In the distance were mountains, nearby was a lake, and underfoot was grassland. Here and there on the grass were spread picnic mats, and there was even a barbecue grill set up.
Kurama Yakumo set up her easel, picked up her brush, and sketched the scene before her with a gentle smile.
In the center of the picture were Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato, and Fugaku.
Minato and Fugaku clinked glasses with smiles, Tsunade's face was flushed as she already had playing cards in hand, Jiraiya's eyes wandered with a swaying expression, trying to straighten his back, and Shizune knelt behind Tsunade like a little maid, reaching out to turn the barbecue.
Not far away, Kushina and Mikoto huddled together, their faces adorned with aunt-like smiles, watching Izumi smilingly offer barbecue while Shisui and Itachi chatted.
Kakashi and Guy gazed deeply at each other—they were playing a game of whoever blinks first loses. Kakashi's expression was calm, while Guy's eyes were wide, with a few beads of sweat on his forehead.
Because this competition concerned the 50 wins and 50 losses record between Guy and his rival, Guy was very serious. Four small Melon Heads in green tracksuits cheered Guy on with excited faces.
Kimimaro, who had suffered long enough from his teammates, seemed to have found common ground with Neji and Tenten, watching the few rare beasts frolic helplessly from the side.
Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi wore awkward expressions, pretending to watch the Kakashi and Guy competition, but their hands were already tentatively reaching out to hold each other.
Sakura and Ino each grabbed Sasuke's arm, glaring at each other, sparks seemingly flying between their eyes.
Akamaru and Tonton, two adorable creatures, put their heads together, playing a head-butting game, while Kiba and Naruto sat on either side, cheering for the two little cuties.
Hinata smiled faintly, one hand holding Naruto's arm, and the other quietly picking up a skewer of barbecue.
Choji was, as always, gorging himself, while Shikamaru lay quietly on the grass beside him, watching the clouds.
Yakumo counted the number of people and felt like she had forgotten to draw someone. After thinking for a moment, she picked up her brush again and added herself sitting behind the easel, as well as Haku and Karin watching her paint from behind.
Only then did Yakumo look at her painting with satisfaction, put away her tools, and joined the playing crowd.
Shino received the information transmitted back by the insects on his finger and sighed. I'm clearly sitting next to Shikamaru, why didn't she draw me in…
...
The origin of this gathering dates back to half a month ago. More than half a month had passed since the Raiha mission ended.
The surge in mission volume brought about by the Chunin Exams turmoil had finally gradually subsided, and everything had returned to an orderly state.
Minato finished dealing with the backlog of affairs and remembered that he had promised Naruto before the Chunin Exams to take him camping.
Determined to be a good father, Minato felt that he should keep his word, so he took a rare vacation for himself and invited Tsunade and Jiraiya, who had also been busy for a long time, to participate together.
After Minato announced this at home, Karin asked if she could bring friends, and Minato readily agreed.
So Haku and Karin invited Kurenai Yuhi and Kurama Yakumo, Kimimaro called Gan Wen Cui, and Kushina brought her three students.
When Naruto went to call Sasuke, Sasuke was sweeping the floor with Itachi at the door.
Sasuke said that his brother had finally taken a vacation and wanted to stay home with him.
Then Itachi very considerately said that he could accompany Sasuke, and Shisui happened to come to find Itachi, so Naruto invited him along as well.
Mikoto, after learning about it, felt that she hadn't had a good chat with Kushina for a long time, so she pulled Fugaku to participate together, and specially called her future daughter-in-law Izumi.
Kakashi saw that two of his students had come, so he simply called the other one as well, and then met Guy who was training on the road.
Guy believed that such a youthful thing as a gathering must be attended with his lovely disciples.
Asuma, after hearing about Kurenai's schedule, "coincidentally" brought his students to train nearby that day…
Thus, a small family gathering turned into a large picnic.
If enemies from other villages seized the opportunity to send assassins to wipe them all out, Konoha would probably need decades to recover.
That's assuming they could win...
"Kiba, I bet a spoonful of mustard that Tonton will win this round."
"Are you kidding me? I'll add a spoonful of Chili Sauce; Akamaru will definitely win!"
Kiba finished his bet and jumped up, clenching his fist and shouting, "Akamaru, go for it! If you win, I'll give you my grilled meat!"
"Woof!" Akamaru was full of fighting spirit.
Naruto wasn't as excited, simply saying, "Tonton, I'm rooting for you~"
"Pui!" Tonton shivered, feeling that losing meant becoming cooked, and then Naruto's Mustard and Chili Sauce would end up on him. Tonton's gaze hardened.
Three minutes later, Akamaru was knocked to the ground by Tonton, who was bursting with a will to survive. Kiba accepted his loss, swallowed the Mustard and Chili Sauce, and was now lying on the ground with his tongue out, questioning life.
Naruto stuck the small flag symbolizing victory on Tonton's back: "Well done, Tonton! Let's call this the Peppa Pig Flag!"
"Pui!" Tonton ran back to Shizune's side with the flag on his back, having survived another lucky day.
Naruto patted Akamaru's head, comforting him, "It's okay, Akamaru, I'll treat you to grilled meat."
Naruto reached out his hand: "Huh? Where's the meat?"
Kiba finally recovered and looked at the empty plate and grill, exclaiming, "Hey, Choji, you're eating way too fast!"
Choji swallowed the food in his mouth with difficulty, saying, "Because it's really delicious. Asuma hasn't treated us to grilled meat in a long time, not since we celebrated the formation of Team 10."
But Choji was also puzzled. Did I really eat that much just now?
Naruto, who roughly guessed the truth, stood up and said, "Alright, don't blame Choji, I'll go get some more."
"Naruto-kun, I'll go with you," Hinata said, blushing as she went to help Naruto.
Shino pushed up his sunglasses; he also realized the truth but was kind enough not to say it.
When Naruto returned with the ingredients, added a few pieces of charcoal, and shouted, "Sasuke, come light the fire!"
Sasuke then broke free from Sakura and Ino, puffed out his cheeks, and breathed out a mouthful of fire.
Sakura and Ino looked at each other for a while, then followed over, enviously watching Naruto and Hinata feeding each other.
Then Sakura had an idea: "Ino-pig, do you dare to compete in cooking!"
Ino wasn't afraid: "Who's afraid of who, billboard brow!"
"Let Sasuke be the judge!" *2
"Boring." Sasuke, of course, had no interest.
"I can be the judge!" Choji volunteered.
So the two girls looked at each other, nodded, and began their respective performances.
In the end, there was no winner in this competition because, according to Choji's later recollection after regaining consciousness, he encountered someone who could instill fear in him for the first time. This was simply a disgrace to the Akimichi clan.
In the evening, everyone pitched tents and stayed there for the night, finally fulfilling Naruto's little camping wish. And the next day, Minato came to fulfill another of Naruto's wishes.
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