Konoha Barbecue Wars Chapter 2

Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru strolled down Konoha's streets, en route to their next destination. The Inuzuka brought up the front, an eager smirk on his face. Akamaru kept pace with him, alternatively whimpering and whining as he looked at his partner.

Kiba shot his partner a sympathetic look, but nonetheless smiled. "Ah, relax, Akamaru," he assured the dog, patting him on his massive head. "I'll be fine, I promise!"

"Oi!" Naruto butted in from behind the two. "What're you two talking about? What's Akamaru worried about?"

Still patting Akamaru's head, Kiba turned his head to look at Naruto. "Ah, Akamaru here's just worried I'm going to eat too much and get myself into trouble. Says he doesn't like the idea of me getting a gut again…"

At this, Naruto snickered. "Heh, who knew Akamaru could be such a nag?" Akamaru glared at Naruto and growled, though the blonde ninja took no notice.

Kiba's expression quickly contorted into an annoyed scowl. "Hey, knock it off, Uzumaki!" His expression softened, and he turned back to Akamaru. "So Akamaru's being a bit of a worrywart; he's just worried about me. Isn't that right, boy?" He scratched the back of the dog's ears.

Akamaru yipped appreciatively. Well, good to know I'm getting some appreciation around here, he noted, half-joking.

Naruto folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah, well, he should be worried," he stated, a cocky note entering his tone. "I'm still really hungry; I feel like I could eat way more!"

"That makes two of us," Kiba shot back, the same cocky tone making itself heard. "Before this is over, I bet you're gonna be moaning and whining like a wuss, while I'll still be ready for dessert!"

At this, Akamaru whimpered, and Kiba immediately turned back to his friend. "Relax, Akamaru, I'm just kidding; today's a barbecue day, remember?"

Akamaru sighed. Sure it is, Kiba, he mumbled, tail drooping. Sure it is…

-----
A few minutes later, the two shinobi had settled at a new barbecue place, this one specializing in teppanyaki barbecue. As they had done at the previous restaurant, they had sat down, loudly ordered the largest course the restaurant had to offer, and then set about insulting and taunting one another until their food arrived. Akamaru had turned down Kiba's offer to get him something else to eat, asserting that Someone has to take you home.

Once their food had arrived, the two had grabbed their chopsticks and set about devouring their food with reckless abandon, shoveling pieces of meat into their waiting mouths while shooting dirty glances at each other. Akamaru watched the spectacle for a few minutes, finding himself oddly fascinated by the manner in which they gorged on their food. After a little while, though, he shook his massive head and laid down, patiently waiting for the two to finish.
He wasn't the only one observing their actions, though: from several tables away, a pink-haired kunoichi grimaced in disgust.

"Oh, dear Kami," Sakura complained, shaking her head. "They're making pigs of themselves, again. How many times have they gone through with this?"

Ino, who was seated beside her, rolled her eyes; she and the rest of her team had met up with Sakura for lunch, having deciding to spend some time in each others' company before dispersing and seeing what the festival had to offer. "I don't know; I don't exactly keep count of how many times those two end up making themselves look pregnant. Although…" a thoughtful look came across her face. "If I had to guess, I'd say… at least a dozen times?"

Sitting across from Ino and stuffing his face, Choji swallowed his current mouthful and paused just long enough to give his answer. "Yeah, I'd say that sounds about right. I've actually seen them a few times when they've done this." A frown formed on his chubby face. "I've said hi a couple of times, but they're usually so caught up in their contests they barely even notice me." A smile quickly replaced the frown. "Eh, but that's Naruto and Kiba for ya; no reason for me to take it personally." With that, he returned to his barbecue, hungrily devouring the meat. "Still," he added, through a mouthful of meat (being careful not to spray it everywhere, "They're kinda amateurs when it comes to this sorta thing."

Shikamaru shot a surprised look at his friend, taken off guard by the unusually mean-spirited remark. He relaxed, though, when he noticed that Choji was still smiling as amiably as ever. He gave a tiny smile. Of course; he should have known. Choji would never insult anybody, at least not seriously.

"Still, I have to wonder," Ino piped up, "Why are they obsessed with competing with each other all of a sudden?"

Sakura looked at her friend and rival. "Well, Naruto and Kiba have always sorta butted heads; they both wanna prove they're the best." She rolled her eyes, indicating exactly what she thought of that notion.

