Chapter 125: Recognised Feelings

Time flowed forward like a rushing stream.

A considerable amount of time had passed since Naruto's first mission, and during this period, Naruto had not been able to receive another 'high' difficulty task from the Third Hokage.

It was likely that the unexpected events during the last mission surprised the Third Hokage, so it was better to let Naruto take on some low-level tasks for now.

During this time, Natsuro returned to a fulfilling yet leisurely life, moving between several teams.

He had essentially finished learning the methods of Genjutsu, which left Kurenai feeling somewhat regretful.

It wasn't that he wouldn't need to continue studying in the future; it was just that he no longer needed to specially ask Kurenai for teaching. He could learn the rest on his own.

As for pure physical techniques, under the guidance of Guy, Natsuro was also making steady progress, and... he still couldn't see the endpoint of Guy's physical skills; the gap in their physical techniques was simply too vast.

What remained was ninjutsu. With Kakashi's guidance on Lightning Release, he had made certain improvements, while Wind Release... Natsuro smiled slightly. The Rasenshuriken had finally been perfected; even though he hadn't tested its specific power yet, he could already feel the terrifying energy contained within it.

In other areas, Natsuro had finally replicated the Flying Thunder God technique from Mount Myoboku, but it was essentially a scaled-down, one-to-one replica. While replicating it, Natsuro felt that some of the sealing patterns were actually unnecessary.

But he couldn't determine which patterns were truly unnecessary, so he went ahead and replicated them all. Naturally, the replication was done in his bedroom, where he carved it into the ceiling and then hid it away.

At this moment, Natsuro was leaving the Hokage's office and heading toward the team where Asuma was.

Natsuro felt a bit dazed as he contemplated his own issues, particularly regarding the killing intent he had experienced before.

To be honest, it was somewhat amusing. When Natsuro felt that he had no major problems, those around him with sharper senses felt that he seemed to have fallen into a state of slaughter.

Now, he could clearly feel that he still had that last thread of unresolved emotion. What troubled him was that this thread seemed completely unaffected by time; it had been a while, yet there was still no sign of change...

Yet, those around him insisted that Natsuro had completely recovered, which made him sigh. He knew it wasn't their fault; after all, his perception was simply too extraordinary, especially when it came to controlling his own state. No one could compare.

Regarding this matter, after finishing his Genjutsu studies with Kurenai, Natsuro sought help from the Third Hokage. After all, the Hokage had seen and experienced a lot, but what he said left Natsuro somewhat confused.

When Natsuro shared his concerns with the Third Hokage, the latter just smiled and explained that his current state could no longer be erased by time.

It was like someone who had killed; no matter how time washed over them, they could never return to the time before they had killed.

To break free from this state, it depended on Natsuro's own heart, not on anything else.

After saying this, the Third Hokage cheerfully changed the topic to other matters.

This left Natsuro somewhat troubled; he wished it could have been clearer.

However, he understood that he could only rely on himself moving forward.

Unconsciously, Natsuro arrived at Asuma's side.

"Hey, Natsuro, back to pick up Ino again?" Asuma teased upon seeing Natsuro.

"Yeah, just came from my mother-in-law's place," Natsuro admitted without any embarrassment.

"Mo... mother-in-law? It's not confirmed yet..." Upon hearing Natsuro's term, Asuma immediately knew who he was talking about. The tall man, at 1.9 meters, blushed and then laughed heartily to cover his embarrassment.

At that moment, Natsuro looked over at Ino, who was still training, and noticed that she showed no signs of easing up on her efforts.

"They're really working hard, even more outstanding than I expected. It seems you've truly inspired them, especially Ino. Every training session, she exceeds my expectations," Asuma said as he approached Natsuro.

"Yeah." Natsuro's gaze softened as he watched Ino train.

Just then, Asuma was about to call out to Ino to let her know that Natsuro had arrived, but Natsuro stopped him, saying, "Forget it. Since they're not done yet, I'll wait a little longer."

"Alright, as you wish." Asuma looked at Natsuro, then at Ino, and couldn't help but smile, thinking of his own partner.

Natsuro found a spot to sit down and continued to watch Ino. In fact, he had noticed her efforts long ago; it seemed she wanted to catch up to him. Unfortunately, while his progress had slowed down, at Natsuro's level, even his small improvements represented a significant gap for Ino to bridge. So it was practically impossible for her to catch up to him.

Natsuro worried whether Ino might feel pressure and frustration because of this, thinking about how to comfort her.

However, seemingly sensing his thoughts, Ino took the initiative to address the matter herself. She wouldn't feel pressured by his strength; on the contrary, she felt quite proud.

Yet she wouldn't give up on her efforts. Even though she knew she couldn't catch up to him, she would continue to follow in his footsteps.

