We threw an awesome party-guess who wasn't invited?

"Treat my hemophobia?"

Tsunade froze.

She remembered how every time she touched blood, her mind filled with images of the horrific deaths of those who had passed away.

Her little brother Nawaki, Dan Katō, and so many others, some whose names she knew and some whose names she did not...

Their wishes, their regrets, and their lingering thoughts would all surge forth at once, tormenting her and denying her peace.

"You have a way?"

Tsunade asked curiously.

Hemophobia had plagued her for over a decade. If it could be cured, she was certainly more than willing.

"It's simple. Keep exposing you to it until you're desensitized."

"I refuse."

Tsunade slammed the door shut and went back into her room.

Yecheng scratched the back of his head, feeling a little helpless.

Judging by the original story, hemophobia was undoubtedly a psychological condition.

For Tsunade's symptoms, one option was to let time slowly heal her, but over a decade had passed, so that route clearly wasn't working.

That left only desensitization therapy.

The best way to overcome fear was to face it.

Unfortunately, Tsunade seemed very resistant to that treatment plan. It looked like he could only shelve it for now and wait for another opportunity.

The Ninja Academy.

"I can't wait! Tomorrow's the weekend, so we get another break!"

Kiba Inuzuka chuckled as he spoke.

"Yeah! Everyone got an invitation, right? Let's each bring something tomorrow. It'll be livelier with more people."

Ino spoke with a smile all over her face.

Yecheng had invited her personally!

It was a little disappointing that it wasn't a date with just the two of them, but getting to spend time with Yecheng-kun over the weekend was wonderful too!

"Ah, it's a pain, but I've already got the senbei ready. Everyone else should bring something different."

Shikamaru suddenly spoke up.

"Huh? Shikamaru, you've already got everything ready?"

Ino sounded very surprised.

In her mind, Shikamaru had always been the one who hated trouble most. He never had any enthusiasm for anything, yet this time he had actually prepared something ahead of time.

"Well, that's that. Everyone, decide what you're bringing."

Shikamaru didn't explain further. Going through the whole story felt like such a pain that he decided to gloss over it.

"Then how about I bring some fresh flowers for decorations?"

Ino remembered Yecheng saying he liked flowers. Her family ran a flower shop, and this would also be a perfect chance to show Yecheng-kun her flower-arranging skills.

I'm such a little genius!

"That's a great idea! Then I'll bring some of my favorite snacks."

"Choji, I can't believe you're willing to share! Then I'll bring some dog food!"

"What good would dog food do? We don't eat dog food."

Everyone was baffled.

"Oh, right. What should I do, then? There isn't anything else good at my house."

Kiba Inuzuka was dumbfounded and turned to Shikamaru with a pleading look.

"Shikamaru, hurry up and use that unbeatable brain of yours to think of something!"

"Just go early and help Yecheng chop more firewood. We're barbecuing tomorrow, so we'll definitely need plenty of fire."

Shikamaru tossed out the suggestion.

"That works!"

Unexpectedly, the idea was exactly what Kiba wanted. "Shikamaru, you're a genius!"

Shikamaru: ...

As long as you're happy.

Just then, Naruto happened to walk in.

"What are you all talking about? You look so happy."

Seeing them gathered together, chatting and laughing, Naruto asked curiously.

"We're talking about tomorrow. Everyone decided to take care of part of it. We can't leave all the work to Yecheng."

Kiba explained what they had been discussing.

Naruto's eyes immediately lit up.

"Hey, hey! I've got tons of milk in my fridge. Can I bring it tomorrow?"

"Of course!"

Everyone thought that was fine.

Tomorrow was a barbecue party, so they needed drinks anyway.

Yecheng arrived not long afterward and was stunned when he heard their discussion.

He hadn't expected a joke from his previous life to actually come true for him. This really was...

"Okay! Since everyone's so enthusiastic, I'll just have to give you a proper taste of my cooking!"

Yecheng chuckled as he spoke.

"I'm telling you, Yecheng's cooking is really, really, really, really good! I eat his grilled fish all the time. It's absolutely perfect!"

The moment this came up, Naruto grew animated.

"Then we'll really have something to look forward to."

Hearing him say that stirred everyone's anticipation.

"Hmph. What a bunch of annoying people."

Off to the side, Sasuke Uchiha gave a soft snort, setting off another round of squeals from the girls who liked him.

Sakura Haruno asked curiously from beside him, "Aren't you going, Sasuke-kun? I've prepared sweet red bean soup with dumplings too. I really hope you'll try some."

"...I'm going. I still have to beat Yecheng."

Sasuke fell silent for a moment.

