Half a day of "after-sales service" came to an end. When the dozen or so elite jonin gathered at the Third Training Ground again, the atmosphere had changed completely.
Gone was the frenzy of their newly acquired power, and gone was the exhaustion of being tormented by bratty children and takoyaki.
They simply stood there in silence, each carrying a trace of everyday life.
The hot-tempered Lightning Release ninja stood beside the Taijutsu ninja known for his brute force. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, each saw a glimmer of understanding in the other.
"I swear, I never want to peel another potato for as long as I live," the Lightning Release ninja muttered.
"Still better than changing some little brat's diaper."
The Taijutsu ninja replied without expression,
"You have no idea. That smell... it was practically an S-rank biological weapon."
Minato Namikaze looked at his companions. Reflected in his blue eyes were no longer mere measures of power, but living souls, each with a story of their own.
Nawaki stood there, his newly awakened Wood Release power no longer flaunting itself. Instead, it was as quiet and substantial as the forest behind him.
He felt he was beginning to understand. Perhaps the source of his grandfather Hashirama Senju's power, enough to pacify a world torn by war, had been neither his sage body nor his Wood Release,
But that foolish tenderness... the willingness to bow his head to his closest friend for an elusive dream of peace.
So protecting a steaming bowl of miso soup and protecting all of Konoha were one and the same.
Orochimaru appeared before them without a sound.
He had brought no props today. He simply gazed quietly at the team he had "forged" with his own hands.
For the first time, his gaze