Inside the house.
Madara Uchiha sat on the sofa with his arms crossed like he owned the place, staring straight at the television.
Hashirama Senju wore an equally peculiar expression.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat off to one side, afraid to speak too loudly. No... even his breathing was cautious.
Only Minato Namikaze, looking thoroughly awkward, stayed beside Uchiha Mikoto, who was on the verge of tears. He was saying something to her.
Judging by the tears Mikoto wiped away and the grief on her face,
they were probably talking about Kushina Uzumaki.
After all, the two women had been close friends.
This was the scene Shinji walked into with Fugaku and Sasuke.
The Ki had grown so stiff it was almost unbearable.
And yet it was somehow funny...
On the night before Naruto's birthday, the scene struck Shinji as so strange that it felt as though time itself had fractured.
Shinji glanced around the room.
His expression was hard to read. At last, his gaze settled on the television, where a Hedgehog-headed man was reporting news from the Land of Fire...
At present, the Daimyō has announced that the one-country, one-village system will be abolished entirely. The pressure is now on the Hidden Leaf Village...
Shinji clicked his tongue, his teeth aching at the thought.
So he aimed his first shot at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was keeping his head down like an ostrich. "...Third Hokage, did the funeral go well?"
"..."
The old man had been staring down in thought. At the question, he looked up.
His face was full of disbelief.
Was that any way to ask?
"Yes... it's over. We kept everything simple..."
Shinji poured himself a glass of water and took a sip. "Oh? Did Naruto go? He talks about you all the time, old man. He trusts