Evening, at Seiki's house.
"I still need the chakra of the One-Tail, Two-Tails, Five-Tails, and Seven-Tails..." Seiki murmured, gazing at the numerous Scrolls before him.
During the Chunin Exams, he'd had a chance to seal the Two-Tails' chakra, but with so many Kages watching closely, it was difficult to act secretly.
As for the Five-Tails, suitable opportunities hadn't appeared during their first two encounters. Later came the ceasefire period, making any action even more difficult.
The One-Tail was in Sunagakure, while the Seven-Tails resided in Takumi—neither were easily accessible.
"Still, although I couldn't collect the chakra of these Bijuus on the battlefield, it's not a big issue. I've already figured out a plan."
Just then, knocking sounded from the front gate.
"Coming!"
Seiki quickly rolled up the Scrolls and walked through the corridor and courtyard toward the front gate.
"Shizune, Kurenai, what brings you two here?"
Standing at the entrance were Shizune and Kurenai, each carrying large and small bags.
"We came to cook you dinner! It's our way of returning the favor for taking care of us while the war was still on!"
"Aren't you going to invite us in?"
Feeling touched inside, Seiki smiled warmly and invited them in. "Of course, please come in!"
He took the ingredients they carried and asked curiously as he did, "You guys went straight from coming back to my place? Will Senior Yūhi and Tsunade-sama have any problem with that?"
Kurenai replied insincerely, "*O-of course* not! Father is actually very happy about this!"
Shizune nodded enthusiastically, "Lady Tsunade is extremely delighted too!"
Their eyes met briefly—each catching a flicker of insincerity in the other. Then both smiled stiffly and looked away.
"In that case, I feel relieved!" Seiki led the two women into the courtyard, explaining as they walked, "This courtyard is where I usually practice Sage Art. Over there is my lab, where I conduct some research on Ninjutsu..."
Kurenai recalled nostalgically, "I remember, back then you lived in such a humble little wooden hut."
Seiki chuckled, "I've kept that old house as well. Sometimes I go back there to 'reflect on bitterness and savor sweetness'—it helps me appreciate how far I've come."
Arriving at the living room, he placed the ingredients down and started heading deeper inside, saying, "Please take a seat first and rest a bit while I go fetch some—"
Seeing Seiki still intended to let them rest, Shizune raised her hand slightly and said, "Time's ticking—we should get started preparing dinner right away!"
Kurenai also nodded, "If we return too late, Father might worry!"
Observing their determination, Seiki could only agree, "Then let's prepare dinner together!"
"Yep!" Both women said in unison, clearly excited at the idea of cooking together with Seiki.
Suddenly, knocks rang out again from the front gate.
"You two wait here—I'll check who it is."
Once Seiki left, the two women exchanged glances, instinctively sensing something ominous.
Kurenai hesitated, whispering, "Could it be... someone has the same idea as us?"
Shizune looked uncertain as she replied, "Probably not… Maybe they just knocked on the wrong door?"
Not long after, the two women saw Seiki returning with Mizuki.
Upon seeing this, Kurenai twitched her lips and asked, "What are *you* doing here?"
"Of course I came," Mizuki said matter-of-factly. "I live alone. Is it strange for me to come keep Seiki company?"
Her eyes widened in surprise. "But aren't you with Tsubaki?"
Mizuki calmly waved his hand. "What woman could compare to Seiki... a friend?"
The two girls angrily hung their heads. The perfect dinner for three had been ruined by this unwelcome guest.
But before they could even process this fact, knocking sounds came again from the main gate.
Seiki was somewhat surprised. "What's going on today?"
A moment later, he returned again with Kakashi.
Looking at Kakashi, Mizuki asked, "You came too?"
Kakashi replied nonchalantly, "I live alone. Is it strange for me to come keep Seiki company?"
Mizuki made a face like '⊙﹏⊙', hadn't he just heard someone say those exact words?
The two girls beside them hung their heads even lower, whispering resentfully, "Another one!"
However, this was only the beginning.
As they were preparing dinner, more and more people kept coming.
Everyone who had said they'd separate that morning somehow magically reunited here tonight.
Seeing this scene, the two girls' resentment gradually transformed into heartfelt emotion. Indeed, Seiki's efforts weren't in vain - everyone was trying their best to repay Seiki's help.
With the number of attendees increasing constantly, what began as an ordinary dinner first evolved into a banquet, then transformed further into a party.
"Haha! We're all together again!"
"You guys are awful! All of you came to visit Seiki without even telling me!"
"So how did you get here?"
"Well... ahem, let's not get into the details."
In this fiery atmosphere, even Mizuki's cold expression showed signs of melting. He stepped forward earnestly and said, "Though I've said it many times before, I must say again - Seiki, thank you!"
"You've all become like family to me!" Seiki laughed as he gripped Mizuki's shoulder. "Would you say thank you to your own family?"
"Do I really count as family in Seiki's eyes?" Mizuki thought emotionally while nodding vigorously. "I understand!"
"And me too, Senpai!" Kakashi's eyes brimmed with gratitude so thick it could almost be seen. "You've helped me so much all along!"
"And me too! And me too!" Guy didn't need any emotional buildup. In an instant, he burst into tears, hugging Seiki tightly and sobbing uncontrollably. "Only Senpai recognized my efforts and never hesitated to help me!"
"And me..."
Although things seemed to be turning into a gratitude ceremony, nobody minded - rather, they were happy for the opportunity to express words they usually couldn't bring themselves to say aloud.
On the rooftop above, two silhouettes stood silently watching.
"How nice," Kushina said, seemingly infected by the emotions below as she spoke with reddened eyes. "What an enviable bond this is!"
Beside her, Minato asked, "Should we go down there?"
"Why would we do that? Ruin the atmosphere they've worked hard to create?"
"Kushina glared at him, then said with a smile, 'I was originally worried that my little brother would be too lonely by himself, but now it seems he has a great group of friends!'
'That's right!' Minato agreed warmly. 'We ninjas dedicate ourselves to protecting the village—we're really just safeguarding the joy on their faces.'
'Let's go—we should leave them be.'
[The Flying Thunder God Technique] activated, and everything fell silent again, as if nothing had occurred.
Down below, nobody noticed that Kushina and Minato had come and gone, except Seiki, who looked up thoughtfully.
As night fell, the banquet came to an end.
Once the cleanup was done, Seiki walked into the courtyard and sat quietly on the lawn, gazing at the sky. 'Such a beautiful scene—I really don't want anyone to ruin it.'
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