He didn't like sweets, but that was a personal preference. There was no need to dampen someone else's enthusiasm.

At this point, Sasuke had yet to become the cold, cruel person he would be in the future.

While they were all discussing it enthusiastically, an overlooked person stood in a corner no one noticed.

Shino Aburame stood behind everyone without a word.

What dinner gathering? What barbecue party...?

Why hasn't anyone invited me?

Did they forget me?

No, impossible.

I'm their classmate, friend, and companion, after all. They couldn't possibly forget me.

Impossible!

Shino sat in his seat, quietly waiting for someone to invite him.

Yet he waited all the way until school ended that afternoon.

Not a single person had come to invite him!

Was this some new form of bullying?

He imagined a scene:

We threw an awesome party. Guess who wasn't invited?

You~~~!!!

Impossible!

Everyone... everyone isn't like that!

Shino was starting to fall apart. He swayed as he walked and didn't even know how he had made it home.

"Shino, what's wrong?"

Shibi Aburame could tell something was off.

"No... nothing."

"Is that so...?"

But Shino certainly didn't look fine. Shibi Aburame wanted to ask what had happened, but he wasn't good with words and didn't know how to begin.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

Shibi Aburame went to open the door and found a child he had never seen before standing outside, with a head full of white hair and a pair of beautiful eyes.

"Sir, I'm Yecheng, Shino's classmate."

He introduced himself first. "Is Shino here? We're planning a barbecue gathering tomorrow, and we'd like to invite him."

So that was what had happened.

Shibi Aburame instantly understood the whole situation. After all, he had the same personality himself and had experienced plenty of similar incidents.

"Yecheng-kun, please come in for some tea first."

Shibi Aburame invited him inside.

"Thank you, sir."

In truth, while working on his Insect Tower, Yecheng had remembered the Explosive Insects, which in turn reminded him that he had once given the Aburame some samples. He had wondered how their research was progressing.

Only then had he suddenly realized that he didn't seem to have invited Shino to the party.

All he could say was that the Aburame Clan's talent for diminishing their presence was truly terrifying!

Yecheng had hurried over immediately to avoid hurting Shino's feelings.

Though they had already been hurt.

"Shino, your classmate's here to see you. I'll go make tea."

"Oh, it's you, Yecheng. Did you need something?"

Shino came out of his room, his face expressionless.

Yet Yecheng felt as though he could see resentment pouring from him.

If this were the world of Jujutsu Kaisen next door, it could probably have spawned a special grade cursed spirit!

Yecheng coughed lightly and hurriedly said, "Shino, we're having a barbecue gathering tomorrow. Everyone really hopes you'll come."

"...I'll come."

Shino nodded without saying much more.

But Yecheng could clearly sense that much of his resentment had dissipated.

Yecheng explained, "Actually, I've been researching Explosive Insects lately. Medical books mention them, but since I rarely get my hands on a batch of samples, I wanted to study them myself."

At that, Shino's ears twitched. Though his face remained expressionless, he was clearly very interested in the topic.

"Yecheng, do you like insects too?"

"If I had to choose between liking and disliking them, I'd say I like them. Ah, thank you for the tea, sir."

Yecheng took a sip of tea. "After all, I'm a medical ninja. Studying insects helps improve my medical ninjutsu."

That wasn't a lie told to please Shino Aburame.

The Shinobi World had all manner of strange methods. For a medical ninja, knowledge was often power. The more they knew, the more poisons they could cure and medicines they could prepare.

Take Tsunade, for example. No matter how complicated or unusual an illness was, she could understand it at a glance and then prescribe the appropriate treatment.

Yecheng's current knowledge was still far from that level, but he had the Six Eyes, which allowed him to pinpoint the affected area at a glance. That was an advantage others couldn't hope to match.

Hearing his attitude toward insects, Shino's resentment immediately vanished without a trace, and he began discussing insects with him.

To the considerable surprise of Shibi Aburame and Shino, not only had Yecheng not lied, but he had genuinely studied insects in depth. He even knew a great deal about their Aburame Clan's kikaichū!

"...Although kikaichū feed on chakra, it's still best to feed them at fixed times and places, in fixed amounts, to establish dependence. That also makes controlling them to perform secret techniques easier."

Yecheng spoke confidently.

Shibi and Shino exchanged glances. Yecheng practically knew more about insects than their Aburame Clan did!

Was that right?

It was absolutely right.

Because after studying the Kikaichū Breeding Manual, Yecheng had even crafted a demonic-path magical treasure, the Spirit-Devouring Insect Tower. When it came to understanding kikaichū, there was no way he would lose!

Seeing the father and son's reactions, Yecheng secretly wiped away a cold sweat.

