Shikamaru Nara entered the barbecue house and searched for his friends. He immediately found them on a spot at the corner of the restaurant and instantly went to them. Present that night were Sasuke Uchiha, Sai Yamanaka, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Chōji Akimichi, and Rock Lee.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Kiba greeted him. "You're late."

"Got caught up with a lot of work," he said as he sat down next to his best pal Chōji.

"Where's the Hokage?" Sai asked.

"He can't come," Shikamaru answered. "He worked so hard earlier that he's tired and needed to go home immediately to rest. He said he'll make it up next time when he's able to come."

"He must have overworked himself again," Sasuke said.

"Yeah. He did a lot of work all at the same time using shadow clones," Shikamaru said.

"That might have drained his energy," Sasuke said. He then sighed. "Sir Kakashi should not have taught that technique to him. Doing multiple things at one time. It really will drain you up."

"The Seventh is not an ordinary shinobi. He's very capable of doing that," Lee commented, again with the passion and determination that he always have. "He has always been an extraordinary person. I'm sure no one has ever thought of doing a lot of Hokage jobs simultaneously."

"You really admire him a lot, eh?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, what's not to admire about him?" Lee asked.

"For one, he doesn't have enough time for personal stuff, like his family and us, his friends," Kiba said.

"But that's because he works a lot," Lee said.

"That's right," Sai agreed. "And with regards to his family, that issue has already been resolved."

"Boruto understands his father now," Sasuke added.

"But, that's not the issue here, guys! Come on! We don't get to hang out with our friend just like how we used to do. Sure, he's the Hokage now. But can't he take a day off from his duties?" Kiba asked again.

All the other guys looked at him. Somehow, at the back of their minds, they kind of agreed with Kiba on that one.

"It's fine with me," Chōji suddenly said before he swallowed another bite of pork barbeque.

"Yeah, it's because all you think about is food," Kiba retorted.

Chōji looked at Kiba, but just let it go and didn't answer. Besides, he can't talk because his mouth is full of pork barbeque.

"We just understand the Hokage, that's why," Shikamaru said. "I also get caught up with a lot of work sometimes."

"Yes, that's right!" Lee said. "And some of us go on missions every now and then. Sasuke here even goes to missions as long as weeks or months. And Sakura never complains about it."

"Oh yeah? Maybe she doesn't, but I wonder how she feels about that," Kiba said.

Sasuke looked sharply at Kiba, but decided to not say anything.

"I guess, what Kiba wants to point out is that he just wanted to bring back that old time when we hang out after our missions," Shino said, speaking for the first time since Shikamaru arrived and the discussion about their Hokage friend started.

"That's exactly what I meant!" Kiba said proudly. "Don't you miss that knucklehead guy that we used to hang out with?"

"I don't think it's still appropriate to call him like that," Shikamaru said.

"Oh, come on, Shikamaru! That's just my term of endearment to him," Kiba said, defending his self.

Chōji smirked. "Term of endearment? Why not just call him 'darling' or 'sweetheart?'"

"Will you just shut up and continue eating?" Kiba said.

"Kiba, we understand that you call the Hokage a lot of names," Shikamaru said. "And you do that because he's your friend. But, when we are in a public place and a lot of people can hear, please give some respect to him."

Kiba was taken aback by that statement. He kind of forgotten about that thing. He doesn't want to show any disrespect or whatever to Naruto. It's just that they're very familiar with each other that he sometimes forgets about formality.

"Well, I guess Kiba kind of forgets sometimes that we are now on our thirties, and so he still acts like he is a twelve-year-old genin," Sai commented.

"And what do you mean by that?" Kiba didn't like how that sounded.

"What I meant is that, has it gotten into your mind that a lot of things have changed?" Sai answered. "You're not those kids anymore who hang out that often after a mission because you don't have other things to do after. Things have changed now. We have our families, our wives and our kids. We're grownups now. We have a lot of things to take care of after our work is done. Well, I guess you kind of not feel like that because up until now, you're not yet married."

"Hey, I might not be married, but I have a girlfriend!" Kiba said.

"Oh yeah, Tamaki. Your forever girlfriend."

"Why do you make it sound like it's a bad thing?"

"I'm just curious why you still don't marry her."

"Well, it's because… I feel like I'm not yet ready."

"Being in a relationship for ten years and you're not yet ready to settle down?"

Kiba was speechless. He wasn't prepared for that type of questioning from Sai. He suddenly realized why the guy is considered one of the best when it comes to information gathering and infiltration.

"It doesn't matter if we're not yet married," Kiba said, after a few moments of contemplating. "I mean, not everyone is like you, guys. Wanting to marry and settle down. I mean, what's wrong with being single, right?"

Of course, most of the guys on their table will not agree. They are all happily married with their wives. Except for one.

"Right, Shino?"

"That's right," Shino agreed.

"See?" Kiba said proudly.

"Being single means wanting to do some other things like being a good shinobi, or being a teacher to the Academy. It means you decided to take a different path that doesn't require having a wife and children."

"That's very right, Shino!" Kiba praised.

"Kiba, Shino doesn't have a girlfriend," Sai said. "He never even had a girlfriend ever. But you, you have a lover named Tamaki and you're on a serious relationship for quite some time now. Those are two different things."

"Why do you keep on bringing that up? It doesn't matter if me and Tamaki are not married. I'm sure that our relationship is even better than most of you here. Like you, Sai. I don't have to read a book every other time just to know how to react or respond to any situation. Like, you told me that I don't feel mature because I'm not yet married? Who's got a lot to learn between us, then?"

"Kiba, that's enough," Shikamaru said.

"No! I'm just starting. We're like seven here. I only finished one."

"And who are you going to criticize next?" Sasuke asked, feeling a little bit irritated about his friend's behaviour.

"How about you, Mr. Sharingan? You travel everywhere doing missions leaving your wife and daughter behind. How does that make you better than me? At least, I am here in Konoha and I'm always here for Tamaki whenever she needs me. I could just imagine Sakura's hardships while raising your daughter alone. She just could have chosen to have another husband because how can she be sure that you'll really come back to her?"

"Shut your mouth up!"

Sasuke stood up and was about to attack Kiba, who's ready to counterattack.

Shikamaru stood up, too. "That's enough!"

The others also stood up to help pacify the situation. Good thing is that Sasuke and Kiba were able to calm themselves and sit again. All of the other guys settled down again.

Shikamaru sighed. "I guess we're really grownups now. We argue about adult stuff like marriage and family issues."

"And ego issues," Sasuke said.

"I'm not the one who got ego issues here!" Kiba retorted.

"Kiba, please… " Shikamaru tried so hard to not raise his tone.

"You just said those things about me and Sai because you cannot find anything to say about you not yet getting married," Sasuke said. "I guess it's not just your ego that's bruised, but also your pride. We don't have any issues about you not wanting to marry your girlfriend. How blatant it may sound, but Sai is just telling the truth."

Kiba was not able to counter what Sasuke said, so he just decided to stand up and leave.

"Kiba…" Shikamaru said.

"I have to check on Akamaru," Kiba said as he put some bills on the table. "You know, he's not the old Akamaru that you used to know. He has also grown older. Like us."

Kiba left the table without saying goodbye to his friends. The others just looked at him and did not try to stop him from going out of the barbeque shop.