As Sasuke's words hung in the air, every head in the private dining room turned from Chōji's impressive eating display toward the doorway. The arrival of new guests immediately shifted the room's dynamics.
"Everyone! It's been too long!" Chiharu exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm, her eyes crinkling into cheerful crescents. Akamaru, still nestled comfortably in her arms, offered his own greeting with two sharp, friendly barks.
"It really has," Ino responded warmly from her position beside Sasuke, waving at Chiharu with a bright smile. The two had maintained a good relationship during their Academy days, despite Ino's occasional interrogations about Sasuke's preferences—questions Chiharu had always fielded with diplomatic tact.
Amidst the greetings, Chōji momentarily diverted his attention from his feast to acknowledge the newcomers. This brief lapse in focus proved unfortunate, as a partially chewed morsel of meat lodged firmly in his throat. His already round face rapidly flushed crimson as he pounded desperately at his chest with one hand.
"Chōji-kun! Are you alright?" Chiharu asked with immediate concern, taking a step forward as if preparing to help.
Shikamaru, witnessing his best friend's predicament, merely sighed and pressed a palm against his forehead in exasperation. "Idiot," he muttered. "Why don't you just use your clan's technique to expand your throat?"
Unable to speak, Chōji nevertheless registered Shikamaru's suggestion. His hands quickly formed a sequence of familiar seals—the distinctive hand signs of the Akimichi clan's Partial Expansion Jutsu. His neck visibly swelled to several times its normal circumference, allowing the troublesome piece of meat to continue its journey unimpeded.
After returning his anatomy to its standard proportions, Chōji exhaled with profound relief. "Thanks, Shikamaru! You just saved my life," he declared with heartfelt gratitude.
"What a drag," Shikamaru responded with his customary phrase, though the slight smile tugging at his lips betrayed his affection for his longtime friend.
Having recovered from his near-death experience, Chōji gestured broadly toward the entrance. "Chiharu, Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, Shino—come in and make yourselves comfortable!"
"Thank you," Chiharu replied politely, glancing sideways at her brother.
From the moment they'd entered, Naruto's attention had been fixed exclusively on Sasuke, their gazes locked in silent communication that transcended the need for words. The unspoken rivalry between them was palpable, filling the air with competitive tension that everyone present could sense.
"Brother," Chiharu murmured, tugging gently at Naruto's sleeve. The subtle prompt broke his focus, and he reluctantly shifted his eyes away from his rival, following his sister into the room.
"Just back from a mission?" Sai inquired as he stood to make space for the newcomers. Though his tone remained even, the fact that he'd initiated conversation at all represented significant progress in his social development.
Through their respective team assignments, Sai and Chiharu had encountered each other with reasonable frequency, as missions often required both Team Kakashi and Team Shisui to coordinate efforts. These interactions had fostered a comfortable familiarity between them.
"Yes," Chiharu confirmed with a nod as she settled into her seat, carefully placing her backpack against the wall behind her. "We only just returned to the village."
Meanwhile, Kiba took practical matters in hand, flagging down a server to request additional place settings for the expanded group.
"I hope we're not intruding by joining so suddenly," Chiharu said, addressing Shikamaru with her characteristic politeness. Though Chōji had won the prize, it was apparent that Shikamaru had somehow been designated the unofficial host of their gathering.
"Not at all," Shikamaru responded with a lazy wave of his hand, dismissing her concern.
Chōji, mouth momentarily empty, added, "Actually, I was planning to invite you all anyway. This is perfect timing—now we've got almost everyone from our graduating class in one place."
Their shared history created an immediate bond. Among all the students who had graduated from the Academy in their year, only those currently gathered in this room had successfully passed their respective jōnin's acceptance tests to become official genin. This shared accomplishment, regardless of their different team placements, formed an unspoken brotherhood among them.
"That's thoughtful of you," Chiharu responded graciously, her gaze sweeping around the table. "How has everyone been? Have your missions been going well?"
A chorus of affirmative responses followed—some enthusiastic, others more measured. Chiharu's natural social grace quickly warmed the atmosphere, transforming what might have been an awkward reunion into a comfortable gathering of old friends.
Though Naruto typically struggled with purely social occasions, preferring action to conversation, Chiharu's subtle guidance helped him integrate into the group dynamic. Occasional comments from Kiba about recent missions and Shino's surprisingly insightful observations about training techniques provided enough substance to keep Naruto engaged.
Sasuke, true to form, maintained his characteristic aloofness throughout the exchanges. His contribution to the conversation consisted primarily of monosyllabic responses when directly addressed, and the occasional sardonic glance when someone (usually Naruto) said something he found particularly foolish.
As plates of sizzling meat continued to arrive at regular intervals—to Chōji's visible delight—the conversation flowed naturally between topics. They discussed recent missions (omitting classified details, of course), developments in their training, and village gossip that had circulated during Team Shisui's absence.
During a brief lull in the conversation, Sakura suddenly broached a topic that immediately captured everyone's attention. "The Chūnin Exams will be starting soon," she observed, her green eyes bright with interest. "Is everyone planning to participate?"
"Absolutely!" Naruto responded without hesitation, his enthusiasm impossible to contain. Almost reflexively, his gaze shifted toward Sasuke, a challenging glint in his blue eyes.
