Invitation

(knock!)

(knock!)

(knock!)

"come in!" Hiruzen said.

*door opens*

"Shikaku," Hiruzen recognized.

"Hokage-sama"

"Kazekage-sama," Shikaku bowed.

"It's all right Shikaku,"

"You don't need to bow to greet me,"

"We are in-laws after all," Rasa said.

"Sorry,"

"This is the Hokage's office after all,"

"And I am his advisor," Shikaku said.

Rasa smiled.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Shikaku asked.

Hiruzen stared at his globe.

"He's on his way back with Asuma," Hiruzen said.

"I see…" Shikaku replied.

…

The trio waited outside the building.

*Sound of footsteps*

Asuma and Shikamaru had arrived.

"There they are…" Rasa murmured.

...

"Hokage-sama,"

"Kazekage-sama," Asuma and Shikamaru greeted.

Shikaku looked at Shikamaru.

"Ready to go?" Shikaku asked.

"Mm!" Shikamaru nodded.

"All right then Hokage-dono," Rasa smiled.

"Take care," Hiruzen said as he waved to the three who were on their way.

Asuma looked at Hiruzen.

"Dad,"

"You do realize Shikamaru is not really enthusiastic about it," Asuma said.

"Haha" Hiruzen laughed a bit.

"Well, He does take his responsibilities seriously when the time comes," Hiruzen smiled.

The two stared at the entrance for a while.

"Asuma," Hiruzen called out.

"What is it?" Asuma asked.

"You must be there for Mirai this time," Hiruzen reminded.

"Mm!" Asuma nodded silently.

————————————

"Congrats on becoming a Jōnin again Naruto," Kakashi said with a smile.

Naruto stared at Kakashi.

"Umm…"

"Who might you be…?" Naruto asked slowly.

"Eh?" Kakashi stared at Naruto in shock.

Naruto was completely confused for he could not recognize the person who was talking to him.

"Wait a minute…"

"That white hair…"

"That green vest…"

"The headband in that position…" Naruto stared at Kakashi who had his left eye covered by the headband.

Naruto's expression turned from confusion to horror.

"It can't be…"

"KAKASHI-SENSEI?" Naruto shouted.

"You finally got it…" Kakashi murmured as he brought his mask up.

(Whoosh!) Sasuke arrived followed by Minato, Hashirama and Tobirama.

"Hmm…?" Sasuke looked at Naruto who was staring at Kakashi like he was crazy.

"Looks like he couldn't take the fact that Kakashi didn't unveil his face huh…?" Hashirama murmured.

Tobirama and Minato, however, knew that something else entirely happened.

*Ugh…*

Gai groaned in pain.

"Well, I'll be taking Gai to the hospital now," Kakashi murmured.

"Wait,"

"Kakashi…" Gai managed to say.

"Hmm…?" Kakashi looked at Gai.

Gai turned towards Naruto slowly.

"Hehe…" Gai smiled in pain.

"Naruto-kun,"

"Sasuke-kun,"

"Congrats…On your… promotion,"

Hah!

Hah! Gai gasped for breath.

"Today is Lee-Kun's surgery,"

"It is said to have a high possibility of success,"

"So there will be a small BBQ party, which will be hosted for both team's success," Gai said.

Naruto, however, was so stunned from seeing Kakashi's face that he was barely paying attention right now.

"Please show up at the place by seven in the evening," Gai said.

Sasuke nodded while Naruto watched the two silently,

"You overdid yourself Gai," Kakashi sighed.

(Whoosh!) Kakashi and Gai vanished.

"Hmph,"

"I am done for today," Sasuke said as he left the place as well.

(Whoosh!)

Minato arrived by Naruto's side.

"What happened?" Minato asked.

Naruto, however, was in a daze.

Minato brought his hand onto Naruto's shoulder.

"Huh…?" Naruto snapped back to reality.

"What happened?" Minato repeated.

"I…"

"Just…saw…"

"Kakashi-sensei's face," Naruto said.

"WHAT?" Minato, Tobirama, and Hashirama were stunned.

(Whoosh!)

