They finally arrived.
This place was called Yakiniku House, which could also be translated as "grilled meat house."
As they entered, a few people glanced sharply at Naruto. However, since he was accompanied by a jonin, they didn't say anything.
Annoying stares, Naruto thought.
Guy walked in first, scanning the room for their table. "Ah, over there! Come on, young man!"
"Hey, sensei! Why are you so late?" a voice complained as soon as Guy arrived.
"Sensei, you're finally here," another added quickly.
But Guy just laughed, showing no sign of guilt. "Hahaha, sorry! I had to pick someone up…"
"And is that him?" asked a girl, glancing at Naruto.
Guy replied enthusiastically, "Hahaha! Of course, he's the one!"
Naruto sat down and smiled at the girl. "Hi, sorry for the intrusion. My name's Naruto. Nice to meet you all."
"Whoaaa! So you're the one Guy-sensei has been talking about? Nice to meet you! I'm Lee, his best student!"
Meanwhile, the girl sitting beside Lee just remained silent, a blush appearing on her cheeks. A handsome guy finally showed up, she thought.
"And this is my teammate, her name is—" Lee was about to introduce the girl, but...
Thud!
"Shut up! Let me do it myself."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tenten." She extended her hand with a sweet smile.
The girl with two buns in her hair had brown eyes, fair skin—not too pale—and small pink lips. She wore a light pink top and brown pants. Her appearance was simple, but Naruto found it appealing.
She's pretty cute, Naruto concluded.
He gently shook her hand. "Alright, Tenten. Nice to meet you."
Tenten, hearing Naruto's gentle tone and seeing his... beautiful smile, felt her face getting warmer. Her hand trembled slightly.
Noticing her reaction, Naruto didn't say anything and simply let go of her hand.
"And who's he?" Naruto asked, looking at the remaining person.
"I'm Neji," he answered briefly.
Naruto nodded.
"Waiter! Bring us some of your best meats!" Guy shouted.
"Hey Naruto, are you still in the academy?" Tenten moved closer and sat beside him.
"Yeah, why?" Naruto asked in return.
"No reason, just curious…" Oh no, why did I suddenly lose my topic? she thought.
Tenten wanted to talk but didn't know where to start.
Naruto noticed her hesitation. "What about you? Judging from your forehead protector, you're already a ninja, right?" he helped her along.
"Yeah, of course," Tenten answered, feeling slightly relieved.
"Wow, that sounds amazing."
"Not that amazing…" Tenten pouted. "But at least there are fun things that happen often."
"Really?" Naruto responded with interest.
"Yup," Tenten nodded twice.
She began telling stories about silly incidents during missions—from Lee struggling to hold in his pee and panicking to find a place, to encountering a bunch of dumb bandits who couldn't even defend themselves properly.
"Ah, poor Lee. He must've really suffered," Naruto commented sympathetically.
"Yeah, he's totally unreliable…"
"Hey, you two! Why are you talking about me behind my back?" Lee jumped into the conversation.
"Behind your back? Are you deaf? I'm saying it right in front of you!" Tenten snapped back.
"...." Lee went silent, though clearly still upset.
"Still! I don't accept it!"
"Then what do you want?"
"Apologize! Apologize to me!"
Tenten's expression dropped. Her usual sweet face turned annoyed. "Apologize? Are you joking? I didn't even do anything wrong!" she yelled.
"Yes, you did!"
"No, I didn't."
"You did!"
They kept arguing, completely ignoring their surroundings.
Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder. "Don't take it personally. They're always like this," Guy said with a smile.
"Don't worry, Guy-san. I don't mind."
"Hahahaha! That's the spirit, young man!" Guy patted Naruto's shoulder hard.
Or maybe not… please, not so hard… Naruto grimaced inwardly.
Their conversation stopped when the waiter arrived with the meat and set up the grills.
In the center, there were two types of grills—one for regular grilling, the other for barbeque.
The grills were quite large, and the meat selection was varied: beef, chicken, lamb, and even pork, all in different cuts.
Feeling a bit awkward, Naruto only picked a few types: beef ribs, boneless chicken thigh, and slices of lamb. He avoided the pork due to personal reasons.
"Hey, Naruto. What's your favorite meat cut?" a voice asked from beside him.
Naruto turned. "I'll eat anything, except pork," he replied.
Tenten raised her eyebrows. "Why?" she asked curiously.
"It's nothing. I just have some bad memories involving that animal."
"Eh? Like what?" Tenten pushed a little more.
"Ah… It's really nothing serious," Naruto tried to dodge the question.
But Tenten was persistent and moved closer. "Come on, tell me! Tell me!"
"Hahaha…" Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Oh hey, Tenten. Do you like lamb?" he changed the subject. He picked up a slice of grilled lamb with his chopsticks and offered it to her.
Tenten was slightly disappointed that Naruto dodged her question, but she accepted the food anyway. She quickly ate it straight from Naruto's chopsticks.
"Thanks for the food," she said while chewing.
Naruto was a bit surprised. This girl… she's pretty bold.
Then, Tenten quickly picked up a piece of meat herself and held it out.
"Aaa~ Open wide."
Naruto paused, surprised. "Do you think I'm a little kid?"
"Just eat it already. Aaa~"
Even so, Naruto accepted it happily.
Eventually, they all ate and relaxed happily. Guy got drunk from drinking sake, and even Lee had some. Meanwhile, Naruto and Tenten looked... quite romantic. At least, that's how it appeared in Neji's eyes as he sat silently in the corner.
When the meal was over, Guy paid for everything, staggering from being drunk.
"Naruto, we're heading out. Oh, and come to the western forest tomorrow morning. Guy-sensei might've forgotten to tell you, but he plans to train you there."
Tenten leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I'll be there too~" Her voice was soft, but teasing.
Naruto's ears tingled. This girl… does she think she can toy with me? He was slightly annoyed but didn't respond.
"Well then, I'm off…"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
"Hmm. See you."
They parted ways. Naruto returned to his apartment to train, while Tenten and Neji helped escort the drunk Guy and Lee home.