"Hmm... that's weird. I feel like I'm forgetting something important, but I just can't remember what it is… tch, what could it be..."
At the same time, deep in an alley, a forgotten Uchiha Sasuke was letting out miserable cries of despair, completely abandoned in Naruto's mind. A strange sense of unease flickered faintly in Naruto's heart, growing stronger by the second. But after racking his brain and still failing to remember, he simply shook his head and gave up on it.
Had poor Little Uchiha Fan known that the reason he'd been left waiting so long for Naruto and Hyuga Hinata to regroup with him… was simply because Naruto had forgotten—he might've burst out with a loud "What the Hell!"¹ that couldn't be held back.
...
After a brief encounter with the Ino–Shika–Cho trio, Naruto had completely forgotten all thoughts of reuniting early with Little Uchiha Fan.
Instead, he was still happily munching on potato chips with Hinata by his side, savoring each crispy bite as they patiently waited.
It wasn't until the group's playful scuffle ended with Akimichi Chōji's obvious surrender that they all resumed their journey—continuing along the path that wrapped around the entirety of the Hidden Leaf Village as part of the third round of the Chūnin Exams.
At this point, Chōji, who had just barely escaped his teammates' clutches, was—as usual—lagging behind the group. But this time, his slow pace clearly wasn't due to lack of stamina… it was heartbreak.
After being thoroughly manhandled by Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru, Chōji looked like a complete mess—his clothes disheveled, his face streaked with tears.
With his pitiful expression, he looked like a young girl who'd just been… well, traumatized. But instead of tidying himself up, he just kept his head down, eyes locked mournfully on the last remaining bag of chips trembling in his hands.
'Waaah… my chips… my poor, precious chips…'
The soft sniffling sounds he made were enough to break anyone's heart. Even Naruto, who considered himself a mere bystander, couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy.
So one could only imagine what kind of effect it had on someone like Hinata, who had such a kind heart.
'U-um… he looks really sad… w-was that maybe… a bit too much just now?'
Perhaps because Naruto was by her side, Hinata's naturally shy personality had relaxed a bit.
As the sobs echoed around her, she hesitated, biting her lip, then finally glanced away from Chōji to peek toward Shikamaru and Ino. After a deep breath, she nervously muttered:
"Maybe… we should give the chips back to him?"
"Hmm? Ah, no worries, no worries… Ino and I were just helping lighten his load a bit. Carrying that many snacks around would slow anyone down, right? No way he'd finish this part of the exam in time with that much weight."
Responding to her question, Shikamaru poked his head out from behind a mountain of chips he was now holding. After a slight pause, his usual lazy grin returned to his face as he added slowly, almost cryptically:
"Besides… that guy Chōji isn't as fragile as he looks."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Shikamaru didn't answer directly. He simply studied Chōji for a moment, then winked, deliberately keeping things mysterious.
This only made Hinata even more curious. Tilting her head in confusion, she turned her gaze back to the still-sobbing Chōji.
And just as Shikamaru hinted, although he and Ino were each hugging a mountain of assorted chips looted from Chōji like victorious raiders, not a single bag had actually been opened. It was as if there had been a prior agreement—they'd carry the loot, but not eat it. In doing so, they'd inadvertently lightened Chōji's burden, letting him move more freely without even realizing it.
'My poor chips… sob… forget it, I'll just eat a chicken leg instead…'
Right at that moment, realizing that neither Shikamaru nor Ino seemed likely to return his chips out of pity, Chōji gradually stopped sobbing. With a messy swipe across his face to clear the tears, he muttered to himself while reaching into his jacket. In the blink of an eye—and to Hinata's stunned expression—he magically produced two large, marinated chicken legs. Grabbing one in each hand, he wasted no time diving in, tearing into them with greasy joy.
"See? Told you."
"Th-th-this…"
Hinata's eyes went wide as she slowly turned her head to look at Shikamaru, her voice shaking with disbelief.
"Didn't you guys… already take all his snacks? How does he still have something that big?!"
"Hmm? Yeah, we definitely searched him. Took all the chips we could find. But, well, we only took chips."
Unlike the utterly baffled Hinata, Shikamaru and Ino looked totally unbothered. While carefully holding onto their haul, Shikamaru even shrugged and blinked innocently, teasing:
"Besides, that only worked 'cause he felt too guilty to fight back… Who knows how many more snacks he's got hidden on him? Honestly, probably no one but him."
And of course, it wasn't just Hinata who was stunned by the display. Even Naruto, who considered himself familiar with Chōji's snack hoarding tendencies, stood there slack-jawed watching his friend happily devour those oily chicken legs.
After all, just the mountain of chips Shikamaru and Ino had managed to confiscate was enough to make anyone question reality. That many chips—all hidden on one person?! That alone was insane. But the fact that Chōji still had room to sneak in two giant drumsticks afterward?
That just defied all logic.
And as Chōji quickly polished off both drumsticks, then reached back into his jacket for yet more food, even Naruto nearly lost it.
'What the hell, how much food is that guy carrying?! Don't tell me he wasn't out of breath earlier because his gear was heavy… it was because he was literally hauling a walking pantry on his body?! Compared to that, the exam's loadout requirement is child's play!'
Forcing himself to swallow the scream that was clawing at his throat, Naruto stared at the seemingly bottomless snack reserve pouring from Chōji's clothes. His eye twitched violently as he mentally screamed:
'That guy… don't tell me he's a transmigrator like me?! Seriously, if you told me he smuggled a four-dimensional pouch from that blue robotic cat next door, I'd believe it!!'