"Cheers!"
The glasses clinked, sending ripples through the juice.
Hyuga Ao, Minato, Kushina, Kana, Nawaki, and the eight members of Ino-Shika-Cho had gathered for a barbecue.
Strangely enough, Hyuga Ao had no idea what she had done, but Nawaki had escaped his fatal ordeal and survived all kinds of chaotic battles.
Was a trigger condition missing? Hyuga Ao wondered uncertainly.
She remembered that when Nawaki died in the original story, Orochimaru had been right behind him.
They had been traveling at the time. Nawaki overtook Orochimaru, who praised him, "Nawaki, you're quite brave!"
Then, in the blink of an eye, they heard an explosion.
Now that Hyuga Ao had held Orochimaru back, one flap of her butterfly wings had kept Nawaki alive.
Still, this was a good thing. Hyuga Ao had a close relationship with Tsunade, and she didn't want Tsunade to develop hemophobia.
The gathering had been organized by Nawaki to celebrate their victory in the war.
"Hey, you have no idea. That Shuriken had an Explosive Tag attached to it, and it landed less than a meter away from me. If Ao'er hadn't slapped me away, I wouldn't be here now."
Nawaki rose to his feet. "A toast to Junior Sister Ao!"
"It's nothing, really. Anyone would have done the same."
Hyuga Ao took another sip of the sweet-and-sour juice.
At the table, Nawaki had the loudest voice and was constantly keeping the atmosphere lively. Minato and Shikaku had hit it off immediately. Both were highly intelligent ninja, so they had plenty to discuss.
The future mind master was instead not very talkative. Inoichi occasionally joined Minato's conversation.
Choza was purely there to eat. Although he was also an outgoing person, how could anyone from the Akimichi clan talk without eating?
Kushina and Kana occasionally joined the boys'