Naruto Karyuden

Chapter 21: Iron Will I

IRON WILL I

Streets of Shuri town, Land of Earth:

Kotori and Yokumaru look on at the sight in front of them with wide eyes and gaping mouths. The Land of Earth's Shuri town was lined with stalls as far as the eye can see. Dumplings, takoyaki, a huge assortment of sweets.

They go from store to store, looking at what's tastiest and unable to decide.

Naruto chuckles. "You don't have to just stare, you know?" He pushes away the banners to a dango stall. "Let's start eating."

The four of them take a seat and a bench. "Four plates, mister, and get ready to make a whole lot more!"

The man behind the stall gives a jolly laugh. "You got it!" After a short wait, he hands them their dango.

After a single bite, Kotori and Yokumaru are on cloud nine. It's really tasty. Yokumaru in particular gulfs down the dumplings like they're made of air. He eats too much and chokes lightly, pounding his chest.

Hinata giggles and cleans his mouth with a tissue, seeing as not all the paste went in his mouth. "Be careful, you'll get yourself sick."

Kotori takes a bite out of her dango. "It's like you've never seen sweets before."

Yokumaru looks down at his plate. "I mean, I really haven't. I stole a lotta things but it was for mom, and she can't eat sweets the way she is."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't think."

The boy shakes his head. "It's fine. You've eaten a lot, though, huh?"

She sheepishly rubs her head. "Oh, not really. Miss Shina couldn't afford a lot of luxuries, since the orphanage was kinda struggling."

Yokumaru puffs his cheeks and squeezes her nose between his index and middle fingers. "Then what're you getting on my case for?"

"Ow ow ow." She yelps in pain, but is then surrounded by a puff of smoke and is replaced by a piece of cloth.

"Huh? Substitution? Hey, no fair, come back here!" Yokumaru steps outside and looks left and right and then left again, trying to find her. She's gone. She's gotten that good that quick?

"Umm, help?"

Or not. Yokumaru looks to where the voice came from. Up on the stall. Kotori is clutching to a metal pipe that's holding the banners following a misjudged substitution, with one banner missing after being used for as the substitute.

Hinata giggles at their shenanigans.

Naruto shakes his head and takes the banner from the bench. "Sorry, mister, I'll put it back." He helps her down and gets to placing the banner back where it belongs. "You gotta be careful where you go, so you don't get stuck like that and don't bother other people, alright?"

"Sorry, dad."

Hinata walks behind him and holds his hand, pressing herself close to him. "You bothered quite a lot of people yourself, though."

He gets flustered. "That doesn't matter now. Old news!"

"Sensei, you were a troublemaker?"

"Did you get in trouble a lot, dad?"

"I said it doesn't matter!" He holds two pouches of coin and hands them to the kids. "Look, how about a game. You buy as many sweets as you want. First one to give up from the sugar has to do double training for a week."

The two kids look at each, grab the coin pouch and dart off.

"Is it a good idea to give them a sugar high?"