Choji, amazingly, was able to stop and swallow enough of his food to once again speak. "Yeah, but this seems more like the sort of thing Naruto and Sasuke woulda done, before…" a look of shock and realization crossed his face, and he immediately shut his mouth. "S-sorry, Sakura," he apologized, wincing at the faintly pained expression on the kunoichi's face. "I didn't mean to…"

Sakura smiled, albeit reluctantly. "That's OK, Choji. Besides, now that you mention it…" her smile softened, and she gazed back at the two competing ninja. "There was that one time couple years ago, during our first big mission to the Land of Waves." She sighed happily at the memories. "At mealtimes, Naruto and Sasuke would stuff their faces, each one determined to endure more and eat faster." Once again, she grimaced. "Although, they didn't end up getting bellies-and it's good, too, since it would have jeopardized the mission-but they did puke once or twice." She laughed. "I remember thinking how pigheaded they both were, even Sasuke…"

Shikamaru, having stayed quiet this whole time, decided to finally let himself be heard. "Naruto I can understand, but considering how infatuated you were with Sasuke, it's hard to believe you could have thought anything bad of him." He gave a quick, amused grunt in order to show that he meant no disrespect.

Sakura sighed. "I guess you're right…" she stole another glance at the two ninja; they were more than halfway through their orders. "Still, even I'm surprised they're going at it as enthusiastically as they are. If I didn't know Naruto as well as I did, I'd think he was overcompensating by shifting some of his focus to Kiba."

Ino absentmindedly picked up her chopsticks and poked idly at her food, thinking. "But if it's not that, then how come they're both getting so into this?"

"I believe I may be able to offer some insight."

Letting out a startled gasp, the Yamanaka turned around in her chair, facing the direction the voice came from. She found its owner a few tables over. "Shino? When did you get here?" she exclaimed, making no attempt to conceal her surprise.

The hooded ninja shifted in his seat. "Had you paid more attention to your surroundings, you would have noticed my presence at least fifteen minutes ago."

Sakura started. "Well…um…" she laughed nervously. "Sorry, it's just that you're kind of…quiet."

Shino nodded, though he made no indication as to whether or not he was offended by the comment. "It is to be expected." He briefly turned his attention to the two gorging ninja, throwing Kiba in particular a slightly disapproving look. "Such a disregard for self-control and inhibition tends to draw attention away from all else."

Ino raised her eyebrows. "Um…right." Eager to change the subject and bring a stop to Shino's conversation/lecturing, she immediately cut to the chase. "So, you said you might know why they're getting so into stuffing themselves?"

"Indeed." His gaze never left Kiba, though he spoke loud enough for the four other ninja to hear. "As I'm certain you've noticed, Naruto and Kiba are startlingly alike; both furiously loyal to their friends, both extremely confident in their abilities…and both eager to prove that they are the best." He shifted again. "And, as I'm sure you are aware, those of similar temperament seldom get along smoothly." Sakura looked as though she wanted to say something (after all, they had all already suspected as much,) but the Aburame forestalled her by continuing.

"However, this is more than simple rivalry. In regards to Kiba, he has developed several doglike qualities as a result of his clan upbringing. Among these qualities is the ancient canine urge to be at the top; the 'alpha male,' if you will. This essentially amounts to being the bravest, strongest male around, and possessing the determination necessary to ingest copious amounts of food, even when the stomach has reached its limit. And Naruto, being so much like Kiba, possesses this drive as well."

Amazingly, all four ninja had managed to tear their attention away from Naruto and Kiba, staring instead at Shino. Each of their eyes were wide, and Ino's mouth was even open a bit.

Sakura was the first to break the silence. "That…makes a disturbing amount of sense."

"Really makes sense when you put it that way," Choji agreed, his food forgotten (for the moment).

Shikamaru sighed. "I figured as much."

Ino shot her teammate an annoyed look. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

The Nara shrugged. "It seemed like it was too troublesome, having to explain everything like that." Ino drove an angry fist into Shikamaru's chest at this. The lazy genius winced, but nonetheless kept his composure. Choji stifled a laugh (seeing as how his mouth was once again filled with food,) but he was unable to keep from cracking a smile at his teammate's annoyance. Sakura just watched, laughing a bit nervously.

"If you are so intent on watching Naruto and Kiba," Shino cut in, "it would appear as though they are finished here." At that, the young ninja's heads each shot up and looked to the side, eager to catch a glimpse of the results.

To herself, Sakura wondered why they were all so into this. Then she shuddered, not sure if she wanted to know.
---
True to Shino's words, the two hungry shinobi had each finished their massive meals. Now, they sat reclining in their seats, rubbing their stomachs.

Kiba licked his lips. "Mmm, man, that kicked ass," he mumbled, rubbing his belly with a contented sigh.

Naruto burped lightly. "Yeah; I can see why Choji likes this place so much." He leaned out of his chair to get a good look at Akamaru. "I gotta say, Akamaru, you really missed out!" He smacked his stomach. "Considering how much you liked that steak, you woulda loved it!"

Despite knowing Naruto couldn't understand him, Akamaru felt obliged to reply.  Thanks, but if I did, I might end up losing control and humiliating myself. He turned his attention to Kiba. I don't know why, but I just don't like the idea of looking like I'm carrying a litter of puppies.

