Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 234 Ritual

On the last night of the festival, Mr. Tori insisted on rejecting the Konoha ninja's duty roster and gave all the ninjas a holiday.

"You are our guests too, and ensuring your holiday experience is our duty." Tao Li patted his chest, assuring them that they could handle the final security arrangements, and then wrote his name on the duty roster.

The members of Team 7 had all witnessed Zabuza's strength, so they had no objections. The others, however, had never seen an angel proactively offering a job, and while touched, they were also a little worried. Since their captain didn't object, they couldn't voice their opinions and simply accepted the offer. Actually, the number of customers on the last day had noticeably decreased, drastically reducing the pressure on security. Fortunately, the Land of Waves was just an insignificant, newly emerging small country, and no one deliberately came to cause trouble. Except for a few geniuses who, if they hadn't been born into such a privileged background, would have been sleeping on the streets.

Before the night session began, Kakashi, unusually not wearing his ninja vest, was already waiting at the ticket checkpoint. He was dressed quite casually for the water activities, a floral shirt and black shorts sufficing, but he didn't remove his dark inner layer that covered his face mask, so no one could see his face. However, even without a mask, he was still quite eye-catching; many people in the lobby turned to him, eventually forcing Kakashi to use a newspaper to shield his vision.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto, who had finally finished get off work, quickly changed into his swimsuit shorts and T-shirt.

"Looks like the timing is just right." Sakura walked in with a cool-looking handsome guy. Their style was much more conservative, and the handsome guy was even wearing long pants.

"Everyone's here." Kakashi put down his newspaper, stood up with a smile, and said, "Looking at you all, you've all grown quite a bit taller."

"Stop talking nonsense and get in." The cold-faced handsome man's tone was icy. Although his face had changed a bit, his voice sounded familiar.

Sakura, still worried, reminded him, "I'm not using waterproof cosmetics, so be careful not to soak your face in water."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things. I guarantee not a single drop of water will get splashed." Naruto hooked his arm around the handsome young man's neck and examined him closely.

Sasuke's face shape and features couldn't be changed, of course, but subtle contouring could make him look completely different. His originally somewhat sharp face was softened; was it the effect of slightly arching his eyebrows and redrawing his eyeliner? He really couldn't master this kind of meticulous work.

The makeup was just to fool the two members of Root. Seven days together should have shaken their beliefs considerably, but adults aren't as easily fooled as children, so they had to be cautious. As for what to do about the sensory-type Wind on the other side? With Karin and Naruto, two whirlpools, how could he possibly sense his teammates' chakra? Besides, "Golden Wheel" hadn't left yet; that one was clearly drawing more attention. Root and Wind had tried to eavesdrop as soon as they finished work.

Although this was a rare reunion of Team 7, everyone's enjoyment was clearly different. The first thing they did upon entering the park was, of course, rush towards the biggest attraction, the roller coaster. The ninjas took such thrilling rides lightly; they were just looking for fun.

Disagreements arose with subsequent projects.

Not long after entering the park, they encountered their friends. Although Lee was a bit more composed, he still ran over excitedly to greet Sakura. Tenten and Hinata walked side by side behind them, while Neji brought up the rear.

"Good evening. Where are Kiba and Shino?" Sakura asked.

"Good evening. Shino's insects don't like water, and Kiba said the water here has a pungent smell." Hinata's voice was still gentle, but clear and articulate, and she was no longer dozing off.

"That's disinfectant... Oh well, his nose is too sensitive, I can understand." Naruto didn't like people saying bad things about the amusement park rides unless there were special circumstances. The disinfectant was originally added to ensure everyone's health, but it turned out to be particularly effective against dogs' noses.

"Speaking of which, who is this? A new friend?" Li, who was a bit slow to react, only noticed the unfamiliar person opposite him and asked in confusion.

"Haha, I met Naruto in the Land of Waves." Sakura laughed awkwardly, shoving Lee back into his team, while also seamlessly blending in with Tenten and Hinata.

"This is the first time I've seen Tian Tian dressed like this. Did you make it yourself?"

"It was made at home. I brought it along when I heard I was going to the beach, and I never expected it would come in handy."

Is this mesh fabric?

"It dries quickly!"

After the girls had walked a few steps, Sakura suddenly turned around and said, "Neji, why are you following behind like a ghost? It's scary."

"...I want to..." Neji tried to say something, but was ruthlessly interrupted.

"Go play by yourselves, we don't need anyone to protect us." Sakura clenched her fist, glared at him with considerable force, and then left with Hinata and Tenten, who breathed a sigh of relief.

Neji didn't understand why he was being disliked, and he was a little heartbroken, but Naruto pressed on and delivered the fatal blow.

"You wouldn't happen to have your eye on one of them, would you, Neji~" Naruto's mischievous grin almost reached his ears.

"I'm just protecting Lady Hinata, and I can't let my guard down at any time!" Neji said righteously, but Naruto had already sensed his emotional fluctuations.

Neji was the only one among them who didn't live to see that era; his story ended abruptly in the Fourth Shinobi World War, and Naruto never had the chance to witness his marriage and settling down. So, who had Neji fallen for at this point? It couldn't be Hinata, could it? Could it be Tenten? He remembered that Tenten never got married in the end, only having a few short-lived romances…

It seems I'll have to work twice as hard this time to make sure they all live well!

As they wandered around, Naruto's companions disappeared, leaving only Sasuke still following him aimlessly. Naruto had already tried all these attractions, from the initial design to the current version; even the most enthusiastic person would eventually get tired of them.

"Sasuke, aren't you going to play? You don't have to follow me all the time. It's fine if we stay a little further apart." Naruto finally realized something was wrong and earnestly advised Sasuke to indulge his nature.

However, Sasuke was not interested in these things, saying, "I don't like water."

Could it be that fire-attribute people don't like water? But Izuna seems to be having a lot of fun.

"Aren't you going to play on that water slide?"

"I can just jump down."

"Rowing."

"We can walk on water."

"...You're so boring."

These words made Sasuke turn his head. He narrowed his eyes slightly, about to say something, when a dazzling light suddenly rose into the sky.

"Boom!" A huge firework illuminated the entire sky, a special evening treat for the festival, clearly visible even outside the amusement park.

"Ah... the door's closing..." Naruto turned his head and looked up at the sky. Multicolored lights scattered with the explosion, falling like raindrops before gradually fading away. This was a fleeting beauty created by people, unforgettable in just a moment.

At this moment, Sasuke did not look up; he stared fixedly at Naruto, at those sky-like eyes.

He saw fireworks blooming in the daytime.