Hashirama appeared by Naruto's side.

"Hey!" Hashirama grabbed Naruto by the shoulders.

"Can you show me how he looks like?" Hashirama asked as he shook Naruto.

"Brother!" Tobirama appeared by Hashirama's side.

"Conduct yourself with dignity," Tobirama said.

Hashirama removed his hand from Naruto's shoulders and regained his usual composure.

"Sorry," Hashirama stared at Naruto.

"It's okay…" Naruto murmured slowly thinking back to seeing Kakashi's face.

("He's another person entirely after removing that mask,") Naruto thought.

Minato looked at Naruto.

"Naruto,"

"Hmm…?" Naruto looked at Minato.

"Here's your present," Minato said as he handed over a scroll.

"Huh…?" Naruto looked at the scroll.

"What's this dad?" Naruto looked at Minato.

"It's a new technique I was working on shortly before my death," Minato said.

"A new technique..?" Naruto looked at the scroll.

"Let's go Naruto. We have to grab your stuff from your house today," Minato said.

"Sorry, Dad,"

"I wanna push it to later until I see Gaara off," Naruto said.

"I understand…" Minato nodded.

————————————

Back in the operation theatre…

"Sakura-san," Hinata called out.

"Where next?" Sakura asked.

"L4/L5 region,"

"Between the Lumbar disk and the bone there's a small bone fragment about 0.2mm," Hinata said.

"Mm!" Sakura nodded as she brought her hand over Lee's exposed Spinal cord.

*Sh!*

Sakura lowered the tweezer to take out a small broken bone fragment.

"Where next?" Sakura asked.

…

Ino and Karin were busy healing the upper areas of the spinal cord which was rapidly regenerating the cells to cover up the skin-tear while admiring how Sakura and Hinata were working together hand in hand.

"I never expected the process to speed up this much with the usage of the Byakugan…" Shizune said,

"Mm!" Tsunade nodded.

"Both of them are talented…" Tsunade said.

Shizune looked at Tsunade.

"Are you planning on asking them to be your personal disciple?" Shizune asked.

"Sakura and Karin,"

"Yes"

"However, Ino and Hinata have their own clan inheritance so I cannot take them to be my disciples completely," Tsunade said.

"I see…" Shizune nodded.

"But, now that I think about it,"

"We may have our answer for detecting cancer cells after all," Tsunade said as she looked at Hinata.

"But how do we eradicate those cells?" Shizune asked.

"Collaboration may be difficult; however, if she was to use her gentle fists with utmost precision it just might work…" Tsunade murmured.

…

"That's the last of it," Hinata said as she deactivated her Byakugan.

"Thanks, Hinata," Sakura said as she lowered her tweezers.

"We'll leave the healing to you," Sakura smiled.

"Mm!" Ino and Karin nodded.

———————————

In a certain restaurant…

Six people were seated by a table.

Temari, Rasa and Gaara were on one side.

Shikamaru, Shikaku, and Kankurō on the other side.

Shikamaru was opposite to Temari.

Shikaku opposite to Rasa and Gaara opposite to Kankurō.

*shhhh…*

The meat pieces on the grill were burning.

Shikaku flipped some of them, Which Rasa also did on the other grill.

Temari was looking at Shikamaru who had a hard time trying to avoid Temari's gaze.

("What's with him…?") Temari thought.

"Why don't you guys talk to each other?" Rasa persuaded Temari.

("huh…?") Temari stared at her dad weirdly.

Even kankurō was surprised seeing how awkward the mood was which Gaara tried to analyze despite its increasing difficulty.

"looks like it's done," Shikaku said as he took out some pieces and placed it on a small plate which Rasa also did.

"Here," Shikaku handed a plate to Temari while Rasa also gave a plate to Shikamaru.

("Oy, No matter how you look at it, that's strange,") Kankurō and Temari thought.

"Thanks…" Temari said with a forced grin on her face.

("What is up with this lunch?") Temari thought.

Her dad was the Kazekage, while Shikaku was the Hokage's advisor.

No matter how much she tried to bridge the gap, she couldn't find her dad being the amicable man he was right now.

