Naruto squeezed to the very front of the line.
His little face, covered in mud, was filled with longing for the roasted meat.
His nostrils twitched as he greedily inhaled the rich, oily scent in the air.
But he looked at the frog wallet in his hand, which was as shrunken as a specimen.
Not even a single coin could be poured out.
"Well..."
Naruto sighed heavily, like a deflated balloon.
As an orphan, he didn't have much money for living expenses each month, and he often had to eat at Ichiraku Ramen.
These skewers of roasted meat, which cost ten thousand taels of silver each, were simply an unattainable luxury for him.
He could only watch enviously as others ate with gusto, their mouths greasy and sticky, secretly swallowing his saliva.
"Uncle, I... I'm just standing here smelling it, is it okay if I don't buy it?"
Naruto rubbed his hands together a little embarrassedly and asked pitifully.
Kenya couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's greedy look.
"Smelling it is no fun at all."
Kenya casually grabbed three of the fattest, crispy-on-the-outside and tender-on-the-inside skewers of sea monster meat from the grill.
It was shoved directly into Naruto's dusty hands.
"Here, eat it."
Naruto froze, staring at the huge, dripping meat skewer in his hand, his face filled with disbelief.
"Uncle... but I don't have any money..."
"These three strings will cost thirty thousand taels!"
"Who wants your money?" Kenya rolled his eyes.
"Didn't you say you wanted to be my apprentice?"
"This is considered an internal employee benefit of the ' Iron Fist Chamber of Commerce Sponsor'."
Upon hearing this...
Naruto was so moved that tears almost welled up in his eyes.
He sniffed hard, no longer caring about his image, grabbed the meat skewer, and started taking big bites.
"Delicious! So delicious!"
Naruto mumbled incoherently as he ate.
"Uncle, the meat you grill is a hundred times better than Ichiraku Ramen!"
The elastic sea monster meat burst with rich juices in his mouth, instantly dispelling Naruto's fatigue and hunger from the past few days.
He ate until his face was covered in sauce, looking just like a satisfied little kitten.
Kenya was very pleased with these generous compliments.
"Eat more if it's delicious. If you become my apprentice, I'll let you eat sea monsters every meal."
While flipping the meat skewers, Kenya casually drew a picture of a flatbread.
Behind Naruto stood Sakura and Sasuke.
Sakura couldn't help but swallow as she watched Naruto wolf down his food, but her girlish modesty made her too shy to speak.
Sasuke, on the other hand, stood to the side with his arms crossed, looking aloof.
However, his eyes kept glancing at the barbecue grill, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
His Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.
I'm hungry.
The inexplicable encounter with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, coupled with the anxiety of the past few days.
He was so hungry that his stomach was practically sticking to his back.
But how could he possibly bow down and buy meat from the man who had previously humiliated him?
The pride of the Uchiha Clan would never allow him to do such a thing!
"Gurgle..."
Sasuke's stomach, quite inconsiderately, let out a loud protest.
The sound was exceptionally clear within the group.
Sakura looked at him in surprise.
Sasuke's fair cheeks instantly turned bright red, and he wished he could disappear into the ground.
"Oh, it seems the young master of the Uchiha is hungry too."
Kenya certainly heard the voice. He stopped what he was doing and looked at Sasuke with a half-smile.
"What? You think my roast meat isn't good enough for your noble lineage?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth and forced himself to turn his head away.
"I'm not hungry, and I don't need this kind of coarse food."
"Yeah?"
Kenya curled his lip.
He suddenly stretched out his large, calloused hand.
He grabbed Sasuke by the collar and dragged him like a radish to the barbecue stand.
"What... what do you want to do?!"
Sasuke was terrified and tried to struggle, but the large hand was like an iron clamp, and he couldn't budge it an inch.
"Enough with the nonsense."
Kenya picked up a skewer of freshly grilled meat that was still sizzling with oil.
Without any hesitation, it was shoved right into Sasuke's mouth.
Open your mouth!
The intensely rich aroma of meat assaulted Sasuke's very senses.
He initially wanted to shut his mouth and resist, but his physical instincts overcame his reason.
Under Kenya's somewhat intimidating gaze.
Sasuke opened his mouth as if possessed.
Kenya stuffed the biggest piece of fatty beef into his mouth.
"Waaah..."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
The moment that piping hot, succulent, and juicy chunk of meat melts on your tongue.
His previously tense and aloof face instantly melted.
It smells so good!
This is no ordinary grilled meat! The energy contained within this meat is rapidly restoring his depleted Chakra!
Forget the pride of the Uchiha, forget their disdain for crude warriors.
At that moment, everything was shattered by this skewer of grilled meat.
The "law of 'it smells so good'" will never be absent.
Sasuke even forgot to break free from Kenya's grasp.
He snatched the skewer of grilled meat and, like Naruto, began to wolf it down.
His eating habits were even more ferocious than Naruto's.
Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you.
Kenya loosened Sasuke's collar and patted the back of his head with a smile.
"Being able to eat is a blessing. Eat more meat, and you'll be stronger and able to take more beatings."
This heartwarming yet hilarious scene.
The surrounding examinees were stunned.
Who would have thought that the arrogant Uchiha genius would be completely won over by a skewer of grilled meat?
After feeding the Team 7.
Kenya continued to leisurely run his barbecue business.
Making money off Konoha examinees feels even better than finding freebies.
Just then...
A petite figure with short, dark blue hair and pure white eyes.
I hesitated for a long time at the back of the crowd.
I finally mustered up the courage.
Hinata, blushing, Earth Flow shyly, wanting to offer Kenya a handkerchief.