Hoshiyomi grew more excited the longer he thought about it.
His eyes were shining with eagerness as he looked at Kimimaro.
Seeing Hoshiyomi's impatience, Kimimaro chuckled:
"Don't rush it. The Ryūmyaku just brought you here—
it'll need a good while to recharge its energy.
If you want to return, I estimate at least three to six months.
If it drags on, it could even take three to five years.
The investigation team on the other side is still studying the Ryūmyaku.
If anything changes, we'll know immediately. You can relax on that front.
You'll be here for a while anyway, so there's no need to rush.
Let's eat dinner first, rest for the night, and talk tomorrow.
In the morning I'll take you to meet some people—
you're guaranteed to be shocked when you see them."
Hearing this, Hoshiyomi relaxed and nodded with a smile, following Kimimaro back home.
When they arrived, Ino was busy in the kitchen.
Hearing them return, she came out holding a spatula, greeted Hoshiyomi politely, and said:
"Go watch some TV for now. Dinner will be ready soon."
Perhaps because her son had returned from a mission—or maybe because she wanted to welcome Hoshiyomi properly—
Ino prepared an especially generous meal.
Her cooking was excellent, and since Hoshiyomi hadn't eaten well since arriving in this world, he let loose and ate heartily.
The Kaguya family's house was enormous and had more than enough guest rooms.
With a wave of his hand, Kimimaro arranged a room for Hoshiyomi directly, saving him the trouble of finding an inn at night.
The next morning, Hoshiyomi woke early out of habit and went to train outside Konoha.
On the road, he even ran into Guy and Lee doing their morning training.
Because of Kimimaro's existence in this world, Guy had never opened the Eighth Gate, so his legs were perfectly fine.
The two were thrilled to see someone else training with such passion.
They didn't even question the unfamiliar face—
they just shouted about how Konoha hadn't seen someone so burning with youth in ages,
and immediately increased their own training intensity:
"To celebrate meeting a fellow youth-burning warrior like Hoshiyomi today—
Lee! Let's add one thousand extra frog jumps!
If we can't finish them, we'll run ten laps around Konoha on our hands!"
Such insane training made Hoshiyomi's eyelids twitch.
He quietly distanced himself from the overly energetic duo.
Physically, he could keep up with them easily.
But doing frog jumps and handstand laps in front of the entire village?
Absolutely not.
Too embarrassing.
When Hoshiyomi returned from training, Kimimaro and his family were already gathered for breakfast.
Under Kimimaro's enthusiastic invitation, Hoshiyomi joined them.
It seemed Kimimaro had explained things to Ino last night.
Hoshiyomi wasn't sure what exactly he told her,
but she was noticeably more relaxed and friendly than yesterday—
the polite formality was gone.
After breakfast, Reiya headed out for his usual training,
while Kimimaro stopped Hoshiyomi:
"You met Naruto yesterday, right?
He should've already notified the others.
Come with me today—I'll introduce you to the people from the original story."
Hoshiyomi originally thought that meant meeting Sasuke and Orochimaru.
But when he followed Kimimaro into a barbecue restaurant, he realized he'd underestimated it.
Every single person inside was a familiar face.
All the male members of the original Konoha Twelve were present—
a full lineup of Konoha's "men's club."
And beyond them, even many characters who died in the original story
were here alive and well—
Hyūga Neji.
Uchiha Itachi.
Jiraiya.
Seeing them, Hoshiyomi was shocked, of course—
but he didn't lose his composure.
After all, Kimimaro was a transmigrator.
With his knowledge of the plot and his overwhelming strength,
saving these people was hardly a challenge.
They themselves had also saved White Fang, Pakura, and others.
The entire second floor of the barbecue restaurant had been reserved by this "Konoha Men's Club."
The atmosphere was lively—clearly this wasn't their first gathering.
The seat at the head of the table was, of course, reserved for Kimimaro.
On his left and right sat Naruto and Sasuke.
When Naruto saw Hoshiyomi arrive with Kimimaro, he smiled and stood up to introduce him:
"Everyone, this is the guy I told you about in the group chat yesterday—
the time-traveler from a parallel world, Gekko Hoshiyomi."
Hearing the words "group chat," Hoshiyomi felt a moment of disorientation.
But seeing Kimimaro beside him, he shook his head.
With this guy here, it was no surprise things like this existed.
Everyone present had already heard about Hoshiyomi from Naruto and Kimimaro in the chat group yesterday,
so their curiosity was already overflowing.
Now, hearing that this was really the person in question, they all turned their curious gazes toward him.
Their reactions varied, but the strongest among them was Jiraiya.
In this world, Tsunade felt a strange sense of déjà vu when she saw Hoshiyomi—
and for Jiraiya, it was no different.
Combined with his naturally unrestrained personality,
even at nearly seventy years old he hadn't changed much.
The moment he heard Hoshiyomi's identity, he burst out:
"No wonder! I knew he looked familiar the moment he walked in!
We must've known each other for years in that similar world!
Hoshiyomi, right?
Listen—my books were bestsellers in that world too, right?
If you came from Konoha Year 47, you must've read my Make-Out Paradise, yeah?
Well? Isn't it amazing?
Also—also!
How am I doing in that world?
Did I finally get married!?"
Everyone was already used to Jiraiya acting like this,
so they simply laughed without interrupting, waiting for Hoshiyomi's reply.
To be honest, they were all curious too—
if the worlds were so similar, then what did that world look like?
Even Sasuke—normally the coldest person in the group—
was silently listening intently, though his face still looked expressionless.
But his cool demeanor didn't last long.
The next moment, Itachi nudged him and said:
"Don't keep that stone face all the time.
Aren't you curious what the Uchiha clan is like in that world?
If you ask now, maybe the Uchiha of that world won't repeat what happened here."
Sasuke froze for a moment when he heard this.
Then he looked at Hoshiyomi again, but now his eyes were shining faintly with anticipation.
Itachi quietly chuckled beside him.
Ah, his little brother…
...
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