The toasting party made a full circuit before finally reaching the table in the corner.
There weren't many people at the table, but every one of them was a renowned bachelor in the Shinobi World.
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Nagato, Yahiko, Deidara, and Sasori. Six men, six ways of sitting, six kinds of loneliness.
Jiraiya was supposed to have sat with Tsunade and the others, but Tsunade had driven him away, saying he was embarrassing when he drank too much.
Orochimaru had joined them of his own accord, saying, "It's too noisy over there."
Everyone knew he actually wanted to sit closer to Nagato so he could draw his blood more easily later.
Deidara and Sasori had come with their organization, and the two of them had been assigned to the "miscellaneous" table.
Deidara had protested and gotten a knock on the head from Sasori's tail.
Jiraiya had already drunk quite a bit. His face was flushed, and he had an arm around Yahiko's shoulders, slapping one of them with loud thumps.
"Yahiko, did you ever imagine we'd meet again at Konan's wedding?"
Yahiko swayed with each slap and answered with a smile.
"No. When you taught us back then, Jiraiya-sensei, she was still a little girl."
Jiraiya's eyes reddened, and he sniffled.
"Now she's married, and she's even sharing her husband with other women. As her teacher, I don't know how to feel about that."
Yahiko smiled and patted the back of his hand.
"As long as she's happy."
Orochimaru sat across from them, his slit pupils flicking between their faces.
He held his wineglass, his lips curved in that smile that sent chills down people's spines.
"Three little brats. Oh, no, two little brats. Such is fate."
He drew his words out.
"When we found you in Amegakure back then,