Whitebeard looked at Naruto with great fondness. It would be wonderful if he could become my son!
However, Whitebeard knew that Naruto's biological father was standing right beside him, so he said nothing.
Looking at Naruto, the Fourth Hokage felt greatly comforted. Naruto would surely be accepted by the people of Konoha, though that no longer seemed necessary.
Konoha had changed. Ninja no longer needed the recognition of ordinary people to prove their worth.
"Let's hold a banquet!"
The Whitebeard Pirates were a massive force. Although most of them had left for the New World to help Konoha stabilize its influence, quite a few remained in Konoha.
Whitebeard wanted to hold a banquet to welcome Konoha's new members.
After learning that Konoha could construct spatial passageways, Whitebeard was no longer curious about why this Konoha had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Whitebeard approved of Konoha's approach. Fish-men and Merfolk should have existed as equals to humans from the start, and human trafficking should have been completely outlawed!
To celebrate, they would hold a banquet!
The entire island sprang into action to prepare a grand feast. Such a thing would never have happened in the Shinobi World, but on these seas, where everyone lived from one uncertain day to the next and drowned themselves in pleasure, banquets were perfectly normal.
By evening, the banquet was ready. Konoha's younger generation and most of the people there attended, along with fish-men, Merfolk, and members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
However, the cost and upkeep of such a large-scale banquet were astronomical. Fortunately, Neptune covered all the expenses and brought many specialties from the undersea world.
Jiraiya naturally did not miss an occasion like this. He held two beautiful Fish-Man Tribe women in his arms and looked ecstatic.
Tsunade had also come from Konoha, accompanied