After the clamor of celebrating victory, Konohagakure gradually settled into a peculiar rhythm somewhere between war readiness and everyday life.
For Shinji Uchiha, that rhythm meant balancing several identities at once: newly promoted Jonin, Uchiha elder, the clan's strongest fighter, and-as he made his way toward Yakiniku Q at that moment-a friend.
The setting sun stretched the buildings' shadows long, bathing the village in a warm golden glow.
Shinji's steps retained their distinctive rhythm, seemingly languid but precise.
After his promotion to Jonin and elder, unseen responsibilities and planning occupied more of his attention. But years of experience had taught him to sort complicated matters-balancing the clan's interests, maintaining partnerships, improving his strength-into separate categories in his mind, analyzing and handling them in parallel as though processing intelligence from multiple battlefronts.
Some people and things, however, always took priority. His appointment with Minato Namikaze, for instance.
The sign outside Yakiniku Q shone warmly in the twilight.
As a silent shareholder, Shinji knew the place as well as his own training ground.
Without waiting for a server to guide him, he headed straight for a quieter booth at the back.
He lifted the curtain, and the sight inside made him briefly pause.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were already there, and they had clearly arrived considerably earlier than he had expected.
Minato's signature short blond hair looked especially brilliant under the lights. Wearing his gentle, slightly bashful smile, he pushed a full cup of barley tea toward Kushina.
Kushina, with her fiery red hair, still wore a barely perceptible trace of irritation from waiting. Yet the corners of her mouth curled slightly upward, and whenever her gaze drifted toward Minato, it held a tenderness even she had not fully recognized.
"Looks like I came at the wrong time?" Shinji broke the