"Choji Akimichi, would you like to be my friend?"
Naruto selectively ignored Choji's complaints about the unnecessary violence and looked down at the boy sprawled on the ground, his face beaming with a warm smile.
Seeing that smile, Choji's heart trembled inexplicably. Why do I suddenly feel like there's danger hidden in that expression? Without hesitation, he chose the path of survival and spoke from his heart: "Of course! I'd absolutely love to be friends with you, Naruto!"
"Also," Choji added quickly, "it really didn't need to be this complicated. Just sharing food would have been enough. Actually, we could have become friends without any food at all—we definitely didn't need to fight!"
Naruto laughed heartily and walked over to help Choji up with surprising gentleness. He enthusiastically patted the dust off Choji's clothes, though he seemed not to notice that his new friend's already baby-faced features were now considerably more swollen. One eye had turned an impressive shade of blue-purple, almost resembling a casserole dish in color.
"Haha, Choji! That's what the process is all about—it's absolutely essential!" Naruto explained with patient earnestness. "Otherwise, how would I know if you're sincerely willing to be my friend or just saying it?"
Choji Akimichi: "..."
Choji found himself completely speechless. He didn't dare voice his thoughts for fear of being beaten again. Instead, he simply pulled out more snacks and continued eating, hoping the food would improve his mood.
Sure enough, after consuming several handfuls of chips, Choji felt his spirits lifting once more!
"Choji, do you really like eating that much?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity. This new friend of his seemed to be perpetually either in the active process of eating or on his way to find more food.
"Mmph..." Choji's cheeks bulged comically with food, making his answer completely unintelligible.
"Well, how about I treat you to lamb skewers? I raise the sheep myself on my farm, and Sasuke just made a huge batch of charcoal there that we can use."
Speaking of Sasuke reminded Naruto of something bittersweet. He felt a small pang of regret that he probably wouldn't be able to leave school with Sasuke over the next few days. Sasuke would be busy learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu from his brother Itachi.
"Lamb skewers?!" Choji's eyes lit up instantly, the brightness nearly blinding. Suddenly, the snacks in his hand seemed bland and uninteresting by comparison. "Okay! I love meat!"
"Great, let's go then!"
Afterward, Naruto took Choji to the back mountain farm and selected a goat—one that had apparently suffered from heatstroke—to use for their skewers.
Though it struck Naruto as rather strange. Summer hadn't even arrived yet. The trees on the back mountain provided ample shade, and the temperature remained pleasantly mild. So why did goats keep dying from heatstroke with such alarming regularity?
Eh, whatever. Unable to figure out the mystery, Naruto and Choji worked together to light the charcoal and began grilling their skewers.
Watching Naruto consume ten skewers in a single mouthful—half an entire sheep in one meal—Choji felt a surge of pure envy. If only I could have such a powerful stomach! Then I could sample all the delicious foods in the world at once!
More importantly: He eats that much and doesn't get fat!
"Wow, I'm so full!" After finishing their meal, Choji stroked his pleasantly rounded belly with deep satisfaction and released a contented sigh.
He suddenly decided that the beating had been completely worth it.
A thought struck him. "Naruto, I have a really close friend—he's incredibly smart and talented. I want to introduce you to him and have him become good friends with you too! Then all three of us could eat skewers together!"
Hearing this proposal, Naruto's face lit up with excitement. "Oh, that's fantastic! You don't know this, Choji, but my dream is to have many, many friends—eventually, I want the whole world to be my friend!"
"By the way, what's your friend's name?"
"Nara Shikamaru. He's also in our class—he's my absolute best friend." Choji's mind suddenly flashed with an image of Shikamaru's perpetually mournful, lazy expression. He felt certain that if he and Naruto became friends, Shikamaru would definitely be very happy to join them.
"Perfect! Bring him over tomorrow and we'll all grill skewers together," Naruto agreed with an enthusiastic smile.
He'd never expected such an unexpected bonus from making friends with Choji—the boy was actively introducing more friends to him! Choji really understands what friendship is all about, Naruto thought admiringly.
