Gathering

She was so radiant...

It always felt like she was basking in sunlight...

Everyone liked her...

Even Naruto was the same...

The Byakugan girl looked enviously at the pink-haired girl in front of her, who was holding her hand.

"Hinata?"

Seeming to notice that something was off with the girl, Sakura turned around to look at her.

"No, no, it's nothing..."

When Hinata saw Sakura looking at her, her cheeks immediately flushed, and she shook her head.

"Eh?"

"But I haven't even asked anything yet~~"

Sakura leaned closer, stroking her chin as the corners of her lips curled up slightly. A teasing gleam flickered in her emerald eyes.

In a bit, she would shove Hinata over beside Naruto and finally free herself from this misery!

"S-Sakura... you're too close..."

The Byakugan girl shrank back and murmured, the flush on her face still not fading.

"Oh my, you're so cute~~~"

The pink-haired girl teasingly pinched Hinata's burning cheeks, making Hinata practically turn bright red.

"S-Sakura..."

"Hahaha, I won't tease Hinata anymore. Come on, let's go eat~~"

Seeing that Hinata was already red as an apple, Sakura stopped teasing her. Holding Hinata's hand, she led the group of classmates toward the Barbecue Shop in the village.

At the Barbecue Shop, seeing that there were quite a few of them, Sakura directly asked the owner for a private room.

Naruto had originally wanted to squeeze in beside Sakura, but Ino forcefully snatched the seat next to Sakura.

"What the heck, Ino is always stealing Sakura from me~~~"

Naruto puffed out his cheeks and glared at Ino unhappily.

"Huh?"

"Sakura was mine to begin with!"

"It's obviously Naruto who keeps trying to steal Sakura from me!"

With her hands on her hips, Ino glared back at Blondie, fiercely defending her claim.

"Whoa, barbecue, barbecue!"

Choji and Kiba stared with gleaming eyes at the slices of meat sizzling and dripping oil on the grill.

"Women are such a pain."

Shikamaru sat off to the side, pursing his lips as he looked at the quiet Sakura and Hinata across from him.

In the future, he had to marry a quiet wife who would not make a fuss, neither ugly nor beautiful, and live a leisurely life free from worldly strife.

Although Sakura and Hinata were both quiet by nature, one was a famous genius in the village and also the Hokage's disciple.

The other was the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan.

They would definitely have plenty of troublesome matters in the future. Neither of them fell within his criteria for a wife.

If possible, he just wanted to marry an utterly ordinary woman who would look after her husband and raise their children.

Shikamaru could not help drifting off into his thoughts. When he came back to himself, he looked at the empty grill in front of him.

Where was my barbecue?

"Hehe, if you're not going to eat it, Shikamaru, I'll eat it for you~~"

Choji chewed the delicious food in his mouth, grinning at Shikamaru.

"Woof!"

"See? Akamaru agrees too."

Kiba stroked Akamaru on his lap, then tossed the slices of meat from his bowl into Akamaru's mouth.

Sigh, if these people were going to be my classmates, it felt like my leisurely life might cease to exist in the future...

Shikamaru helplessly continued grilling meat. This time, he kept a close eye on the slices in front of him, afraid that they would disappear again before he even got a bite.

"Naruto, sit beside Hinata."

"You can grill some meat for Hinata while you're at it."

Seeing that Ino and Naruto were still bickering, neither willing to give in, Sakura spoke up directly.

"Alright..."

Seeing Sakura speak up, Naruto sat down beside Hinata, slightly unwillingly.

"Hehe, Ino's big victory!"

Ino raised a V-sign at Naruto and looked at him with a mocking grin.

"N-Naruto..."

Hinata nervously fidgeted with her fingers, looking timidly at the blond boy beside her.

"Hinata, what do you want to eat?"

"I'll grill it for you!"

Naruto completely ignored Ino's mockery and turned to ask Hinata.

"I-I'll do it myself... it's fine..."

The black-haired girl did not dare meet Naruto's azure eyes.

"Ah, the people next door are so noisy~~"

"I finally made it back to the village, and I was hoping to relax."

The stubbly man drained the wine in his cup in one gulp and spoke helplessly.

There was only a single door between the two private rooms, and it was paper-covered at that, making the soundproofing especially poor.

Even the slightest movement next door could be heard clearly.

"Why are you getting worked up over a bunch of kids?"

The female ninja across from him rolled her eyes, brought some food to her mouth, and chewed lightly.

"But Asuma, what made you suddenly come back?"

Kakashi—white-haired, masked, with his forehead protector covering one eye—fiddled with the grilled meat in front of him as he looked at the man beside him.

Asuma Sarutobi, son of the Hokage.

He had previously served under the Daimyo of the Land of Fire as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

"My five-year term there ended. Otherwise, who knows how long I would've had to keep doing it."

Asuma poured himself another cup of wine, though his gaze could not help drifting toward Yūhi Kurenai across from him.

"Still, the village has really caused quite a stir these past two years."

"Can the Old Man keep it under control?"

Who Asuma meant by "Old Man" was obvious.

"That's a long story."

As the temporary bodyguard of the person who had started all of this over the past two years, Kakashi naturally knew the situation better than anyone.

"Oh?"

"Go on..."

Asuma looked interested.

The greatest change in the Land of Fire over the past two years had been among the common people. Higher grain prices had made their lives much better than before.

"Wah! Naruto, stop stealing my meat!"

Before Asuma could finish speaking, a startled cry suddenly rang out next door, forcing him to swallow his words.

"..."

Asuma's expression immediately went blank.

He pulled open the paper door separating the private rooms and said impatiently, "Kids, can't you keep it down while you eat?"

But the moment he opened the paper door, he froze.

A blond brat held a plate of grilled meat high overhead while a chubby boy tried to snatch it from him.

A Pineapple Head boy listlessly grilled his own meat, while a boy with red face paint was feeding a little dog.

A pink-haired girl quietly chewed her food, while the beige-haired girl beside her smiled as she tried to get the pink-haired girl to eat more.

A white-eyed girl looked flusteredly at the blond brat.

That was what should have been happening.

But with Asuma's appearance, the group of children—clearly still Ninja Academy students—could not help turning their eyes toward him.

"Uh..."

"What I mean is, could you be a little quieter..."

"After all, disturbing other people while they're eating isn't very polite."

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Asuma's face as he spoke awkwardly.

What had he just seen?

All of the village's second generation gathered in one place?

I'm almost done writing this chapter, and only just realized I forgot Shino.