Before long, Mikoto, Kushina, and the others came out of the kitchen carrying all kinds of dishes, filling the table to the brim.
Mikoto took off her apron and smiled as she called to everyone in the living room, "Come sit down, everyone. Dinner's ready."
"Coming!" Naruto was the first to charge over.
Soon, more than a dozen people had filled the dining table, and everyone performed the pre-meal ritual in unison. "Let's eat!"
"Whoa! Hot, hot!" Naruto picked up a piece of fried chicken and stuffed it into his mouth, panting from the heat.
"But this fried chicken is so good!"
Kushina smiled and put a piece of fish onto Naruto's plate.
"Eat slowly. No one's going to steal it from you."
"Try this. Back in our Uzushio Village, this used to be a famous delicacy!"
"Really?" Naruto's eyes lit up. He quickly picked up a piece of grilled fish and took a bite, then nodded wildly.
"Mm-hmm! Delicious!"
Sasuke sat across from him, watching Naruto eat like a starving ghost reincarnated, and gave a soft snort.
"Kimimaro, have your missions been going smoothly lately?" Minato asked casually.
"Lord Minato, everything has been going smoothly," Kimimaro replied.
Haku smiled beside him and added, "Recently, border patrol and reconnaissance missions have increased a lot. The day before yesterday, we even discovered a team of Konoha scout ninja active within the Land of Rivers to the west."
"Konoha, huh—" Kankuro mumbled indistinctly as he chewed on a grilled meat roll.
Kushina raised her glass and said with a smile, "Today is a good day to celebrate Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro being promoted to Special Jonin. Come on, let's all have a drink!"
"Right, right, cheers!" Vanilla quickly echoed, also raising her orange juice.
Mikoto smiled as she picked up a large