Konoha Village, Uchiha Clan's Compound.
Because it was located on the edge of the village, most of the buildings here remained relatively intact.
An urgently repaired power system lit the streetlights. Gentle light spread through the broken streets, illuminating this somewhat desolate clan ground.
Sasuke, wearing thick clothes and carrying disaster relief supplies distributed by the village, walked through the snow and wind.
Villagers and clansmen along the way, upon seeing him, cast respectful glances his way.
It was as if the rift between the Uchiha and the village, and the blame the clan had placed on him because of Itachi, had all vanished.
Inside a shop within the clan's compound, an enthusiastic shopkeeper even gave him a gift.
Sasuke tried to decline but had no choice but to accept.
The performance of Team 7's three members in the battle two days prior had been spread throughout the village by the surviving Ninjas.
At a time when the village had suffered a major blow, they urgently needed a story of new heroes to boost morale.
Therefore, with the deliberate promotion by Konoha's various departments and Ninja Clans, the title of the New Sannin was gradually being passed on to them.
Because of this, Naruto, who had always sought everyone's recognition, was overjoyed and had been showing off for two straight days.
Finally, for disrupting the village's reconstruction, Sakura knocked him until his head was covered in bumps and dragged him away.
Thinking of this, Sasuke shook his head in amusement.
Setting aside stray thoughts, he quickened his pace home. After all, his mother was waiting for him to bring the ingredients back.
Taking off his shoes at the entrance, he walked inside and slid open the Japanese-style door to the living room.
The next instant, the scene before him made his blood pressure spike directly.
There, a girl with cherry blossom-pink long hair and a boy with blonde hair were fighting over his game controller.
On the low table, his favorite snacks were opened, and a few empty drink cans lay on the floor.
Sasuke's fists clenched!
"Sakura-chan, quickly kill that creeper! It's going to explode!"
Naruto's anxious voice rang out, making a few more veins bulge on Sasuke's forehead.
"Go away, go away! Isn't it better to just keep your distance? Why waste weapon durability!" Sakura glared at him. "Naruto, don't forget, I'm the player!"
"Hmph, Sakura, you'll regret this!"
Naruto seized the opportunity to grab the controller, pulled out a wooden sword, and performed a jumping slash.
Immediately, the character in the game was blown up, and a huge [Dead] character appeared on the screen.
"Ah? Dead?"
Crack!
The sound of the wooden sliding door being crushed rang out. The boy and girl's movements froze, and they turned their heads in unison.
"So... why are you two in my house?!"
Sasuke's voice was squeezed out between clenched teeth, the corners of his eyes twitching.
"My house is being rebuilt. I ran into Aunt Mikoto on the road today, and she invited my family to stay overnight."
Sakura shrugged fearlessly, pointing towards the guest room on the other side of the courtyard where Kizashi and Mebuki were chatting happily with Mikoto.
Unable to do anything to her, Sasuke could only direct his sharp glare at Naruto.
"We're teammates, right? You wouldn't have the heart to make me stay alone in a tent at the relief station, would you?"
Naruto put his hands together, staring with his big blue eyes, looking at Sasuke imploringly. "Right?"
"...."
Looking at these two fooling around, Sasuke had completely lost all expression.
But before he could explode, Mikoto, seeing his return, smiled and walked towards him.
"Ara, Sasuke's back! Perfect timing, it's lively with more people today. I'll cook something delicious for you tonight!"
Hearing Mikoto's words, Sakura's eyes lit up, and she raised her hand towards her. "Aunt Mikoto, I want to eat the small meatballs you make!"
"Me, me, me... I want tempura!"
Naruto, who had never been treated so gently, unexpectedly felt a touch of maternal closeness in the way Mikoto looked at him, and he also became bold.
Watching his mother being taken away by the two, Sasuke finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Mother, I want rice balls with dried bonito!"
"Alright, alright! Today, let me entertain Konoha's heroes!"
…
The house rarely experienced such a lively atmosphere. Mikoto, going all out, fed Naruto and Sasuke until they were round and stuffed.
As for Sakura, her energy source mainly relied on photosynthesis.
If she really let loose and ate, she could probably devour the entire house.
After the meal, Kizashi and Mebuki helped Mikoto clear the table.
The trio sat on the engawa, watching the snowflakes continuously fall into the courtyard.
A somewhat cold wind blew through the living room. Naruto shuddered and wrapped himself in a blanket.
"Another year is about to pass, isn't it?"
In the serene snowy landscape, Sakura gently sipped juice, her softly beautiful side profile as tranquil as a painting.
"Speaking of which, how is Tsunade-sama doing?"
Sasuke placed the cup containing hot tea back on the coaster beside him.
"She's still unconscious. I used Senjutsu Chakra to make up for her energy deficit."
Sakura's expression became serious. "But because she refined too much Chakra earlier, it damaged her spirit. She'll need time to slowly recuperate now."
"Granny Tsunade will definitely..."
Naruto was about to comfort Sakura when a rainbow light simultaneously flashed in the pupils of all three.
The next moment, a resentful figure wearing a green vest landed in the courtyard.
It was Konoha's only other Wood Release Ninja… Yamato.
Due to the village's reconstruction these days, Sakura and Yamato, as the two Wood Release Ninjas, had collaborated a lot and had grown familiar with each other.
"My Sixth Hokage-sama, you've certainly made me look for you!"
Dragging that expressionless but thoroughly resentful face, Yamato tightly grabbed Sakura's hand.
"Come on, let's go catch some water... ahem, let's go pour some concrete together~"
"Who's the Sixth Hokage? My loyalty to the Fifth Hokage is unwavering! Don't you harm me with this talk!"
Sakura shook off Yamato's arm, putting on an act as if she didn't know him well.
At this stage, the entire village had only the two of them as Wood Release Ninjas. As everyone knew, Wood Release had an unparalleled advantage in post-war reconstruction that ordinary Ninjas couldn't match.
So the question was: with only two Wood Release Ninjas total, if one was slacking off, what could the other be doing?
"I don't care! If you don't come to the construction site today, I'll immediately quit and run away!"
Yamato, having transitioned from Anbu operative to construction coolie, had only worked for two days but had already deeply experienced the fussy and harsh nature of the clients on site.
Unable to bear it any longer, he could only come looking for their group's biggest nepotism hire… the Fifth Hokage's disciple!
With this one's presence, all monsters and demons would become docile and obedient.
Ever seen a fist the size of a meteor? From now on, who would dare mock them, saying Wood Release Ninjas can only do landscaping!
If just three Wood Release users could pacify this entire chaotic world!
"Sigh, alright, alright!"
Annoyed by Yamato's persistence, Sakura had no choice but to get up.
After informing her parents inside, she followed Yamato towards the area of the village undergoing reconstruction.
Unlike the cheerful Yamato, the two Hokage Advisors from Konoha's Political Department were in a bind.
Before them lay an invitation sent from the Land of Iron.
Clearly written on it were some requests from Mifune, the general of the Land of Iron.
"Tsunade is still unconscious. How should we respond to them?" Homura held his head in distress.
The expression on Koharu's face was just like Homura's.
Having lost the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the two had nearly worked themselves to death doing overtime just to build a framework for a power system led by Konoha.
Now, with a problem concerning the Hokage, whether it was a change of term or appointing an acting, the two simply couldn't come up with a plan.
Hence the current situation: receiving an invitation but only being able to stare blankly at each other in the office.
"How about... choosing between Jiraiya and Sakura?"
"Sigh, there's no other choice!"