"The Strongest Ally!?" (最強の助つ人!?, Saikyō no Jotsu Hito!?) is chapter 9 of the Konoha Shinden manga.
Summary[]
When Mirai and the others arrive at their next destination, they notice a problem: where the hotspring is supposed to be, there is instead a giant boulder. One of the villagers informs them that there was a landslide the month before and that the boulder has been blocking the hotspring ever since. The village requested help from the Land of Hot Water, but the village's small size and remote location mean that the Land of Hot Water could only send a couple of ninja from Yugakure. The Yu-nin complain that it's unrealistic to expect them to accomplish anything, as the boulder is too large. They suggest that someone from Konoha would be better suited for dealing with the rock, but grumble that Konoha would never send anyone to perform such a menial task. Mirai, because she's supposed to be undercover, is unable to refute this.
The Yu-nin's resignation to getting anything done reminds Mirai of when she would train Shikadai. No matter how hard she tried, she could never get Shikadai to take his training seriously. The only thing that would motivate him was his father, Shikamaru, whose mere presence would motivate Shikadai to follow Mirai's instructions. Mirai reflects on this as she and Kakashi inspect the boulder; Guy, meanwhile, gets drunk with the Yu-nin. Kakashi notes that even if they could destroy the boulder, doing so would likely cause additional damage to the village. He reports that there's one person who can help, who conveniently happens to be in the area. Kakashi has already contacted them and expects them to arrive the next day. Mirai briefly considers that the ninja in question could be Sasuke Uchiha, and so is disappointed when it is only Chōji Akimichi.
The Yu-nin are enthusiastic about Chōji's arrival, but Mirai has doubts, as she's never gotten the impression that Chōji is especially strong. When she alludes to how difficult removing the boulder will be, Chōji doesn't seem greatly concerned, instead busying himself eating the potato chips he's brought with him. His mood changes when he finishes the last bag of potato chips, as he believes he will be just short of the calories he needs in order to help. Realising that Chōji must use calories to power his jutsu, Mirai resolves to make a fresh batch of potato chips for him.