Chương 105

The Demon Brothers decided to take an easy route and since they didn't know who this Thor was, they went for the Uchiha bloodline just like their master. Which Zabuza was quite impressed about and vowed that he would help these two brothers to at least open one tomoe over time. And just like the rest, the refused to take on any other abilities for the time being. Meanwhile Jugo refused to take any new ability whatsoever and even though he knew that there were no downsides to it.

His argument was, he was already strong and in this world of peace, there was no need to bolster himself for enemies who would never arrive. One couldn't argue against that maybe that was his penance for himself for what he had done in the past. The atmosphere remained unusually quiet for several seconds before Daniel suddenly let out a hearty laugh and walked straight toward Rei, extending his hand before remembering his newfound strength.

He awkwardly withdrew it midway before settling for a gentle pat on Rei's shoulder instead. Apparently in his excitement he had forgotten that Rei too had the same strength, if not more.

"... Thank you." It wasn't a grand speech, nor did it need to be. Laura soon joined him, wrapping Rei in a brief hug before immediately apologizing after accidentally squeezing a little too hard. Rei could only shake his head, their new strength had traumatized both of them. Around them, Haku bowed respectfully, Sakura smiled gratefully, while Kakashi simply placed a hand on Rei's shoulder.

"You've changed a lot of lives today." Even Zabuza gave a short nod of acknowledgment while the Demon Brothers scratched their heads awkwardly before thanking Rei as well. Daniel suddenly clapped both hands together.

"Enough serious faces!" Everyone instinctively looked toward him.

"This deserves a celebration." Laura immediately raised her hand in agreement.

"Pool party!" Naruto practically shot into the air.

"YES!" Within minutes the peaceful gathering transformed into complete chaos. Daniel volunteered to prepare the grill while Laura hurried into the kitchen to arrange snacks and drinks. Unfortunately, both of them had forgotten one very important detail, which they were very cautious about few minutes ago. Neither of them had fully adapted to Thor's physique.

"... Oops." The metal tongs bent like soft clay inside Daniel's fingers. A second later... Crack! Laura absentmindedly gripped a glass pitcher a little too tightly, shattering it into harmless pieces.

"... Again?"

"I'm trying!" Meanwhile Daniel attempted to open a packet of chips only to accidentally rip the entire thing in half, launching potato chips across half the kitchen. Naruto immediately dove after the flying snacks while Sakura buried her face in her hands.

"You two are banned from touching anything fragile."

"We're doing our best!" Daniel protested.

"Your best is terrifying!" Sakura shot back as another plastic bowl exploded after Laura forgot to regulate her grip. Outside near the swimming pool, the remaining group wisely stayed away from the kitchen disaster. He wasn't hiding his eye anymore as wearing that headband over an eye might sound cool. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! But it was definitely very annoying.

Sasuke continued experimenting with controlling his strength by gently tossing pebbles into the pool. Haku helped arrange chairs, Karin prepared drinks without breaking anything, and even Zabuza surprisingly relaxed beneath the afternoon sun. For perhaps the first time in years, former enemies, civilians and shinobi simply talked like ordinary people. Rei watched the lively scene with a faint smile. Maybe this... Maybe this was what peace actually looked like.

But this was a controlled phase where everything was under his control and people knew each other. If he allowed everyone to come here and just let them be, they wouldn't even be having this conversation. This was a forced point. A point where he had to defeat and even manipulate to reach, which might not sound good to others, but this was the best Rei could do, with the tools he had been given. The future was hanging in balance, and the least he could do was arm himself and people he met and was close with.

The contract had given him a new and unique opportunity to help his friends too But it also opened another gate to get others under his contract to help them get stronger and have a better negotiation table in hands.

"Hey Rei, when do I get my new ability? If not Thor, at least give me Senjutsu." Naruto said. Rei looked at him like he was looking at some idiot.

"Your chakra reserves are huge and thus you can naturally learn Senjutsu, why will you waste one ability to learn that?" Rei asked.

"What? I can learn senjutsu. Nobody told me that. Hey sensei, can I learn senjutsu?" Naruto was surprised and had to confirm. Kakashi, who was busy reading a book, turned his head and looked at Naruto lazily. Naruto had to ask him again, and then he answered.

"Theoretically yes, but I don't know the process. You can ask Jiraya-sama for this." Kakashi said, surprised that Rei knew so much about senjutsu, but then again Jugo was an anomaly, which he wasn't able to understand of how one'e kekkei genkai could be straight up senjutsu. But he had watched weirder things. So Rei knowing that people with huge chakra reserves could learn senjutsu, so Naruto did qualify for that.

"Really? That pervy sage knows Senjutsu? He never told me." Naruto and Sasuke both got interested knowing that Jiraya knew senjutsu.

"Don't tell him that I told you. Or else he will knock on my door the next day." Kakashi reminded as that man didn't want any responsibility at all. Naruto and Sasuke didn't listen to the last part at all and both of them were thinking of how to make that man cough up senjutsu later. Naruto got distracted by these thoughts while the rest just enjoyed themselves. Without making a sound, Zabuza walked over and stopped beside Rei, never taking his eyes off the distant tree line surrounding the ranch.

"... We've got company." Rei's smile faded.

"You noticed?"

"Long before I came here. I came across them when I was on the way here."

"Hahaha.. Don't worry about them. They are SHIELD and just monitoring us, after all we are people of interest." Rei replied.

"What is SHIELD?" Zabuza was confused and Rei had to give him a proper rundown and also explain who this Thor was and why many of them had chosen his body from before. Suffice to say he was dumbfounded, and in response he looked into the stars which was now turning orange due to the distant sunset, with minimal clouds to reflect the sun. After a moment of silence he said.

"Won't this SHIELD be a problems for us?"

"No, it's fine. Just make sure that you vanish before they can ask or question you, because you are the only one who has been away from all cameras and surveillance, so you are an unknown identity so let's keep it that way."

"Got it." Zabuza replied. Laura after sometime, somehow managed to salvage enough unbroken plates and bowls to serve the food, while Daniel proudly declared the grilling operation a success despite having accidentally bent two spatulas beyond recognition. Even with all the small disasters, laughter never stopped echoing across the ranch, and nobody seemed to mind that the meal had taken nearly twice as long to prepare. Soon everyone had settled around the swimming pool with food in their hands.

Naruto and the Demon Brothers immediately jumped into the water, splashing each other without the slightest concern, while Sakura repeatedly shouted at them to stop soaking everyone nearby. Sasuke quietly sat at the edge of the pool with his feet in the water, absentmindedly flicking tiny pebbles into the surface as he carefully adjusted to his new physique. Every now and then he would accidentally launch a pebble across the entire ranch, earning amused glances from Kakashi.

On the opposite side, Haku prepared fruit drinks alongside Karin, the two chatting naturally even though they were meeting for the first time. Both of them had lost their mothers to brutality and that really could bring broken souls together. Even Jugo eventually found himself sitting along with others, after Naruto insisted that "a party wasn't a party if everyone kept looking so serious."

To everyone's surprise, Jugo actually smiled when one of the horses from the nearby stable wandered over and rested its head on his shoulder, as though greeting an old friend. Daniel eventually carried out a large speaker and began playing soft music throughout the backyard. Laura laughed as Kakashi, still holding his novel, tapped on his feet to the music, and this surprised Rei too as he didn't know this man loved music too.

Even Zabuza, after pretending to dislike the entire idea, quietly accepted a plate piled high with grilled meat before finding a chair. The Demon of the Hidden Mist eating barbecue at a suburban pool party was perhaps the strangest sight Rei had witnessed in months.