"Here," Shikaku handed a plate to Gaara and Kankurō.

"Thanks," Gaara replied emotionlessly with a hint of respect.

"Thanks…" Kankurō also thanked Shikaku in an awkward voice.

Shikamaru was sitting on needles.

("Naruto,")

("How could you forget to mention important matters like my marriage?") Shikamaru thought while simultaneously cursing himself for not being vigilant.

Shikaku and Rasa were also perplexed on how to get the younger generation to interact with each other.

As such the lunch continued with the same awkward atmosphere while Rasa and Shikaku got on to discussing current political matters.

…

At the village gates…

Rasa, Temari, Gaara, Kankurō, and Baki were facing Shikamaru and Shikaku with their backs against the exit.

"Kazekage-dono,"

"Regarding the event, we have decided to hold it ten days from now…" Shikaku said.

"I see…" Rasa nodded.

Baki looked at Rasa,

"Kazekage-sama,"

"It's time to leave," Baki reminded.

"Please stay for a longer time after the event,"

"I would like to give you all a personal tour of the village," Shikaku said.

"Haha,"

"I think you guys should come to the sand village too,"

"What do you say?" Rasa looked at Temari.

"I think so too…" Temari nodded to Shikaku.

(Whoosh!) Hiruzen and Genma appeared.

"Hokage-dono," Rasa stared at Hiruzen.

"Just wanted to see you off," Hiruzen said.

"Ah!"

"You shouldn't have…" Rasa sighed.

(Whoosh!)

Naruto landed next to Hiruzen.

"Naruto,"

"I came to see you guys off," Naruto said.

"Mm!" Rasa nodded happily.

"Naruto," Gaara called out.

"Gaara," Naruto smiled as he brought his hand up.

"Hmm…?" Gaara stared at the hand.

"…" The others also stared at Gaara who was confused.

Naruto thought back to the time when Gaara first made Naruto shake his hand after rescuing him, this time he would be the one to initiate it.

Naruto grabbed Gaara's hand and shook it.

"Let's hang out next time!" Naruto smiled.

"Naruto…" Gaara stared at Naruto for a moment following which he nodded.

…

"All right then,"

"We are off," (Whoosh!) Rasa, Baki, and his team left.

Hiruzen stared at their departing backs as they proceeded down the path that lead out of the village.

"Genma," Hiruzen called out.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Genma responded.

"Make an announcement. The Sports Festival shall take place in ten days," Hiruzen said.

"huh…?" Naruto looked at Hiruzen weirdly.

"Yes," Genma accepted the order and left the place.

"In a day or two…"

"The waves shall emerge…" Hiruzen murmured as he thought about the other villages reacting to the resurrection of the other hokages.

The Hokages had managed to change their appearances before everyone woke up. However, the fact remained that some ninjas managed to wake up earlier, which Hiruzen saw from Naruto's memories of rescuing Karin and Hinata.

----------------

"Splendid young man isn't he, that boy Shikamaru," Rasa looked at Temari.

Temari thought back to the time Shikamaru defeated her only to give up in the last minute.

"Mm!" Temari nodded slowly.

"Let's pick up our speed," Rasa said.

"Mm!" The other's nodded following which they launched off.

…

*Sounds of running*

"Baki," Rasa called out.

"Kazekage-sama…" Baki responded.

"How did it go?" Rasa asked.

"I have sent a message to Honoured Lady Chiyo to send Yūra-san to take care of it," Baki said.

"What?" Rasa stared in shock.

"I have also taken care to allow the investigation team to make an appearance before our arrival," Baki said.

"Good, You've handled it well," Rasa said.

"Thanks,"

"Also Honoured Lady Chiyo was shocked but at the same time happy with how the mission turned out this time," Baki said.

"Yeah,"

"It's good to know that a powerhouse like the Hidden Leaf is our ally,"

("Especially Lord Seventh,") Rasa thought.

——————————

Somewhere along the borders of the Thunder nation.

Two men settled down by a tree in a particular forest.

"I can't wait to report this to Raikage-sama," the man said.

