[Inside a Hot Spring inn in Konoha Village]
Gaara and Kankuro stood there, a bit dazed, staring at the steaming surface of the water in front of them, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
The two of them now only had a towel wrapped around their bodies. With their jaws slack and eyes wide, they looked completely unable to make sense of the situation.
After quite a while, Gaara, as the Kazekage, was the first to come back to his senses. His voice was a little dry as he spoke.
"Kankuro… we came here to attend the Five Kage Summit, right?"
They had rushed all the way from the Hidden Sand Village to Konoha, thinking they would first go greet Aoba, then go see Temari.
But the moment they stepped into the Hokage building, they were brought here by staff, who said the Hokage wasn't in the village right now, told them to wait here, and that they could relax in the meantime.
"..."
Gaara and Kankuro were both stunned.
'No, you organized the Five Kage Summit yourself, and you're not even in the village. Does that make any sense?'
'This Five Kage Summit feels like a joke.'
'Uh, fine. It really does feel like they're just messing around.'
Anyway, he was basically here to go through the motions and see his sister. Whatever plans Konoha had, the Hidden Sand Village wouldn't refuse.
As the Kazekage, he couldn't stop his people from moving toward a better future.
Gaara couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Kankuro, on the other hand, clearly wasn't thinking that far.
He was more distracted by the steaming hot spring in front of him.
After all, even though life in the Hidden Sand Village had improved a lot, there still wasn't enough clean water to build hot springs like Konoha.
The last time he came to Konoha was for the Chunin Exams. So much had happened back then that he never got the chance to experience one.
After returning to the Hidden Sand Village, he had been busy with all kinds of things, so this was actually his first time seeing a hot spring in real life.
Hearing Gaara speak, he patted his younger brother on the shoulder.
Two years ago, he definitely wouldn't have dared to do this, but what they'd been through these past two years had helped him let go of his fear of this younger brother.
"Lord Hokage probably had something important come up and had to leave the village. He's also the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, so he must have a lot to deal with."
"But since Konoha already arranged a hot spring for us, it'd be a waste not to try it out."
As he spoke, Kankuro's eyes were already shining as he pushed Gaara toward the hot spring.
"Guess we don't have much choice."
Gaara sounded a bit helpless.
Still, he was also interested in the hot spring. After all, it was something new he couldn't experience in the Hidden Sand Village.
"Oh right, Gaara, remember to get rid of that sand armor you usually keep around your body."
Before entering the water, Kankuro reminded him.
If he didn't, soaking in a hot spring would turn into soaking in sand.
"..."
Gaara's already expressionless face stiffened for a moment after hearing that.
———
At the same time—
Although Aoba wasn't in Konoha right now, he wasn't busy with anything serious either.
The environment he was in wasn't much different from Gaara's.
It was also a hot spring, just much larger than the one in Konoha.
"So this is what you call a Five Kage Summit?"
Sitting in the hot spring, Aoba heard a somewhat haughty and dissatisfied voice.
He looked up and saw Kurotsuchi, wearing a one-piece swimsuit, standing by the edge of the hot spring with her arms crossed, looking at him with displeasure.
'The little steamed bun has grown up.'
Aoba couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
After all, the last time they came to a hot spring half a year ago, Kurotsuchi couldn't even fill out that swimsuit.
Maybe she had just hit a growth phase, or maybe there were other reasons. Either way, she had developed.
"Honestly, I thought you were being serious for once, but I didn't expect it to still be like this."
Seeing Aoba staring at her without saying anything, Kurotsuchi's face heated up a bit. She complained again to shift attention.
She also subtly lifted her crossed arms a little, trying to cover up a bit.
"This really is a Five Kage Summit. It's just in a different location."
Aoba couldn't help but smile at her reaction.
"What kind of Five Kage Summit is this supposed to be?"
Kurotsuchi glanced at Temari in a beige bikini nearby, then at a few others who were even more exaggerated. In the end, she only found a bit of shared misery in Shizune.
Shizune: "?"
'Are you being polite?'
"How is this not a Five Kage Summit? Even though Temari isn't the Kazekage, she's the Kazekage's sister. She can completely represent him."
Seeing Kurotsuchi glance at Temari, Aoba explained with a teasing tone.
At that, not only Kurotsuchi, even Temari couldn't help but want to cover her face.
She had originally just heard it was time for the Five Kage Summit, and then she was brought here.
Aside from being caught off guard, she didn't really mind it. She was used to this kind of thing at home anyway.
She just didn't expect Samui and Mabui to be brought in too. She wondered how Yugito would react if she found out.
"You…"
Kurotsuchi was about to say something, but suddenly felt someone push her from behind.
"Alright, with that flat figure of yours, how long are you planning to show it off?"
Caught off guard, Kurotsuchi was pushed forward into the hot spring by Mei Terumi.
"Ah!"
She cried out immediately.
Aoba couldn't help but laugh as he reached out and caught the slightly panicked Kurotsuchi.
Of course, as top-tier ninjas, she would have been fine even if he didn't catch her. At most, it would've just made a bigger splash.
"You!"
In the water, Kurotsuchi glared at Mei Terumi in annoyance. She wanted to curse at her, but something shook her vision, and she couldn't help but mutter, "Hmph! They're so big now, but when you get older they'll sag. It'll look awful then."
Samui: "?"
'Why does it feel like that comment hit me too?'
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