The girls' reactions instantly made the boys present feel just how unfair the world could be.
"Clatter!"
The cigarette in Asuma's mouth slipped free and dropped straight onto his thigh, sparks immediately burning through his pants.
"Hot—hot—hot—hot—hot!"
Asuma jumped up as if struck by lightning, frantically slapping at his leg to put out the sparks.
But compared to the burning pain on his thigh, the real fatal blow was the collapse of his heart.
He looked at Kurenai, her face flushed red, then at that outrageously handsome face that defied the heavens and infuriated all men. A deep sense of powerlessness and frustration surged within him.
"Damn it… Kakashi is cheating with that face!"
Naruto grabbed his head with both hands and complained loudly,
"He's clearly late all the time, so why does he become this popular the moment he takes off his mask?!"
Sasuke did his best to maintain his usual cool, aloof demeanor, but the corners of his eyes still twitched violently—twice.
Especially when he noticed that Ino, who used to orbit around him nonstop, was now completely ignoring him and staring fixedly at Kakashi. An inexplicable sense of frustration rose in the heart of the Uchiha prodigy.
"Wait… wait a second. This face!"
Boruto's mind went into overdrive as a dusty memory was suddenly jolted awake.
In that future era, he had once met a man called Sukea, who claimed to be a "freelance journalist."
That man had helped them many times and often chatted with them about shinobi matters. Those facial contours, that highly recognizable beauty mark, that lazy temperament that seemed ingrained in his very bones—
It was exactly the same as the Kakashi standing before him now!
"What the hell?!"
Boruto screamed internally like a panicked marmot.
"So that wandering journalist uncle in the village was actually the retired Sixth Hokage himself?!
The real face that Dad, Sasuke-san, and Aunt Sakura from Team 7 spent over a decade trying to see—Uncle Kakashi showed it to me in the future without holding back?! And I didn't recognize him at all?!"
'Uncle Kakashi… you seriously played us,' Boruto's mouth twitched wildly as his entire worldview took a massive hit.
Amid the chaos and the girls' scorching gazes, Kakashi calmly swallowed the last bite of meat in his mouth.
Then, with a casual flick of his fingers, he pulled the dark-blue mask back up, once again covering the face that had caused such an uproar.
That heart-stopping charm was instantly sealed away, and he returned to being the familiar, lazy jōnin.
As though the moment of breathtaking beauty had been nothing more than a shared illusion.
"Ah, Asuma," Kakashi said innocently as he lifted his teacup, glancing at the still-panicking man.
"Looks like you burned a hole in your pants."
Just as Asuma was so furious he was about to draw his Hien Twin Blades and fight Kakashi to the death, the door of the barbecue restaurant suddenly flew open with a loud bang.
"Ooooooh! I can feel it! Youth burning like blazing charcoal!"
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a rugged man in a green jumpsuit with a bowl cut made a grand entrance.
He struck an overwhelmingly dazzling Nice Guy pose in the middle of the hall, his teeth flashing brilliantly under the restaurant lights.
"Kakashi! My rival for life! I heard you're treating everyone today. How could a gathering of sweating youth be complete without me—Might Guy!"
…
Kakashi's hand trembled slightly as he held his teacup, his eyes instantly turning half-lidded and lifeless.
"Guy-sensei," he said weakly, "please don't shout in a restaurant. You'll disturb the other customers."
A calm, slightly helpless voice followed from behind Guy.
Hyuga Neji.
Neji's gaze swept over the massive tables pushed together, clearly surprised to see nearly half of Konoha's new generation gathered in one place.
He nodded politely toward Asuma and Kurenai, but his eyes paused involuntarily on the unfamiliar boy beside Naruto.
"Who is that?" Neji asked, frowning slightly as his Byakugan focused on Boruto.
Being stared at so directly, Boruto stiffened, cold sweat forming as he worried his Hyuga bloodline might be exposed by his uncle.
"Yo, Guy, Neji. Just get back from a mission?"
Kakashi sighed and pointed at Boruto. "This is Menma, a child from a distant relative's family. He just arrived in Konoha today, so I brought him out to see the world."
"I see!" Guy laughed loudly. "Kakashi's relative is also my—Might Guy's—relative!"
Without any hesitation, Guy dragged over two chairs, squeezed into the crowd, and slapped the table with a booming laugh.
"Boss! Add another hundred plates of premium beef! Today, I will settle the score with Kakashi in a barbecue eating contest!"
Before his voice even faded, hurried footsteps sounded from the entrance behind him.
"Guy-sensei! You're running too fast!"
A girl with her hair styled into two buns rushed in, panting lightly, a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. As she complained, her eyes instinctively scanned the interior of the restaurant.
"Eh? So many people?"
Then a green blur shot past her with a whoosh, stopping sharply with a straight posture, right fist pressed to chest, eyes blazing.
"Guy-sensei! Youth is meant to burn amid smoke and flames of barbecue! I, Rock Lee, am ready to welcome this feast of youth!"
With that, Team 7, Team 8, Team 10, and Team Guy were all present—almost the entire new generation of Konoha gathered in one place.
Kakashi slowly lifted his eyelids, his tone calm to the point of numbness.
"My wallet has entered the darkest moment of its life."
"Hahahaha! Exactly, Kakashi!" Guy laughed heartily, slapping Kakashi on the shoulder so hard he nearly knocked him into the grill.
"Being willing to sacrifice your money for the sake of your juniors—this resolve is the most brilliant radiance of youth!"
Kakashi: "…I refuse this radiance."
Tenten stared at the long table stretched to its absolute limit, then at the mountains of grilled meat, flying tongs, Naruto and Choji fighting over food, and Sasuke surrounded by Ino. She couldn't help but exclaim,
"This is way too lively… it's like a victory feast."
"Tenten! Over here, over here!"
Lee had already pulled out a chair and sat down, eyes glowing as he stared at the grill.
"Boss! Please give me a hundred skewers of roasted meat! I will use them to prove my burning stomach of youth!"
Naruto grinned and pointed at Boruto.
"This is Menma! Kakashi-sensei's distant relative. He just joined Team 7 today!"
Lee stared at Boruto, eyes sparkling, then suddenly stood and bowed deeply.
"Menma-kun! I am Rock Lee! It is a pleasure to meet you! If you are willing, I would like to challenge you to a taijutsu duel in the name of youth!"
Boruto waved his hands frantically.
"No, no, no! That's not necessary! I—I'm more suited to logistics!"
Kakashi added dryly from the side, "Very good. Keep that up and you'll live longer."
Laughter, shouting, and the crackling of charcoal intertwined into one continuous din.
Asuma, cigarette in his mouth, flipped meat on the grill while looking at the table full of students. He let out a quiet sigh.
"Everyone really is… all here."
Kurenai nodded softly, her gaze gentle.
"Yes. The children of this generation give off a surprisingly reassuring feeling."
Kakashi leaned back in his chair, his eyes slowly sweeping across Naruto, Sasuke, Haku, Boruto, Neji, Hinata, Lee, Tenten—and all those lively figures still laughing and playing.
To others, this was nothing more than an overly boisterous barbecue.
But to him, this was the present—uncrushed by fate, unshattered by war.
He lifted his teacup and took a small sip.
'The Akatsuki lurk in the shadows. The shadow of the Ōtsutsuki has yet to fully fade. The future has already begun to shift.'
'But at least, in this moment—'
A faint yet genuine smile appeared at the corner of Kakashi's mouth.
'These children can still fight over a single piece of meat, without a care in the world.'