New Year Arrives

After the Uchiha Clan massacre, Naruto did not allow his parents to come and visit him. He feared that if Sasuke saw them, it would only bring him pain, so he asked them to write letters instead.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were shocked when they heard this.

Kushina Uzumaki openly lamented that she couldn't bear it, while Minato Namikaze patted Naruto on the head, praising him for having grown up.

In the days that followed, they kept in touch through letters, ensuring Sasuke remained completely unaware.

Of course, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki did visit, watching Naruto from the shadows without ever revealing themselves to him.

Naruto had once asked Fei Shi to resurrect Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, but Fei Shi refused, citing that the Uchiha compound had been burned to ashes and there was no biological material left to work with.

To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.

He had never watched Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, but that did not mean the Otsutsuki Clan did not exist or would not come.

Their strength remained an unknown variable; even if he could handle the high-ranking members of the Otsutsuki, the low and mid-tier members were more than the current Ninja World could withstand.

Therefore, Naruto and Sasuke had to grow stronger.

Since they possessed the potential, they would have to wear this crown whether they liked it or not.

If he could return home, he would have to rely on the system. But the system had told him it was impossible, which meant it either lacked the means or was forbidden from doing so.

Since he was living here, he had to protect this world.

"Come, come, have you called all your friends over? The little ones from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. And this is? Sakura? Not bad, Sasuke, you've already found yourself a wife."

"I haven't! You! Move aside!"

"Sasuke is so handsome! ~(￣▽￣~)~"

"Neji, you only brought two classmates?"

"Yes, Uncle. These two are classmates I am quite close with."

"Hello, Senior! My name is Rock Lee! Please take care of me!"

"Hahahaha, a child full of vigor, just like Might Guy."

"Hello, Senior, I... my name is Tenten."

"Hahahaha, what a cute girl."

Fei Shi then took out a Nokia phone and made a call.

"Hey! Who is this!"

"Asuma! You bastard, where the hell have you been! Didn't I tell you to go invite people? Where are they? Why haven't they arrived yet! Damn it, don't tell me you're off playing the sycophant again."

Asuma, on the other end of the line, felt awkward. He wanted to retort, but couldn't find a reason.

"Cough, cough, you know Kurenai is right here, can you give me some face!"

Asuma replied in a low voice.

"Face? If you like her, just tell her directly, stop dragging your feet. By the time you successfully confess, my children will already be old enough to run errands."

"Tch, you're one to talk, you've been chasing Yugao for a—oof!"

The atmosphere turned icy.

"Hahahaha, Brother Asuma, keep going, I'm listening."

Fei Shi replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Ah, this, Fei Shi, brother! I'll call you brother, okay! I didn't mean it!"

Asuma wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to be so loose-lipped and pick at someone else's scars?

"Enough! Bring Kurenai over to help!"

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Listening to the busy signal on the phone, Asuma smiled bitterly to himself, knowing he was in deep trouble.

About half an hour later, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Hayate Gekko, and Genma Shiranui had all arrived.

Of course, Fei Shi hadn't forgotten to call Iruka Umino as well.

Yugao Uzuki, Kurenai Yuhi, Anko Mitarashi, Hinata, Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, Tenten, and the others came over to help Fei Shi make dumplings.

That's right, it was New Year's Eve. This atmosphere was just like the Lunar New Year of his past life; how could they not eat dumplings on such an occasion?

He had asked Naruto and Neji to invite their friends, while he personally called Kakashi and the others.

Fei Shi taught them how to wrap dumplings while making his own.

Kakashi, Asuma, Might Guy, Iruka Umino, Hayate Gekko, and Genma Shiranui split into two groups to play cards... specifically, Fight the Landlord.

Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba Inuzuka, Neji, and Rock Lee were taking turns playing The King of Fighters.

An hour later, looking at the dumplings the girls had wrapped, Fei Shi felt his soul leave his body.

What on earth were these things!

They were all different sizes, the fillings weren't sealed properly... it gave him a massive headache.

"You must be... quite skilled at making dumplings, right?"

Kakashi asked, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, why?"

Can't you see I'm the only one wrapping them? And you're asking if I'm skilled.

"Then... why aren't you using the Multi Shadow Clone Technique?"

Fei Shi: "..."

Right, why am I not using the Multi Shadow Clone Technique?

"No way, no way, you didn't forget, did you?"

Hiss!

I never expected Kakashi to use such a sarcastic tone!

But... who the hell are you being sarcastic with!

"I... I just feel that dumplings wrapped by hand taste better. Yeah, that's it."

Fei Shi forced himself to stay calm.

"Oh, I see~" x5

"No! Honey, how could you join them in teasing me! Ah! My eighteen-year-old heart is wounded, boo-hoo-hoo."

"Pfft! You, come here, let me comfort you. Mua~!"

Critical hit 9999!

Aside from Fei Shi and Yugao being a couple, Asuma was currently playing the role of a simp, Kurenai Yuhi was being simped for, and everyone else was a single dog by any calculation.

"Hey, Fei Shi," Asuma couldn't help but speak up, "there are kids over there, mind your influence."

"Yeah, don't corrupt the children."

Iruka added weakly.

Aside from that group of kids, he couldn't beat anyone else present.

The one who was being teased was the strongest of them all.

He had come here because of Naruto's invitation and didn't have much of a relationship with these people. He found it a bit awkward to socialize, having only interacted much with Fei Shi.

"Hahahaha, who told you to mock me? Regret it now, don't you?"

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof!

Twenty clones appeared, taking over the tasks of wrapping dumplings, boiling water, and other chores.

Fei Shi lit a cigarette, took a satisfying drag, and joined the poker game.

After a while, the dumplings were ready.

The adults and children sat around a large square table, adults on one side and children on the other.

The shadow clones brought out the boiled dumplings, along with chili sauce and vinegar, ready to eat.

"Everyone, as the New Year arrives, I wish you all greater strength, smooth missions, everything going your way, and finding a partner soon so you don't have to be simps. Cheers! Let's eat!"

"Cheers!"

Kakashi and Asuma drank their wine with dark expressions.

"Hiss! This wine... it's amazing!"

"Great wine! Fei Shi!"

"Can you give me a few bottles?"

The children on the other side of the table drank juice or cola.

"Wow! Delicious!"

"I'm digging in!"

Choji shouted, and started eating!

"Choji! Slow down, no one is going to steal them from you!"

Ino complained.

"This house is so big, and these dumplings are so good. That big brother is so handsome, hmm... though he's still a bit worse than Sasuke."

Sakura Haruno also fell into her own fantasies.

In a joyful atmosphere, the New Year's banquet began.