In an instant, all eyes turned to Mumei.
Ever since they heard that Shinji's team had swept through Danzo's forces, everyone had been speculating about the identity of the fourth member of Shinji's squad! Some guessed it might be a master from the ANBU, while others thought it could be an elite from one of the village's noble clans.
In everyone's minds, the member favored by Shinji had to be a seasoned, powerful veteran.
But when Mumei walked into the private room behind Shinji, Haku, and Karin, everyone froze.
No one had expected that the fourth member of Shinji's team would be a girl around eleven or twelve years old, just like them! Even the ever-sharp Shikamaru showed a look of surprise.
After sitting down, Shinji gestured to Mumei. "This is Mumei, a member of my ANBU team!"
Looking at the circle of people around her, Mumei greeted them nervously. "Hello, everyone. I'm Mumei. Nice to meet you!"
"Mumei?"
"What kind of name is that?"
"Is it an ANBU codename?"
The peers erupted into discussion.
Shinji explained, "Mumei was injured and lost some of her memories, so she can't recall her real name. For now, we just call her Mumei."
In truth, ANBU rules typically forbade attending gatherings like this, let alone an entire squad showing up together.
But the high degree of autonomy Shinji's team enjoyed allowed him to act freely, unlike regular ANBU who could only use codenames.
"Oh, I see! Hi, I'm Choji!"
Choji was the first to stand, greeting Mumei warmly.
With Choji breaking the ice, the others followed, standing to introduce themselves and greet her.
Mumei hurriedly stood to return their courtesies.
Under everyone's warm introductions, Mumei's unease and tension eased considerably, and a genuine smile spread across her face.
With Shinji's arrival, he and Mumei quickly became the center of attention. The group chatted lively, and the atmosphere grew increasingly warm.
For Mumei, who had been raised in a dungeon as a weapon of war since childhood, this kind of gathering with peers was an entirely new experience. Everything felt novel to her, and even just listening to the group's banter made her feel happy and grounded.
After a while, Neji and Kimimaro arrived at the barbecue restaurant.
Both had been curious about the identity of Shinji's fourth team member, and upon learning it was Mumei, a young girl, they were stunned as well.
Shion called out, "Almost everyone's here—let's have the owner start serving!"
Hinata pointed out, "Sakura and Sasuke haven't arrived yet."
Shion waved it off. "No worries. Sakura said they might be a bit late, so we can eat while we wait!"
Hearing Shion's words, Mumei turned to Shinji and whispered, "Uchiha Sasuke?"
"Yeah."
Shinji nodded.
Because of Uchiha Itachi, Mumei had a poor impression of Sasuke. Especially after learning that Itachi nearly killed Shinji but spared Sasuke, she harbored strong dislike for the brothers.
However, with the lively atmosphere in the room, she didn't want to ruin the mood, so she held her tongue. But Uchihas aren't known for hiding their emotions well, so not only did Shinji notice, but Shikamaru, Ino, and even Tenten across the table picked up on the subtle shift in Mumei's demeanor.
Large plates of barbecue were soon brought out.
With delicious food on the table, the atmosphere in the room grew even livelier. Kiba even quietly suggested they order some drinks.
Since they were all underage and had never drunk before, Kiba's idea sparked excitement. Many were eager to try the alcohol that adults seemed so enamored with.
Considering most of them had graduated from the academy and were now official shinobi, Shinji nodded. "Tell the owner to bring some sake."
Shion, clearly eager but uncertain, asked, "Is that really okay?"
Shinji smiled. "It's just some low-alcohol sake. No big deal. Everyone can try it—just don't tell anyone!"
With the "First Chair" Shinji's approval, Shion immediately called for the owner.
Soon, two pots of sake were brought to the table.
Everyone stared at the trays, swallowing hard—even Mumei, sitting next to Shinji, was no exception.
After everyone poured a cup, they sipped the sake and dug into the barbecue.
Whether it was the alcohol or the realization that such gatherings might become rare after graduating from the academy, everyone let down their guards, talking about the present and dreaming about the future.
Kiba said, "My sister says in six months at most, we'll face off against the Akatsuki. Who knows how many will die! Man, if only I had a few more years to train!"
Shino said calmly, "Even if you had ten more years, it wouldn't change much."
Kiba bristled. "Who says that?! I'm training hard every day, getting stronger bit by bit!"
"Woof!"
Akamaru barked in agreement.
Ino chimed in, "Just follow the village's orders and stop dreaming of being a hero! If there's a hero, it's Shinji!"
As the group argued and laughed, Mumei, even as a listener, joined in the smiles.
Shikamaru said, "Kiba's got a point, though. We might not become heroes who change the war, but we can train hard and contribute more to the village!"
Tenten sighed. "I know that, but just training blindly doesn't do much. If only a jonin could mentor me one-on-one!"
Neji shook his head with a wry smile. "What are you thinking? At a time like this, every jonin in the village is swamped. They don't have time to mentor us genin!"
Tenten shrugged. "I'm just saying!"
Perhaps because of the sake, Hinata was more talkative tonight. Propping her chin on her hands, she said, "If only we all had a sparring partner!"
Choji nodded. "Yeah, yeah!"
Shikamaru added, "Keep dreaming—unless it's a genjutsu!"
Hearing this, Shinji, who was eating barbecue, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He'd been racking his brain over how to mark targets on a large scale with Mumei's "Yachihoko." The group's conversation sparked an idea.
If he could create a massive genjutsu space under the pretext of group training, luring Hidden Leaf shinobi to enter willingly, wouldn't that allow him to mark them without anyone noticing?
After all, with a great war looming, the promise of one-on-one sparring would be a huge draw, even for jonin!