Kushina Uzumaki

Two figures walked in through the door, sporting conspicuous blond and red hair. With such a handsome man and beautiful woman, it was hard not to notice them.

The two walked straight to the table behind Ye Feng, chatting and laughing.

"I spotted a couple of people I know. I'll go say hello." Ye Feng gave Obito and the others a heads-up, then walked to the table behind them and sat down directly across from the pair.

"Long time no see, big brother Minato. Got yourself a girlfriend, huh?"

One of the two who had just entered was Minato Namikaze, so the other, red-haired one was Kushina Uzumaki.

After all, Minato Namikaze had just played the hero rescuing a damsel under the moonlight, and the girl had red hair. The answer was all too obvious.

At Ye Feng's words, Kushina Uzumaki visibly blushed, but she did not correct him and greeted him openly.

"Hello, I'm Kushina Uzumaki."

Minato Namikaze, however, was utterly clueless. He scratched his head and hurriedly denied it. "No, no. Kushina and I are just friends."

Ye Feng looked at Minato Namikaze, speechless. Then he noticed a pained expression appear on Minato Namikaze's face. Seeming to realize something, Minato looked pleased and quickly corrected himself:

"She's my girlfriend, my girlfriend."

Now Ye Feng also noticed that Kushina Uzumaki's hand was on Minato Namikaze's waist, giving him a loving 360-degree twist.

"My name is Uchiha Yefeng. You could call me a little fan of big brother Minato."

When it came to romance, Minato Namikaze was just like his son, Naruto Uzumaki: slow on the uptake, always a step behind everyone else. If Ye Feng had not brought it up himself, who knew how long Kushina Uzumaki would have had to wait for Minato Namikaze to acknowledge that they were boyfriend and girlfriend?

Still, Ye Feng also observed a moment of silence for Minato Namikaze. Dating Konoha's famous little hot pepper meant he was destined to be a henpecked husband, with even less freedom in the future.

"So you're on a date, big sister Kushina! Is that big brother beside you your boyfriend? He's really handsome too." A voice rang out.

Ye Feng, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina looked up to see Kurenai Yuhi, Inuzuka Clan Fengyu, and Rin Nohara poking their heads over the partition between the tables as they spoke to Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina Uzumaki was cheerful and optimistic, and she was popular in the village. Little girls in particular loved sticking close to her and looked up to her as their idol. Kurenai Yuhi, Inuzuka Clan Fengyu, and Rin Nohara were no exceptions; even their personalities had been influenced by Kushina to some extent: Inuzuka Clan Fengyu's easygoing manner, Rin Nohara's cheerful optimism, and Kurenai Yuhi's refusal to admit defeat.

Seeing how awkward Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki looked, Ye Feng quickly stood up and excused himself, hurrying away with Kurenai Yuhi and the other two. Otherwise, they were bound to ruin the couple's perfectly good date, and Minato Namikaze would hate Ye Feng for it.

By the time they returned to their seats, the barbecue meat had arrived. There were three grills on the table, and Akimichi Chong had claimed an entire grill for himself and covered it with meat. Whenever anyone tried to touch the meat on his grill, he looked at them as though they had murdered his father, baring his teeth. He was a foodie through and through.

Moreover, Akimichi Chong ate meat incredibly fast. By the time the others finished one plate, he had polished off three. Ye Feng, who had originally thought they had ordered plenty, could not help wondering whether they would even get enough to eat.

Asuma Sarutobi, who was treating them, saw this as his chance to shine and said generously:

"Come on, everyone, order some more. Eat as much as you like. It's on me."

The moment he finished speaking, Akimichi Chong stood up and shouted without the slightest hesitation:

"Server! Bring us another helping of everything on this table, in the same portions!"

That shout turned Asuma Sarutobi's face green. He secretly opened his wallet, seemingly checking whether he had enough money to pay the bill.

Though they had heard before that the Akimichi Clan had astonishing appetites and could accumulate energy through eating and store it in their bodies, only after experiencing it firsthand did they understand just how enormous those appetites were.

Ye Feng reckoned Asuma Sarutobi was thinking the same thing he was: in the future, he could treat anyone to a meal except someone from the Akimichi Clan.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Asuma Sarutobi found an excuse to leave the table first. He walked over to the owner and said quietly:

"I'm Asuma Sarutobi. I didn't bring much money with me today. I'll send someone over with it in a little while."

Someone who could run Konoha's best barbecue restaurant was naturally skilled at dealing with people. The owner recognized Asuma Sarutobi, of course, and amiably told him he could pay on his next visit.

Asuma Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he did not embarrass himself in front of everyone, that was fine.

With the bill taken care of, Asuma Sarutobi returned to the table and led the others out. Just as they reached the door, they saw the owner nodding and bowing to Akimichi Chong as he said:

"Did you enjoy your meal, young master Chong? Bring more friends next time and give the family business a boost."

Ye Feng and the others all looked at Akimichi Chong in surprise. So Akimichi Chong had been eating his own family's food while spending someone else's money.

Asuma Sarutobi felt even more like a complete fool, someone who had been sold out and was still helping count the money.

Nara Xingcun, who was fairly close to Akimichi Chong, explained, "Almost all the barbecue restaurants in Konoha are run by the Akimichi Clan. It's like how our Nara Clan has a fairly large deer farm and handles most of Konoha's medicine business."

They really are all loaded. Who else am I supposed to fleece in the future if not you?

Konoha's nightlife had practically nothing to do with children. All late-night establishments (shops that stayed open late-don't get the wrong idea) barred children at night, so Ye Feng and the others prepared to go home after their meal.

Rin Nohara wanted to go home alone, but Obito, playing the devoted doormat, insisted on walking her home.

Suddenly, Inuzuka Clan Fengyu walked up to Ye Feng's left side, hugged his left arm, and said:

"Ye Feng, it's so dark out. I'm scared to walk alone. Walk me home."

Kurenai Yuhi saw this and looked thoroughly displeased. Gritting her teeth, she walked to Ye Feng's right side, hugged his right arm, and said to Inuzuka Clan Fengyu:

"Ye Feng is walking me home. Have someone else walk you."

"Ye Feng never said he would walk you home. Besides, your house and his are in two different directions. Why should he walk you home?"

Seeing that the two little girls were about to start arguing, Ye Feng hurried to smooth things over.

"Don't argue. I've got plenty of time. I'll walk you both home, both of you. Let's take Kurenai home first. Her house is closer."

Afraid that the two would start arguing again, Ye Feng led them away from the barbecue restaurant without waiting for their answers, leaving only Asuma Sarutobi standing bewildered in the wind, nursing his hurt in silence.