Plop! Plop!
Eleven figures plummeted from the sky, some landing on chairs, others piled atop tables.
"Choji, get up, you're crushing us."
Choji, still dazed, hadn't fully registered his position. A slight shift of his backside elicited a chorus of screams before he realized something was amiss.
"Sorry, sorry! Shikamaru, how did you end up under me?"
Shikamaru scrambled out, gasping for air, and retorted grumpily, "I didn't want to be under you. The pressure is immense."
"You're not much better!" Neji emerged, his face contorted in a scowl. He'd been pinned beneath Shikamaru, nearly suffocating.
"Hey, you guys up there, give us a hand! I'm suffocating down here!"
Naruto's voice echoed from the bottom. The others quickly moved Kiba and Shino aside, revealing Naruto sitting squarely on Sasuke's face. They couldn't help but think that Sasuke was the one who'd nearly suffocated.
"Quick, give me a hand!"
For some reason, both of Naruto's legs felt numb. It was all Sasuke's fault!
At this moment, Sasuke was trembling with rage. Once again!
He had once again been subjected to Naruto's face-sitting, an utter humiliation, a true disgrace!
"Strange, where's Rock Lee?"
Sasuke's expression changed, and he quickly moved. The one at the very bottom, Rock Lee, was spinning his eyes in a daze, looking half-dead.
"Great! One less person for the meal means a bigger share for us!"
Kiba, holding a wilting Akamaru, asked, "In that case, who's first? Rock Lee?"
"But he's already fainted."
"Sasuke?"
Sasuke brushed off his clothes, his face grim. "I have no interest in this kind of thing. Don't count me in."
"Then, in that case..."
Naruto's eyes sparkled, and he exclaimed excitedly, "It's me, Naruto Uzumaki, who's first! Yahoo!"
Naruto leaped up, while Kiba complained, "Damn it, why couldn't I have been at the bottom!"
Shino adjusted his glasses and said seriously, "Kiba, if it had been you, you might have been crushed into a meat patty."
"Woof!" Akamaru nodded in agreement.
"Akamaru too, perhaps. We might even have dog meat hotpot today."
"Woof woof woof!"
Unlike the boys, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten, who had landed on chairs, were not interested in food. They needed to maintain their slender figures and wouldn't overeat.
"Wow, look at this, all the furniture is so big! It's like we've entered a land of giants."
"Yeah, I wonder if any giants will appear later."
"No giants, but you might see giant frogs," Shima popped out from the kitchen, landing on Hinata's shoulder. He gestured to Sakura and the others, "It's time to eat. You girls go to the kitchen and get the bowls and chopsticks for everyone."
Sakura looked at the small, purple-headed toad before her and muttered to herself, "No matter how you look at it, this environment and its owner don't match at all. Perhaps it's not even as big as a bowl."
"Hey, hey, speaking of which, is Gamabunta here too? Miss Frog?" Naruto approached, asking. Although he hadn't been to Mount Myōboku before, he had already established a friendship with Gamabunta. As for why he called him "second," the eldest was Kurama, so Gamabunta could only be the second.
Shima immediately jumped up and hit Naruto, his voice sharp, "My age is enough to be your mother's grandmother's grandmother."
"As for the 'second' you mentioned, that's Gamabunta, right? Go find him yourself after lunch. You're not allowed to leave until you've eaten!"
Naruto hadn't expected this small purple toad to be an elder. He could only cover his head and beg for mercy, "Old Frog Grandma, don't worry, I'll drink every last drop of the soup!"
Speaking of eating, Naruto became confident again. He puffed out his chest and declared, "Give me double portions! If anyone can't finish their food, I'll take care of it all!"
Shima listened to Naruto's bold declaration, paused for a moment, then chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand. "What a good child. Your father will definitely like a child like you."
However, Naruto's words caused dissatisfaction among Kiba and Choji. They both said, "Naruto, I don't need you to eat my share. If you can't eat yours, you can come to me for help!"
"Exactly, exactly! When it comes to food, Naruto, I won't be on your side."
Naruto rubbed his nose and clenched his fist, saying, "Alright! Then let's have a competition to see who can eat more!" Jiraiya said it would be enough, so he would eat to his heart's content!
