My older sister is Kushina

After finishing his conversation with the Fourth Hokage, Uzumaki Hanamichi quickly left the Hokage's office.

Soon after, he transformed back into his original form and headed straight for the Midnight Diner.

At the Midnight Diner, Tamako is practicing making some simple dishes. Although she has only been learning from Uzumaki Hanamichi for a little over a month, through continuous effort, she has already mastered quite a few cooking skills and can barely manage some simple dishes.

"Master!"

Upon seeing her master, Uzumaki Hanamichi, arrive, a smile appeared on Tamako's adorable face.

Xiaoyuzi has been very happy following the Whirlpool Flower Path these days, and he feels satisfied to be able to see his master every day.

Whirlpool Flower Path habitually gave Little Jade a gentle pat on the head: "Making steamed buns?"

Xiaoyu nodded: "Mm."

After inspecting the filling, Whirlpool Flower Path quickly affirmed, "The filling is quite good today, but it's not fine enough. Remember to chop it more thoroughly next time."

Xiaoyuzi replied, "Understood, Master!"

"Let's have steamed buns for dinner!"

Uzumaki Hanamichi quickly joined in as well. Steamed buns are a dish that Uzumaki Hanamichi recently added to the Midnight Diner menu, but they are only available in limited quantities.

Besides making steamed buns, the master and apprentice also prepared a lot of other ingredients for their evening business.

Before opening for business, Whirlpool Flower City and Xiaoyuzi had dinner together.

Their dinner was simple: a bowl of noodles and two meat buns each.

The noodles were made by Xuanxu Huadao, and the meat buns were made by Xiaoyuzi.

At 8 p.m., the late-night diner opened on time as always.

Soon, diners began to enter the store one after another.

Whirlpool Flower Path and Little Jade, master and apprentice, also began to get busy.

Mei Terumi and Ao came again today.

As soon as she entered the shop, Mei Terumi immediately asked, "Master of Flower Arrangement, what's the name of that thing you gave me yesterday? It was so tender and smooth, it was delicious!"

Uzumaki Hanamichi: "Pudding can be made in various different flavors."

Mei Terumi: "Can you make a strawberry flavor? I like strawberries."

Whirlpool Flower: "Sure, we happen to have some strawberries today."

Mei Terumi said expectantly, "Then please have the flower arrangement master make one for me."

Uzumaki Hanamichi: "No problem, but it will take some time."

Mei Terumi: "It's okay, I have plenty of time. I want to eat sushi today!"

Whirlpool Flower Path: "Okay."

After dining at the late-night diner for two consecutive days, Mei Terumi has fallen deeply in love with the food at Uzumaki Hanamichi's restaurant. She barely touched the dinner Konoha had arranged for her tonight, saving her stomach for this meal. Now, she finds the other food rather bland.

Today, in addition to Mei Terumi and Ao, several other ninja delegations from Kumogakure have also arrived.

However, Uzumaki Hanamichi did not see Killer Bee.

He was somewhat looking forward to meeting Killer Bee, the two being rap buddies.

At the time, Uzumaki Hanamichi did not tell Killer Bee about his identity as a Konoha villager. It was during the Third Shinobi World War, and the two major ninja villages were in a state of hostility. Exposing the identity of a Konoha villager could very likely cause unnecessary trouble.

As usual, Uzumaki Hanamichi and Kotamako were busy until midnight before they could finally relax.

At 2 a.m., the master and his companion closed the door and went home.

Their lives continued as usual, without much change due to the arrival of the two delegations from Kumogakure and Kirigakure, except that they were a bit busier than before.

The following day, Uzumaki Hanamichi received the list of representatives from the three parties for the Ninjutsu Exchange Conference from the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. As the Fourth Hokage had predicted, Kumogakure sent Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and at Minato Namikaze's suggestion, Hanamichi Hanamichi was included in the list of Konoha's representatives.

Minato Namikaze: "The ninjutsu exchange tournament will be held in the arena and will be open to the villagers. I expect many people will come to watch."

Whirlpool Flower Path: "I hope everything will go as planned."

The Konoha leadership quickly issued a notice regarding the ninja exchange event, effectively publicizing the event within the village.

"I heard there's a ninja exchange event being held at the arena in a couple of days; it should be really exciting!"

"It is said that this ninjutsu exchange meeting was proposed by the two delegations from Kumogakure and Kirigakure, so they probably have made quite a few preparations."

"The Ninja Art Exchange Tournament is completely open, and we also have the opportunity to join in the fun. However, we hope that our Konoha ninjas will achieve a great victory."

"I'm planning to take my son to see it and broaden his horizons."

……

After news of the ninja exchange event spread throughout Konoha, many villagers began to discuss it.

Inside the Dark Division building, the members of the First Squad were also discussing the matter animatedly.

The first squad not only includes Wolf Fang, who is in the ninja representative group, but also Uchiha Shisui, both of whom are Jonin representatives.

Regarding the ninja representatives, Konoha and the two delegations secretly reached a consensus: the ninja representatives would be chosen from the younger generation, and the Jonin would be people aged twenty or under. Uzumaki Hanamichi barely met the standard, almost exceeding the upper limit. Killer Bee was the same, as he was exactly twenty this year.

Actually, the age limit was first proposed by the Cloud Village delegation, and its purpose was quite simple: to prevent ninjas of the same caliber as the legendary Sannin of Konoha from taking action.

Kirigakure followed suit, and Konoha couldn't object.

As expected, Uzumaki Hanamichi, despite his young age, possessed formidable strength. In the recently concluded Third Shinobi World War, "Shisui of the Body Flicker" had already made a name for himself, and among the Konoha Jonin aged twenty and under, Uchiha Shisui's strength was definitely among the best.

The members of the first squad of the Anbu were quite expectant, naturally hoping that their captain, Langya, and Uchiha Shisui could represent Konoha and win at the ninjutsu exchange competition.

Hyuga Mai: "I think the best outcome for the Jonin team is for our captain and Shisui to clear all the way to the end. That way, no matter who wins, it will be a victory for Konoha."

Inuzuka He: "I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult. You should all know that the Cloud Village delegation sent Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. You all know the strength of Jinchuriki; they are not so easy to fight against."

Kurenai Yuhi: "It is said that Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, once fought against the Hokage and was extremely powerful."

Might Guy: "I believe in the captain and Shisui's strength; they will definitely win."

……

The members of the first squad of the Anbu had a lot of private discussions. They hoped that their captain, Langya, and Uchiha Shisui could win in the Jonin group of the Ninjutsu Exchange Tournament. If they could win, it would not only be a victory for Konoha, but also an honor for the first squad.

However, they were still somewhat worried, because the Jonin group had the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, an extremely powerful monster. Although Captain Langya and Shisui were both very strong, it was hard to say whether they could defeat the powerful Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.