241. Aincrad

----

"Aincrad? That sounds feasible," Naruto said thoughtfully.

The floating city, once gifted to Konoha by the Land of Sky, had been escorted by hundreds of shinobi led by their previous leader, Shinnō.

Though there had been some misunderstandings and friction during the gifting process, they were resolved after a "friendly exchange." Shinnō ultimately entrusted everything to Konoha, leaving behind his famous parting words: "This is my treasure. If you want it, go find it. I've left everything there!"

Following this cryptic clue, Konoha's shinobi explored the floating city, recovering everything Shinnō had left behind.

The original floating city, though aesthetically advanced, had been damaged during the conflict. Minato, seeing its potential, ordered its repair and remodelling.

Once the new floating city was complete, Minato proposed renaming it. Naruto jokingly suggested "Aincrad," and to his surprise, the name was unanimously approved by Tsunade, Jiraiya, and others. Minato didn't even get a chance to submit his own suggestion.

"Why Aincrad?" Tsunade had asked at the time.

"Because it's short," Naruto had grinned. "Shorter is better!"

The newly christened Aincrad no longer relied on the dark chakra or the Zero-Tails as its energy source.

Instead, Konoha developed a chakra storage device inspired by the Zero-Tails' mechanism, serving as the city's energy core.

Most of the chakra came from volunteers among the village's ninjas, who contributed small amounts daily.

Occasionally, Kurama would provide chakra in exchange for particularly delicious food when he was in a good mood.

Over time, the reserves grew significantly. As of six months ago, the floating city had enough chakra to stay airborne for half a month provided the chakra cannon wasn't used.

"Don't underestimate that," Minato had said. "It's already enough to win several large-scale battles."

Now, with Naruto's discovery of a stable supply of Dragon Vein chakra, Aincrad's potential grew even further.

The Dragon Vein chakra alone provided the equivalent of draining the reserves of more than 100 Kakashi-level shinobi daily. Over time, the long-term supply promised to be remarkable.

Naruto signed a long-term chakra supply agreement with the village, and in true Minato style, the deal was fair it benefited both the village and Naruto equally.

Naruto grinned at his earnings. "Am I in the new energy business now?"

In a celebratory mood, Naruto decided to treat his friends to dinner. After all, everyone had worked hard.

---

"Cheers!"

The Konoha Twelve raised their glasses of juice in unison.

Naruto had originally invited only Teams 7 and 8, but after running into the others, he decided to extend the invitation. Sharing a meal with everyone felt right.

As the various ingredients sizzled on the grill, the group began to chat.

"It's rare for everyone to gather like this," Sakura noted. "The last time we were all together was during the Chūnin Exams, right?"

"Yeah," Tenten said, propping her chin on her hand while flipping some meat. "After that, we've all been busy with missions or training."

Shikamaru, ever the picture of lethargy, sighed. "Especially recently. So many missions. Troublesome..."

Ino smirked. "What's so hard about your 'missions'? Aren't you just escorting Temari around?"

Since the Chūnin Exams, Temari had taken on the role of liaison between Konoha and Sunagakure.

As Konoha's official diplomat, she often travelled to the village, and much of her reception duties had fallen to Shikamaru.

"Temari's already a jōnin, Shikamaru," Naruto teased. "You need to step up your game."

Shikamaru, seeing the amused expressions of the others, particularly the girls, wisely decided to drop the subject. Instead, he pointed at Chōji. "Hey, Chōji, that meat's not cooked yet."

"Ahhh~," Chōji said through a mouthful of half-cooked meat. "Some meat's better when it's not fully done."

Ino rolled her eyes. "It's because you're such a glutton that you're... uh, plump!" She avoided using the forbidden word.

Chōji, unfazed, declared, "The Akimichi clan never lets food go to waste!"

As the conversation continued, Hinata sat quietly, enjoying the company and thinking fondly of her team.

Sakura, however, couldn't resist glancing at Sasuke's profile. Would it really be a bad thing if Kakashi brought Sasuke into his bad habits? she wondered.

Meanwhile, Tenten lamented her rigorous training schedule. "I wish my team was lazier. Every day, it's taijutsu training from morning till midnight. Sometimes, I forget I'm a girl!"

She gestured toward Lee, who was now eating with weights strapped to his arms. His hands trembled as he tried to grab food.

Since the battle with the Land of Sky, Lee had become even more determined to train after witnessing the strength of the "green beast" Kimimaro. His self-imposed regimen bordered on self-abuse.

Sakura and Ino exchanged sympathetic looks with Tenten.

Breaking the silence, Sakura remembered something. "Speaking of teachers, Tenten, didn't you become a disciple of lord Hokage?"

----

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