He was braced for this. After all, 'years', plural, means that two is the best scenario he could hope for. Hearing confirmation from Shikamaru himself, putting an exact length of time to things, is still hard.

A mute nod is Chouji's only response for the time being. He closes his eyes, a frown on his face, and stays like that for a few seconds. Finally he sighs, looking at Shikamaru again with the best smile he can muster. "Ino's been here awhile too, right? I guess it's my turn to be the youngest member of the team." It's a poor attempt at a joke, but there are worse ways Chouji could take the news.

His tone is still light, but Chouji looks a little lost when he continues. "That's a lot to cover. It'll be more troublesome than any mission briefing, getting me caught up."