242. Doting Brother

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"That's how it is," Tenten said sheepishly. She always felt her talent wasn't exceptional and often worried she was letting Minato down.

She had been studying Flying Thunder God and the Rasengan for so long, but even now, her Rasengan wasn't perfected. While she could use it, its speed and power still fell short of the finished product.

"Really?" Ino said, clearly envious. "Just being the Fourth Hokage's disciple is amazing."

"You're so lucky! Hokage-sama is so handsome, kind, and gentle when he smiles, and he's ridiculously strong..." Ino sighed dreamily. As a self-admitted sucker for looks, she ranked appearance above all else, even strength.

Naruto, sitting next to Hinata, beamed. "Praising my dad is the same as praising me. We look so much alike! If he's handsome, then by extension, I'm even more handsome. Rounding up, of course."

Ino truly had great taste, in Naruto's opinion.

Sakura, too, felt a pang of envy. Even though she was Tsunade's disciple, someone strong and accomplished, Tsunade wasn't exactly gentle.

Most of Sakura's progress had come through hard training, pushed by her mentor. If given the chance, she wouldn't mind a teacher as kind as Minato.

Tenten scratched her head. "Minato-sensei really is great in every way, but he's so busy being Hokage that most of my training is done with Naruto."

"Naruto?!" The others stared at him, surprised.

Naruto grinned. "That's right! How about it, Tenten? You want to try calling me Naruto-sensei?"

"Sure, sure, Teacher Naruto-sensei," Tenten replied, playing along. After all the time spent practising Rasengan with Naruto, they had gotten along quite well.

Naruto immediately leaned back like a king. "Alright then, Naruto-sensei, wants some tenderloin!"

"You've got some nerve," Tenten laughed, picking up her chopsticks to grill some meat. But as she looked down at the empty plate, she froze. "Wait... where's the tenderloin?"

The group turned toward Neji, who had piled all the tenderloin onto the grill in front of him, seemingly lost in concentration.

"Neji, what are you doing?" Tenten asked, perplexed.

"Please wait," Neji replied without looking up. His Byakugan was active, and he seemed to be observing the slices of tenderloin with great intensity.

After a few seconds, Neji moved with lightning speed, flipping the meat onto a plate and handing it to Hinata. "Hinata-sama, please try these and tell me which slice tastes the best."

"Uh... okay," Hinata stammered, caught off guard. But the allure of food was too strong, and she quickly took a bite. "I think... the fourth slice is the best."

"I see. So, this is the ideal heat," Neji muttered. With renewed focus, he resumed grilling, carefully observing each slice with his Byakugan.

"Brother Neji, what's gotten into you?" Hinata asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.

"It's nothing," Neji replied. "I just realized that, as an older brother, I haven't cared for you enough."

In reality, Neji had recently crossed paths with Itachi and Kimimaro by chance. While those two rarely spoke, their passion for their younger siblings had left a deep impression on him.

Their doting attitudes made Neji question whether he had been neglectful toward Hinata and Hanabi.

Deciding to remedy that, Neji resolved to grill the best meat possible for Hinata, using every ounce of his training and skill.

Naruto, watching this unfold, poked Tenten's shoulder. "Hey, Tenten, looks like your last normal teammate is broken too."

"Ah, I see it," Tenten sighed, absentmindedly chewing on her chopsticks.

Sakura leaned over to poke Naruto. "Naruto, I think Tenten's broken as well."

"Ah, I saw that too, Sakura," Naruto replied dramatically. He was beginning to think he might be the last truly normal person in Konoha.

To distract himself, Naruto picked up a half-cooked slice of meat and took a bite, only to realize it wasn't done yet. He casually placed it on Sasuke's plate. "Here, Sasuke. Try my cooking."

Sasuke had just finished turning his meat when Naruto's chopsticks appeared in his line of sight. Out of reflex, Sasuke moved to guard his food, only to realize Naruto wasn't stealing anything.

But when Sasuke saw the half-eaten slice with Naruto's bite marks, he fell silent, then flung it behind him.

"Woof!" Akamaru jumped up, catching the meat mid-air, his tail wagging happily.

"Don't worry, Akamaru. I'll have yours ready soon," Kiba promised, understanding his partner perfectly.

Meanwhile, Shino silently waved a piece of grilled meat in front of Akamaru, waiting for a reaction. When none came, he shrugged and ate it himself.

---

After everyone had eaten their fill, Chōji leaned back, patting his stomach. "I'm stuffed!" With that, the party wrapped up, with Chōji happily finishing the last piece of grilled meat.

Tenten sighed in relief when Neji finally returned to normal after Hinata's gentle persuasion. If her team didn't have at least one sane person left, she didn't think she could handle it.

At the checkout, Naruto stared at the bill but wasn't surprised by the long list of numbers.

To his surprise, Chōji pulled out a coupon. "Naruto, this is a discount for this place. Take it it's thanks for those snacks you gave me earlier!"

"Thanks, Chōji!" Naruto beamed, thrilled to save some money. He began to suspect that Chōji always carried a barbecue discount coupon with him or maybe the Akimichi family secretly owned shares in the restaurant.

---

Not every shinobi was enjoying a leisurely meal, however. The Akatsuki had begun their hunt for the tailed beasts, leaving destruction in their wake.

Far away in Iwagakure, Ōnoki listened grimly to a report from one of his shinobi.

"Lord Tsuchikage, the bodies of Nin, and Tu were discovered 50 kilometres southeast of the village. Han has disappeared. There are traces of Han's ninjutsu, along with evidence of Water and Fire Release techniques."

Han, the jinchūriki of the Five-Tails, was a taijutsu specialist wearing red armour and a distinctive hat.

Known for his incredible strength, he could utilize the Five-Tails' power to unleash devastating bursts of chakra, capable of superheating the air around him.

"Is there any additional information?" Ōnoki asked, frowning. Han wasn't the type to abandon his comrades, so his disappearance suggested foul play.

"Yes," the shinobi replied. "There were sightings of a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds. He was behaving suspiciously."

"Akatsuki," Ōnoki growled. He had hired them in the past for unsavoury tasks, but to see them targeting his village's jinchūriki was an unforgivable act.

"Search for any signs of Rōshi whereabouts, but don't act rashly," he ordered.

"Understood!"

----

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