted the three of them.

The little white dog's head poked out of Kiba's arms. He sniffed the surrounding scents, and then his eyes lit up.

"Woof, woof."

Yes, it was a very natural scent.

Although there was pressure from an apex predator of his own kind, a green, natural power covered it up.

It just felt very reassuring, making him want to latch on to someone powerful.

"Oh, a doggo."

When Kiba had gone up earlier, he had introduced this doggo. His name was Akamaru.

But the scatterbrained Naruto hadn't paid attention or remembered. He only remembered there being a doggo.

So he was delighted when the doggo stuck his tongue out at him and barked.

"Hi, your name was..."

Naruto took a bite of rice mixed with soy sauce and replied.

"Hey, my name's Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka. And this guy's Akamaru."

Kiba was very hurt that Naruto and the others hadn't remembered his introduction.

But Naruto had a pleasant scent, and so did Hinata, so Kiba wanted to get to know them.

"Oh, oh, got it. Want to eat with us?"

Seeing this, Naruto invited him.

Friendships between children were actually easy to build, especially when the other person meant well and you could sense it.

"Can I?"

Kiba was a little surprised by how open and friendly Naruto was.

Naruto: If you had even a bit of the same malice as those dim-witted villagers, I'd show you what terror meant! Ever heard of school bullying?

Kiba set his lunch box on Naruto's desk and joined them.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, she's my good friend Hinata Hyuga, and he's my little bro, Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto introduced the members of the Konoha F4 to Kiba.

Hinata quietly greeted Kiba.

"Hello."

Then she went back to digging into her food.

Don't underestimate that one greeting. She had done it entirely to back Naruto up.

Usually, when Hinata ate at home, she paid no attention to anyone at all. Yet now she had acknowledged Kiba Inuzuka, showing just how much Naruto meant to her.

Sasuke gave Kiba a disdainful look, but since he was still Naruto's little bro for now, he reluctantly nodded.

Sasuke: One day, I'll pin Naruto to the ground and wipe the floor with him!

Then everyone began eating.

Kiba watched in shock as Hinata finished all five lunches, bowl after bowl.

(ΩДΩ)

Choji, sitting behind them, was also frightened by Hinata's appetite. He muttered, "It has to be her! It has to be her!"

The corner of Shikamaru's mouth twitched. He, too, was frightened by Hinata's appetite.

But it wasn't a big problem. He would have to get used to it sooner or later anyway, and getting used to it later was better than sooner.

Hinata: I'll eat, I'll eat, and I'll keep eating! ⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

How to put it? Hamura's template was certainly powerful, but Hinata needed to eat quite a lot along the way.

Hiashi: No big deal. I can afford to feed her!

How could the great Hyuga Clan possibly be unable to afford their young lady's meals? If word got out, wouldn't those red-eyed sufferers next door laugh themselves to death?

During the midday break after lunch, several of them gathered to chat.

"Choji, do you know Auntie Akimichi Aoi?"

Naruto asked Choji.

Of course Choji knew her. Aoi was his aunt, and she was also in charge of the Akimichi BBQ Restaurant.

Choji had often gone to the restaurant to play with Auntie Aoi, eating just a tiny bit of barbecue while he was there.

Yes, he really did miss Auntie Aoi. The barbecue was incidental. He definitely wasn't going there for the barbecue.

"Of course. She's my aunt. Did you guys meet her at the barbecue restaurant?"

Choji nodded and asked.

"Yeah, the three of us have been there lots of times. The food's so good."

At those words, several children who had been to the barbecue restaurant nodded.

"Let me tell you, there was a story going around our clan about a little girl who nearly broke the Akimichi Clan's eating record."

As Choji spoke, he kept stealing glances at Hinata.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, then both turned toward Hinata at the same time.

It seemed that ever since that visit, Hinata had deliberately eaten much less when she was out.

But the lunches she was eating now were made to leave her eighty percent full.

⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

Hinata's face reddened, and she lowered her head. She said softly,

"Uh, that was probably me."

The children who had been guessing gave her looks that said they had known it, but they immediately began worrying that they might hurt Hinata's feelings. After all, although there was nothing really wrong with a girl eating a lot, some people would see it as a flaw.

"It's okay. I'm just a little embarrassed."

Hinata's voice grew considerably louder.

After all, eating a lot was a good thing for her. The more she ate, the stronger she became. Even her father was happy about it.

It was just that Neji had wanted to try copying Hinata's method of growing stronger, only to declare it a failure after eating until he threw up several times.

But as his uncle, Hiashi had still secretly slipped Neji quite a few secret manuals that only the Main Family was allowed to study.

He told Neji to practice in secret, then join Hinata in overthrowing the Main Family and Branch Family system once she had grown up!

Then Hiashi went to have tea with Hizashi.

Hiashi: I'm getting on in years. I'll leave the future to the children. At the rate Hinata's growing, she might be able to haul those elders out by the time she's thirteen anyway.

For now, he just needed to focus on raising his second child and having tea with his younger brother.

"Don't underestimate Hinata. She's even stronger than Sasuke."

Naruto chimed in, taking a jab at Sasuke, who was holding a book beside them and pretending to study while actually pricking up his ears to eavesdrop.

No, I can't get angry. Even if I do, I can't beat him.

Sasuke consoled himself. After all, when he had sparred with Hinata before, she had taken him out with a single combination of punches, leaving him lying on the ground for five minutes.

If Naruto hadn't pulled him up afterward, he might have had to keep lying there.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, judging by Sasuke's face, it's probably true."

Kiba and Choji began discussing it, while the dark lines on the forehead of Sasuke, still pretending to study beside them, kept twitching.

Damn it!

"In our Konoha F4, I'm the strongest, Hinata's second, and Sasuke's last."

Naruto began telling them about the makeup of his Konoha F4.

Yes, it was perfectly reasonable for the Konoha F4 to have three people, right?

At least for now, a person in a vegetative state couldn't be counted as a person.

How comical.

"Then tell us how you became Sasuke's big bro."

Kiba showed Sasuke no consideration and asked Naruto outright. The question hit exactly the spot that pleased Naruto.

"Let me tell you, Sasuke and I hit it off the moment we met back then. It was a winter morning. The cold wind blew and blew, but it couldn't blow away our passion for becoming big bro and little bro."

"Crunch."

Choji took a bite of his chips and listened intently.

"First I went swish, swish, swish, then crack, crack, crack, and finally bam, bam, bam. Then Sasuke willingly accepted me as his big bro."

Naruto couldn't have been more excited. It was rare to have so many friends around listening to him share a story. This was tens of thousands of times better than those dim-witted villagers from before.

He planted one foot on the desk and pointed at the ceiling with one hand. Sunlight from the window spilled over his long golden hair, making it look dazzlingly colorful.

"Naruto..."

Hinata gazed at the scene in a daze, a sweet smile spreading across her face.

The friends around him all burst into thunderous applause. Well, except Sasuke.

"Hey!!! You clearly tricked me!"

Sasuke wanted to argue his case, but Naruto silenced him with a single sentence.

"Sasuke, remember, I'm the boss now!!!"