With the intention of letting Ino broaden her horizons, Hikari decided to splurge and let Chōji—the publicly acknowledged big eater—and Hinata—the secretly terrifying one—eat until they were completely full for once.
Chōji usually only ate until he was half-full at most. The rest of the time he relied on snacks to keep his body going.
As for Hinata, there was even less to say. Being able to eat until she was thirty percent full was already pushing it.
Hikari believed that one big reason Hinata couldn't fully show her strength was because she was always hungry.
"Uncle Teuchi, I'm booking the whole place for lunch! Hurry up and start making ramen!" Arriving at Ichiraku Ramen, Hikari decided it was time to give Teuchi a proper lesson—one that would show him what a truly monstrous appetite looked like.
"Hikari, stop joking. Booking the whole place? Do you have any idea how many bowls of ramen I can make in one lunch hour?!" Teuchi looked at Hikari speechlessly. In his mind, the current Hikari was just a big braggart.
"I don't care how many. I just want you to make sure the kids I brought can eat their fill!" Hikari said with deep, heartfelt pain.
Even if Hinata wasn't at her future peak of devouring over sixty bowls of ramen, reaching seventy or eighty percent of that shouldn't be a problem.
As for Chōji, he should at least reach over half of Hinata's level.
The rest of the kids—at best—might reach half of their appetite.
"Fine, fine!"
"I'm going to start cooking. You kids just order whatever you want!" Tired of arguing with Hikari, Teuchi waved him off. As far as he was concerned, this guy who kept flirting with his daughter without ever making things official deserved to be stewed into bone broth.
"Thank you so much, Hikari-senpai!" Naruto said gratefully.
Hikari nodded at Naruto, then gave Shikamaru and Ino a disdainful look. "Look at Naruto, then look at yourselves. You've eaten so much of my food, but not even a single 'thank you.'"
Shikamaru, Ino: 'How about you give back all the money you skimmed off us first before talking about gratitude?'
How many times has this happened already?
Hikari always used the excuse that he was the strongest and the team leader, so every time the mission pay came in, most of it went straight into his own pocket. The three of them got a share, sure—but only a tiny fraction.
He didn't bring it up, and they didn't bother mentioning it.
They all came from clans and weren't hurting for money anyway.
But doing that and then scolding them for not being grateful? That was just too much.
"Alright, alright. The two of you should learn from Naruto. From now on, remember to respect your teachers. I may only be a little over ten years older than you, but in the shinobi world strength is what matters. You've learned techniques from me, so you'd better remember what the word 'sensei' means and show proper respect. Got it?"
Shikamaru and Ino rolled their eyes so hard they nearly flipped backward.
They had no clue why Hikari was acting strange today and saying all this nonsense.
"Ramen's ready! Who gets the first bowl?" Ayame brought over steaming noodles and curiously looked at the kids.
Hikari yawned and pointed. "Give Naruto the first one. Then Sasuke, then Ino, Shikamaru, Chōji, and Hinata last."
Ayame didn't mind. She handed the ramen to Naruto with a smile at Hikari and went back to the kitchen.
"Thanks! I'm digging in!"
Naruto didn't hold back. After announcing politely, he began slurping away.
They had trained the whole morning and were starving. Seeing Naruto eat so happily made Ino glare at Hikari in frustration.
To be fair, Ichiraku's ramen was excellent—fast, flavorful, smooth. Soon enough, all six kids were eating.
When it was Hikari's turn, he casually placed his bowl in front of Naruto.
"Eat. After you finish, go rest a bit. Then continue training."
Naruto hesitated. Even though he wanted that bowl, he couldn't eat it knowing Hikari hadn't eaten yet.
"Hikari-senpai, I'll wait."
"Wait for what? You and Sasuke finish and go train. If I show up later and catch either of you slacking, you'll regret it!"
Hearing that, Naruto finally relaxed and slowly began eating.
In the end, Naruto and Sasuke each ate four bowls. Shikamaru and Ino ate three each. Hinata saw the others put their chopsticks down—and quietly put hers down too.
"Hikari-senpai, we'll go train now!" Naruto rubbed his belly. Eating Ichiraku ramen after training was the best reward for him.
Since he had eaten on Hikari's tab, even Sasuke didn't dare glare at him today.
"Alright. Shikamaru, take Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke back. Hinata and Chōji stay and continue eating."
"Hikari-senpai... I'm full." Hinata whispered.
Hikari's mouth twitched. 'Hinata, let's drop the act, okay? Your appetite is even scarier than Chōji's. What you ate isn't even one-third enough.'
"If you want to keep training under me, sit. As for you four—why are you still here? Go train!" Hikari instantly snapped.
Ino muttered, "Everyone's full already... Hikari-senpai, this isn't really appropriate..."
'Not appropriate?'
Hikari turned toward Ino with a kind smile.
"Shikamaru, if Ino is still standing steadily by the time I get back, you won't be sleeping tonight!"
That one sentence made both Ino and Shikamaru turn pale.
He didn't mean for Shikamaru to beat Ino up. Hikari wasn't that insane.
He meant Shikamaru should train Ino until she couldn't stand.
"Same goes for Naruto and Sasuke. Shikamaru, if those two can still stand later, forget sleeping tonight!"
Cold sweat instantly poured down Shikamaru's face.
He wanted to protest that this had nothing to do with him.
But he knew if he said that, Hikari would make him suffer even worse.
The group sprinted away, and Ichiraku Ramen suddenly felt much roomier.
"They all left?"
Teuchi came out from the kitchen and looked at Naruto's disappearing figure, then at the fresh bowl of ramen in his hands with irritation.
"I just made this. Don't tell me it's going to be wasted!"
Chefs hated food waste the most.
Earlier, Hikari said to make as much as possible— the more the better.
Now the kids were gone, and Teuchi felt he definitely needed to teach Hikari a lesson.
"Waste? Uncle Teuchi, don't underestimate the two I kept. Compared to them, Naruto and Sasuke's appetite is trash."
Teuchi looked at Chōji and nodded internally.
He had forgotten there was an Akimichi kid here. If Chōji decided to go all out, there would be no problem.
As for the delicate, gentle Hinata—Teuchi shook his head.
She looked like a slender little girl. A few bowls were probably her limit. Any more would burst her stomach.
"Alright, stop bragging. Luckily Chōji is here. Without him, I definitely wouldn't forgive you, kid!" Teuchi said, stretching his stiff back before looking kindly at Chōji.
"Eat slowly. Don't rush. If it's not enough, I'll make more."