"Oh right, let me introduce her to everyone. This is Karin, and like me, she is from the Uzumaki clan."
Naruto turned to look at Karin who was sitting beside him, and signaled her not to be nervous.
Karin stood up and bowed slightly to the people present. "Hello everyone, my name is Uzumaki Karin. I encountered some unpleasant things in Kusagakure before, and it was Naruto who brought me out of Kusagakure."
"Now Tsunade-sensei has given me an official identity in Konoha, and I am also learning Medical Ninjutsu from her."
"Hello, Karin." Everyone responded to Karin.
"So she's not his girlfriend. Ino, didn't you say last time that they were living together?" Kiba said.
Ino's face turned red and she kicked Kiba under the table.
Karin didn't notice the commotion and sat down, her seat on Naruto's left.
Hinata was sitting on Naruto's right, and Ino, with sharp eyes, noticed that Hinata's seat was separated from Naruto by one person.
Shikamaru said, "Speaking of Kusagakure, I received some news. I heard that Kusagakure was wiped out by a passing Wind Release expert. All the remaining ninjas were killed, and the village is now full of deep craters."
"Karin was rescued by Naruto, and right after that, Kusagakure was destroyed by a Wind Release expert. The timing is quite a coincidence."
After Shikamaru finished speaking, his gaze drifted seemingly casually over Naruto and Karin.
Naruto's expression remained unchanged as he placed a piece of grilled meat into Hinata's bowl. "Yeah, what a coincidence. Fortunately, we left early, otherwise we might have run into that Wind Release expert."
Then he said to Hinata, "Eat up, Hinata."
"Th... Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata blushed, her voice stammering.
Seeing this, Shikamaru stopped questioning.
Halfway through the meal, Ino had somehow slid into the empty seat next to Naruto, carrying her plate.
As she poured a drink for Naruto, she asked, "Naruto, does the Jonin vest fit you well? Didn't you use to only wear that orange tracksuit? Why did you change your style now?"
Seeing Ino lean in, Hinata lowered her head and ate the grilled meat Naruto had given her.
Tenten leaned closer to Neji and whispered, "Look at the girls around Naruto."
Neji glanced over expressionlessly and then said calmly, "This is youth."
Lee was so moved by those words that he almost stood up from his wheelchair.
Sakura sat next to Sasuke, spending the entire meal busy putting food into Sasuke's bowl.
Today, Sasuke didn't coldly brush Sakura's food aside as he usually did. Instead, he accepted it all and replied, "That's enough, you eat too."
Flattered and surprised, Sakura's eyes widened, and she immediately put two more slices of grilled beef into Sasuke's bowl.
But in the intervals between serving food, her eyes couldn't help but drift toward Naruto.
She saw him turn his head to listen to Hinata, putting food in Karin's bowl, and Ino leaning in to whisper something in Naruto's ear before giggling.
Several times she opened her mouth to say something, but each time the words reached her lips, she silently swallowed them back, turning to continue serving Sasuke.
Tonight, there were exceptionally many people greeting Naruto in the barbecue restaurant.
The owner of the barbecue restaurant personally brought over a plate of premium beef, saying it was on the house for Naruto.
A few Chunin sitting at the neighboring table came over with their glasses to raise a toast, saying there had been some misunderstandings about Naruto before and hoping he wouldn't take it to heart.
Naruto smiled and nodded in response to everyone who came to toast him.
Watching these people come and go, Karin understood in her heart what this meal meant to Naruto.
Naruto didn't take these apologies to heart, nor did he refuse to accept them. He sat there, letting them voice their apologies in person, and then went back to eating meat and drinking tea as usual.
Lee sat in his wheelchair, trying to sit up straight with one hand on the armrest while stuffing meat into his mouth with the other.
Naruto glanced at Lee's still-bandaged arm, then at Karin sitting next to him, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
With Karin's special healing physique, if Lee took a bite, he might be able to take off his bandages today.
But this thought only flashed by for an instant. He wouldn't make things difficult for Karin.
Fortunately, Tsunade's surgery was a success, and Lee only needed to rest for a while before resuming his training.
