By sunset, Guy had dragged Teams 7, 8, and his own team to Yakiniku Q, then reserved an extra table because Team 10 was due back from patrol.
The restaurant was packed with smoke, sizzling meat, and enough shouting to make the owner regret accepting the booking.
The bell above the door rang, and Team 10 walked in straight from the village gate. Asuma followed behind them, looking almost as tired as his students.
At Team 7's table, Sasuke ate in complete silence with a fresh bruise along his jaw. Kenji had already told three people that the last Uchiha had lost a fight to a shipping executive.
Ino Yamanaka looked ready to sleep under the table. Her purple skirt was dusty, her sandals were scuffed, and there was still dirt on one cheek from three nights on the road.
"If I hadn't caught that disguised courier with a Mind Transfer, we'd still be stuck interrogating merchants at the border," Ino complained, dropping into a booth. "I need a bath, ten hours of sleep, and about four plates of pork belly."
"You've mentioned the courier six times," Shikamaru muttered as he slid into the booth.
"Because none of you thanked me properly."
Choji placed a plate in front of her. "I saved you pork belly."
Ino looked at it. "You're forgiven."
Ino spotted Kenji near the center of the restaurant. Her tired face brightened for a second before she caught herself and lifted her chin as though she had not been looking for him at all.
Sakura saw the whole thing.
At the end of Team 7's table, Hinata Hyuga nervously took a seat next to Naruto.
"Um, Naruto-kun," Hinata asked softly, playing with her fingers. "How was... how was the Land of Snow?"
Instead of trying to make the whole restaurant listen, Naruto turned toward Hinata and answered her directly.
"It was crazy, Hinata," Naruto said. "They had these massive trains that ran without horses. And the armor the bad guys wore—it swallowed every ninjutsu we threw at it. But the craziest part was the end. The snow just... stopped. The whole country turned green in like five minutes."
Hinata listened without interrupting, smiling when Naruto described the train bursting through the snow.
Halfway through the story, Naruto noticed the bandage around her hand.
"What happened there?" he asked.
Hinata glanced down. "A smuggler threw a blade at Kiba. I blocked it."
Naruto's eyes widened. "You caught a blade for that loudmouth?"
"I heard that," Kiba called from across the table.
Shino adjusted his glasses. "You were shouting during most of the mission."
Kiba turned toward him. "Whose side are you on?"
"He is my teammate," Hinata said, a little more firmly.
Naruto grinned. "That was awesome, Hinata."
From the jonin table near the window, Kurenai Yuhi took a slow sip of her sake. She watched Naruto ask about Hinata's mission instead of turning the conversation back to himself. A small smile appeared behind her sake cup.
At the same table, Might Guy was treating the grill like a life-or-death taijutsu match.
"Eat, Kakashi!" Guy roared, flipping five pieces of beef at once. "A true rivalry extends to digestion! Let the flames of youth cook this meat to perfection!"
Kakashi was slumped in his chair, not looking at the grill. He was reading The Kunoichi's Forbidden Heat: Volume 2 with his left hand. Without looking away from the page, his right hand shot out with chopsticks, snagged a piece of cooked beef out of the air, and slipped it under his mask so fast Guy completely missed it.
"Advanced multitasking, Guy," Kakashi mumbled, turning the page. "It's a Jonin requirement."
"Cowardice!" Guy shouted.
Lee cheered for his sensei from the next table. Neji quietly moved his plate farther away from the flying pieces of meat.
At the far end of the jonin table sat Zabuza under a basic Transformation Jutsu that made him look like a broad-shouldered merchant. Kenji had still forced him to wear a trench coat, a fedora, and sunglasses because, in his words, "a good disguise needs layers."
Haku sat beside him in ordinary clothes, quietly eating and pretending Zabuza's disguise made any sense.
"You're both idiots," Zabuza muttered around a piece of pork.
Across the room, Tenten slid into the empty chair next to Kenji. She ignored the shouting and took the empty chair beside Kenji.
"So," Tenten said, leaning forward. "I heard the Snow ninja had armor that swallowed ninjutsu and boards that could fly. What did you bring back?"
Kenji turned a piece of beef over on the grill "A broken propulsion board, an armor regulator, and Doto's power core," Kenji said. "They're with Konoha's research department now."
Tenten's eyes lit up. "Could the board's push mechanism be fitted into a weapon launcher?"
Kenji pointed his chopsticks at her. "Finally. Someone asks about the useful part."
"Can I see them?"
"Help me figure out what the seals can take before they blow, and I'll get Tsunade to put your name on the inspection team."
"Deal."
Kenji smirked. Most people had asked whether the armor looked impressive. Tenten had immediately tried to turn it into a weapon.
A few seats down, Ino leaned over the back of Sakura's chair. The Chakra Scalpel scroll was sticking out of Sakura's medical bag.
"Chakra Scalpel?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. "When did you get serious about training, forehead? I thought you were just going to wait for Sasuke to notice you."
Sakura didn't rise to the bait. She looked at the scroll, then out at the restaurant.
"When I got tired of being useless," Sakura said quietly.
Ino followed Sakura's gaze.
Sakura was not looking at Sasuke.
She was looking at Kenji.
Ino slowly leaned back into her own booth. A small, knowing smile appeared on her face.
Sakura noticed the smile and immediately looked away from Kenji, which only made Ino's smile wider.
On her way back from the grill, Kurenai stopped beside Naruto's chair.
"You actually let Hinata finish a whole sentence," she said.
Naruto blinked. "I always let people finish."
"You interrupted Kiba three times before we ordered."
"That was different. He was lying."
Kurenai's mouth twitched.
Before Kurenai could walk away, Kenji leaned back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head.
"Don't worry, Kurenai-sensei," Kenji said loudly, taking full credit. "I've spent years teaching him basic social skills. The kid is practically a gentleman now."
Naruto swallowed his rice. "Yeah! Kenji taught me all the best spots to peek through the hot spring fences!"
The restaurant went silent.
Kurenai slowly turned toward Kenji.
Kenji didn't even blink. He immediately pointed a finger at a completely empty chair in the corner of the room.
"Jiraiya started it."
Near the back of the restaurant, Yugao sat with a cup of hot tea.
She was out of uniform, wearing a simple blouse with her purple hair loose around her shoulders. She still missed Hayate. That had not changed.
But tonight her shoulders were relaxed, and she had already smiled twice without forcing it. She shifted carefully on the wooden bench and immediately regretted it.
A chair scraped across the floor.
Anko dropped into the seat across from her with a skewer of dango. She chewed once, then looked Yugao up and down.
Yugao took a sip of her tea. "Can I help you, Anko?"
Anko leaned forward.
"You look disgustingly relaxed."
Yugao choked on her tea.
Anko's grin widened. "You had another morning sword lesson, didn't you?"
Yugao placed the cup down very carefully. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't."
Across the restaurant, Kenji felt both women looking at him. He glanced over, saw Anko's grin, and immediately turned back toward the grill.
"That can't be good," he muttered.
Enjoying the story? 🔥
You can find advanced chapters, image references, bonus scenes, polls, and extra updates on my Patreon:
👉 https://www.patreon.com/evilUchiha
Thanks for reading and supporting the journey! ❤️