Good thing I managed to smooth that over. Shino's one of the Konoha 12 too. I'm still counting on him to contribute more fate points.

They had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation, and Shino Aburame even wanted Yecheng to stay for dinner.

We're best friends!

This was the first time he had met someone outside the Aburame Clan who could talk so congenially with him about insects!

But Yecheng politely declined. After all, two great beauties were still waiting at home to have dinner with him.

It definitely wasn't because he was afraid of finding insects in his food!

As he was leaving, Shibi Aburame also gave Yecheng two larvae. They were a kind of explosive kikaichū recently hatched using genes from Explosive Insects.

Once mature, they could suck an enemy's chakra and then detonate themselves, producing a blast more powerful than an Explosive Tag while being far more discreet.

Yecheng thanked him repeatedly and promised to give Shino a proper welcome tomorrow.

Even after Yecheng's figure vanished at the end of the road, Shibi and Shino continued gazing after him, reluctant to see him go.

[Earned Shino Aburame's recognition. Favorability increased. Fate Points +18]

[Current Fate Points: 88]

[Current Lifespan: 17]

Yecheng felt a surge of delight as he watched the notifications appear on the panel.

I didn't expect this trip to come with an unexpected bonus.

Now I'm just one step away from another ten-pull.

The next day.

Near the riverside that Yecheng and Naruto often visited.

The usually deserted spot was especially lively today.

A dozen or so children, around six or seven years old, set up cooking equipment and tables here, then divided up the work, some chopping wood and lighting fires, others preparing ingredients.

On Earth in his previous life, this scene would have looked bizarre no matter how you looked at it.

But this was the Shinobi World, which suddenly made it all perfectly reasonable.

"Hmph, you smug jerk, Sasuke! I'm an expert fisherman. I'm definitely beating you today!"

Sitting on a small rock, Naruto fished with his lips pursed, not forgetting to throw out a challenge.

"Heh, you dead last. Fine, I'll accept your challenge."

Sasuke paid his provocation no mind, answering with a sneer.

You think I'm scared of you?

"Once I beat you, I'll go beat Yecheng!"

"You should give up on that one."

As they spoke, Naruto reeled in a fish, removed the hook, and dropped it into the bucket.

"Whether it's fighting or fishing, there's no way you can beat Yecheng."

"What did you say?!"

Sasuke's competitive spirit flared, and he immediately threw himself wholeheartedly into fishing.

An hour later, the results were in.

"Sasuke, fifteen."

Yecheng glanced at the fish in the bucket.

That was quite a haul.

Sasuke gave Naruto a very smug look.

"Naruto, eighteen. You're on a roll today, Naruto."

Yecheng announced the next result.

Naruto scratched his head with a grin.

"Hehe, with everyone here, I couldn't lose to Sasuke!"

What?!

I actually lost to Naruto, that dead last!

It struck Sasuke like a bolt from the blue, leaving him devastated.

Oh, yes!

That's the look! That's exactly the look I wanted to see!

The smile on Yecheng's face grew wider.

Thirty-three fish in total was a bit much, but fortunately, they weren't too big.

We'll grill two per person first, then turn the rest into fish soup and a braised fish feast.

Yecheng made a simple plan, then got to work.

The others all helped with various tasks too, preparing ingredients, chopping up all kinds of vegetables, then threading pork and vegetables together onto wooden skewers and placing them on plates for later, ready to be charcoal-grilled on the Iron Grate.

Ino and Hinata stood on either side of Yecheng, helping him prepare the fish or throw away the scraps he cut off.

Though both were young ladies from shinobi clans who had never done a day's housework, they were now entirely willing to serve as Yecheng's helpers.

"Damn it, I'm so jealous of Yecheng. He's so popular, with a girl on either side."

Kiba Inuzuka spoke enviously as he chopped wood.

"Really? It just looks like a pain to me."

Shikamaru, who was helping him, glanced toward Yecheng, then hurriedly looked away.

Women, especially pretty women, are the hardest for me to deal with.

Meanwhile, Choji opened all the snacks he had brought and poured them onto plates so everyone could pick whatever they liked later.

Only, every time he poured out the snacks, there seemed to be a little less than the bag had held.

He certainly enjoyed eating them.

Naruto stared blankly at the scene before him, his heart pounding away in his chest.

A get-together!

A whole bunch of friends having fun together!

Everyone bringing something to share, sitting together and chatting!

Oh my god, something I never even dared to dream of is actually happening!

Am I living in heaven right now?

Naruto couldn't help thinking.

Then he remembered Uncle Might's classic line and blurted it out.

"This is youth!!!"