On New Year's Eve, as the Third Great Ninja War officially entered its no-war phase, there were no temple fairs, no fireworks displays, no large public gatherings, and even a curfew forbidding people from going out. Konoha was as quiet as ever tonight. Other than the lights in every household still not having gone out this late at night, it was no different from usual.
Yet amid that quiet, an indescribable warmth permeated the village.
At this moment, although it was already late at night, nearly every household was enjoying warm midnight snacks while watching the heavy snow outside slowly cover the village in white. Though it was a cold snowy night, warm, contented smiles appeared on everyone's faces. Looking at the snowmen, snow pits, footprints, and other traces left behind when their children and old folks had played earlier, now gradually being buried by the snow, they drank and chatted, or silently clinked glasses, one cup after another.
Every household overflowed with joy and warmth, full of hope for the future.
As the joy and warmth of every household gathered and spread throughout the village, Konoha looked especially peaceful and tranquil on this cold, snowy night.
At this moment, in a corner of Konoha, inside that old residence which had long been devoid of people, Chiba, Hirohiko, Yukina, and Kakashi were warming wine in the corridor of the inner rooms, doing the same thing as everyone else in the village on this cold snowy night.
Of course, as minors, they were actually forbidden from drinking. But with Kushina's special permission, they did not hold back too much.
Besides, this wine was a special fruit wine Kushina had brewed specifically for today, with an extremely low alcohol content.
That was right. Something happened that astonished Chiba once again.
Kushina could