Shima chuckled, "It's been a long time since I've met a human child who loves my cooking. However, let me be clear, even though Little Jiraiya prepared a lot of ingredients, please don't waste them. Otherwise, I'll be very unhappy."
Naruto, Kiba, and Choji said in unison, "Don't worry! We can do it!"
Before long, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten emerged from the kitchen with bowls and chopsticks, their faces looking grim, even retching slightly.
Even Tenten, usually so calm, had fear and lingering dread in her eyes. Fortunately, she saw it first. If she had eaten... she didn't dare to imagine!
Once everyone was assembled, Shima jumped onto the table and clanged a gong.
"Let's eat!"
Soon, under Naruto's expectant gaze, platters of wriggling, colorful insect feasts were neatly arranged on the table.
"This is Purple Longworm Ramen."
"This is Spicy and Sour Ladybug Salad."
"This is a nourishing soup of grasshopper pupae!"
...
Listening to Shima's vivid descriptions of the exclusive delicacies of Mount Myōboku, Naruto's face turned into a bitter gourd, and Kiba and Choji weren't faring any better. Choji was even on the verge of tears.
"Naruto, you said earlier that if we couldn't finish, you'd take care of it for us, right?" Sasuke leaned in and whispered to Naruto.
Facing this situation, Sasuke had no choice but to put aside his arrogant pride and humble himself before Naruto.
"Sasuke, you..."
"Let bygones be bygones. It's all used to pay for this meal!"
It wasn't just Sasuke. Shikamaru and Neji also cast pleading glances towards Kiba and Choji.
Naruto wailed, "If I had known, I might as well have learned from Rock Lee..."
"Oh, yes, you have another companion who fainted. My purple longworm ramen is very nourishing."
Shima scooped up a bowl of ramen with wriggling purple longworms and hopped over to Rock Lee, who was lying on the chair. He pried open his mouth and poured the entire bowl of ramen in.
Everyone watched, their eyelids twitching. It was less like Rock Lee swallowing it and more like the "noodles" sliding in on their own. So much collagen...
Gulp...
The young ninjas collectively swallowed. As they hesitated, a soft voice called out.
"Um... I'm full." Hinata wiped a grain of rice from her face, holding an empty bento box. She meekly said to Shima.
Right, why hadn't they thought of that? If they were full, they wouldn't have to eat this insect feast.
Shima said with a hint of regret, "What a shame." He couldn't do much about Hinata, who was brought by Lin Yu. But the other group of brats...
A smile spread across Shima's face. He chuckled at everyone who was about to open their backpacks to take out their lunchboxes and said, "No matter what method you use, you have to finish what's on here!"
"Oh, and I recall someone saying they'd drink even the soup. Who was it?"
Naruto wished he could slap himself from a minute ago. Why had he said such a thing? Now it was all ruined!
Looking at the thick, dark soup before him, filled with all sorts of colorful wriggling insects, Naruto swallowed hard. He felt like he wouldn't see the sun tomorrow!
...
Within the alternate dimension, Lin Yu walked through Kaguya's icy palace. The previously scattered clothes had disappeared. Kaguya had realized that besides herself, there was another unwelcome guest who could enter her space at any time.
On the grand hall, Kaguya closed her beautiful eyes, seemingly in meditation. A faint blush still lingered on her exquisite face, and she bit her lower lip, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, as if cursing someone.
Pitter-patter...
Footsteps approached. Kaguya opened her eyes. It was that bad guy again. She straightened her face slightly and said sternly, "Uzumaki Lin Yu, don't think I won't do anything to you. If you dare to treat me like this again, I... I won't be polite!"
No matter how you listened to it, her tone sounded a bit like a spoiled child, completely lacking her initial authority. However, Lin Yu wasn't here to tease Baby Kaguya this time.
Leaving other matters aside, the prophecy from that big toad was very accurate. He needed to prepare for the future.
"Kaguya, I have a question for you."
Seeing Lin Yu unusually serious, Kaguya straightened up slightly and said, "Speak your mind, though whether I answer depends on my mood."
"Those two destroyed stone carvings, which two Otsutsuki were they?"