Chapter 173 New

Arriving at the training ground in the snow-covered forest, Naruto saw the new wooden stakes that had just been replaced from afar. He slowly walked to the center of the field and stopped.

Turning to look at the sluggishly approaching Jiraiya, Naruto suddenly asked, "Since this is actual combat training, does that mean everything should be as realistic as possible? I mean, should we just go all out?"

"Go all out?" Jiraiya, still oblivious to the potential seriousness of the situation, casually replied, "Whatever, you can fight however you want."

With that said, Jiraiya extended one hand, and a smug smile appeared on his face.

"I'll let you make the first move."

"Okay." Naruto smiled. Without any shadow clones, he formed a Rasengan with a single hand and charged in a curved line, shouting, "You old geezer, get ready to meet your doom!"

Jiraiya's eyebrows furrowed at those words, and his fists clenched tightly.

"Watch your mouth!"

With a few swift movements, Jiraiya dodged and landed a solid kick on Naruto's wrist. The Rasengan lost control and smashed into the snow-covered ground, creating a large crater!

"Ouch! Weren't you the one who said to make it realistic?" Naruto clutched his wrist, grimacing in pain.

"Well, it was pretty realistic, at least the pain you're feeling is real." Jiraiya said, patting the snow off his hands, "Let's call it a day. The snow is getting heavier."

"At least you've mastered the Rasengan. Your efforts throughout the winter weren't in vain."

"Only someone as exceptionally talented as me could learn a Ninjutsu this quickly." Naruto boasted without a hint of modesty. But his speed in mastering the technique was indeed impressive.

At least for now, the only people who know how to use the Rasengan are Jiraiya and him. If a battle breaks out, when facing the enemy, this technique could catch opponents off guard and deal significant damage.

"More or less, you're getting there." Jiraiya scratched his head.

The wind grew stronger, and the snow continued to fall. The two began making their way back, their surroundings a blanket of white. Other than the sound of the wind and their footsteps crunching in the snow, there was almost no other noise.

It felt as if the entire world had quieted down. Naruto walked in silence ahead, while Jiraiya trailed behind by a couple of paces, his steps alternating between deep and shallow in the snow. Occasionally, he would snap a twig underfoot, producing a crisp crack.

As they returned to the village, the surroundings began to become lively.

Children, bundled up in thick hats and gloves, ran through the streets, wrestling and shouting out lines from Shinobi games. They grabbed handfuls of snow, pretending they were shuriken.

Jiraiya and Naruto stood on the side of the street, watching for a while as the children threw snowballs against the red walls. The tiles on the old walls were knocked loose and fell onto the thick layer of snow, but no one paid any attention.

Watching this scene in front of him, Naruto was reminded of Mo Shanshan and the red walls blanketed in white snow. He found it amusing and smiled to himself.

Suddenly, Jiraiya, standing beside him, patted Naruto on the shoulder. Naruto turned around, noticing the awkward smile on Jiraiya's face, with a mix of embarrassment and unease.

Seeing this, Naruto was slightly taken aback and asked, "What's wrong with you, Pervy Sage?"

"That…" Jiraiya pointed at the group of children playing, the same awkward smile still on his face.

Naruto blinked his eyes. He had seen that smile in his previous life. It was a winter night when his grandfather, who had been missing for five years, was brought back by the local police station.

His grandfather's army coat, shiny with wear, was dusted with snow. His frostbitten hands, swollen and red, clutched a toy meant for a seven-year-old child, yet he handed it over to the sixteen-year-old Naruto standing before him.

With that same awkward, almost pleading smile on his face, Jiraiya struggled to catch his breath as he spoke, "Why don't you play with them?"

"What?" Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, his voice a little hoarse, and he coughed and asked again.

Jiraiya let out a dry laugh, still pointing at the children throwing snowballs. With a hint of restraint, he asked, "Did you play like that with your friends when you were a kid?"

"Yeah."

"That's good, that's good." Jiraiya retracted his hand, showed another awkward smile, and then started walking toward the izakaya, shouting loudly, "Honestly, in this weather, nothing beats a good drink!"

Naruto stood there, not watching Jiraiya leave, nor making a sound. His face remained expressionless until the snow had fully covered his shoulders, and only then did he slowly walk away.

'Whatever would happen in the future could be dealt with later, but Akatsuki really has no meaning to exist.'

'I might as well kill them all when I have time.'

He didn't care about their grievances or deep-seated grudges, he just wanted to kill them all. Standing in front of the enemy's tombstone and repenting was always the most pious moment.

As he trudged through the snow back home, the key turned in the lock, but before he could open the door, it was suddenly opened from the inside.

Ino, wearing a green apron, pulled the door open. Her hair was slightly messy, and underneath the apron, she wore a thick pink sweater. She looked a bit surprised when she saw Naruto.

Naruto was also momentarily stunned. For the past few months, he had been training non-stop with Jiraiya. Basically, except for eating and sleeping, he spent almost all his time training.

He trained everything, from Taijutsu to Genjutsu, and the Rasengan. The effect was of course very significant.

An old veteran like Jiraiya, who has quick reactions and plenty of experience, has an endless variety of tricks in battle. Naruto was beaten for a month before he slowly adapted to it.

His last training session earlier that day had been to let off some steam, which was why he cheekily called Jiraiya an old geezer. But he didn't expect to get beaten up again.

"What brings you here?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"I just felt like coming." Ino pulled him inside, tugging at his sleeve with one hand while brushing the snow off his shoulders with the other, "Training again?"

"How do you know?"

"You've been missing for two or three months, so how could I not know? You really underestimate Jiraiya-sama's reputation." Ino placed a pair of slippers in front of him and said, "Hurry and change your shoes."

With that said, Ino hurried off to the kitchen.

Naruto was still a bit dazed, unsure of what had gotten into Ino today. He walked into the living room in a daze and stood there for a while. Kurama was curled up on his little sofa, already asleep, his belly rising and falling gently.

In the kitchen, water was boiling, and the soup in the pot was starting to bubble, releasing wisps of white steam.

In the living room, under the warm yellow light, Naruto stared at the kitchen for a long time. Ino walked up to him, frowned, and stared at him for a moment before reaching out to touch his forehead.

"What's wrong? Did you turn into a fool? Are you obsessed with my beauty?"

"What day is it today?"

"It's the New Year's Eve." Ino sighed as she looked at Naruto, "I knew you'd forget, so I came here specially. How is it?"

"Without me, someone would've perfectly missed the New Year's Festival."

"Isn't the New Year's Festival in a few days?" Naruto asked after being stunned for a while.

"You've really mix up the dates, haven't you?" Ino said, with her hands on her hips, and snorted, "Training must've fried your brain. At this rate, I'm afraid no one will want you anymore."

"Thank you, Ino."

"There's no need to thank me specifically for this kind of thing… When you say it like that…" Ino's face turned a bit red, and she mumbled, " It feels a bit awkward, like... like…"

"It's as if"

Ino's voice became too soft for Naruto to hear. He was already rolling up his sleeves, heading for the kitchen, 'As expected, Ino's culinary skills were quite limited. She cooked a lot of soup in one pot.'

Naruto sighed quietly, took out some ingredients from the fridge, and began cooking himself. Ino, seeing Naruto in the kitchen, sat nervously on the sofa.

It had taken all her courage to come here today. Even though she had pretended to be calm at the door…

"Ino." Naruto suddenly poked his head out of the kitchen and called out.

"Ah? What's wrong?"

"Come with me to meet someone later."

"Huh? Who?"