Suzuran

"I forgot to introduce her. She's your Konan's daughter, Suzuran-chan. She was born in the same year as you two, but her birthday is in November, so she's like your younger sister."

The girl with her ponytail nodded shyly to Shuyuan and Naruto.

"A younger sister? Huh? She's even younger than me!"

Naruto was born in October, and most of his friends born in the same year are a few months older than him. This is the first time someone has been younger than him.

A smug smile crept across his face.

"..." Shuyuan was too lazy to even bother with Naruto's idiotic reaction. She turned to the ponytail girl, "You're Suzuran -chan, right? My name is Uzumaki Shuyuan. Nice to meet you."

Hello, hello!

The girl responded rather nervously.

"Yo, I'll remember that. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, the man destined to become Hokage."

Naruto proudly raised his head, put one foot on the coffee table, rubbed his nose with his right index finger, and looked smug, like a big shot.

"······"

Shuyuan's face stiffened. She was utterly speechless at Naruto's idiotic behavior. Moreover, daring to put his foot on the coffee table in front of Aunt Kushina was just asking for trouble!

Sure enough, the next moment, a sudden gust of heat swept in.

"Naruto! You idiot!!!"

Kushina's roar instantly echoed throughout every corner of the living room. Naruto was startled and instinctively tried to run out, but Kushina was faster.

He tossed the kitchen knife to Konan, grabbed Naruto by the neck, and immediately subjected him to a naked choke, causing Naruto's eyes to roll back and him to whimper.

"How many times have I told you? Don't put your feet on the coffee table or the desk. And what was that attitude you just had? Suzuran-chan is a guest. If you don't behave, you'll regret it."

It was Konan Naruto to escape, but he still received a stern warning from Kushina.

Kushina and Konan went back to the kitchen to continue preparing dinner, leaving the three children sitting in the living room making friends.

"Shuyuan, you and Naruto should take good care of Suzuran-chan! We still need to prepare dinner..."

Kushina's words of advice left Shuyuan in a real bind.

Looking at the fuming Naruto and the anxious girl, he felt even more troubled. He really shouldn't have let that idiot Naruto drag him along.

"Suzuran, is this your first time in Konoha?"

Shuyuan smiled gently and tried to start a conversation.

"Yes! This is my first time here, but I have been to other parts of the Land of Fire before," Suzuran replied softly.

"I see! Come to think of it, I've never been outside the Land of Fire; my travels have all been within the country..."

Gradually, the atmosphere warmed up as the topic of travel came up, and Suzuran relaxed. Naruto, though still wearing a sour face, was listening intently to Shuyuan and Suzuran's conversation.

After holding it in for a while, Naruto's temper had completely dissipated. This was also one of the advantages of being a fool: possessing an incredibly optimistic attitude and resilient nerves, he could always quickly forget about unpleasant things.

"Hey! I said your name is Suzuran, what's your last name?"

Naruto suddenly interrupted and asked.

"Surname... um... I don't have a surname. My father and mother were both orphans, so I don't have a surname either. Suzuran is the name my mother gave me." Suzuran was a little nervous at first because of Naruto's words, but she quickly calmed down.

She sensed no malice in Naruto's eyes; his azure gaze held only pure curiosity.

"Ah! Um... I don't know, sorry!"

Naruto tried to explain, but was at a loss for words.

"Suzuran Valley? Does that mean happiness is returning?" Shuyuan asked, seeing Naruto's pleading look.

Do you know the meaning of lily of the Suzuran flowers?

The girl's eyes lit up. For ninjas, the language of flowers was a completely obscure and unknown field of knowledge. Very few people knew about it. This was the first time she had met someone other than her parents who knew about this subject.

"Well! My mother likes to study a lot of strange things, like the differences between hot springs in different regions, and the regional cultural differences in the Shinobi World." Shuyuan scratched her head and explained with a dry laugh, "My mother compiled a dictionary of languages, and I was forced to help, so I ended up learning a little bit about it."

"A complete collection of sayings!? There are books like that? That's amazing! Can I borrow it to take a look?"

The girl stood up excitedly, placed her hands on the coffee table, leaned forward, and pressed herself against Shuyuan, who was sitting opposite her.

"Sure, but the book's at home." Shuyuan leaned back without batting an eye, her back pressed seamlessly against the sofa. "Suzuran, if you're not in a hurry to leave, I can bring the book to you tomorrow, okay?"

"No problem, absolutely no problem. I should be staying in Konoha for quite a while this time... Ah!! Sorry, I got too excited!"

Having received Shuyuan's promise, the girl's high spirits subsided, and she then noticed her overly assertive posture. Her face flushed red, and she quickly sat back down.

"...Hey, can we talk about something I can also participate in? This is getting really boring."

Naruto lay slumped on the table, looking utterly dejected.

The language of flowers and such has absolutely nothing to do with him; you can't even get a word in edgewise.

The atmosphere gradually became more harmonious.

In the kitchen.

Hearing the bursts of laughter coming from the living room, Konan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

"I already said, Shuyuan and Naruto are good kids. Well, putting aside that idiot Naruto, Shuyuan is excellent! His grades at the Ninja Academy have always been among the best," Kushina praised her beloved nephew enthusiastically.

"I'm not worried about Shuyuan and Naruto, it's just that Suzuran is quite introverted and has never been able to make any friends in the village. I'm really worried about that."

A bitter smile appeared on Konan's face.

Konan and Kushina have a very close relationship. Konan is not only a fellow student of Minato, but also a friend of Katsuki. After several encounters, they got along very well and became extremely good friends. Every time she went to Konoha, she would Minato's house to meet Kushina.

This time, she even brought her daughter along.

"Yahiko and I have been busy with work, and by the time we noticed, Suzuran hadn't gone out to play with her peers for a long time. She stayed at home folding origami and reading books. We tried many methods, but nothing changed. This time, we thought going out for a walk might help her relax..."

"Is it that serious?"

Kushina was taken aback.

Naruto has always been a carefree person since he was a child. In addition, he grew up with Shuyuan, and her troubles always stemmed from Naruto's outstanding ability to cause trouble. She never had the same kind of troubles as Konan.

"Raising a girl is really tough!" Kushina said, trying to comfort her.

Konan could only manage a bitter smile. (To be continued)