In the blink of an eye, it was already Naruto's birthday.
[Naruto's Home]
Ring! Ring! Ring!
when the alarm clock rang, Naruto immediately rolled over and got up.
When he saw the calendar on the wall, he also let out a cheer, "Great, I'm going to have a different kind of birthday."
In the past, Naruto had always been all alone; birthdays didn't hold any special meaning for him.
But now it was different. He had friends, he had Uzumaki, he was no longer alone.
["Happy birthday, Naruto."]
The voice in his mind made Naruto's eyes curve into a smile.
'Ehehe, thank you, Uzumaki.'
["Today you're going to school to celebrate with your new friends, so I won't go together with you."]
Uzumaki's words made Naruto freeze for a moment, and he quickly asked, 'Uzumaki, are you going to leave again?'
Kushina laughed softly, ["I'm going to prepare your birthday present."]
'Huh?', Naruto scratched his head and laughed foolishly.
'Ehehe, it's fine, as long as Uzumaki is spending my birthday with me, I'm happy.'
["Be good, I'll give you a special present when I get back."]
Hearing Uzumaki insist, Naruto had no choice but to change his words, 'Then I'll come back early.'
Kushina answered, ["Did you reserve the seats like I told you?"]
Naruto confirmed, 'Already done, I went to the barbecue shop yesterday and booked it.'
'I didn't expect that shop to be owned by Choji's family, and they even gave me a discount.'
'But it still cost a lot of money.'
Kushina comforted him, ["Don't worry about the money, there will be other ways later."]
["Go to school first, or you'll be late."]
———
After Naruto left the room, Kushina stood up from the shadows.
"Looks like the Hyuga really aren't monitoring inside the room," Kushina said.
If there had been Hyuga eyes watching, she would've sensed it.
Rengoku said in a low voice, "The Hyuga branch family probably wants to cooperate with my clan, this was one of my small conditions."
"What kind of gift do you want to prepare for Naruto?"
Kushina took a deep breath, "The thing Naruto wants most."
"Mm…"
Rengoku thought for a moment, "Alright then, just be careful."
———
[Ninja Academy]
By the time Naruto arrived at the classroom, Sasuke and the others were already there.
"Good morning, everyone," Naruto cheerfully came over and greeted everyone.
After Naruto walked over, Sasuke handed Naruto a gift box, "Happy birthday."
Naruto scratched his head, "Hehe, thanks."
Karin, Gaara, and Hinata also each gave him birthday presents.
On the other side, Kimimaro, Haku, Neji, Shion, and Yakumo, although they weren't that close to Naruto, still, knowing today was Naruto's birthday, all opened their mouths to express their blessings.
At this moment, a big head suddenly poked out at the classroom door, it was Akimichi Choji.
"Naruto! Naruto!"
Naruto quickly ran over, "Choji, you came!"
There was a hallway separating the elite class and the regular class, Choji had clearly come all the way here just to find Naruto.
Leaning at the door, Choji reminded Naruto, "Shikamaru asked me to tell you, they won't come over during class in the morning."
"We'll meet at the barbecue shop at noon."
"I got it, see you at noon."
———
The whole morning passed quickly.
During the lunch break, Naruto and several others arrived at the barbecue shop.
Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Shino had already arrived.
A dozen people soon sat down in a private room.
Although some had been to places like this before, it was the first time coming with classmates.
It was also Naruto's first time at a barbecue restaurant, so he was a bit awkward.
Soon, the grill and plate after plate of fresh meat were brought in by the shop.
Because it was Choji's family business, they also gave them lots of free juice.
The moment he saw the barbecue, Choji's eyes lit up and he immediately took over as host, "Quick, quick, quick, everyone get started. Barbecue is sooo delicious."
As everyone knows, when there's someone in a group who can eat a lot and eats super happily, it's very easy to boost everyone's mood.
In no time, the atmosphere heated up.
Everyone started chatting away, and of course most of the topic revolved around the regular class and the elite class.
"Naruto, you don't know. Ever since the principal split the classes, I've been training every day after going home."
"I even think I've gotten thinner lately," While putting a piece of sizzling, oily pork belly into his mouth, Choji said this.
Kiba, who had just finished grilling a piece of leaner meat and tossed it to Akamaru, also chimed in, "Same here. My family said that during the selection next month I must get into the elite class, or else I shouldn't come back home."
Shino, who was quietly sitting in the corner without much presence, also muttered, "Me too."
Naruto stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and said with his mouth full, "The elite class is super awesome. We learn a lot of stuff every day. You guys need to come in quickly, then it'll be more lively."
"Right, Hinata?", Naruto suddenly asked Hinata.
Hinata could only hurriedly say, "Mm, once you guys come in, it'll be livelier. The teachers are really amazing."
These days, Naruto would suddenly appear around Hinata every day, or suddenly talk to her.
In the past, Hinata would blush whenever she saw Naruto; now she was gradually desensitized.
At any rate, she wouldn't instantly turn red-hot just because Naruto suddenly appeared beside her.
Shikamaru slowly grilled a slice of meat in his hand while asking Sasuke, "Sasuke, you're ranked first in the elite class, right?"
But Sasuke shook his head, "There are several people in the elite class stronger than me."
Shikamaru was stunned for a moment, then said, "It's fine, you'll catch up to them soon."
Karin took a piece of lettuce, wrapped some meat in it, and bit down with a crisp crunch, "The teachers are teaching each of us different things based on our abilities."
"Kimimaro and Haku are working really hard too," Shikamaru seemed thoughtful when he heard that.
Sasuke snorted, "I'll catch up to them sooner or later."
Karin giggled, "You can't even beat Gaara at tree climbing yet, it's still early."
Sasuke's gaze passed through the crowd and landed on Gaara, who was quietly not speaking.
It was obviously Gaara's first time having a meal with so many people. Although he wasn't used to such a lively atmosphere,
His eyes still showed happiness.
As Sasuke looked over, he happened to see Naruto placing a freshly grilled piece of meat into Gaara's bowl.
Just like him, Gaara was also a jinchuriki, and he was the jinchuriki of Sunagakure.
Other than Naruto, he hardly talked to anyone else.
Naruto cared a lot about Gaara.
Gaara lowered his head and looked at the grilled meat in his bowl, and revealed a smile, "Thank you."
Naruto's face was full of smiles, "Eat more so you'll grow taller."
Seeing this, Sasuke curled his lips, picked up a lettuce leaf, put it in his mouth, and took a fierce bite.
At this moment, Karin also picked up a piece of grilled meat and put it into Sasuke's bowl.
With a grin, she repeated Naruto's words, "Eat more so you'll grow taller."
Sasuke suddenly felt that his junior wasn't cute at all.
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