In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Chapter 300 Chatting By The Fire

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"Good. As long as you understand." Tsunade tilted her head back and took a sip of her sake, leaning against the bamboo partition. Through the mist, her imposing figure loomed large, "I thought you would be angry and feel that it's unfair."

"I didn’t think that much about it. If I really calculate everything carefully, nothing will ever add up." Naruto sighed and said unusually contemplative, "Some people shine brightly, while others are covered in rust."

"In the final analysis, you still have to fight for it yourself. Fairness is something you punch your way to. You’ve treated me well enough, Tsunade-sama. I’d feel guilty if I were to hold a grudge."

"You don’t owe me anything, and you don’t need to feel guilty. And when I need you, I won’t be polite about it."

"You said a lot, but none of them were what I wanted to hear." Tsunade rubbed her temples, "You said it well, but don't say those empty guilty sentiments next time."

With that, Naruto heard the sound of her gulping down more sake. Tsunade enjoyed drinking, and a little alcohol didn’t harm her, and it actually helped her relax and rejuvenate.

However, she never smoked. Smoking makes people age quickly, and once the organs are damaged, it is difficult to reverse the damage. Even if Tsunade is proficient in Medical Ninjutsu, it is impossible for her to purify herself.

Naruto had once seen Jiraiya smoke, though he rarely did so in front of others, and that time was just an accident. He saw Jiraiya squatting on the stone steps where the light from the store could not reach, with flickering lights dotted in the darkness.

When Jiraiya smoked, he was silent, and his whole being seemed to have aged. It was as if the weight of the shinobi world's fate rested on his shoulders. His life had always been about fulfilling the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, and he never really lived for himself.

When he was young, he trained disciples, only for them to die, and his comrade, Orochimaru, defected from the village. After wandering the world for half his life, his teacher also died, at the hands of his most talented student, Orochimaru.

From now on, Jiraiya would continue living according to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy. According to the prophecy, Jiraiya's future has changed, and he would eventually settle in a lively place, surrounded by the noise of people.

As his thoughts drifted away, Naruto felt that this ending was good for Jiraiya. For Jiraiya, his mission was to find a way to bring peace to the Shinobi World and find the Child of Prophecy.

His love was for the greater good. First the peace of the Shinobi World, then Konoha, and finally, himself, who was often powerless to control his own fate.

After a period of silence, the sound of water splashing suddenly came from the other end, breaking the silence.

"That necklace I gave you, are you still wearing it?" Tsunade asked softly.

"Yeah, it's still on me." Naruto replied, touching the necklace hanging from his chest. Then, he couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘It seems that curse, which had claimed lives before me, didn't seem to work on me. Could it be that I really am invincible?’

"Wear it well, don't lose it."

"Got it, I won't lose it."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

After soaking for half an hour, Naruto left, dressed, and sat by the curtain at the entrance, quietly waiting for Tsunade to finish.

About ten minutes later, Tsunade came out, looking slightly surprised to see Naruto waiting for her. Her wet golden hair draped over one side, dampening the collar of her clothes.

As she reached into her chest to adjust her innerwear, she asked.

"Waiting for me?"

"Yes, we can warm up by the fire downstairs." He said as he skillfully handed over a towel for wiping hair to Tsunade. This simple inn naturally didn’t provide these, so he had prepared them himself.

The advantage of having a seal space immediately became apparent, as he didn't even need to carry a sealing scroll.

Tsunade took the towel without a word, wrapped her hair, and headed downstairs with crisp steps. The innkeeper had disappeared, and a kettle of water was boiling in the middle of the room, with firewood stacked nearby.

Firewood was free. You had to add it yourself if you wanted to warm up. The fire pit wasn’t showing any flames anymore, so Naruto sat down first and skillfully arranged the wood to start a small fire.

Seeing Naruto blew on the kindling, trying to make the fire grow little and little, Tsunade was speechless. After a moment, she couldn't help but commented, "Can't you just use Ninjutsu?"

"It's almost there." Naruto replied without raising his head and continued to blow on the fire.

Hearing this, Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, sat there waiting while hugging her chest with her wet hair hanging down. Sure enough, the fire soon crackled to life, and its warmth began to spread.

Sitting by the fire, Tsunade let her hair dry slowly. The light from the flames illuminated her snow-white skin, casting a soft glow on her figure.

Naruto glanced at her once but quickly looked away, feeling the heat rise to his face, ‘When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back.’

He set up a grill over the fire and began quietly preparing dinner. The inn offered meals, but they charged 300 ryo for a set of dishes. If the guests didn’t mind, they could eat whatever the inn had, but they had to eat before it was too late.

When they had arrived, it was already late, so Naruto figured they’d have to fend for themselves. The innkeeper had come out earlier to warn them not to go out at night.

"It’s not safe around the village lately. Some strange folks have shown up, and it’s dangerous to go out at night." He said and left quickly after the warning.

Naruto looked at Tsunade and blinked. The latter calmly took out the unfinished sake and slowly heated it by the fire, showing no curiosity about the situation.

"Tsunade-sama, you sure have great self-control." Naruto praised.

"Are you curious?" Tsunade gave him a sidelong glance, her unconsciously sultry look laced with slight annoyance.

"No, no, not at all. We’re leaving tomorrow anyway." He chuckled awkwardly. "Even if something strange is going on, we won’t find out until we reach one of the towns in the Land of Iron. This place is too desolate, and there's nothing interesting."

"Good." She took the sake back comfortably, frowned and took a sip to test the temperature, "When traveling, don’t be too curious."

"Got it." He replied, and then folded the meat slices and pushed them over to Tsunade in a very servile manner.

Tsunade, despite her words, accepted Naruto’s offering without complaint. She sat by the fire, savoring the warmth and the food, then asked, "Do you want to know about the necklace?"

"I..." Naruto wanted to refuse, but seeing that Tsunade seemed like she wanted to talk about it, he nodded, "I do."

Tsunade paused for a moment, took another swig of sake, and then slowly began telling the story behind the necklace. She talked about the story of the Shodaime Hokage, moving on to the childhood of the Sannin, and then eventually spoke of her younger brother, Nawaki.

Naruto responded in a disjointed manner. He was indeed a good listener. He neither made Tsunade feel that he was perfunctory nor did he make anyone feel that he was listening very seriously. It was as if he was playing the role of a stranger.

The feeling of being able to tell a stranger about your past without holding back is somewhat irresistible, even addictive.

Then, her story gradually reached the part about Kato Dan.