The crunch of the wrapper broke the calm of the forest, a sound almost sacrilegious between the bird songs and the whisper of leaves. Leaning against the bark of an oak, a boy of robust build extracted, with almost ceremonial precision, a potato chip from the package before bringing it to his mouth.
Anyone in the Academy would recognize him instantly. Not just for being "big-boned," as his mother used to insist, but for the red spirals painted on his cheeks and the brown hair shot in all directions. Choji Akimichi wore a white t-shirt with the kanji for "food" stretched over his chest, visible under his open green vest. He didn't wear bandages or weights; clearly, he hadn't come to sweat.
What was he doing there exactly? If asked, Shikamaru would say he was practicing his espionage skills using a classmate as a target.
Choji chewed, thoughtfully. He knew his friend was too lazy to walk out here just on a hunch; if Shikamaru was curious, there was usually a good reason behind it.
However, Choji didn't kid himself. He wasn't a strategic genius like the Naras, nor did he possess the natural talent that seemed to emanate from guys like Sasuke. Sometimes, looking in the mirror, it was hard to see the future leader of the Akimichi clan his father expected. Choza Akimichi was a legend, a jōnin respected by all. Filling those shoes seemed like an impossible task for someone like him.
But his father had also taught him something crucial: "A man's true strength is measured by the quality of the friends surrounding him and his capacity to judge people's hearts."
His judgment screamed at him to trust Shikamaru. So here he was, spying on the "dead last," trying to deduce what had caught his partner's attention.
He poked his head through the foliage. If he had managed to get this close, it was only thanks to the cover provided by the wind and the noise of the stream. Even so, he didn't expect to find this: Naruto, shirtless, practicing the Leaf Village kata.
Several tree leaves were stuck to his limbs, torso, and head, as if fixed with glue. Naruto shifted between stances with a rough fluidity, struggling to keep the rhythm.
Suddenly, one of the leaves peeled off his shoulder. The blonde instantly let out a string of insults that, had his mother heard, would have earned him a hit with the wooden spoon. Without wasting time, he ran to a tree and hit it with all his might. The impact made leaves rain from the branches, but "the class loser" was already moving, catching them in the air before they could touch the ground.
Choji didn't know what to expect upon finding Naruto, but he definitely didn't imagine seeing him training. He knew that in previous years, his classmate barely made an effort, let alone studied; it was a miracle he had reached the final year.
Perhaps it was because there were less than three months left until the first attempt at the graduation exams. His own parents had also started to pressure him; they wanted him to enter a team led by a jōnin.
His father, Choza, had begun teaching him the clan's hidden jutsu. But before that, Choji had to master proper chakra usage and study a lot of theory. Without clear fundamentals, the technique could become deadly for the user.
The Akimichi clan wasn't just recognized for expansion techniques; they were famous for their deep knowledge of chakra amplification. They had perfected different types and improved processes to develop new variants. The theory consisted of increasing physical capabilities through chakra. A famous example was Tsunade's punches. Choji could theorize how it was achieved, but he assumed it required excellent control. The slightest error could cause the force to reverse and impact the user themselves.
A slight shiver ran through Choji's body at the thought. A bad execution could, at minimum, break an arm; in the worst case, pulverize his bones.
He watched as Naruto finished his taijutsu practice and took out some shuriken from his weapon pouch. There was an oak prepared in advance, marked with a white dot as a target. The leaves were still stuck to his body and the time he managed to keep them increased, although it wasn't anything out of this world. Choji was sure he could keep a leaf stuck all day if necessary.
However, while watching Naruto throw shuriken against the trunk, he noticed his classmate's physical composition had changed. He looked more muscular and had lost quite a bit of fat. He remembered Naruto used to be somewhat soft and barely had physical strength, which meant that, besides rigorous training, he had drastically changed his diet.
Iron discipline was needed to achieve such a change, and Choji didn't believe a slacker could achieve it in so little time without a weighty reason. To change like that, a powerful motivation must exist. Something had happened in his classmate's life and he was determined to find out what it was.
He jumped from the tree and landed flexing his knees to absorb the impact; the ground beneath his feet sank slightly. In his opinion, the best way to know someone was by sharing a meal and a good chat.
