The village glowed beneath the stars.
Lanterns swayed gently above the streets, casting golden halos over rooftops. Paper streamers twisted in the breeze. The air was thick with the scent of grilled fish, roasted chestnuts, and sugary dango. Laughter rang out from every direction, children weaving between booths, parents calling after them, shinobi mingling among civilians. It was the Konoha Summer Festival—an old celebration, born from peace, now blooming in uncertain times.
Kazuki stood at the edge of the Hokage Monument, watching the spectacle from above. The second Storm Mark itched faintly beneath his shirt, a reminder that his chakra was never fully still anymore. Even in moments like this, when the world seemed peaceful, something inside him pulsed restlessly—an invisible current, waiting for the sky to split.
But for tonight, he let it rest. He allowed himself to breathe.
"I knew I'd find you up here," came a familiar voice.
Naruto appeared beside him, grinning, hands behind his head. His new forehead protector gleamed in the moonlight. "You're not seriously gonna sulk through the whole festival, are you?"
Kazuki sighed. "Just thinking."
Naruto smirked. "Three girls down there keep glancing up like they're waiting for you to descend from the heavens. You sure this is about thinking?"
Kazuki's ears burned. "That obvious?"
"Like a lightning bolt in a thunderstorm," Naruto said, patting his shoulder. "Get down there before they fight each other again."
Kazuki shook his head, but couldn't help a smile.
He went.
The moment he stepped into the crowd, he was pulled into motion. Tenten found him first, eyes sharp even in the dim glow of lantern light. Her crimson yukata clung to her with a martial elegance—practical, stunning, and completely her.
"Come on," she said, grabbing his wrist. "I'm not letting you escape another year without losing to me."
She led him to the weapon-throwing booth. Targets floated on wooden platforms, shifting and bobbing across a shallow pond.
"Loser buys dango."
Kazuki didn't even come close.
She nailed every mark, every throw perfect.
He laughed in defeat. "You've been practicing."
"I'm always practicing." She smirked. "You're not the only one improving."
They sat under a tree, sharing dango from a single skewer. The crowd was a low hum in the distance. Then she leaned her head gently against his shoulder.
"You keep saving everyone," she said quietly. "Who's going to save you?"
He didn't answer. He didn't know how to.
Before the silence grew too heavy, Ino appeared, seizing him by the hand with a grin that said she'd been waiting for her moment.
"Come on," she said. "There's something I want to show you."
Her sky-blue yukata shimmered with silver sakura petals. She pulled him through the crowd to the river, where small paper lanterns floated in soft trails along the current.
"We each write a wish," she explained. "Then let it go."
Kazuki scrawled his in careful strokes: To protect the ones I care about.
She wrote hers quickly, then folded it before he could look.
"Can't show you. Might come true."
A breeze snatched it from her fingers. Kazuki caught it before it touched the water. He hesitated, then read it.
I want him to kiss me first.
She gasped. "You—! That was private!"
He didn't say anything. He just leaned in and kissed her—soft, sure, and full of quiet thunder.
"Wish granted," he murmured.
She blushed furiously, but didn't pull away.
As the sky darkened and fireworks began to bloom overhead, he found Hinata waiting by the lake.
Her lavender yukata seemed to glow in the light of the moon. She wasn't moving, just watching the reflections dance on the water's surface.
When she saw him, she smiled, shy but certain, and offered him a small charm—knotted threads of red and white.
"I made this," she said, eyes cast down. "For luck. For your next trial."
He took it carefully, holding her hand a moment longer than needed.
"You're the reason I passed the last one," he said. "This means everything."
They sat in silence, shoulders nearly touching, as sparks filled the sky. She leaned against his arm, not asking for anything more.
He didn't kiss her. He didn't need to.
But peace has a time limit.
When Kazuki returned to the main square, he caught the way Tenten's gaze landed on Ino's hand wrapped around his. She looked away quickly, lips pressed into a thin line. Ino followed her eyes and caught sight of Hinata stepping back from the shadows, the charm she'd given Kazuki now tied to his sash.
No more pretending. The truth was alive between them now, impossible to ignore.
Each girl wanted more than a mission.
They wanted him.
And Kazuki… wanted them too.
In a back alley near the vendor stalls, a man in festival robes adjusted his straw hat. No one noticed him. His chakra was masked, his presence blurred by a weak genjutsu.
The seal etched below his left eye glowed faintly.
"Target confirmed," he whispered, voice muffled. "Second Mark active. Emotional bonds forming. Weak point identified."
He dropped a kunai to the ground. The seal carved into its handle flashed and vanished.
"Phase one complete."
Just as the final firework loaded into its tower, the ground trembled. A blast of chakra surged upward, detonating the launch site. Smoke swallowed the square. Screams followed.
Kazuki was already moving.
Raijin chakra—corrupted. He could feel it vibrating against his own like a warning siren.
He leapt onto the tower remains, shielding two children from falling debris. Ino knelt beside a vendor, hand to his temple, scanning for survivors. Tenten flung open a scroll mid-air, releasing a barrier to deflect more rubble. Hinata activated her Byakugan, eyes glowing as she pointed toward a collapsed stage.
"There's someone under there!"
Together, they moved. A unit. A team. Not students anymore.
As Kazuki pulled the last civilian to safety, a whisper slithered past his ear.
"You won't protect them all. One will break. The rest will follow."
He spun—kunai drawn. Nothing.
Only smoke.
Hours later, the four of them sat at the riverbank, breathless and bandaged.
Kazuki stared at the charred remains of a lantern floating by.
"I can't promise I'll pick one of you," he said quietly. "Or that I'll make it through what's coming."
He looked at them, not with guilt, but with truth.
"But I care about all of you. More than I know how to say."
Ino raised an eyebrow. "So you want us all?"
Kazuki shrugged. "Would that be so bad?"
Tenten groaned, "Harem boy."
Hinata laughed softly. Ino rolled her eyes, cheeks pink.
For a moment, they all laughed with her.
Then the sky rumbled. Lightning flickered in the distance.
Kazuki looked up, and the air around him felt colder.
"The storm's coming," he whispered. "And I think this time… it won't just test me."