Minato rested his crossed hands on the desk and propped his chin on them, his gaze drifting.
"The real question is how to wrap this up. Naruto can't hide forever. He has to face it eventually. But we can't let these girls come all this way for nothing, either."
"They've traveled a long way to Konoha, and many came for Naruto. But if they can find a match of their own here, that would be a good outcome, too."
Shikaku nodded.
"So our job isn't to send them away. It's to spread them out."
"Expand the dining area, stagger the reservation times for the hot springs, and coordinate all the available lodging."
"The matchmaking events can't all happen outside Naruto's front door. We need to spread them across the village."
"Get Konoha's young single men involved, too, and let them meet these girls. However many couples come out of it, that's a win."
Shisui slowly raised his head.
"In other words, turn Naruto's matchmaking event into a matchmaking festival for Konoha."
Shikaku nodded.
"Exactly."
Jiraiya walked over from the window, his arms folded.
"No objections here. But someone needs to talk to Naruto. He keeps hiding at home, afraid to come out. That won't do."
Everyone turned to Minato and Kushina.
Minato fell silent for a moment, then looked at Kushina. She stood with her arms folded, her expression calm.
"I'll talk to him."
No one objected.
Naruto crouched in a corner of his house, the latest Matchmaking Notice spread out before him.
The portrait made him look strikingly heroic, nothing like his actual self.
He stared at it for a long time, then suddenly blurted out a question.
"Who's this guy?"
Kushina pushed the door open and set a stack of new matchmaking proposals in front of him.
"Naruto,