The Akimichi household was as large as the Akimichi family themselves and everything was bigger. Bigger doors, bigger furniture, and best of all, bigger food and more of it too. Naruto had been invited over by Chouji a few times in the past and it was always an impressive meal that left him full for days afterward. Going into a major event like this was bound to be difficult, starting it out right with a full breakfast was a smart way to go.
Naruto knocked on the door and waited, he could hear loud noises from inside, lots of laughter and maybe even a little roughhousing, so he knocked again. It took a minute but the door was finally opened by Chouza, Chouji's father.
"Morning, Naruto," said the elder man, smiling happily.
"Morning, Akimichi-san."
"Naruto, please, we're all shinobi here, just call me Chouza." He motioned for Naruto to enter.
Just inside the entrance was a pile of shinobi sandals which Naruto quickly added his own to. He then followed Chouza inside to the dining hall, and it was definitely a hall. The dining hall was the largest room in the house from what Naruto had been told by Chouji, it was large enough to house the entire Akimichi clan at one time such as when they held clan meeting it was always done as a banquet. Chouji explained that well fed people were more likely to compromise which is why the clan had so little strife and everyone seemed content and happy most of the time.
"Naruto, about time you showed up," called Chouji, seeing his friend enter the hall.
Naruto was bombarded by other greetings from Shikamaru and his parents, then Ino and her parents, even Sakura and her parents were there. Sasuke was absent but that wasn't really surprising, he was invited but apparently chose not to come or hadn't shown up yet if he was coming. Still, it was a loud room even if it wasn't even a quarter full.
Naruto was quickly ushered into a chair by Chouji's mother followed quickly by her putting a plate down in front of him that was laden with food.
"Just make sure you eat all the fruit and oatmeal, you'll need your carbs," ordered the clan mother, pointing out the portion set out for him. Naruto's eyes widened at the size of the bowl of oatmeal, it was as big as a ramen bowl which was already oversized.
Naruto swallowed nervously before digging in with gusto, he was not going to disappoint the Akimichi matriarch after she went through so much trouble and was so kind to him. Naruto was surprised the thick oatmeal went down as easily as it did. He was more surprised that he still had room for more when it was done. Naruto ate his fruit, them some of the various meats and even some eggs.
Throughout all of this, Naruto and the other genin were trying to listen in on the various conversations between the adults while they ate their meals under the strict eye of Chouji's mother.
"Oto sent a team," commented Inoichi.
"So many new hidden villages popping up all the time," commented Kizashi, Sakura's father.
"And none of them ever last long do they," added Chouza.
"Something about this one troubles me," said Shikaku, the man was leaning back in his chair, not really eating.
"Where is this Otogakure?" asked Mebuki, Sakura's mother.
"That's part of what worries me," said Shikaku. "We don't know."
"How is that possible? How did we even invite them to the exams without knowing where to send it?" Ino's mother asked, a concerned look crossing her face.
"It's an open invite, all of the elemental nations know it happening, it's not exactly a big secret," explained Inoichi. "Still, it is concerning when a village we'd never heard of before now just shows up."
"Their genin are talented too," chimed in Shikamaru, pushing his own plate forward. He was clearly done eating and wanted to join the conversation.
"Oh, and how do you know that?"
"Team 7," he answered lazily.
Suddenly all eyes were focused on Naruto and Sakura.
"Kakashi-sensei 'suggested' we watch the gates all week for the various teams coming in and then trying to analyze them for any weaknesses or strengths," explained Sakura. She, like Ino, had only been picking at the food in front of her. She ate but it wasn't as much as the boys, not even close.
"And . . ." prompted Inoichi.
"Only one of the teams' looks like a real threat," she started. "Two boys and a girl, Abumi Zaku seems short tempered, and he's definitely a ninjutsu specialist. We saw him playing with wind in an attempt to flirt with a civilian girl, when she turned him down flat he created a blast of wind that nearly blew her skirt up if she hadn't acted fast to hold it down. The girl, Tsuchi Kin, we saw her messing with a senbon at one point so she probably uses poison-"
"Don't forget the bell she was messing with," added Naruto.
"Right and possibly auditory genjutsu," she continued. "The last boy and their leader, Kinuta Dosu, seems like a taijutsu type but we didn't get much of a read on him."
"Interesting, anything else?" asked Shikaku.
"Yeah, they had the same idea as us, caught them trying to spy on us while we were spying on one of the teams from Suna." Sakura couldn't help but shudder a bit at the memory of the bloodlust from the boy, Gaara.
"Are you cold, sweetheart?" asked Mebuki, catching Sakura shudder.
"No, just remembering that boy from Suna."
"Oh, does someone have a forbidden love interest from another village?" asked Mebuki, teasing her daughter.
"That's not even funny, kaasan," snapped Sakura, a frown instantly marring her face. "He's dangerous, probably the most dangerous person I've ever met, worse than Zabuza even."
"Oh, and who is this?" asked Chouza, leaning forward in interest.
"I told the Hokage about him yesterday," said Naruto, finally leaning back from his mostly empty plate. "He said I'm to keep my mouth shut about him. That said, if any of you meet up with him any time during the exam you need to run away as fast as you can and don't look back."
"Flee on sight, for a genin?" asked Chouza. "Just how dangerous is he?"
"That's enough, Chouza," interrupted Shikaku. "We can ask the Hokage about him. In the meantime, I suggest you heed Naruto's recommendation."
"Just 'cause they are afraid of him doesn't mean he's that strong," Ino chimed in.
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