Home

"Hmph, I'm going home."

Xuan Ye shot Might Guy a somewhat aggrieved look, then turned around and headed toward his home without looking back.

The gap between his strength and Guy's was simply too great right now. Xuan Ye was not surprised by the outcome at all, but it did not discourage him. Instead, it strengthened his resolve to become stronger.

It seemed that Guy usually trained at this training ground. In that case, I'll add challenging Guy to my daily training. That way, I can gauge the extent of my improvement while gaining real combat experience. Killing two birds with one stone.

After leaving the training ground, he raised his head to look at the sky. A crescent moon hung overhead, with several stars beside it. Their light shone over the land, ensuring that travelers heading home could still see the road.

"The starry sky at night really is beautiful!" Xuan Ye stopped and quietly watched it for a while.

It had been a long time since he had felt this way, and Xuan Ye could not help feeling a little wistful. Back on Earth, only when he was young and living in the orphanage had he been able to look up at the night sky. After growing up, he had been so busy with work that he had barely had time to leisurely gaze at the sky at night.

Ever since coming to the world of Naruto, he had mostly stayed at home. This was the first time he had looked at the night sky so leisurely.

"Ah, home, home. It's already so late. I wonder if Mother has made it back yet."

After walking for around ten minutes, he finally reached his front door. Xuan Ye gently pushed it open, stepped inside, and casually shut it behind him.

After closing the door, Xuan Ye suddenly noticed that the lights in the living room were still on. Warmth rose in his heart. Mother must be back. She probably noticed I wasn't home and has been waiting for me.

Xuan Ye walked toward the lit living room. When he entered, he saw two people sitting on the sofa: his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, and his father, Minato Namikaze.

Xuan Ye was not surprised to see Kushina Uzumaki at home, but he truly had not expected Minato Namikaze to be there as well. His father was the Fourth Hokage, so he often remained in the Hokage's office and did not come home. Yet now he was here, sitting in the living room waiting for him.

He probably already knows about what happened this morning. This is Konoha, after all, and there are plenty of Anbu patrolling nearby. There's nothing strange about Father knowing.

The moment Kushina Uzumaki saw Xuan Ye approach, she immediately asked, "Xiao Ye, where did you go? I was worried sick when I came home and couldn't find you. Oh, have you eaten dinner? I made a portion for you. If you haven't eaten, I'll go heat it up."

Looking into Kushina Uzumaki's concerned eyes, Xuan Ye felt touched. He had never experienced a mother's love before, yet he had found it in the world of Naruto. Maybe being transported here is Heaven's compensation for me.

"Mom, I haven't eaten dinner yet. I'm really hungry," Xuan Ye said with an embarrassed smile, rubbing his stomach.

"Okay, Mommy will heat up the food for you. Xiao Ye, sit at the table and wait. You'll be able to eat soon." Hearing that her son was hungry, Kushina Uzumaki immediately carried the food away to heat it up.

There was a table and several chairs in the living room of the house. Whenever Kushina Uzumaki cooked, they usually ate here in the living room.

Xuan Ye sat down in a chair, wanting to rest for a while. The stamina he had spent training outside had yet to fully recover. He only had about a tenth left, so even after returning home, his entire body was still exhausted.

After his mother left with the food, his father, who had been sitting on the sofa, spoke. "Xiao Ye, I know everything about what happened this morning. Your mother knows too. When I was your age, your old man wasn't even as strong as you."

Xuan Ye did not speak, and the atmosphere in the living room became awkward. Minato Namikaze spoke again. "What I want to say is, no matter what you do, your old man will protect you. I won't let you suffer even the slightest harm. But if you can become strong enough not to need my protection, then that would be even better."

Minato Namikaze's eyes were filled with resolve when he said this. It was clear that he was not joking.

"Mm, I understand."

The living room fell silent again. Xuan Ye did not know what he should say, so he remained quiet.

Minato Namikaze had already said everything he wanted to say. No matter what, Xuan Ye was his son. Whatever happened, he would bear it for him and keep him from being harmed. Nothing else really mattered.

After saying that, Minato Namikaze left the living room. Before long, he had disappeared from sight. Xuan Ye did not know whether he had returned to the Hokage's office again.

Soon, Kushina Uzumaki, who had just left to heat the food, returned. She placed all the warmed dishes on the table, took out a pair of chopsticks, and handed them to Xuan Ye. Since he had not eaten anything that evening, Xuan Ye quickly cleaned his plate.

After dinner, his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, took away his bowl, presumably to wash it.

Xuan Ye returned to his room. His utterly exhausted body lay on the bed as he stared at the ceiling, his mind filled with everything that had happened that day.

That morning, after buying ninja tools, he had gotten into a conflict with Hyuga Kazefu of the Hyuga Clan. He had then taken his ninja tools and weights to the outskirts of Konoha to train in ninjutsu and taijutsu. Finally, while heading home that evening, he had been drawn in by the sounds of Guy training and ended up fighting him.

Although that fight had ended with him getting completely thrashed, he had still learned many things from Guy. His methods of using taijutsu and the little techniques involved had become more refined.

It seemed that whenever he had the chance in the future, he should go fight Guy once. That way, he could see what he had gained in battle, discover his own shortcomings, and build up his practical combat experience.

Every one of those things would be extremely helpful to him right now. Although the system would allow his strength to increase quickly, if he could engage in real combat with Guy, his strength should improve even faster.

With all those thoughts running through his mind, Xuan Ye slowly drifted off to sleep.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

The next morning, Xuan Ye finally woke when the first ray of sunlight streamed through the window and shone on his face.

Xuan Ye had slept soundly the entire night. After all, he had gone through such intense training the previous day, then fought Guy after returning. His entire body had been exhausted, so he had fallen asleep soon after lying down.

When he woke up today, the stamina that had been nearly depleted had fully recovered. Xuan Ye clenched his fist and felt power coursing through his body. It seemed that he was even a little stronger than yesterday.

Not only had his physical strength fully recovered, but the chakra within his body had completely recovered as well. It had not merely recovered—while he slept the previous night, his total chakra reserves had continued to increase.

Xuan Ye closed his eyes and sensed the chakra within his body. Today, his chakra had increased to nearly twice what it had been yesterday. It seemed that his chakra was growing very quickly.