When Lin Yu returned to Mount Myōboku, he was stunned by the sight of a group of youngsters devouring food voraciously.
Did the cuisine of Mount Myōboku suit Leaf Village ninjas so well?
How could these brats eat so much? It was truly bizarre.
"Ahem!"
Lin Yu cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "Ahem, the three-day Mount Myōboku gathering has concluded. Everyone should return to the village."
That's right! It was a three-day gathering, not that he himself had forgotten about Naruto and the others, causing them to consume an abundance of protein for three days.
Upon hearing the news of their return to the village, Naruto, Sasuke, and others stiffly turned their heads, purple broth still lingering on their lips.
"Teacher Lin Yu, you're finally back! You've caused us so much trouble!" Naruto's face was purple, a result of choking from eating too much.
Sasuke and Neji almost spat out their food. They had just made up their minds, and Lin Yu returned. Sasuke would never believe there wasn't a hidden agenda!
How many more childhood nightmares would the great demon Lin Yu inflict upon him? Dammit!
Sasuke rubbed his stomach and sat aside. He hadn't felt it while eating, but now he felt a bit bloated.
"Oho, you all seem to be enjoying yourselves. How about this: once we return to the Leaf, I'll treat everyone to Ichiraku Ramen until you can't eat another bite!"
"..."
Naruto felt he should be happy hearing this news, but for some reason, he instinctively glanced at his bulging belly and shed tears of sorrow.
Naruto cried out internally: My Ichiraku Ramen, no!!!
It was better that Lin Yu didn't mention ramen. The mere mention of it reminded everyone of the purple long worms and purple thick soup they had been eating. They all covered their mouths and rushed to the side.
Lin Yu chuckled and ignored the others. He walked over to Hinata and said, Although Mount Myōboku's cuisine was difficult to swallow, the energy it provided was far superior to human food.
"Did little Hinata eat too?"
Hinata shook her head and whispered, "No, I've been eating snacks these past few days."
Ino beside her said thankfully, "Fortunately, Choji had enough snacks, otherwise we would have suffered too."
Sakura mentally gave a million likes to Ino for forcefully snatching Choji's snacks. Her good friend was finally useful!
Lin Yu pinched Hinata's soft cheek, "It's my fault, I've made little Hinata so thin. We'll head back to the village now, and I'll take you to eat delicious food."
Hinata's face blushed slightly. She nodded softly, not daring to look up at Lin Yu, let alone Sakura and the others.
Teacher Lin Yu, honestly, she wasn't little anymore, yet he still called her little Hinata. How many bowls of ramen should she order later... 5 or 10...
Ino leaned in teasingly, "Can we come along too?"
"Of course, eat as much as you want."
"Yay!"
Just then, a golden magic circle projected onto the ground. Naruto saw this and shouted, "Wait, wait, Teacher Lin Yu, I want to stay at Mount Myōboku and continue practicing Sage Mode!"
"We want to stay and see too."
Neji and others also wanted to stay. After all, opportunities to cultivate Sage Mode on Mount Myōboku weren't everyday occurrences. They also wanted to master such powerful abilities, lest they fall too far behind Naruto.
Lin Yu looked at the others and asked, "What about you? Do you want to stay?"
Shikamaru scratched his head and said reluctantly, "I won't be staying. I don't seem to have the talent."
Choji and Kiba quickly shouted, "I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place anymore!"
Shino nodded silently. He wasn't suited to stay here either. Insects were the favorite food of toads. He had been living in fear every day, worried that he might be swallowed by some giant toad.
"I..." Sasuke was about to speak when Lin Yu interrupted him, "You have other missions. I'll have Itachi come find you."
"Tch!" Sasuke snorted and turned his face away. He hated being so thoroughly arranged, but there was nothing he could do.
Lin Yu didn't explain. For Sasuke and Naruto's strength to improve the most, the unsealing of the Karma was paramount. Sage Mode was insignificant in comparison to Karma.
After arranging everyone, Lin Yu brought the rest back to the Leaf Village.
At the Hokage's office building, Minato Namikaze stared blankly at the sudden appearance of Lin Yu and a group of newly graduated youngsters. He waved his hand wearily.
"Remember to close the door..."
He also saw that Naruto wasn't among them, otherwise, he would have given him a few hits. This brat was getting more and more out of hand, even taking his allowance for late-night snacks next month.
Unfilial son!
...
In front of the Ichiraku Ramen shop, Lin Yu led the group of youngsters and greeted Teuchi, "Uncle Teuchi, long time no see. I'm back..."
"Naruto Lin Yu! How dare you show your face again!" Teuchi's temper flared upon seeing Lin Yu, and he almost dropped the rolling pin in his hand to throw it at him.
Lin Yu asked confusedly, "Uncle Teuchi, what did I do?"
Lin Yu was puzzled. He hadn't been in the Leaf Village these past few days, so why was Teuchi so angry with him?
"You, what do you mean what did you do!"
Teuchi pointed at Lin Yu and said angrily, "Do you know that your pet ate here on the house, and even brought a companion to eat on the house!"
He, Teuchi, hated dine-and-dashers the most. Money was a small issue, but one shouldn't behave like that!
Wait, Whitey wasn't human...
Lin Yu suddenly realized. It was that foolish dog that had caused him trouble. He really hadn't fed it Kushina's cooking these past few days, and its stomach had recovered!
"Sorry, Uncle Teuchi, I'll pay it back."
"Hmph!"
Teuchi's anger was also partly due to Lin Yu's irresponsibility. However, it seemed Lin Yu had just returned from a mission, so he couldn't blame him.
Teuchi said gruffly, "Come in."
The misunderstanding cleared, Lin Yu smiled and led the eagerly anticipating crowd into Ichiraku Ramen, saying, "Order as much as you want, don't save money for me!"
Lin Yu felt that since Whitey had made a mistake, he should be the one to compensate!
Today, he had to make Teuchi so exhausted that he recovered all the losses from the past few days! It wasn't because Lin Yu was petty!
"Alright! Me first, me first! Boss, I want twenty bowls of chashu miso ramen!"
"Twenty bowls!!!" Teuchi looked at the red-haired clan! Although Choji wasn't red-haired, his father was, so he was classified in the red-haired clan.
"I want five servings!"
"I want three servings too!"
...
Teuchi looked at the youngsters in front of him with green eyes, trembling uncontrollably. Had they not eaten for days? How could he handle this!
"Um..."
Hinata raised her small head, her cute eyes blinking. She said softly, "I want... fifteen servings... I'll have more if it's not enough."
Hinata had wanted more, but she was afraid she couldn't eat that much. She patted her small belly and looked at Lin Yu, wondering if Teacher Lin Yu would dislike Hinata for being a girl who could eat a lot.
"Hiss!" Teuchi sucked in a cold breath. "More if it's not enough." I, Teuchi, hereby declare you the strongest beneath Kaguya!
At this moment, Lin Yu grinned and said, "I want thirty bowls! All at once!"
*Thump!*
Teuchi collapsed, his eyes dim, with only one thought remaining in his mind.
The red-haired clan, as expected, was the lifelong enemy of Teuchi!