Kiba laughed, grinning slyly. "Oh, really? I seem to remember a certain puppy who found his way into the meat stores a few years back…"

Akamaru yelped, bolting upright and nearly upending the table. Kiba! You swore you'd never tell anybody about that!

"Meat stores?" Naruto stared curiously at Kiba. "What're you talking about, Kiba?"

Kiba smirked. "That's none of your damn business, Uzumaki. You wanna know, you can ask Akamaru." Naruto grunted in frustration, crossing his arms and grumbling to himself.

Akamaru released the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and nudged Kiba's side affectionately. Thanks for the save, Kiba.

A look of mock surprise formed on Kiba's face. "What're you talking about, Akamaru?" he asked as him and Naruto got up from their seats and made their way to the exit. "I got to help my buddy out, and I got Naruto to shut up. How could I pass that chance up!"

"Hey!" Naruto protested as he ran to catch up to the dog-nin. "I heard that!"

Akamaru barked loudly and wagged his tail. I think that was the point,  Naruto.

"What'd he say?!" Naruto demanded to know, clenching his fists.

Kiba spared his blonde friend a look. "Ah, he was just saying how much of a knucklehead you can be. Nothing new, really." This, predictably, prompted Naruto to erupt in yet another shouting fit, face reddening.

Akamaru looked to the side, intending to get a better look at Naruto's outburst, but they instead stopped on the thing that was causing him so much worry: Kiba's stomach.

Granted, it hadn't changed all that much, even with this second huge meal. The dog was even willing to bet that the Inuzuka looked completely normal from the front. However, from Kiba's side, he noticed, with some alarm, that Kiba's stomach had bowed out a bit, creating a slight yet noticeable curve within his shirt.

At that moment, Naruto jogged up beside Kiba, unleashing yet another verbal assault as he did so. Akamaru took this opportunity to check him out as well, and discovered, to his chagrin, that the blonde's stomach was in much the same shape as Kiba's.

Akamaru gave a quiet moan of despair. It's already like that? This is gonna be even worse than I thought…

---
After a few minutes, Naruto and Kiba reached an eatery that, supposedly, made excellent ribs. They dashed through its doors without hesitation and, as they had twice before, ordered the largest course the place had to offer: two massive racks of ribs with a side of applesauce. About half an hour later, they exited, licking their lips and rubbing their bellies. Walking beside them, Akamaru noted that their stomachs had curved just a tiny bit more.

After that, it was off to a barbecue joint that was reputed to have extremely tender chicken. There, they each bolted down five chicken legs, ten wings, and seven thighs each. Afterwards, they left, sighing contentedly and rubbing their bellies, licking sauce from around their mouths. At this point, their stomachs had curved enough that they were pressing ever-so-slightly against the fabric of their shirts.

Their fifth stop was, shockingly enough, at Ichiraku's. There, they each ordered three extra-large bowls of barbecue ramen, each of which they practically inhaled as soon as it was delivered to them. Akamaru noted, with morbid curiosity, how their stomachs bulged the tiniest bit as each bowl of noodles and meat entered their gullets. Once all three bowls were empty, the boys loudly thanked a very flustered Teuchi, then swiftly stood up and briskly walked away, Akamaru keeping pace.

They walked until they reached an area that was relatively light in terms of bystanders, leaning back against the wall of a small, nondescript building. Smiling happily, they allowed their heads to tilt back, mouths opening in utterly satisfied sighs. Hands wandering to their midsections, each teen suddenly glanced downwards, eager to get a closer look at the state their bellies were in.

Naruto's stomach was now a very distinct round shape underneath his off-white T-shirt, bulging slightly outwards. The appendage was still completely concealed, but chances were it was only another huge meal or so away from seeing the light of day. Despite this, Naruto grinned and lightly smacked his belly, causing it to shake a bit.

Kiba's belly was also bulging slightly against his shirt, stretching the fabric slightly. He noted, offhand, that there was a tiny speck of barbecue sauce on the portion of the shirt covering the well-fed appendage, but paid it little mind. Smiling widely, he put both hands on his rounded gut and gave it a little shake.

Naruto looked over at Kiba. "Hey, Kiba, check this out." He put both hands on his stomach and massaged it. "Starting to get pretty big, huh?"

Kiba snorted. "Please. Are you seeing this?" He smacked his stomach a couple of times, making it jiggle ever so slightly. "Check out how much I have packed in here already! Imagine how packed it'll be once you throw in the towel!"

Naruto smirked. "Yeah, right! By the time we're done, you're not gonna be the one Akamaru's gonna have to take home!"

Kiba jabbed a finger at Naruto's belly. "Not gonna happen! In fact, I'm gonna need Akamaru now more than ever!" He smacked his stomach again. "Hell, by the end of today, it'll be hard for me to even waddle!"

Akamaru whined, hanging his head. This day just kept getting better and better, didn't it?