"Xin..."
As soon as they arrived back in Konoha, Nawaki immediately sought out Xin, so eager he almost chased him all the way into the restroom.
"Get lost!!" Xin shouted, kicking Nawaki out the door. "Go home and rest. I'll arrange a meeting with Hyuga Suzune tomorrow. As for whether Meiko will come along, I can't guarantee that.
Whether things work out for you depends on your own effort."
If you keep pestering me, you'll get a thumping stick for sure!
Told you I'd help, but can't you give me some breathing room now that we're back in the village? Nawaki's acting like a madman!
"Heh heh heh."
As Nawaki shuffled back home, rubbing his sore backside, he heard someone laughing. Looking up, he saw Minato leaning on the second-floor balcony, winking playfully as if to say: "See? Now you know how it feels! One good kick was all it took."
Go to hell!
Nawaki flipped him off, and Minato laughed, flipping him off in return.
The team returned to the village but didn't go to the Hokage's office.
Xin didn't feel like it, Minato couldn't be bothered, even though he had the Flying Raijin Jutsu, and as for Nawaki, he was too preoccupied with his romantic pursuits.
This left the Third Hokage waiting in vain at his office.
Normally, after completing a mission, Xin's team should have reported to the Hokage immediately.
The Third Hokage had already prepared for their arrival after being informed by the Anbu, but as the night wore on, they never showed up.
"What have those three been doing since they got back?" The Third Hokage's expression darkened.
Even though he knew Xin's team wasn't fond of reporting to the office, he hadn't expected them to skip their debrief entirely.
Xin not showing up was one thing, but Minato and Nawaki being no-shows as well? What was going on?
After a moment of silence, the Anbu ninja responded: "Hokage-sama, after returning to the village, Xin's team went home to freshen up, and then..."
"And then what?"
"Then Yagami went to sleep."
"....."
This kid...
"And the others?"
"Minato went to the Uzumaki compound to meet a girl from the Uzumaki clan."
"And Nawaki?"
"He's been sitting at home, daydreaming."
"Cough, cough. Minato is growing up, I see," Third Hokage mused, a nostalgic look on his face, remembering his own youth.
But Nawaki...
"Never mind, you can rest now. Thank you for your hard work," he said, dismissing the Anbu.
No point in waiting any longer. They'd just report in tomorrow. After all, the mission was completed perfectly, so it didn't really matter if they came a bit earlier or later.