Meanwhile, Tenten took a cloth bundle out of her ninja tool pouch and pushed it in front of Naruto.
"The custom Kunai you ordered before, my dad just finished forging them. Sixteen in total, exactly like the previous style without any difference."
Naruto opened the cloth bundle, revealing the specially-made Kunai arranged neatly inside.
"Thanks, Tenten."
He took out the money he had prepared beforehand and placed it in front of Tenten.
Seeing this, Tenten quickly pushed the money pouch back and said, "These Kunai are a congratulatory gift for your promotion to Jonin. After all, my dad only put in the labor."
Naruto pushed the money pouch back again. "Friends are friends, business is business. Your family runs a shop too, I can't let you lose out."
Tenten looked at Naruto for a few seconds before finally putting the money away.
As the gathering neared its end, Naruto went to the counter to pay the bill. The barbecue restaurant owner calculated the bill and gave him a discount.
Walking back after paying, Naruto found Sasuke standing at the door waiting for him.
He said to Hinata and Karin, "Hinata, Karin, you guys head back first. Sasuke and I have some things to take care of, so I won't walk you back."
The two girls nodded.
"Naruto-kun, be careful."
"Naruto, I'll head to your house and wait for you first."
...
Sakura was packing her bag when she looked up and saw Naruto and Sasuke standing side by side at the door, their backs to her.
A wave of unease rose in her heart. Tonight, Sasuke's attitude toward her was much gentler than usual. He hadn't rejected the food she put in his bowl, and he even responded when she spoke to him. But it was precisely this gentleness that made her feel something was wrong.
"Goodbye everyone, let's gather again next time."
Naruto waved goodbye to the departing Shikamaru and the others.
"Got it."
Once everyone had left, Naruto walked over to Sasuke's side and asked in a low voice, "When are you leaving?"
Sasuke glanced at the night sky. "Now."
Naruto didn't expect it to be so soon but he didn't say much. The two of them then walked side by side toward the Konoha main gate.
When Sakura came out of the barbecue restaurant, she saw that Naruto and Sasuke walked side by side on the empty street. She felt a vague sense of unease, the direction they were walking in was toward the village gate.
Could it be...
She thought of something and quickened her pace to follow them.
Just as Naruto and Sasuke reached the Konoha gate, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from behind them.
Sakura caught up, panting as she spoke, "Sasuke... what is going on? Why did you come here? Are you leaving?"
Naruto took two steps back, and leaned against the gatepost. His meaning was clear: your own business, solve it yourself.
Sasuke fell silent for a moment, then walked toward Sakura.
Naruto thought they would chat for a while, since Sakura wasn't the type to be easily dismissed.
To his surprise, Sasuke walked up to Sakura and said, "Sorry, Sakura."
Before Sakura could react, he cast a genjutsu on her. Sakura's eyes lost focus and her body went limp as she fell backward. Sasuke caught her and placed her on a roadside bench. Then he turned to walk back to Naruto.
"Classic you."
Watching Sasuke's smooth and seamless execution, Naruto speechlessly gave him a thumbs-up.
Sasuke expressionlessly handiled his village-leaving permit to Kotetsu, who was guarding the gate.
Kotetsu looked down at the Hokage seal on the permit, then stepped aside to clear the path.
Naruto waved at Sasuke, gesturing for him to come over.
Naruto then told him to stretch out his hand. Though puzzled, Sasuke still extended his right hand.
Naruto gripped his arm, then let go. Sasuke pulled his hand back and rolled up his sleeve, only to see a peculiar pattern emerge on the skin of his upper arm before quickly fading away, completely vanishing beneath the skin within seconds, leaving no visible trace.
"This is my space marker. Whenever you need me, channel Chakra into the marker. I will sense it and rush over immediately."
"Once you see Orochimaru, channel Chakra into the marker once. I have something to discuss with him."
Sasuke touched the spot where the mark had disappeared. The skin looked no different than before, but he could faintly sense a trace of extremely weak Chakra flowing beneath the surface.
"Understood."
With that, Sasuke pulled down his sleeve and walked toward the gate.