When Naruto learned that Uncle Teuchi's large eyes were natural, he realized how rude his earlier comment had been. Embarrassed, he clasped his hands together in an apology. He truly hadn't expected the truth to be so simple!
Uncle Teuchi just smiled and waved it off, not taking Naruto's words to heart. Then, he placed two heaping bowls of seafood ramen in front of them.
"Enjoy, please."
The portions were massive. Honestly, it looked like there was a little bit of ramen thrown into a bowl filled with seafood. The bowl was even bigger than Naruto's face! Compared to the skimpy slices of beef he remembered from ramen in his past life, this was definitely worth it.
Naruto pushed one of the bowls toward Hinata, trying to come up with an excuse for her.
"Come on, help me eat some."
"But…"
Before Hinata could refuse, Naruto had already handed her the chopsticks. She hesitated for a moment, then shyly began eating in small, delicate bites.
Hinata wasn't oblivious. She knew Naruto was just being considerate. His excuse was pretty poor, but it was sweet in its own way... And, of course, she didn't call him out on it. She just smiled and pretended not to notice.
Half an hour later…
Naruto's stomach churned uncomfortably. He felt like if he moved even a little, the ramen he'd eaten would come right back up. Eighteen empty bowls sat in front of him. Meanwhile, in front of Hinata, there were over sixty empty bowls.
"Slurp—"
Hinata finished the last bite of her ramen with a delicate sip, as though she hadn't just devoured sixty bowls of noodles.
"Naruto-kun... Are you okay?"
Hinata looked worried, regretting that she hadn't restrained herself from eating so much.
"I'm... fine... Just need to rest for a bit."
Naruto swallowed hard and took several deep breaths, gradually feeling a little better. Initially, he'd just wanted to keep Hinata company while she ate, but by the tenth bowl, something strange had happened. A surge of competitive spirit flared up inside him, the kind that only men understand.
He wanted to see if he could out-eat Hinata.
By the fifteenth bowl, Naruto realized he had made a terrible mistake.
A huge mistake...
Hinata's appetite was something else—far more terrifying than even the Nine-Tails in his belly! At least the fox would let him know when it was full, but Hinata? She just kept going. Every time Naruto asked if she was full, she would sweetly reply, "Almost there," as if just one more bowl would do it.
Don't ask. Just don't. The answer is always "almost full."
Hinata's face flushed slightly, feeling embarrassed. While Naruto wasn't paying attention, she secretly slipped the payment for the meal under a napkin, then helped him out of his seat. As they walked, she gently patted his back, trying to soothe his discomfort.
Naruto, who was on the verge of bursting, was caught in a strange mix of pain and satisfaction. The Nine-Tails inside him, however, wasn't about to let him off easy.
"You brat, you're too weak! How could you lose to a little girl in an eating contest?"
The fox laughed, chomping down on a chunk of meat on its grill. Naruto could only sigh in exasperation.
How could a regular person like me compete with you guys?
Also...
Has this fox not noticed how much weight it's gained from all this eating over the years?
Just wait! When you see the other tailed beasts, you'll be the one panicking about your size!
Naruto decided to ignore the blabbering fox in his stomach. As Hinata continued to help him walk, Naruto couldn't help but look down on the gluttonous beast inside him.
"Wait a minute… Did we forget to pay?"
Halfway down the road, Naruto suddenly remembered they had left Ichiraku Ramen without paying. Despite his reputation in the village being not the best, Uzumaki Naruto would never stoop to something as low as dining and dashing.
Besides…
Ever since he was three, when the system had dropped a gold ingot in his lap, he knew no one in this world could match him in terms of wealth. If Naruto wanted to, he could single-handedly crash the entire world's economy by flooding it with gold. The Fourth Great Ninja War wouldn't even need to happen—the entire ninja world would fall into chaos just from economic collapse.
"I... I already paid."
Hinata looked down, too shy to meet Naruto's eyes, afraid he might scold her.
"Alright then. But next time, let me know, okay?"
Naruto didn't mind too much. Seeing Hinata's bashful expression, he reached out to pat her head affectionately.
"What do you think you're doing?! Let go of Lady Hinata!"
A sudden shout from ahead startled them, causing Naruto and Hinata to jump apart. Naruto turned to see a member of the Hyuga clan, with long black hair and a fierce, angry look in his white eyes. Taking in the man's expression and demeanor, Naruto immediately knew—this was none other than his future brother-in-law, Hyuga Neji.
"N-Neji-niisan…"
Hinata stammered, clearly flustered by Neji's arrival. She wasn't worried about Naruto getting beaten up. No, she was more concerned that her brother might end up hurt if he fought Naruto...
Neji shot a cold glance at Naruto, his eyes narrowing when he saw Hinata standing in front of the blonde, as if protecting him.
Neji tilted his head slightly, taking a deep breath to calm himself. As a member of the Hyuga clan, he was trained to control his emotions, but this situation was testing his limits. He had heard rumors about Hinata's relationship with this blonde troublemaker, but he had always dismissed them as idle gossip.
Who would have thought...
This brat was actually trying to steal away the Hyuga clan's heiress?
As the future head of the main family, Hinata carried the weight of the entire Hyuga clan on her shoulders. And as for the branch family members like Neji, their fates were tied to hers...
And here she was, spending time with this... this yellow-haired fool?
Shouldn't she be training to become stronger? Fulfilling her duty to the clan?
Neji found the whole situation unbearable. The fact that his fate was tied to Hinata's just made it more painful. He didn't respect her timid personality, nor did he respect the loud-mouthed Naruto who couldn't even recognize his own limits.
Right now, Hyuga Neji was extremely, extremely angry.
"So, you're Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Uh… Do you, uh, need something?"
Naruto almost accidentally called him "brother-in-law," but he caught himself just in time. If he had let that slip, Neji might've blown a gasket.
Neji took Naruto's casual response as provocation. This guy had no idea what kind of situation he was in!
No, Neji realized, there was no way he could let Naruto off without teaching him a lesson. Slowly, Neji moved his hand into a stance, preparing for a Hyuga-style taijutsu fight.
Hinata looked from Neji to Naruto, her heart sinking. This wasn't good...
But Naruto? He was getting excited. A taijutsu duel?
Uzumaki Naruto loved nothing more than that!
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