Spring comes a little late in Iwagakure Village, but the green buds on the roadside and the chirping of birds all announce the change of seasons.
The curriculum of the Ninja School has also been put on track, and Chi Chen and the others have gradually adapted to the regular and fulfilling ninja life.
The setting sun dyed the stacked stone houses of Iwagakure Village a warm orange-red.
The bell ringing at the end of training seemed to have released an invisible bondage, and children poured out of the ninja school gate, instantly lighting up the evening streets.
Chi Chen and Fei Liu walked side by side in the bustling crowd. Fei Liu was still immersed in the excitement of the practical class, gesticulating excitedly: "See, Chen! That move I used today, 'Pointing Stone'! It almost broke Teacher Chi Shan's defense. Teacher Yamagami's teaching is really amazing!"
The amber cat's eyes were shining, the sweat on her face had not yet dried, and her red hair was dyed golden in the sunset.
"Yeah, I see." Chi Chen had a barely perceptible smile on his face, his long silver-gray hair gently blown by the evening breeze.
In his hand, he still held the half roasted sweet potato that Fei Liu had forced upon him - this guy had bought two like a hungry wolf after training, chewing one himself and breaking the other in half for him without a word.
"My control has improved, but I still don't use enough power at the moment of exerting force, which makes it easy for others to find flaws and counterattack me. But it's already great."
"Tsk! You're asking for too much!" Fei Liu muttered in dissatisfaction, biting into a big mouthful of sweet potato. Grinning from the heat, he mumbled, "Of course there's a gap compared to a monster like you. Hey! Yaya!"
A small figure rushed over like a cannonball and almost hit Chi Chen's leg.
Yaya, with her pigtails, tilted her head back, her cheeks flushed, her big eyes curved into crescents as she smiled: "Brother Chichen! Brother Feiliu! It's time for you to go home from school!"
"Run slower, be careful not to fall." Chi Chen naturally stretched out his hand and gently supported Yaya's little shoulders.
"Of course not!" Yaya puffed out her chest proudly, then pulled out a handful of colorful, shaped pebbles from the small cloth bag behind her like she was presenting a treasure. "Look! I picked them up by the stream today! This one looks like a bird! This one looks like a star! I'm giving them to you!"
Without saying anything, she stuffed the "little bird" to Fei Liu and the "star" to Chi Chen.
Fei Liu looked at the gray pebble in his palm, which barely looked like a bird, with an exaggerated expression: "Wow! Yaya is amazing! This is definitely the most handsome stone bird by the stream!" He carefully put it into his pocket and patted it. "From now on, this will be my lucky amulet!"
Chi Chen looked down at the stone in his hand that had white quartz veins and indeed had a bit of a star-like feel. "Thank you, Yaya. I like it too."
"Brother, now that you have an amulet, do you want to make one too?" Yaya asked in confusion. She pointed to Chichen's neck, where the crude wooden amulet Feiliu had given him was tied with a faded red string.
"You have to keep it well, because it was given to you by Yaya." Chi Chen "And only one amulet is enough."
Yaya blinked her eyes, looked at the wooden talisman on Chichen's neck, then looked at the "little bird" that Brother Feiliu had carefully put away. She nodded as if she understood, and smiled happily: "Yeah! Then Yaya will get one too in the future!"
The three of them continued walking. Fei Liu ate sweet potatoes while excitedly telling Ya Ya about someone's embarrassing incident at school today, making the little girl giggle. Chi Chen walked quietly beside them, watching the two noisy people and occasionally interjecting a few words.
On the roadside, an uncle selling baked pancakes was happily selling the fragrant baked pancakes to the children who had just finished school.
Adai from the grocery store was clumsily helping his mother carry heavy goods into the store. He was sweating profusely from exhaustion, but a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
And the fat lady who was always smiling, standing at the door, loudly calling her husband who came home late to have dinner, her voice loud and warm;
In the direction of the training ground in the distance, you can faintly hear the shouts of some senior students practicing extra training.
Everything is so ordinary, even a little trivial. There are no earth-shattering ninjutsu duels, no scheming and plotting, only the mundane life of daily life, the greetings between neighbors, the playful laughter of children, and the silent hard work of striving for life and ideals.
These are the norm in the ninja world. I wish it could continue like this.
"Chen! What are you daydreaming about!" Fei Liu's voice brought him back to reality. The red-haired boy had already finished the sweet potato in a few bites and was prodding him with his elbow, "Look over there! The old stonemason!"
At a corner of the street, beside a somewhat dilapidated set of stone steps, an old stonemason with white hair and beard was hunched over, struggling to lift a replacement slab. His arms were shaking, and it was obvious that he was unable to do it.
"I'll go and help!" Fei Liu rushed over like a gust of wind without saying a word. His movements were so fast that Yaya screamed "Ah".
"Grandpa Stonemason! Let me do it!" Fei Liu's voice was loud and clear, with the unique enthusiasm of a young man.
He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his forearms, which were beginning to show lines after training. He firmly grasped the edge of the stone slab with both hands, took a deep breath, and shouted "Hey!" He lifted the heavy stone slab steadily, and under the guidance of the old stonemason, he accurately embedded it into the damaged position.
"Oh, thank you, little Fei Liu!" The old stonemason smiled kindly on his wrinkled face and patted Fei Liu's arm. "Good boy, you're really strong!"
"Hehe, no big deal!" Fei Liu wiped his sweat proudly and smiled, as if he had done something great.
Chi Chen also walked over holding Yaya's hand.
"We're leaving, grandpa. Please be careful!" The young man waved his hands and said goodbye to the old man.
The setting sun stretched the three figures into a long shadow. Yaya held Chichen's hand. Feiliu was still excitedly imitating the same movement she had used to lift the stone slab.
Chi Chen stood among them, the evening breeze blowing his silver-gray hair and brushing against the rough yet warm wooden talisman on his neck.
At this moment, there is no ambition of the Fourth Hokage, no sharp edge of Dust Release, only the laughter of friends and the warmth of neighbors. Such a life is really good.
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