Chapter 45
"Alright," Hyuga Hazuki smiled.
However, in reality, her cough was due to her deteriorating health.
She thought Naruto did not know, and found the child innocent and carefree.
But in fact, Naruto was perfectly aware of it.
"Indeed, I must find a way to save Hinata's mom~ mom~."
Naruto decided to go back and ponder over it carefully.
"Naruto-kun~."
Watching Naruto's receding figure, Hinata's small face instantly showed a hint of disappointment.
She hadn't spent enough time with Naruto-kunyet.
Oh, right, I'll use the excuse of a New Year's visit and go to Naruto-kun's house tomorrow... or the day after.
"..."
Hyuga Hazuki, noticing her daughter's mood, blinked and then instructed the maid beside her.
"A Xia, once you're done with the clan's affairs, go to Naruto-kun's place and help him tidy up his house..."
"~!!"
Hyuga Hazuki's instruction made Hyuga Natsu's expression change instantly.
A mix of fear, disbelief, resistance, and disgust... complex emotions appeared on her pretty face.
'How could this be...'
A cry of sorrow erupted in her heart, she was almost about to cry.
She had originally thought that as long as she dutifully took care of the fox-demon boy who was a guest at Hyuga, she would never see him again once he left.
But now, the Madam was asking her to proactively go to his home... The bruises that hadn't faded yet now made her body ache again.
"A Xia, what's wrong?" Hyuga Hazuki asked, completely oblivious.
"N-nothing... Madam, I was just thinking about what cleaning tools I should bring then..."
Hyuga Natsu hid her emotions, keeping the matter a secret.
Because she knew that even if she spoke out, no one would believe her.
After all, that fox-demon Uzumaki Naruto had already become a distinguished guest of the Hyuga Clan, an existence she absolutely could not offend.
What will the future hold?
Hyuga Natsu only felt her life beginning to turn bleak... "Naruto has finally left the Hyuga Clan Residence..."
On the roof of a distant building somewhere.
Yūgao Uzuki watched this scene through binoculars and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
She had spent this New Year's like this, outside.
Hayate had already gone to the front lines, and she didn't know how he was doing.
Kakashi-senpai and the others also had other missions.
She was left all alone, enduring the cold night by herself.
Hokage-sama's order to her was to look after Naruto, especially at this critical juncture when war was breaking out.
Putting away the binoculars, Yūgao leaped down from the railing, landing like a nimble cat, and then ran and jumped in Naruto's direction... Narutowalked along the road, vaguely sensing something.
He guessed it was most likely Yūgao Uzuki, so he ignored it.
Creak, creak.
Walking on the snow, he made pleasant sounds with his footsteps.
And unknowingly, snowflakes began to fall from the sky again.
Naruto didn't carry an umbrella, nor did he have one; his hands were tucked into his pockets, and a large package was slung over his back.
Inside the package were his New Year's kimono and a pile of gifts from Hinata's mom.
Just like that, Naruto returned home on his own.
"Hey! Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Hmm?"
Standing downstairs, before he even reached the stairs, a shout came from above.
The young girl's tender voice immediately caught Naruto's attention.
He looked up.
Sako, dressed in new winter clothes, stood at her own doorway.
She held a gift in her hand, her hands clasped in front of her.
Due to the weather, white steam constantly puffed from her mouth.
Sako's cheeks were flushed from the cold, and her mouth was upturned, like an inverted checkmark.
"You, where did you run off to in the middle of the day!"
Sako, displaying her displeasure, tightened her scarf and then took a step.
Her feet, clad in small black leather shoes, clattered as they ascended the stairs.
The scarf fluttered, and heavy snow fell.
Naruto watched her descend the stairs without a word.
Until Sako reached Naruto's front... "What's wrong? Speak!"
Sako, still unaware of her own overwhelming cuteness, surpassed her peers in charm a hundredfold.
Meanwhile, in the shadows.
Itachi, with a somewhat gloomy expression, hid in the shadows, watching this scene, also without a word... Chapter Thirty-Six. Bro-con's First Fury
Creak.
The door opened.
Naruto went in first.
Sako stood at the doorway, stomped her feet, and then entered the genkan.
"Heh... this Uchiha brat is quite well-mannered, isn't she."
The Nine-Tailed's implication was that a certain someone had absolutely no manners whatsoever.
Even if he did, it was all an act!
Naruto ignored the Nine-Tailed, walked through the living room, and entered the kitchen, preparing to boil water for tea.
"..."
Taking advantage of this moment, Sako closed the door behind her, took off her shoes, and began to survey Naruto's home.
Television, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner... all kinds of furniture were available.
Through the large window, one could get a panoramic view of the snowy scenery outside.
In other words... the modern decor of this house perfectly matched the positioning of the prosperous Konoha center.
"It's nothing special, really."
When the electric kettle started gurgling.
Sako had finished comparing the differences between the Uchiha Residence and the residences in the Konoha center.
"It looks exquisite, but it's like a pigeon coop; living in such an environment will sooner or later become depressing!"
Recalling that each Uchiha family had their own single-family house with a courtyard, Sako felt much more relieved.
Click.
The electric kettle tripped.
Naruto came out carrying a teapot and brewed a cup of tea for Sako.
"Hmm... refreshing jasmine tea leaves... you're quite the connoisseur."
Sako looked at the clear tea and the white petals blooming within it, and couldn't help but praise it.
In fact, these tea leaves were all given by Hinata's mom today.
She picked up the teacup and took a small sip.
The aroma of the highest-grade tribute tea spread in her mouth, greatly improving Sako's mood.
"Good tea..."
She praised in secret.
Her own family had never drunk such high-quality tea leaves; where did this Uzumaki Naruto get them from?
"Here..."
Sako reached out and pushed the gift she had brought on the table towards Naruto.
Happy New Year!
Just as Sako was about to say this congratulatory phrase, Naruto preempted her, blurting out a foreign phrase.
"New year speed haha!"
Nine-Tailed: "..."
Sako: "..."
Naruto's surprising words instantly left both the Nine-Tailed and Sako stunned on the spot. No one could understand what this sentence meant.
In fact, the world of Naruto does have "English."
For example, Killer Bee's Rap.
Killer Bee also used the English word "Brother" when referring to his adopted brother, the Fourth Raikage.
English was also widely used in various appliance manuals.
—Although Naruto didn't understand what good it was for.
Perhaps to patch things up.
The Naruto TV anime production team created an original Chunin Exams content, setting one of the nine major questions as an English problem.
In short, don't mind the details. Just know that English is also a required subject.
"Wh-what does that mean...?"
Sako thought for a while but still couldn't figure it out. After all, she hadn't learned English yet... English.
No, this morning, while dreaming, a bunch of English words indeed popped into her head.
New year means New Year.
Speed means speed, fast.
What is haha?