"The people who invaded your village have been killed by me. These minerals are my spoils of war. You have no objections, right?"
"None, none... Please, take them as you wish, sir. Do you need our assistance?"
"Assistance won't be necessary. I'm in a hurry. Goodbye!"
After storing the corpses of the Black Hoe Family and the minerals needed for puppet-making into two large Storage Scrolls, Izayoi floated into the air. Alternating between flying and using the Body Flicker Technique, he left the Land of Rivers at the fastest possible speed.
The next morning, Izayoi returned to the Land of Fire. Without a moment's rest, he headed straight to a tailor shop. There, he created a Shadow Clone with a massive amount of Chakra and handed over the Scrolls containing the minerals and corpses to it.
The original Izayoi didn't pause for even a second. He first went to a shop to buy something, then, carrying gifts for Hinata and Hanabi, he rushed back to the Leaf Village at full speed.
Finally, just before 6 PM, Izayoi arrived back in the Leaf Village.
Taking advantage of the shift change, Izayoi entered the village from a different location, then made his way from the outskirts back to the central street. Soon, he was home.
"I'm back."
Adapting to local customs, Izayoi shouted loudly while changing his shoes at the entrance.
Then, carrying the gift boxes, he headed upstairs.
However, a curtain had been installed at the stairway entrance at some point.
Izayoi pulled back the curtain to find complete darkness, with blackout curtains drawn across the windows.
Only on the living room table were twelve candles burning brightly, illuminating a five-tiered cake.
The cake was exquisitely crafted, with three chibi snowmen on each layer - representing Izayoi and the Hyuga sisters.
"Oniichan, happy birthday!"
"Izayoi-kun, happy birthday."
Hinata and Hanabi had been waiting in the living room for Izayoi. As for the Shadow Clone, it had been mercilessly destroyed by the two girls the day before.
Seeing Izayoi return, Hinata and Hanabi approached him, offering birthday wishes while pulling him to the cake from either side.
Indeed, today was June 16th - Izayoi's birthday.
This was the reason why Izayoi had been in such a hurry to return.
Ever since their duo had become a trio, Hinata and Hanabi had celebrated Izayoi's birthday at this time every year.
Especially after receiving the information that his Shadow Clone had been destroyed by the two girls, Izayoi knew they wanted to prepare a surprise for him.
Naturally, Izayoi didn't want to disappoint their expectations.
After making Izayoi sit on the sofa, Hanabi knelt beside the coffee table, resting her chin on her hands, and said with a smile, "Oniichan, make a wish."
"Oniichan's wish is simple. I hope Hanabi grows up quickly, that every day is as colorful as a rainbow, as bright as the stars, and as beautiful as her sister." Izayoi made a praying gesture with his hands and closed his eyes, but spoke his wish out loud.
However, at the end, he silently added in his heart: "I hope everything goes smoothly, allowing us all to break free from the limitations of lifespan."
After saying this, Izayoi blew out all the candles.
"Oniichan, I love you so much! Mu~~a!"
Hearing Izayoi's wish, Hanabi pounced on him, planting a firm kiss on his cheek.
Izayoi rubbed Hanabi's little face with both hands and laughed, "The wish has been made. Where's Oniichan's birthday gift?"
"Big sister and I have already prepared it for you."
Hanabi jumped off the sofa and walked into the room with Hinata. The two of them came out carrying three exquisitely wrapped boxes.
"Oniichan, open them and see," Hanabi said to Izayoi.
Hinata didn't pull open the blackout curtains but instead turned on the living room light.
There were three gift boxes—two large and one small.
Izayoi untied the ribbon, removed the wrapping paper, and opened the small box first.
Inside was a red scarf.
The moment Izayoi picked up the scarf, he seemed to realize something and looked at the two girls. "Did you knit this?"
"As expected of Oniichan, you guessed it right away," Hanabi said with a grin. "Then guess who knitted this scarf?"
"You already gave it away," Izayoi said, flicking Hanabi's forehead with a smile. "Your sister must have been involved. Since it wasn't just your sister, it must have been the two of you knitting it together."
"Ugh…" Hanabi pouted immediately.
Hinata watched the scene with a gentle smile, not at all surprised that Izayoi had figured it out.
"Autumn is coming soon, and winter won't be far behind. I really like this scarf," Izayoi said, wrapping it around his neck before continuing to open the boxes.
This time, he opened both large boxes at once. Inside were clothes.
One was a thick Snowman Suit, and the other was a more expensive white robe with flame patterns.
"Oniichan, can you guess who gave these clothes?" Hanabi asked again.
"This one is from Hinata," Izayoi said, picking up the Snowman Suit and sharing a smile with Hinata.
"What about this one?" Hanabi asked, holding up the white robe.
"You both gave it to me," Izayoi said, flicking Hanabi's forehead again with a laugh. "Did you forget the flame patterns on your kimono? That's your favorite design. And since you already revealed that the Snowman Suit is from Hinata, this one must either be from you or from both of you."
"No fun! Oniichan, do you know some kind of mind-reading Technique?" Hanabi started rolling around in frustration. "I really wanted to win against you this year."
"I told you, you can't fool Izayoi-kun," Hinata said with a laugh.
"Alright, don't be upset," Izayoi said, picking Hanabi up and placing her to the side. He then picked up the gift boxes on the floor and said with a smile, "I have souvenirs for you too."
"Oh right, Oniichan, where have you been these days?" Hanabi's attention was successfully diverted as she asked curiously, "Your Shadow Clone said you were doing something big. What was it?"
"You'll find out later. I can't tell you now," Izayoi replied, not wanting to taint his little sister-in-law's innocent heart.
"Oniichan, you're so annoying," Hanabi stuck out her tongue, then opened the gift box Izayoi had handed her. She mimicked Izayoi's earlier analysis, saying, "A flat, rectangular box, and so big… could it be clothes?"
"You guessed right, Hanabi. You're amazing," Izayoi said, immediately providing her with emotional validation.
"Hehe…" Hanabi laughed happily.
After calming down his sister-in-law, Izayoi pulled Hinata to sit beside him on the other side and handed her the gift box. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered with a smile, "I really like the gift. Let's relive our childhood memories again this winter! This is for you. Open it quickly."
"...Okay."
Originally planning to wait until Hanabi finished looking at her gift, Hinata couldn't help but feel excited when she saw Izayoi's eager expression. She quickly unwrapped the packaging and opened the box.
Her beautiful eyes widened slightly.
"This is..."
Both Hyuga sisters spoke in unison, then turned to look at Izayoi, asking, "Oniichan/Izayoi-kun, what kind of clothes are these?"
"It's called... a sailor uniform," Izayoi replied with a hint of excitement. "I made it myself. Go try it on and see if it fits."
"Alright."
Though initially puzzled, the Hyuga sisters' eyes lit up when they heard that Izayoi had made the clothes himself. They stood up and headed into the room together.
Meanwhile, Izayoi activated his Tenseigan. Of course, it wasn't for peeking, but to locate Hiruzen Sarutobi's position. Seeing that the Hokage had already left work and was having dinner with his grandson Konohamaru, and wasn't using the Crystal Ball Gazing Technique to spy around, Izayoi withdrew his gaze.
However, before deactivating his Tenseigan, Izayoi glanced in a certain direction outside the house.
At the same time, Hanabi's surprised voice suddenly rang out from inside the room, causing a few drops of sweat to form on Izayoi's forehead. "It fits so well! Sister, how does Oniichan know your measurements?"
(End of Chapter)