Chapter 196 – Celebration Banquet
Uchiha Mikoto gently patted Naruto's head and smiled.
"See? Naruto seems to like you a lot too."
Kisame Hoshigaki blinked in surprise. Normally, when people saw his appearance, they treated him like a freak and avoided him entirely. Yet this little boy… actually liked him?
Naruto met his gaze head-on, unafraid, a bright grin spreading across his face.
"Shark big brother, come to my house to play sometime! We can play card games!"
Sasuke, standing beside him, felt a bit awkward hearing that.
But… it wasn't wrong. He had already long accepted Naruto living in his home.
Naruto was family now.
Yes — Naruto was already part of his family.
"Alright, Naruto-kun, I'll come! I'll have to trouble you to entertain me then."
Kisame grinned back, showing his rows of sharp, glinting teeth.
But Naruto didn't flinch. He just kept smiling.
"Let's keep moving," Uchiha Itachi reminded.
His father had already gone on ahead toward the Hokage Building — they shouldn't fall behind.
"See you later, both of you," Mikoto said with a polite nod, gesturing for Naruto and Sasuke to follow her.
Itachi was just about to leave as well, but after recalling the earlier argument between Kisame and Deidara, he hesitated. The mood between the two was still off.
He thought for a moment, then turned back.
"Kisame, Deidara — you two, come with us."
"Okay," Kisame replied immediately, not even bothering to ask where they were going.
Deidara frowned. "Where are we going now?"
He was clearly reluctant. He'd planned to go home and sleep after seeing this so-called Fifth Hokage. Instead, he'd gotten into a pointless quarrel with the shark-faced guy — and now Itachi was pulling him along again.
"To the Hokage Building," Itachi said plainly.
"Uh, I—" Deidara's eyes darted around, searching for an excuse — but before he could finish, Itachi grabbed him by the wrist.
"Let's go."
Deidara stumbled as Itachi leapt forward, dragging him across the rooftops.
Itachi didn't trust Deidara to wander around Konoha on his own.
The streets were full of people celebrating his father's return — if Deidara accidentally caused an explosion right now, it would be a disaster.
He couldn't allow that.
Better to keep him where he could see him.
Kisame followed behind them, amused.
Deidara could only sigh and resign himself — after all, he'd already lost to Itachi before. There was no point resisting.
Soon after, Naruto — glancing back curiously — noticed them catching up.
"Shark big brother's coming too! Oh — and one-eyed big brother!"
Kisame, amused, smiled as he caught up beside Naruto, keeping just a body's distance away.
"What a coincidence, meeting again, Naruto-kun."
"Yeah! What a coincidence!" Naruto grinned, matching his tone.
Deidara's vein twitched. "This brat… did he just call me one-eyed?"
Itachi gave him a sidelong glance. "Deidara, you are one-eyed right now. Honestly, I think you looked better with your hair down before."
Deidara huffed. "This is just temporary. Once I get my eye modified, I'll train it to resist genjutsu."
Itachi shook his head. "Alright, whatever you say."
It was pointless to argue — Deidara wouldn't listen anyway. And the idea of "training an eye to resist the Sharingan"? Impossible.
But if he wanted to learn the hard way, let him.
Before long, they arrived at the Hokage Building.
The plaza outside had been cleared and transformed into a grand banquet area.
Tables and lanterns were neatly arranged — it was the celebration feast for the victorious expeditionary force, organized by Nara Shikaku himself.
Uchiha Mikoto and her group estimated that Fugaku would take a little longer to arrive, so they waited inside the hall.
Before long, waves of cheering grew louder outside.
Naruto pressed up against a window, his eyes wide with envy as he watched the crowd outside.
Beside him, Sasuke listened to the thunderous shouts of "Hokage-sama!" echoing through the square, and his chest swelled with pride.
How should he even describe this feeling?
The man everyone was cheering for — was his father.
A dizzying warmth rushed through Sasuke's heart.
He felt… proud beyond words.
"So cool! The future Sixth Hokage is definitely me, Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto declared, his eyes shining.
For once, Sasuke didn't argue back. He just stayed quiet — though a strange thought flickered through his mind.
Even he found it hard to believe himself.
But looking at his father — tall, confident, smiling among the crowd — something stirred inside him too.
Then Naruto turned to him, grinning wide.
"Sasuke! When I become the Sixth Hokage, you'll be my right-hand man!"
Sasuke smirked. "Hah, I won't be anyone's assistant. If I'm going to do it, I'll be the Hokage myself."
To his surprise, Naruto nodded seriously.
"Okay then! Let's compete! We'll see who becomes the Sixth Hokage first! You're strong, Sasuke, but the Hokage will definitely be me — Naruto!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, ending the topic there.
Soon after, the crowd outside erupted in cheers again. Sasuke looked up — and saw his father leading a group of shinobi toward the hall. One by one, the Konoha ninjas took their seats.
Then Fugaku stepped onto the platform, addressing the people briefly before heading toward the hall with several senior officials.
The plaza outside was filled with laughter, the clinking of glasses, and warm lights. It was a night of triumph and unity.
"Father!"
Sasuke smiled and was just about to greet him when —
A small blur darted past him, faster than lightning.
Before Fugaku even entered the hall, Naruto had already thrown himself forward, wrapping his arms around Fugaku's leg.
"Uncle! You're finally back!"
Fugaku chuckled softly. He had already noticed Naruto rushing out of the Hokage Building.
Watching the boy cling to his leg so warmly, even Fugaku couldn't help but laugh.
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