I Have a Plan!

"I've been a little bored lately~"

"Yeah, it has been a little boring~"

"Everyone's gone out of the village on missions, and our teachers haven't been back in ages. I'm starting to feel a little lost about what direction to take with my training..."

"I wonder how that guy's doing now. He actually left the rest of us behind and went to the battlefield all by himself. How sneaky!"

"Ahaha... ha..."

Looking at the four of them sprawled across the bench in various poses, Namikaze Minato had no idea what to say. All he could do was give an awkward yet polite laugh...

"Didn't the Third Hokage say yesterday that the battles on all fronts had mostly been decided, and all that was left was to work out the details of the agreements? Some of the shinobi are already on their way back to the village to rest. I think... Qi Luna and our teachers should be on their way back now, too, right?"

At the mention of Qi Luna, the four of them perked up at once and began chattering excitedly.

"I heard Qi Luna made a huge contribution this time. Could he skip the Chunin Ninja Exams and be promoted straight to Chunin?"

Shirokumo Hayama thought about the various battle reports that had been posted on the noticeboard after the Third Hokage's hour-long speech the day before. He felt happy for his teammate, with whom he'd only ever completed one squad mission.

The corners of his mouth nearly reached the sky, but he still pretended to look troubled.

"Will he still be able to team up with us for the Chunin Ninja Exams? Not that Nonō and I would have any trouble passing, even with just the two of us."

Yakushi Nonō only smiled. She showed no sign of exposing his true feelings.

Meanwhile, Akimichi Yoshimaru, the slightly chubby boy who was eating snacks nearby, suddenly brought him down to earth.

"Our jonin instructors aren't here, so nobody can sign us up. Even if you could pass, you wouldn't get the chance, would you?"

"Yoshimaru! Why'd you have to say it out loud? Now it's even more depressing! And you're still eating? I'm confiscating those!"

Fuming at Akimichi Yoshimaru's remark, Kushina snatched the snacks from his hands and stuffed them into her mouth. She chewed a couple of times and swallowed.

"Ah~ My snacks! Kushina, how could you?! Good thing I brought extra, or I might've starved and lost weight~"

As he spoke, Akimichi Yoshimaru pulled four or five more bags of snacks out of nowhere. He even offered them to the others, as if asking:

'Want some?'

The other three shook their heads and declined. Nonō, who hadn't said much so far, shyly accepted a bag, though she didn't seem to intend to eat it herself.

"Nonō, are you taking those to the kids at the orphanage again? You should treat yourself once in a while, too. I heard you donate more than half your salary to the orphanage. You're amazing!"

Kushina saw right through the meaning behind Nonō's gesture. Remembering the few things Shirokumo Hayama had let slip from time to time, she felt nothing but sincere admiration for the girl behind those thick glasses.

"More than half? Ever since the village was closed off, all we can take are D-rank jobs around the village, like cleaning and clearing the river. There's no fighting, which means we don't use up any ninja tools. So Nonō donates eighty percent of her salary to the orphanage!"

"That's why she often goes to catch fish in that little river behind the mountain and grill them..."

Even chubby little Akimichi Yoshimaru couldn't stay unmoved by that. He glanced at the snacks in his hands, then squeezed his eyes shut and pushed them in front of Nonō, as if making a painful sacrifice.

"You can have all these! Put them away, and don't let me see them again. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist..."

"Pfft~"

Seeing Yoshimaru's earnest yet "anguished" expression, Nonō couldn't help laughing.

"Then I'll take them, if you don't mind."

At her words, Akimichi Yoshimaru's heart sank halfway.

"But as a reward for Yoshimaru-kun's kindness, I'll let him keep this bag of his favorite salt-and-pepper chips!"

As she spoke, Nonō returned Akimichi Yoshimaru's favorite snack to him.

"Nonō, you're an angel!"

Looking at the salt-and-pepper chips he'd gotten back, Akimichi Yoshimaru burst into tears of joy. He peered at Yakushi Nonō through narrowed eyes, as if she were radiating a holy light.

As though she'd just thought of something, Yakushi Nonō reached up to adjust her glasses.

"Since none of us have anything to do, would you like to come visit everyone at the orphanage with me?"

"Huh? Is that okay? Wouldn't we be bothering the children?"

Kushina was surprised. She hadn't expected Nonō to make that suggestion.

"Well~ I'd be happy to go. It's been a while since I last visited them, anyway."

Shirokumo Hayama was the first to agree, though his gaze wandered and he scratched his head, as if trying his hardest to act reluctant.

"I'll come, too!" Akimichi Yoshimaru raised his hand to volunteer, clutching his bag of salt-and-pepper chips tightly.

Namikaze Minato smiled and nodded. "I'll come along, too. It'll be nice to see the children."

And so the five of them headed to the orphanage together.

They chatted and laughed along the way, and the mood was especially relaxed.

When they arrived at the orphanage, the children spotted Nonō and ran over excitedly, calling out:

"Big Sister Nonō! Big Sister Nonō's here to see us!"

Surrounded by the children like a star, Nonō gently patted their heads and introduced her friends.

"These are Big Sister's friends. They came to visit you, too~"

The children's eyes lit up as they looked at the newcomers with curiosity.

A crowd of children surrounded Shirokumo Hayama and peppered him with questions. At first, he tried to act aloof, but before long, he couldn't help laughing along with them;

Akimichi Yoshimaru generously shared his snacks with the children and happily ate alongside them;

Kushina told a few of the younger children about her recent missions as a shinobi, though most of her stories were complaints about how boring the jobs had been;

Namikaze Minato chatted with some of the older children, telling them interesting stories about the village and sharing general knowledge about the Ninja World. He even taught them a few combat techniques and how to throw shuriken.

Watching everyone get along so warmly, Nonō couldn't help smiling.

They didn't leave the orphanage until the sun was about to set, and even then, they were reluctant to go.

Everyone felt that they'd had a fulfilling day, and warm, contented smiles filled their faces.

The only thing that might have been emptied was their wallets, which they'd willingly cleaned out after finding the orphanage director on their way out...

Perhaps it was a stroke of luck.

As the five of them passed the village gates after leaving the orphanage, they happened to see Qi Luna and the others returning to Konoha with a group of shinobi to rest...