This reassured Natsuro, and he ultimately did not speak the comforting words he had planned.

Thinking about this, Natsuro watched Ino's hard work, and his smile grew even softer. He was genuinely satisfied with his little girlfriend, and he found himself increasingly pleased with her.

After a while, the training for the Inuzuka, Nara, and Yamanaka teams finally came to an end. Shikamaru was the first to notice Natsuro, seeing that his attention was focused solely on Ino.

It seemed that Shikamaru only acknowledged Natsuro after he noticed him, before turning his gaze back to Ino.

This caused Shikamaru's already exhausted body to suffer another mental blow. Being bombarded with dog food from this couple daily, and occasionally getting fed dog food from Asuma as well...

Seriously, if this continued, Shikamaru felt he would get misled. After all, women were such troublesome beings. Just thinking about being managed by a girl like his mother made Shikamaru's head spin.

"Ino, your guy is here to pick you up," Shikamaru said with a sigh, feeling his headache growing.

"Mm?" Ino paused for a moment, resting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. Upon hearing Shikamaru's words, she turned to look in that direction and saw the familiar figure waving at her.

Suddenly, Ino's eyes lit up. Even her tired body felt a surge of energy as she hurried towards Natsuro, completely unfazed by Shikamaru's teasing; she felt no hint of embarrassment.

As Shikamaru attempted to follow but felt the soreness in his legs and fatigue, he couldn't help but click his tongue. Looking at Ino, who seemed ready to jog, he reflected on how she had trained even harder than him. Was this... the power of love?

This made Shikamaru hesitate again. From this perspective, it seemed to have some effect?

Shikamaru glanced at Choji, who was sprawled out on the ground, and said, "Choji, get up! If you don't hurry, you'll miss mealtime."

"Food!" Choji's eyes shot wide open, and he jumped up from the ground in an instant.

"Ugh..." Shikamaru deeply sighed at Choji's reaction. They were the only two single guys left.

"Natsuro, when did you arrive? Why didn't you call me?" Ino quickly reached Natsuro and asked, pouting her cheeks.

"I just got here not long ago. I didn't call because I didn't want to delay our Ino's training," Natsuro teased, reaching out to tidy Ino's hair, which was slightly messy from training.

"Who's your Ino? It's not official yet..." Ino's face immediately flushed, but she made no resistance as Natsuro wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Hehe, it's only a matter of time," Natsuro said with a smile.

Ino's face turned even redder. She knew he was right; their parents had met, and the interactions had been very pleasant.

After all, Shinai and her dad had been classmates, and Ino also knew her parents were very satisfied with Natsuro. So, the two families had basically reached an agreement.

It could be said that she and Natsuro hadn't officially become a couple just because of their age. Thinking about this, Ino's face undoubtedly grew even more flushed and alluring.

Natsuro couldn't help but pinch Ino's cheek once more; it felt so nice.

He remembered that when the agreement was reached, the Yamanaka family had proposed a condition: they wanted Natsuro's future child to carry the Yamanaka surname since Ino was their only daughter.

As a result, Shinai didn't respond, only saying that Natsuro could decide for himself. When Natsuro fell silent for a moment without answering, the matter was pushed back by Ino's concern that he would refuse and feel awkward.

This left Inoichi and Mrs. Yamanaka both laugh and cry, only able to exclaim how it was true that daughters grow up and leave home. They didn't bring it up again, but Natsuro understood that they were likely still thinking about it.

In fact, he could guess that they probably also wanted him to come to live with them, especially since he previously had no background or identity. However, as Natsuro grew, the identities and backgrounds that gradually emerged behind him made the Yamanaka family realize that it was unlikely for their son-in-law to come live with them.

So at this time, they probably thought about taking a step back and wanting Natsuro to adopt a child into the Yamanaka family. Yet before they could get an answer, Ino preemptively blocked it out of concern that Natsuro would refuse.

However, Natsuro actually didn't intend to refuse because of the surname. He didn't have any particular feelings about his surname, to the point where he would be confused if someone called him "Shindōkawa."

At that moment, Natsuro was silent, only thinking that although he didn't care much about names, he couldn't just agree. It was something that would cross a line.

However, Natsuro didn't expect Ino to step up directly, nor did he expect Inoichi to dote on Ino so much that he really didn't bring it up again.

This surprised Natsuro and made him happy. He didn't say much more.

Natsuro looked at Ino, whose face was flushed, and having previously made up his mind, now after experiencing all this…

Natsuro was even more convinced that the person before him was the one who would accompany him for a lifetime!

"Ino, I like you."

Natsuro finally spoke.

Ino froze for a moment. She had felt that he had never been so proactive and didn't expect to hear his confession at this moment. Her eyes glistened with tears as she replied, "I like you too.. I like you more!"

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