Sasuke met his rival's stare with cool assessment before remarking, "A dunce like you will probably be eliminated during the written portion."
The barb was delivered with precision, targeting Naruto's well-known academic struggles during their Academy days. While Naruto had excelled in practical exercises and sheer determination, written examinations had consistently been his downfall.
"You're the real idiot here," Naruto fired back immediately, crossing his arms defiantly. "Someone like you will definitely get knocked out when the real fighting starts." Leaning forward slightly, he added with deliberate provocation, "But I guess you already know that, which is why you're hesitating to sign up, right?"
A flicker of genuine anger crossed Sasuke's typically impassive features. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he met Naruto's challenge. "We'll see who gets eliminated first, dead-last," he stated, his voice carrying the edge of a promise.
"Fine by me!" Naruto shot back.
Almost simultaneously, both boys rose from their seats, their bodies tense with the anticipation of potential confrontation. The air between them practically crackled with competitive energy.
"Brother! Sasuke-san!" Chiharu intervened, rising quickly to place a restraining hand on Naruto's shoulder. "We've finally managed to all get together. Please don't ruin it with needless arguments."
Her pleading gaze moved from her brother to Sasuke, conveying silent exasperation. Throughout their childhood, she had lost count of how many similar scenes she had witnessed—and how many times she'd been called upon to mediate between these two volatile personalities.
"Tch. I'm not wasting my time arguing with you," Naruto eventually conceded with exaggerated disdain. "But if we cross paths during the exam, don't expect any mercy."
"Same here," Sasuke replied tersely, the brevity of his response somehow more intimidating than Naruto's verbose challenge.
Both boys reluctantly returned to their seats, though the tension between them remained palpable.
"I apologize for my brother's behavior," Chiharu offered to the group with a apologetic smile, her diplomatic instincts taking over.
"Don't worry about it," Kiba replied with a dismissive gesture. "We all got used to this during our Academy days. Those two have been at each other's throats since day one."
"Actually," Shikamaru interjected thoughtfully, "what they said makes sense in a way. We may be classmates and friends, but during the Chūnin Exams, we'll technically be rivals."
"When that time comes," he continued, his typically lazy expression giving way to something more focused, "none of us can afford to hold back."
"That's just how it has to be," Kiba agreed with a wolfish grin. "So it sounds like everyone here is planning to participate in the upcoming exams?"
Looking around the table, Chiharu noticed nods of confirmation from all present. With a bright smile, she raised her glass in a spontaneous toast. "Then let's all do our best! Here's to fair competition!"
"Cheers!" the group responded in unison, even Sasuke and Naruto momentarily setting aside their rivalry to participate in the collective gesture.
After they had clinked glasses, Sai raised an interesting point. "I believe this will be a joint examination with Sunagakure," he observed. "I wonder if there are any particularly powerful genin from the Sand Village."
"Who knows?" Ino replied with a shrug, echoed by similar gestures around the table. Most of them had limited experience with shinobi from other villages, and information about foreign genin was not easily accessible.
While the rookie genin continued their reunion inside the barbecue restaurant, outside on the street, passersby found their attention drawn to a peculiar sight.
A boy in a form-fitting green jumpsuit with an unusual bowl-cut hairstyle was walking upside-down along the main thoroughfare, his hands supporting his inverted body with apparent ease despite the midday heat. A Konoha forehead protector gleamed around his waist, identifying him as one of the village's shinobi despite his unconventional appearance and behavior.
In a blur of movement, a girl appeared on a nearby rooftop, looking down at her teammate with a mixture of exasperation and fondness. With her pink qipao-style top, her hair styled in two neat buns, and her own Konoha forehead protector worn proudly, she presented a stark contrast to the green-clad youth below.
"Lee!" she called down, her voice carrying easily through the air. "Guy-sensei wants us to assemble at the meeting point now!"
"Right!" The boy named Lee glanced up (or technically down) at his teammate. With an impressive display of upper body strength, he propelled himself into a graceful flip, landing lightly on the rooftop beside her. "Tenten, where's Neji?" he inquired immediately.
"He's already at the rendezvous point," Tenten answered, her gaze briefly dropping to the crowd of civilians who had stopped to stare at Lee's unusual training method. With a slight wince, she added, "Next time, could you possibly choose a less populated area for your exercises?"
"Why would I do that?" Lee asked with genuine puzzlement.
"Because people are staring at you like you're from another planet," Tenten pointed out with a resigned sigh.
Lee's expression brightened with sudden understanding. "Ah! Guy-sensei always says that youth must sometimes pass through a phase of being misunderstood by others!" he declared, his voice rising with passionate conviction as he prepared to launch into what promised to be a lengthy discourse on the philosophy of youth.
"I really shouldn't have brought it up," Tenten muttered under her breath, already turning away. Without waiting for Lee's inevitable speech to conclude, she set off across the rooftops toward their meeting location, knowing from experience that her enthusiastic teammate would follow once he realized she was no longer listening.
As she departed, her thoughts turned to the upcoming Chūnin Exams. After a year of intensive training under Guy-sensei, Team Guy was more than ready to demonstrate their skills—and perhaps teach the younger generation of genin what real hard work looked like.
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