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Arriving at the training ground in the snow-covered forest, Naruto spotted the newly installed wooden stakes in the distance and slowly walked to the middle of the training ground before stopping.

He turned to look at Jiraiya, and suddenly asked.

"Since it's live-fire training, does that mean everything should be done according to the actual combat situation? I mean, let's let our true nature shine through."

"True nature?" Jiraiya, unaware of the seriousness of the situation and still in the dark, casually replied, "Whatever, fight however you want."

Having finished speaking, Jiraiya stretched out one hand and revealed a smug smile.

I'll give you a handicap.

"Alright." Naruto laughed, without using Shadow Clone, he charged forward in a curved path with a single Rasengan. "Old man, stretch out your neck and prepare to die!"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya frowned and clenched his fists.

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

With a few loud thuds, Jiraiya flashed forward and kicked Naruto's wrist. The Rasengan immediately slammed onto the snow, violently creating a large crater in the ground!

"Ouch, didn't you say it had to be realistic?" Naruto clutched his wrist, wincing in pain.

"It feels pretty real now, at least the beatings you got felt real." Jiraiya his full head of silver hair, clapped his hands and said, "That's enough for today, the snow is getting heavy."

"You've now mastered the Rasengan; all your hard work this winter hasn't been in vain."

"Only someone with exceptional talent like me could learn a Ninjutsu so quickly in one winter." Naruto wasn't embarrassed at all; his speed was indeed quite good.

At least for now, only Jiraiya and he know the Rasengan. If a battle breaks out, this move can often unexpectedly and severely injure the opponent.

"So-so, about right." Jiraiya scratched his head.

The wind picked up, and the snow fell with a whooshing sound. The two turned around, and all they could see was a vast expanse of white. Apart from the sound of the cold wind and their footsteps on the snow, there was almost no other sound in the forest.

As if the whole world had fallen silent, Naruto walked ahead in silence. Jiraiya lagged two steps behind, his feet sinking deeper and deeper into the snow, occasionally snapping a dry branch with a crackling sound.

Once back in the village, the surrounding sounds began to liven up again.

Children wearing thick cotton hats and gloves ran and fought in the street, shouting lines from ninja games and grabbing snowflakes as Shuriken.

Jiraiya and Naruto stood by the street for a while, watching the children forcefully throw white snowballs onto the red wall. Tiles on the old wall were knocked off and fell onto the thick layer of snow, unnoticed.

Looking at everything before him, Naruto recalled the red walls and white snow of Mo Shanshan and found it amusing, so he smiled.

Jiraiya, suddenly patted Naruto on the shoulder. Naruto turned around and saw an awkward smile on Jiraiya's face, as if he was both embarrassed and uneasy.

Seeing this, Naruto was slightly taken aback and asked, "Pervy Sage, what's wrong with you?"

"That one." He pointed at the group of children playing around, a fawning smile on his face.

He blinked; he recognized that smile from a past life. It was a winter night when his grandfather, who had been missing for five years, was brought back by the police.

Snowflakes fell from the shoulders of the greasy military overcoat, and his hands, chapped and swollen red from the cold, clutched a toy belonging to a seven-year-old boy and offered it to the sixteen-year-old.

With that same ingratiating yet awkward smile on his face, he spoke, panting heavily.

"Take it, play with it."

"What?" He came to his senses, his voice a little hoarse, and coughed as he asked.

Jiraiya chuckled dryly, still pointing at the group of children throwing snowballs, and asked somewhat awkwardly.

Did you play this with your friends when you were a kid?

"Um."

"That's good, that's good." Jiraiya withdrew his hand, gave an awkward laugh, and then walked towards the izakaya on his own, shouting loudly.

"Seriously, you should have a few drinks in this kind of weather!"

Naruto stood there without watching Jiraiya leave, remaining silent and expressionless until snow covered his shoulders before slowly walking away.

We'll talk about the future later, but the Akatsuki Organization truly has no reason to exist.

If we have time, we might as well kill them all.

He didn't care what grievances or deep-seated hatred others might have; he'd just wipe them all out. Repenting before the enemy's tombstone was always the most sincere moment.

I walked home through the crunching snow, and the door suddenly opened from the inside the moment I turned the key.

Ino, wearing a light blue apron, opened the door. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and she wore a thick pink sweater under the apron. She was a little stunned when she saw Naruto.

Naruto was also stunned for a moment. He had been training with Jiraiya for the past few months, basically training day and night except for eating and sleeping.

He practiced every kind of Genjutsu Taijutsu, Rasengan, and Rasengan. The results were, of course, remarkable.

A seasoned veteran like Jiraiya possessed quick reflexes and ample experience, and his fighting techniques were endless. Naruto endured a month of beatings before gradually adapting.

During the last training session, I was just venting my anger, so I made a joke and called him "old man," but I didn't expect to get beaten up again.

"What brings you here?" Naruto smiled.

"You came whenever you wanted." Ino pulled him inside, tugging at his sleeve with one hand and brushing the snow off his shoulder with the other. "Going to training again?"

How did you know?

"How could I not know you after not seeing you for two or three months? You're underestimating Lord Jiraiya's reputation." Ino placed the shoes in front of him and said, "Hurry up and change your shoes."

With that, Ino hurried off to the kitchen.

Naruto was still a little confused, not knowing what was wrong with Ino today. He wandered into the living room and stood there for a while. Nine-Tails was lying on its special little sofa, already asleep with its eyes half-closed, its belly rising and falling slightly.

Water was boiling in the kitchen, and the soup in the pot began to boil, emitting wisps of white steam.

In the living room, under the bright yellow light, Naruto stared at the kitchen for a long time. Ino walked up to him, frowned, looked at him for a moment, and then reached out and touched his forehead.

"What's wrong? Are you dumbfounded? Lost in my good looks?"

What day is it today?

"The New Year Festival, huh?" Ino sighed, looking at Naruto. "I knew you'd forget, so I came especially for you. What do you think?"

"Without me, someone would have completely missed the New Year Festival."

"Isn't the New Year Festival in a few days?" Naruto asked after a moment of surprise.

"You've got it all mixed up, haven't you?" Ino said, hands on her hips, and gave a light snort. "Your training has ruined your brain; I'm afraid no one will want you in the future."

"Thank you, Ino."

"There's no need to thank me for that kind of thing. Now that you mention it," Ino said, her face slightly flushed. "I do feel the atmosphere is a bit strange."

"It's like, it seems"

Ino spoke too softly for Naruto to hear, and he had already rolled up his sleeves and headed to the kitchen. As expected, Ino's culinary skills were very limited, and she cooked a lot of soup.

He sighed silently, took the ingredients from the refrigerator, and started cooking. Ino, seeing Naruto cooking, sat nervously on the sofa.

She had finally mustered up the courage to come, and although she pretended to be completely relaxed at the door, she...

"Ino," Naruto suddenly called out, peeking out from the kitchen.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Come with me to meet someone later."

"Huh? Who are you seeing?"