Chapter 75 (Patreon)

The following day, around noon

Knock, knock.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The knocking on the front door of Mihawk’s house gradually changed from polite taps into impatient pounding.

“Hey, Mihawk! Wake up already! Hurry up and open the door!”

Shikamaru Nara seemed to understand Mihawk’s personality well enough. Abandoning his usual lazy attitude, he continued hammering on the door while raising his voice.

“I know you’re in there! Stop pretending you can’t hear me and come out!”

Creaaak...

After more than a minute of relentless pounding, the door finally opened a crack.

Mihawk stood on the other side, dressed in a loose yukata. He stared at Shikamaru with a rare look of open irritation.

“You... One of these days, I really will cut you down.”

“Hey, don’t say something that terrifying so casually.”

The moment Mihawk opened the door, Shikamaru returned to his usual lethargic self. Scratching the back of his head, he regarded Mihawk through a pair of tired, half-lidded eyes.

“I heard Naruto’s back, so everyone decided to hold a small gathering for him. Ino and the others went to get Hinata, Chōji went to find Neji and Lee, and Kiba went to tell Shino.”

He sighed as though merely explaining it had exhausted him.

“That left me with the troublesome job of coming here. So, would Mihawk-sama kindly honour us with his presence?”

Mihawk stared into Shikamaru’s completely fearless eyes for several seconds before speaking.

“Next time, I’m cutting you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Shikamaru nodded obediently as the door slammed shut in his face once more.

Only then did he release a quiet breath of relief.

Fortunately, Ino and the other girls had intercepted Hinata beforehand. Had Hinata come here herself, getting Mihawk out of the house would probably have become even more troublesome.

A few minutes later, the door opened again.

This time, Mihawk stepped outside wearing a proper kimono, with his sword secured at his waist.

Shikamaru led the way, bringing him to a private room in a yakiniku restaurant.

Even before passing through the noren curtain, Mihawk could already smell the grilled meat coming from inside.

When Shikamaru pushed the curtain aside, the familiar faces of their generation came into view.

Hinata Hyūga, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, and Tenten were seated along the right side of the room.

Chōji Akimichi, Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Neji Hyūga occupied the left.

Chōji, Naruto, and Kiba were fighting over the grilled meat as though they had stepped onto an actual battlefield.

Shino sat quietly off to the side, his expression as unreadable as ever. However, through his Observation Haki, Mihawk sensed the subtle fluctuations in Shino’s emotions.

Despite his calm appearance, Shino clearly wanted to join the battle over the meat.

Neji alone sat with his arms folded and his eyes closed, showing no interest in the commotion around him.

On the other side, Ino and the other girls had surrounded Hinata. They whispered among themselves, apparently asking her questions related to Mihawk.

Whatever they were saying caused Hinata’s cheeks—and even the tips of her ears—to turn bright red.

“Yo, Mihawk! Shikamaru! You finally made it!”

Kiba, who had been wrestling Naruto for a piece of meat, raised a hand in greeting. He then looked toward Mihawk and grinned.

“You’re seriously late, Mihawk!”

Mihawk gave them a cold look.

“I’ll cut you.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know.”

Kiba and the others answered in perfect unison, not looking worried in the slightest.

They had heard the same threat from Mihawk more than once. By now, they had long since accepted him as one of their companions and no longer believed he would genuinely draw his sword against them.

Their complete trust only left Mihawk feeling helpless.

Suppressing a sigh, he took the empty seat beside Neji.

Sensing him sit down, Neji opened his eyes and gave him a brief nod.

Mihawk returned it.

Ever since Hinata had helped Neji free himself from the hatred that once controlled him, Neji had changed considerably.

He now treated Hinata with genuine respect. Naturally, some of that respect extended to Mihawk, who would likely become part of the Hyūga family in the future.

After Mihawk sat down, Shikamaru glanced around the room.

“Where’s Lee?”

Neji answered before anyone else could.

“At this time of day, Lee and Guy-sensei are most likely training.”

The corner of Shikamaru’s mouth twitched when he imagined Rock Lee and Might Guy’s idea of training.

“In that case, forget it. Let’s get started.”

The so-called gathering did not involve any special activities.

It was merely a simple meal to welcome Naruto home after his training journey.

None of them was twenty years old yet, so alcohol was naturally out of the question.

Instead, the yakiniku grill became the battlefield of Chōji, Naruto, and Kiba.

Mihawk had never been particularly fond of grilled meat. He ate only a little, choosing lighter dishes while occasionally joining the conversation.

As usual, the boys and girls naturally divided into their own groups.

Hinata had not approached Mihawk since he entered, and he had not gone over to her either.

Sitting in the corner beside Neji, Mihawk could occasionally feel Hinata’s gaze drifting toward him from the girls’ side of the table.

The room remained filled with quiet conversations and laughter, though Naruto and Kiba were easily the loudest people present.

As the atmosphere became livelier, even Mihawk eventually began speaking with Shikamaru, who sat nearby with a drink in his hand. Their conversation mostly concerned ordinary matters and their recent missions.

No one knew exactly how much time had passed.

By the time Chōji and the others had finally eaten their fill, the gathering came to an end.

After settling the bill, the group of eleven left the restaurant together.

They eventually arrived at an intersection where the roads leading to their respective homes separated.

Hinata finally returned to Mihawk’s side. Together, they waved goodbye to Shikamaru and the others as everyone split into smaller groups and headed home.

However, just as Mihawk turned to leave with Hinata, his gaze shifted toward a tall building not far away.

Hinata, who had been watching him closely, noticed immediately.

“Mihawk-kun, is something wrong?”

Mihawk withdrew his gaze and shook his head.

“There’s a presence that’s been secretly following us.”

Hinata’s expression became slightly tense, but Mihawk continued before she could speak.

“Whoever it is, they aren’t targeting you or me. Their attention seems to be focused on Naruto and the others.”

He paused for a moment.

“I can’t sense any hostility from them. Perhaps I was mistaken.”

As the two continued toward home, Mihawk frowned slightly.

Come to think of it...

Had Team 8 not interfered with Sunagakure’s S-rank rescue mission, Team 7 would have fought Sasori of the Red Sand.

During that battle, Sakura should have obtained information from Sasori concerning Sasuke Uchiha.

However, because Sasori had been killed before he could reveal anything, Team 7 had never received that lead.

That was likely why they still had enough free time to attend today’s gathering.

It seemed the original course of events had not corrected itself.

Even so, now that Team 7 had been re-established, it was still missing one member.

Without the information concerning Sasuke, Team 7 should have no choice but to wait until Kakashi recovered from the strain caused by using his Mangekyō Sharingan before accepting another major mission.

Once Kakashi recovered, he would naturally continue serving as Team 7’s jōnin captain.

However, the team itself still lacked a fourth member.

Could the presence he had sensed belong to...

Sai?

Mihawk quickly dismissed the thought.

Whatever the answer was, it concerned Team 7, not him.

Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it.

This had been the first time everyone had gathered like this since they had begun growing older.

The atmosphere between them had not changed at all.

Yet compared to several years ago, every one of them had grown.

In the end, some things had inevitably changed.