No Seats

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat on a stone platform in the middle of a Konoha street, a shamisen cradled in his arms.

"Love Hai—Love Hai."

La la la—

Sarutobi Hiruzen began to sing. As one of Konoha's famous Four Gentlemen, everyone had long grown accustomed to his appearance. Who in all of Konoha did not know that among Uchiha Yan's many disciples, these four were the ones who dressed bizarrely all day, either singing or dancing—anything but acting like normal people?

The more Sarutobi Hiruzen sang, the more absorbed he became. Before he had met "Hai," his feelings had merely been a faint longing. But ever since meeting "Hai," that longing had grown wild like weeds, impossible to burn away in a day and sprouting anew after every cut.

Chiyo had not dared leave the inn these past few days. She did not want to run into that smug, narcissistic little boy again.

However, Kui Lian, Fan Shuo, and Lie Ju had invited them to dinner today, saying they wanted to console them. Failure was not frightening; what was frightening was losing the courage to try again. After hearing that, Kazekage Reto and Shamon simply let them go. He no longer wanted to look at this bunch of idiots and told them to go amuse themselves rather than remain in front of him and irritate him.

A deluxe private room at Emerald Leaf Tower.

The three of them ordered a table piled high with dishes. Some dishes they had heard of but never eaten, such as Silver-Inlaid Bean Sprouts, Shadow Jumping Wall, Minister Zuo Tofu, and Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup. Others they had neither heard of nor eaten, such as Konoha Vinegar Fish, Thousand-Thread Tofu, the Konoha Four Treasures Platter, and Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber.

Especially the Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber. They had