With determination, he walked toward the clearing where his blonde classmate was training. He would have time to think of an excuse to justify his presence in the middle of the forest later. As he approached, he noticed several details he had overlooked from the height: the grass was destroyed and the bark of dozens of trunks looked splintered. It seemed Naruto was accustomed to training in this area.
When he was a few meters away, the boy, who was concentrated on throwing shurikens, stopped and turned abruptly. Instinctively, he adopted a combat stance, but relaxed quickly upon seeing it was Choji.
"Choji? What are you doing around here? You gave me a good scare," he commented with a slight smile, walking over to put on his shirt.
"Uh... I was walking... yes, walking through the forest, and I heard some screams, so I came to see what was happening," Choji responded, stumbling a bit.
At the same time, he saw how the leaf that was previously firm on Naruto's forehead came loose and swayed in the air on its way to the ground. Naruto was about to scream, but held back remembering he had company.
"Ah, sorry, I think that was me. I have a bad habit of screaming when I get frustrated," Naruto said, scratching his head, embarrassed.
He didn't understand why, but Choji felt he was speaking to a completely different person than the one he thought he knew. He had interacted with Naruto before; his classmate was loud and always seemed desperate for attention. Now, however, he seemed to enjoy the silences and didn't show that inexhaustible hyperactivity.
"What are you doing in this clearing? You know we have public training grounds, right?" asked Choji, trying to get the conversation back on track.
Naruto sat on a log while reflecting on his answer.
"Yeah, I know there are public grounds, but I prefer to train without anyone watching me. I already make a fool of myself enough in class," he said with self-deprecating humor.
He couldn't deny it: Naruto was clumsy when it came to fighting. But Choji would never make fun of a classmate for being bad; on the contrary, he felt some pity. He didn't understand how Naruto managed to get up every day and go to the academy just to be mocked.
"How do you do it?" asked Choji, letting his curiosity win.
"Do what?" returned Naruto, tilting his head in confusion.
Due to nerves, Choji hadn't formulated the question well, so he clarified:
"How do you manage to keep trying? Don't the insults matter to you?"
Choji believed there were various types of strength. The most known was physical; people were revered for feats of great muscular effort. However, he didn't consider it the most important. For him, true strength was mental: that which allows you to keep moving forward no matter what life throws at you.
He thought Naruto was strong. Many people in his situation would have already given up and thrown in the towel, but he kept trying. He didn't know why in previous years Naruto didn't seem to try, but something had changed in him. And if Naruto could change, Choji wanted to understand the why.
His classmate seemed to consider his words before answering.
"Well, I found out about this recently. It happened when I hadn't been born yet. My mother suffered very grave wounds; her life hung by a thread," Naruto recounted.
Choji was attentive to every word, trying not to miss any detail.
"They told me she was a kunoichi and that she fought to stay alive, she fought for every second to allow me to be born," said Naruto, pausing before continuing. "Once I managed to get out safely, she died. I want to become a shinobi as incredible as my mother. To honor her legacy."
Choji didn't know Naruto was the son of a kunoichi; he believed, like everyone, that he was the son of civilians. He was deeply moved by his classmate's conviction.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," apologized Choji, not wanting to bring such a delicate topic to light.
"Why are you apologizing?" asked Naruto, before continuing. "I am proud to be my mother's son, I told you because I'm not ashamed of it."
Choji nodded slowly. The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable, but respectful. He lowered his gaze to the package he still held in his hands and, after hesitating a second, extended it toward the blonde.
"Want some? They're consommé flavor," he offered, as if sharing his snacks was the greatest gesture of respect he could grant.
Naruto's eyes lit up and the solemn aura disappeared instantly.
"Woah! Thanks, Choji!" he exclaimed, taking a handful. "You know... I've been trying to cook more at home so I don't just eat instant ramen, but my vegetables always turn out mushy."
"The trick is in the cooking time," responded Choji, sitting next to him on the log. "And in using a bit of butter at the end. If you want, I can give you my mother's recipe."
Choji smiled while they ate under the shade of the trees. Now he understood what Shikamaru saw in him. Naruto wasn't just the "dead last" of the class; he had a silent strength and an honest heart.
Yes, the blonde was definitely strong.