Evening found the new generation of ninjas gathered at a barbecue restaurant. With Sasuke still helping Kakashi in the Village Hidden by a Waterfall, nearly everyone else had come. Besides the Konoha crew, Gaara, Temari, and Fū were also there.
Naruto Uzumaki looked at Gaara with a puzzled expression. Just from his face, he could tell the red-haired boy had been living well in Konoha lately.
"Gaara... have you gotten fat?"
Though it wasn't a huge weight gain, it was clear Gaara's face had developed some baby fat.
"Shh!" Shikamaru quickly grabbed Naruto's arm and whispered, "This is our plan. As long as we make Lord Fifth Kazekage's life in Konoha more comfortable than it was in the Sand Village, he won't miss that backward place anymore!"
"..."
Naruto felt like he couldn't argue. Gaara himself seemed to be projecting an attitude of, 'This place is fun, I'm not thinking about the Sand Village.' It had to be said, Shikamaru and the others' plan wasn't half bad.
In Konoha, Gaara's title as the Fifth Kazekage didn't carry the same weight, so the younger ninjas all treated him as an equal. Paired with Temari's coaxing, Gaara's mood had clearly improved.
At first, it had been difficult to get used to. He was, after all, being held under house arrest in Konoha, so it was inevitable that some ANBU were always watching him.
But later, he found that the atmosphere in Konoha was good. Many people weren't afraid of his status as the One-Tail's jinchuriki, nor did they fear his position as the Fifth Kazekage. They didn't even care that he was a hostage.
He made many new friends here.
Since his situation was already a reality, he might as well accept it. He'd never felt any warmth in the Sand Village anyway.
Before becoming Kazekage, he had even wanted to destroy it. Even after taking the title, Gaara was still feared. Aside from his teacher, Baki, the other high-ranking officials in the Sand Village were against him. The friendly environment of Konoha was a world apart.
"Lord Hokage." Gaara extended a hand toward Naruto, a smile on his face. "Long time no see. Welcome back to Konoha."
"Thanks." The young Hokage's expression became more and more perplexed. For some reason, he had the strange feeling that Gaara was acting like he was the master of Konoha.
After the greeting, Gaara slung an arm around Shikamaru's shoulder and headed into the restaurant. Temari followed behind, occasionally slapping them both with a laugh.
"Naruto-kun." Hinata Hyuga appeared by Naruto's side, nervously wringing her fingers. "Welcome home... um... I... I..."
"Hinata, I missed you too." The young Hokage reached out and gently smoothed the hair on her forehead.
"Ah!" Hinata looked up in surprise, her face slowly turning beet red. She quickly took a few steps back and said uneasily, "I... I'll go in first!"
"Let's go together." Naruto walked to her side, and they entered together.
There were a lot of them.
Team 3: Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten.
The former Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno.
Team 10: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi.
Team 8: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame.
From the Sand Village: Gaara and Temari.
And finally, Fū and Karin, who came from two smaller ninja villages.
"Shibuki didn't come?" Naruto asked, standing next to Fū with a confused frown. The leader of the Waterfall Village, Shibuki, wasn't much older than them.
Fū shook her head, her expression conflicted. "Lord Shibuki feels ashamed to face the elders of the village. He doesn't want to be a ninja anymore... Coincidentally, Lord Shibuki never wanted to be the leader of the Waterfall Village in the first place."
"So be it." The young Hokage shook his head. In his past life, Shibuki had always been timid. Now that the Waterfall Village had been absorbed by Konoha, if he chose not to be a ninja, Naruto could only let him be.
"Naruto, how is this year's summer festival going to be?" Kiba Inuzuka suddenly came over and asked curiously. "Everyone's been working like crazy on missions for so long. We were all thinking we could finally get a good rest during the festival!"
"...Ahahahahaha..." The blond boy scratched his head, an embarrassed smile on his face, and forced himself to say, "This year's summer festival will be more lively. This afternoon, I approved a larger budget than previous years to hold it..."
This was because Konoha's economic situation had been good recently. The resources from the Land of Wind, Land of Sound, and Land of Waterfalls were all excellent. After integrating them, the future looked promising.
Moreover, the past year had been one of drastic changes for Konoha. The Third Hokage died, the youngest Hokage took office, the Sand Village became a vassal, and the lands of Sound and Waterfalls were annexed.
The ninjas were almost overwhelmed with work. A grand summer festival could let everyone relax for a moment and show the newly joined ninjas that life would be better in Konoha.
Therefore, the larger the scale, the more manpower was needed to maintain order. Among the ninjas present, every single one from Konoha—excluding Gaara, Temari, and the other outsiders—probably shouldn't expect to get any vacation time.
"Oh, yeah!" Kiba slapped him on the shoulder. "That's how it should be! Only someone our age would understand. The summer festival should be as lively as possible!"
"...Ha... haha... hahaha..." Only an awkward smile remained on Naruto's face. In a few days, they would probably all receive a notice from the Hokage's office. During the summer festival, every ninja would have to work overtime, including old Kosuke Maruboshi.
Hinata poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of the boy. "Naruto-kun, is something bothering you?"
"No, ahahaha..." Naruto shook his head and reached for the teacup.
Hinata didn't notice his awkwardness and voiced her request. "Then... Naruto-kun... during the summer festival... can we go play together?"
"...This..." Naruto suddenly hesitated.
A look of disappointment immediately clouded the Byakugan user's face.
After a moment of thought, Naruto gritted his teeth and said, "Hinata, maybe... we can go on patrol together?"
Because this summer festival was so grand, the reconnaissance team's mission was naturally the most demanding. They had to constantly check for enemies approaching or infiltrating Konoha. As a reconnaissance squad, Team 8 was naturally on the duty roster.
"Eh?" The girl's face was filled with confusion.
"Ahem..." The young Hokage coughed lightly and explained, "Because of the threat that the Akatsuki might attack Konoha, we can't relax during the summer festival..."
"So we don't have a vacation during the summer festival, right?" Shikamaru patted his shoulder, a resigned look on his face.
Naruto nodded seriously, glanced at the circle of expectant eyes around him, and shattered their dreams. "Shikamaru guessed right. In a few days, your jonin sensei will receive a notice. Unless you personally apply for leave with me, and the reason is good enough, no one gets time off."
"...You're kind of a useless Hokage for a peer..." Shikamaru immediately looked disgusted. Kiba and Choji, next to him, nodded their heads frantically in agreement.
"...Hey, hey, it's just for this year! Next year will be much better!"
"If you keep annexing other ninja villages..." Shikamaru lowered his head and whispered in his ear, "Konoha will always be short-staffed, Naruto. Haven't you considered that?"
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Bonus:
Shikamaru Nara: What good are you as Hokage, anyway?
Naruto Uzumaki: I can fight, isn't that enough?
Shikamaru Nara: I'm not talking about fighting. We were hoping you could give your old classmates better benefits and working conditions.
Naruto Uzumaki: Fine, what do you want?
Shikamaru Nara: Is there any job where I can just lie down and do nothing?
Naruto Uzumaki: …Actually, there is!
Shikamaru Nara: Then sign me up!
Naruto Uzumaki: Report to the Medical Department tomorrow!
Shikamaru Nara: Thanks!
At Konoha's Medical Department
Shizune: Huh? Shikamaru? What are you doing here?
Shikamaru Nara: I'm here to report for duty!
Shizune: That's strange… We don't have any new recruits. The only thing Fifth Hokage approved was… a living dissection specimen.
Shikamaru Nara: ???