Chapter 149 Getting Drawn In

Originally, considering that it wasn't a mission, Nara Shikamaru, out of humanitarian considerations, let them choose the jobs that interested them. But he didn't expect these guys to be so eager to take the job!

Choji Akimichi, who was in charge of organizing the snacks, started eating them himself; Kiba Inuzuka, who was in charge of blowing up the balloons, started playing with them; and Ino Yamanaka, who was in charge of cleaning the room, chased after Choji Akimichi but only made the room messier.

And Hinata Hyuga, who was in charge of hanging the colorful flags, was also...

“Hinata…” Nara Shikamaru sighed as he looked at Hinata Hyuga, who had been standing on the ladder for a long time without getting it up properly.

Hinata Hyuga was hanging there safely, but Naruto Uzumaki saw that it was unsafe for her to stand on the ladder, so he volunteered to help her hold the ladder up.

As a result, Hinata Hyuga's face turned bright red, her hand holding the colorful flag trembled uncontrollably, her mind went blank, and she completely forgot what she was doing.

Naruto is helping me! Naruto is helping me!

Hinata Hyuga felt her face burning and dizzy as she thought about it, and she almost fell off the ladder.

Meanwhile, the culprit, Naruto Uzumaki, was down below worrying, "Hinata, be careful!"

Nara Shikamaru really wanted to turn him into a colorful flag and hang it up.

"Let me do it."

Shino Aburame, who had been observing everything, released an insect from her sleeve and had it take the colorful flag from Hinata Hyuga and hang it on the wall.

Revived by his nimble movements, Nara Shikamaru felt he could still be saved and patted Aburame Shino on the shoulder with great relief, "Thanks, Shino."

Finally remembering that she was preparing for a party, Yamanaka Ino turned to Nara Shikamaru and asked, "Didn't you say Tenten and the others were coming? Where are they?"

How can you let her do all the work by herself! She's not allowed to slack off!

Nara Shikamaru, who saw right through her, twitched his lips. Just as he was about to reply helplessly, the sound of a door opening came from outside.

Here it comes.

Following Nara Shikamaru's words, we saw Tenten and the other two. Rock Lee and Hyuga Neji were carrying two large bags, while Tenten was holding several small boxes.

"We're not late, are we?" Tian Tian greeted them with a smile.

Nara Shikamaru responded, "Oh, you've arrived just in time."

Ino Yamanaka's mood improved. "Now we're just waiting for Haruko and Sakura!"

...

They had just come out of Haruko's house in the morning, and both of them were carrying bags full of bags.

Haruko smiled wryly, "I told you it was just a simple gathering, but Mom still made so many dishes."

"But Auntie's cooking skills are really amazing. If she opened a restaurant, it would definitely be a huge success!" Haruno Sakura recalled the delicious food she tasted in the morning under her mother's enthusiastic invitation, barely managing to suppress her drooling.

"Right, right? But my love-struck dad is always worried that he'll tire Mom out." Haruko Hayama chuckled as she recalled her dad's silly, exaggerated expressions.

"Uncle and Aunt have such a good relationship."

Sakura Haruno couldn't help but think of her own parents, whose family atmosphere was completely different from Haruko Hayama's. Her mother was rather domineering, while her father always liked to tell corny jokes. Although the house was often filled with her mother's nagging, it was also a kind of happiness.

Haruko's cheerful voice brought her back to her senses, "But this is really great, Sakura has time to come to our party."

Meeting Haruko's smiling gaze, Sakura Haruno couldn't help but smile back.

It's really great that she was invited.

...

Upon learning of the clan's planned coup, Uchiha Sasuke was in a state of chaos. Not wanting to stay at home and process his depression alone, he wandered the streets.

Therefore, it's understandable that he accidentally walked into Naruto's house!

Standing in front of the tightly closed door, Sasuke Uchiha kept making excuses for himself, but he couldn't bring himself to reach out and knock on the door.

Sure enough, coming out was a mistake...

Sasuke Uchiha lowered his head, a look of dejection creeping onto his face, before finally turning away to leave.

But at that moment, the door was opened with a "click," and words about him that he hadn't heard before came from inside.

"I wonder where Sasuke is. Hmph, I'll reluctantly go and pick him up!" Naruto Uzumaki had just opened the door when he saw Sasuke Uchiha looking surprised.

Naruto was taken aback when he saw the person he was supposed to pick up at his own doorstep. "Sasuke? You're here, why didn't you come in?"

Uchiha Sasuke heard Haruko Hayama's voice coming from the room, accompanied by her hurried footsteps.

"Has Sasuke arrived?"

Haruko rushed to the door and peered behind Naruto Uzumaki. She saw Sasuke Uchiha looking awkward and immediately cheered.

"Thank goodness you're here! Come in quickly!" Haruko was afraid he would run away, so she grabbed his wrist and pulled him in.

"wait……!"

Before Sasuke could resist, Naruto slammed the door shut the moment he was pulled in. After all, they were teammates who had been together for so long. Naruto even locked the door with a mischievous grin when Sasuke looked over.

It's not like it's a kidnapping scene... Despite thinking this to himself, Sasuke Uchiha felt a little better about being abandoned.

From the doorway, he could only vaguely sense that there were many people inside. It wasn't until Uchiha Sasuke entered that he realized everyone was there.

Kiba Inuzuka still had his usual flamboyant smile, stroking Akamaru in his hand, "You're finally here, I was getting sleepy waiting."

Rock Lee stood up to greet him, flashing his eight gleaming teeth. "Now that everyone's here, let's begin our youthful, passionate gathering!"

"What kind of youthful, passionate gathering is this? Can't you please not give it such a corny name?" Every day, she would criticize his taste with her head held high.

"Sasuke! I've saved a seat for you here!" Yamanaka Ino excitedly patted the empty seat next to her.

Choji Akimichi whispered to Shikamaru Nara next to him, "No wonder she chased me up when I was about to sit down."

"You still haven't gotten used to it after all this time?" Nara Shikamaru said, indicating that he was already used to it.

Sakura Haruno, carrying a plate, sat down next to Ino Yamanaka, who was still in a daze, and deliberately smiled brightly at her, "Since no one is sitting here, I'll sit here."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Get up right now, you big forehead!" Yamanaka Ino's eyes blazed with fury.

"You ugly monster!"

Watching their noisy scene, Uchiha Sasuke seemed to have returned to the carefree self he was when he was forced to join them.

"Go sit down, Sasuke!"

Haruko Hayama, standing next to him, smiled and took his hand, pulling him completely into their lively atmosphere.

When he sat around the table with everyone, surrounded by his teammates, listening to them talk about trivial things, Uchiha Sasuke finally smiled from the bottom of his heart for the first time in so many days.

"It's not a special day, but it's being treated like a birthday celebration."

Sasuke Uchiha felt a flutter in his heart and curiously picked up a pink balloon that was scattered nearby, letting out his usual sharp tongue.

Naruto Uzumaki, sitting to his left, immediately became annoyed. "He clearly seems happy, but he's definitely the most stubborn person on the whole body!"

Sasuke Uchiha's hand tightened slightly when he was exposed in public, revealing his dead fish eyes.

"Should we celebrate something?" Tian Tian suggested.

"Um..." Haruko thought about it seriously for a moment, and under Sasuke Uchiha's unfriendly expression, blurted out, "Celebrating the first day of Sasuke's tantrum?"

******

Thank you for reminding me of the update reminder charm a dear friend sent me before! Your bonus chapter has been delivered (︶)