"Yeah, considering that you failed the Byakugan's retrieval, this juicy news is a good replacement," The other man who kidnapped Hinata said.

"Thanks for helping me rescue from the insect user and the dog user," The man said.

"You're lucky we didn't engage them in direct combat,"

"We wouldn't be able to make it this far alive…" The other man said.

(Whoosh!)

A man in black robes appeared with his face hidden by an ANBU mask.

"What?" The two men on the ground were stunned.

(Slash!)

(Slash!)

The two men were killed in two strikes.

(Whoosh!)

The masked figure disappeared without a trace, leaving no witness nor a clue of who he was…

—————————

Post Chapter Shorts.

—————————

Naruto: Hi there Web novel readers! And Welcome to our daily interview.

Author-san: Hi!

Naruto: Who was that man in the last scene?

Author-san: To be honest, Even I don't know.

Naruto: Eh? You are writing the story author-san, how could you not know? Are you covering up a plot hole?

Author-san: …

Naruto: So what move does the scroll contain?

Author-san: All I can say is, look forward to the next chapter.

Naruto: All right, onto the q/a session, We received three questions yesterday.

Author-san: That's one more extra question from the previous chapter.

Naruto: Yup, so here goes the first question from a user named ILikeMangoes addressed to Nardo-kun…

Do we have a nardo-kun?

Author-san: Haha, that's the autocorrect version of your name.

Naruto: autocorrect huh…?

I once messaged Hinata that I was going to have a late night dinner with Sasuke since we were decoding some characters from a scroll. So Hinata asked me what am I having with sauce.

It turns out that Sasuke's name was autocorrected to Sauce.

Author-san: Sauce huh? Why does that remind me of Choji-kun?

Naruto: Onto the question, how do you feel about Neji x Karin or Konohamaru x Hanabi?

Huh? Konohamaru?

Author-san: Chapter 99, you saw him, remember?

Naruto: Ah! Well, I think it does seem all right, but author-san, don't you think it's too early I mean me and Hinata are also early in this story.

Author-san: The relationship will not go onto the next stage until after Shippuden series so don't worry.

Naruto: Eh? But I am already married to Hinata ya know?

Author-san: Well, Jiraiya-sensei can help you with his stories so hang in there Naruto-kun.

Naruto: …

Okay, NejixKarin, Woah! (gets up,)

What? When did this happen?

Author-san: Calm down Naruto-kun; it did not happen yet.

Naruto: Well, I'd say it's great for Karin, seeing that she didn't get anyone in the previous timeline, what do you say author-san?

Author-san: Mm… I still think it's too early for any of you guys at this point. I mean your age in Shippuden series will be the perfect time for such interactions.

Naruto: I see.

Onto the next question, It's from a reader named ohbrother addressed to Author-san.

Hey author San

Will Gaara and Rock Lee have a life partner?

Author-san: Well If we see Gaara's novel, Gaara's bride to be had a lover, and after finding out Gaara-kun forgave them by having them leave the sand village following which the Nara-clan took in the couple as a part of their family, which happened before Shikamaru's marriage. While Lee-Kun's wife is not even revealed yet.

Naruto: Ah! Now that I think about it, I never really knew…

Author-san: My answer to that is, well… This novel was written to get over those kind of regrets so why not? Haha. Speaking of Lee-kun he's coming back in the next chapter.

Naruto: I am sure you all are going to like the next chapter. Hehe.

Now, Onto the last question, it's from a reader named lucas98c

So author-san will Jiraya train to master his senjutsu ? Another question will Gai and Lee discover a way to solve the problem with

the death gate(hachimon tonkou)???

Author-san: My answer to that will be to keep reading until you guys find out. Haha.

Naruto: Well, That concludes the Interview for today. See You all tomorrow!

Author-san: See You all tomorrow!

———————————

Naruto: Next time on NRe. Konohamaru's requests me to help him out. Don't know why but we will find out.

Author-san: You already know what it's going to be about.

Naruto: What? You mean it's Hanabi-chan?

Author-san: Hehe.

Naruto: Next time on NRe - Konohamaru's request.