He gave Choji a silent thumbs-up in his heart.
Ring, ring, ring!
The next day after school ended, Naruto and Sasuke said their goodbyes at the school gates.
"Naruto, my brother's already started teaching me the Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sasuke reported with barely contained excitement. "He says I should be able to master it in about ten days or so. Once I do, I can use my clone to attend classes in our place!"
"That'll free up so much more training time for both of us," he added, practically vibrating with anticipation.
"That's great, Sasuke! Keep at it—I know you can do it!" Naruto encouraged warmly. Then he suddenly remembered his own good news and wanted to share the happiness with his friend. "Oh, Sasuke! You know what? I made another friend yesterday!"
"It was Choji Akimichi—"
"I know," Sasuke interrupted, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.
"Huh? How do you know?" Naruto looked genuinely surprised.
Anyone could tell just by looking at Akimichi Choji's face today, Sasuke thought with an internal wince. Those familiar fist marks are a dead giveaway. Remembering his own experiences, Sasuke's face began to ache sympathetically. Not wanting to discuss it further, he simply said, "Goodbye, Naruto," and quickly made his exit.
After parting ways, Naruto headed to the back mountain intersection—the meeting spot he'd agreed upon with Choji. Today, Choji would bring Shikamaru and introduce the two as friends.
On the other side of the village, Nara Shikamaru walked with his characteristic lazy, dejected expression, hands clasped behind his head. He followed Choji with obvious reluctance. "Choji, where are you dragging me? This is so troublesome..."
"You'll find out when we get there! It's a good thing, I promise!" Choji turned his head with a mysterious expression, his voice filled with barely contained excitement.
Shikamaru's gaze fixed on Choji's face, which was still covered with distinctive fist marks and bruises. He asked again with growing concern, "Choji, you still haven't told me what happened to your face."
"This? Oh, it's... it's nothing important. Just a minor thing." Choji deflected the question entirely, thinking to himself, You'll understand soon enough, Shikamaru.
After walking for several more minutes, Shikamaru spotted a tall kid up ahead—easily 1.6 meters—carrying a ridiculously small pink schoolbag on his broad frame. The figure stood at the intersection, waiting quietly with patient stillness.
Uzumaki Naruto? What's he doing here? Shikamaru's mind filled with questions.
At that moment, Choji's excited voice rang out: "Naruto! We're here!"
Naruto had already spotted them approaching. When Choji called out his greeting, Naruto strode toward them quickly, his movements carrying the vigor and power of a tiger on the hunt.
Shikamaru instinctively took a step backward. When did Choji get so familiar with Naruto? For reasons he couldn't quite articulate, Shikamaru felt a distinct sense of danger radiating from the situation.
"Shikamaru!" Choji said with a beaming smile. "Naruto is my friend now! I brought you here because I want to introduce you two so you can become friends too!"
Shikamaru looked up at Naruto, who towered over him by at least two full heads. Then he glanced down at Choji, who was half a head shorter than himself. Well, if he's Choji's friend... Shikamaru said with casual indifference, "Fine, okay. Naruto, we're friends then."
"Not quite yet, Shikamaru!" Choji interjected, raising one finger matter-of-factly. "There's still a process that needs to be completed first. Only after finishing the process can you be considered true friends."
Shikamaru's expression shifted to pure confusion. What kind of process for making friends? Are we supposed to slaughter a rooster and drink blood wine or something? Isn't that a bit excessive?
His lazy eyes narrowed slightly as he looked between Choji's bruised face and Naruto's eager expression.
Wait a minute...
A terrible suspicion began to form in Shikamaru's mind. Choji, you didn't...
But before he could voice his growing concern or make a strategic retreat, Naruto had already dropped into a fighting stance, his face lighting up with genuine enthusiasm.
"Don't worry, Shikamaru! The process won't take long at all!"
Shikamaru's eye twitched.
Choji, he thought with weary resignation, you really set me up this time.
How troublesome.