Naruto walked up to the wall and touched the mark with his finger. A flicker of Chakra resonance danced at his fingertip. The internal structure of the mark was still intact, merely lying dormant without the owner's Chakra to activate it.
Just then, his gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous Fuinjutsu in the corner. The technique was engraved on a black stone slab embedded into the wall, its surface covered in dense characters.
Naruto squatted down and studied it carefully for a few seconds before recognizing what it was.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he formed a hand seal with one hand. He channeled a surge of Chakra from his fingertip into the stone slab, causing the characters to light up layer by layer.
Immediately, a translucent barrier spread outward from the center of the training room, enveloping the entire villa and its courtyard within seconds.
This barrier was an upgraded version of the Sensory Suppression Barrier. It not only blocked conventional Chakra perception but could even withstand the penetrating vision of the Byakugan, while also providing a degree of defense.
Naruto walked out of the house and stood in the courtyard. He looked up at the barrier covering the roof, nodding once he confirmed it was functioning. With this barrier in place, nothing he did in the training room would ever be detected by anyone again.
Then, he took a Flying Thunder God Kunai from his ninja tool pouch, wiped away the Sword of Shinobi Love mark on the handle, and re-engraved it with his own mark.
He placed this Kunai inside the training room. From this day forward, this house would be his true home in Konoha, as well as a fixed coordinate he could return to at any time.
With that done, he headed toward the apartment where he had previously lived. There were still some things that needed to be moved over. Once that was finished, he could officially say goodbye to that apartment.
Just as he reached the bottom of the apartment building, he heard the sound of two girls talking inside his room. He paused for a moment before pushing open the door.
Karin was sitting cross-legged at the table in the living room, while Hinata sat opposite her, her hands resting on her knees. Her eyes lit up when she saw Naruto push the door open.
"Naruto-kun."
"Naruto, why are you only just getting back? We've been waiting for ages." Karin said, seeing Naruto.
"I came straight here after the meeting. Hinata, why are you here?" Naruto walked into the living room and sat down beside them.
Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly at his words, and she twisted her fingers together.
"Father was acting a bit strange after he returned today. He said some things to me, implying that I should spend more time with Naruto-kun."
"I originally just wanted to come over and see if you were here, but then I ran into Karin, so we waited for you together."
Naruto nodded after hearing this.
It seemed Hiashi had been affected by witnessing him overpower Danzo in a battle of words and had also noted Tsunade's attitude toward him. As the head of the Hyuga Clan, his political instincts were certainly sharp.
He must have realized that Naruto's actual weight within Tsunade's administration far exceeded the title of a direct Jonin, while also recognizing Hinata's special feelings for him. That was why the first thing he did upon returning was to tell Hinata to spend more time with him.
"Since you two already know each other, I won't bother with introductions. Since Hinata is here too, why don't you both help me out?" Naruto said.
"Eh? Help?" Hinata was stunned.
Karin asked, puzzled, "Help with what?"
Naruto stood up. "Moving house. I just got assigned a new house, and since you're both here, you can help me pack. By the way, Karin, have you moved your things over yet?"
Karin nodded. "I have. The house Tsunade-sensei arranged for me is very close to the commercial district, I can just walk a few steps to buy groceries."
"That's good. You two are responsible for packing and organizing everything, and I'll handle the moving. Once we're done, I'll cook a feast for you both." Naruto said.
"That's great! A feast made by Naruto!" Karin jumped up and started rolling up her sleeves.
"A... feast?"
Hinata tilted her head, but seeing how energetic Karin was as she started stuffing things into cardboard boxes, she hurriedly stood up to help as well, moving with caution.
The three of them quickly divided the work.
Hinata was responsible for packing the bowls, chopsticks, and seasoning bottles from the kitchen into boxes, one by one.
Karin was in charge of taking out all the old clothes from the wardrobe and the books from the shelves to pack them.
Naruto picked up the boxes and luggage they had packed and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After appearing in the villa's courtyard, he set the items down and returned to the apartment to move the next batch.
When Naruto appeared out of thin air in the apartment living room for the third time, the stack of old textbooks Hinata was holding nearly slipped from her arms.
She stared wide-eyed as Naruto appeared out of nowhere. Her lips moved several times before she could find her voice.
"Naruto-kun... is this space-time Ninjutsu?"
"The Flying Thunder God Technique. I haven't told you before that I knew this technique."
"The Flying Thunder God Technique? Fourth Hokage-sama's space-time Ninjutsu?"
Hinata looked at Naruto, her eyes filled with a hint of admiration. "Naruto-kun, that's amazing. Even father doesn't know this Ninjutsu."
Naruto smiled slightly without offering further explanation. He picked up the last box of miscellaneous items and reached out his hands toward Karin and Hinata.
The two of them exchanged a glance, then each reached out to take his hand.
The three of them vanished from the apartment and appeared in the villa's courtyard the next second.
After finding her footing, Hinata looked around the unfamiliar courtyard, feeling a bit dazed.
"That's amazing! We arrived in an instant!"
Upon realizing her voice had been a bit too loud, Hinata quickly covered her mouth with her hands, the tips of her ears turning red.
Karin recognized the location of this house at a glance, noting that it was less than three streets away from the new house she had just been assigned.
The corners of her lips curled up.
Being this close meant she could come visit Naruto often in the future.
Hehehe...
Shortly after, the three of them moved the belongings into the villa.
Once the moving was done, Karin and Hinata went into the rooms to unpack the boxes they had just brought over, sorting and putting everything in its place.
Karin was responsible for folding the old clothes and putting them into the wardrobe, while Hinata was in charge of setting the bowls, chopsticks, and condiment bottles in the new kitchen.
Naruto tied on an apron and dove straight into the kitchen. Considering Hinata's appetite, he deliberately prepared several times more ingredients than usual.
To save time, he split off three Shadow Clones to help: one was in charge of washing and chopping vegetables, one was responsible for watching the stove and cooking the rice, and one was tasked with bringing the finished dishes to the table.
In less than an hour, the dining table was filled with plates.
Karin ran from the wardrobe to the dining table, her eyes shining as she counted the dishes on the table, calling out to Hinata, who was still busy, "Hinata, come look! The meal Naruto made is even more lavish than the ramen shop."
Hinata was stunned when she saw the table full of food.
Growing up, every meal she had at home consisted of a few exquisite, portioned side dishes, each carefully prepared, but she had never seen a spread like this.
The portions were hearty, the plating was casual, and the savory aroma of sauce and the charred scent of grilled fish drifted into her nose, making her stomach growl.
"Don't just stand there staring, sit down and eat."
Naruto draped his apron over the back of the chair, and sat at the table.
Karin had already picked up her chopsticks and shoved a piece of stir-fried pork belly into her mouth, exclaiming indistinctly, "I'll never get tired of Naruto's cooking."
Naruto served Hinata a bowl of rice, deliberately packing it to be twice the size of the one he had served Karin.
Hinata took the bowl, her cheeks flushing slightly. She whispered, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."
Then, she picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth in small bites.
As the fish melted on her tongue, Hinata noticeably paused, then quietly increased the speed at which she picked up food.
She thought to herself, 'Not only is Naruto-kun strong, but his cooking is also so delicious, he's amazing.'
Knowing Hinata's appetite, Naruto could see she was restraining herself. He took her bowl to refill it as soon as it was nearly empty, then pushed the dishes on the table closer to her.