Chapter 66
Barbecue Q.
Today's treat was on Tenten.
"Congratulations on graduating and becoming real ninjas!" Tenten grinned as she picked up a piece of grilled meat and placed it in the plates of Natsuki and Shino.
"Then I won't hold back," Shino responded calmly. He had known this couple for so long that politeness had long been discarded. He quietly devoured the food on his plate, though he seemed distracted, clearly preoccupied.
Tenten noticed and gave her boyfriend a questioning glance.
Natsuki tried to reassure him, "Shino, don't worry. Whatever's going on with Naruto, it's not something we can interfere with. The Third Hokage likely has his own plans."
Tenten tilted her head curiously. "What happened to Naruto? Did he fail the exam?"
Shino nodded. "Yeah. For some reason, Naruto suddenly lost control over his chakra. Today's test was the Transformation Technique—he used to be able to do it smoothly, but today it was a total mess. No one knows what went wrong. Iruka-sensei went to talk to the Hokage, and he said he'd handle it quickly, but it looks like Naruto will have to wait until next year to take the exam again."
Just talking about it brought Shino's mood down again.
Though he wasn't as close to Naruto as he was with Natsuki, Shino was the kind of guy who took his friendships seriously.
"Poor Naruto... He's always shouting about becoming Hokage. Now he can't even become a genin..."
Tenten looked surprised. She hadn't expected something like this to happen.