Another Year, Winter Snow at Year's End, Yet Nothing Seemed to Have Changed

Ten minutes ago.

It's on the same floor as Sand, Gaara's room.

Kankuro patted his head and said somewhat irritably.

"Gaara, I think those guys from Kumogakure on purpose. We wasted several days dealing with them for nothing. Now that we're about to leave, they're suddenly showing their sincerity."

Under the lamplight, Gaara was engrossed in the documents on the table. His cold expression softened slightly when he looked up at Kankuro and began to speak.

"This is the consistent negotiating style of the Kumogakure Village. Their way of doing things is like a violent gang. If intimidation fails, they will then show their sincerity."

Upon hearing this, Kankuro slammed the cooperation documents sent by Kumogakure onto the table.

"That kind of village is really outrageous! Right, Temari?"

Kankuro looked at Temari, but found that she seemed a little distracted, so he called out to her again.

"There's nothing strange about it. Kumogakure has always been domineering." Temari put down the documents, stood up, and left the room, saying, "I'm going out for some fresh air."

"Temari... she's been acting strange lately." Kankuro withdrew his gaze. "Isn't that right, Gaara?"

"Hmm." Gaara responded without looking up and continued looking at the documents.

In the hallway, Temari looked down at the entrance on the floor below, her mind a jumble of thoughts. She hadn't quite heard what he said that day, but she understood what he meant.

That would wipe the slate clean, and there probably wouldn't be any further contact, right? After all, they're separated by two countries. Although the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire are allies, they don't always run into each other when attending events.

She went to the restroom, cupped her hands, and washed her face. The infrastructure in the Land of Iron was quite good; hot water circulated constantly through iron pipes. The warm water splashed on her face, and a cool breeze instantly refreshed her.

In the mirror, her skin was pale and cool, with a classic beauty bone structure. A few strands of golden hair clung to her cheeks, adding a touch of delicate, ascetic beauty.

Temari walked out of the restroom and stood by the window at the end of the corridor for a while, gazing blankly at the snow-covered landscape. She was, after all, the princess of Sand, and could always process her emotions, no matter how bad they were.

When she was a child, she overheard her father's plan to assassinate Gaara. She was only frightened for a moment, but quickly found Gaara and took him away with her.

Her childhood wasn't exactly chaotic, but it was still filled with anxiety. If she hadn't been so assertive, Gaara might not have made it this far. Now that her father is dead, Gaara is gradually becoming a qualified Kage.

Things are clearly getting better step by step, so why do I still feel empty inside? Just like seven or eight years ago, when I was a little girl standing behind the door and heard her father say he was going to kill her younger brother.

She always looked forward because there was no turning back. That cold family and nightmarish years made her instinctively want to avoid them.

While I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard footsteps coming downstairs, clearly visible as they walked down.

"Downstairs?" Temari's heart skipped a beat. There were only two people downstairs, so the footsteps could only be his.

So, was she just out for some fresh air? She didn't know why, but ever since that time, that person's image had taken root in her heart, and she could never forget it.

I've never experienced anything like this before, even though I was much better when I left. A year later, hearing news about him still makes me nervous over and over again.

Even now, despite trying her best to control herself, she couldn't stand the sound of footsteps. She wanted to know Naruto's past and wanted to stay by his side.

I don't know why, even though she didn't receive much love from her parents when she was a child. But she is indeed very good at loving someone and knows how to comfort people's pain.

It's as if she was born with a natural talent; she was born to be the older sister. That's why Gaara doesn't listen to anyone else, but he will listen to Temari's advice.

So when she's genuinely kind to others, not many people can stop her.

But it had absolutely no effect on Naruto. Temari still remembered his ever-present hot gaze, which carried a scrutinizing quality, showing that he didn't take anyone seriously.

Temari is completely susceptible to this. He'll give her a second glance, and she'll listen to whatever he says. She'll go east if he wants, and she just can't help wanting to make it up to him.

Cover his pain with tenderness, embrace all the unbearable past with a moist heart, and then go up his neck and devour him in one bite.

It's as if it's saying, "Don't reject me, let me get closer to you. See, I'm very good at loving someone. Be with me, I know how to love you." Tell him with the gentlest and most sincere words, "Believe me, there is light in this world."

The Land of Iron was covered in snow, its exterior resembling an abstract white paint painting. She stood there in the stairwell for a long time, but finally couldn't resist going downstairs.

And so the scene just now unfolded. As Naruto turned his head, he saw Temari slowly descending the stairs. She stopped about three or four steps in front of him, her eyes misty, and looked up at him slightly.

Do you still want me?

He stared at her in surprise; his impression of Temari had been completely overturned. At first, he thought she was a bit domineering, but after getting to know her, he found her unexpectedly gentle.

Some unpleasant things happened in between, but so much time has passed that my mindset has changed.

"What do you want?" He frowned.

The snow fell softly, landing on the eaves and on the snow-covered ground. Temari looked embarrassed, but she had no way out, so she simply moved forward.

She clung to Naruto, and was unexpectedly pushed away. Temari up, a surge of excitement welling up inside her. Looking into Naruto's eyes, her heart tightened, and she felt a sense of urgency, as if she were ready to risk everything.

"I will be obedient, I will give you anything you want, just don't leave me."

The area around the inn was quiet, but thankfully the white noise of the wind and snow was loud enough to drown out the sound of the Temari. The wind howled incessantly, and with a creak, a branch of a nearby green tree snapped under the weight of the heavy snow.

Naruto remained unmoved; his gaze remained unchanged. Those familiar with him knew that whether he was staring at a tree or a dog, he gave the same look, showing no interest whatsoever.

Because I often get distracted, it took me a while to stare at it before I exclaimed "Oh!" because it turned out to be a tree.

He pushed Temari and asked somewhat lazily, "You really want to?"

"Hmm." Temari lowered her head, her resolve relaxing, and her face immediately flushed. Recalling what she had just said, she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"Time is running out. We'll probably have to leave tomorrow after the Five Kage Summit." He said, grabbing Temari and running his fingers through hers.

Temari, unable to bear it any longer, squinted and breathed heavily.

"Then what should we do?"

He pulled Temari to the back of the stairwell, a dark and impenetrable space. Neither wind nor snow could get in, nor could any light.

"It's too dark here, let's go outside," she said.

She doesn't like being controlled, but she doesn't dislike Naruto. It's just that Temari is naturally afraid of the dark; she's fine for a short time, but gets dizzy after a while.

"Wait a little longer." He moved closer, his voice carrying a sense of taboo and a hint of teasing, "You're afraid of the dark? How can you be a ninja?"

"I'm not afraid, but I get dizzy if I stay here too long," Temari said softly, her face flushed.

She had never imagined such a day would come, and she wasn't actually that scared. In this dimly lit corner, her wish had come true, and her heart suddenly felt incredibly hot.

She could feel his broad chest and the overwhelming masculine scent emanating from him. A slight tickling sensation ran down her neck, and just as she was feeling a little flustered, Naruto released her.

"I'm leaving now, see you next time."

In a daze, Temari closed and Temari her eyes, feeling her body being pulled away and back under the eaves. The man leaned against the wooden Obito, smiling, staring at her like that again.

Temari knew then that she was doomed and would never escape that man's grasp for the rest of her life.

Night falls.

There was a knock on Tsunade's door.

"Go in," she said in a low voice, without looking up.

The door opened, Naruto walked in carrying a late-night snack, placing it gently a little distance away from the documents.

"Let's take a short rest."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes were half-closed as she looked at the overhead light, a weary expression on her face.

"Rest? What are we going to rest for? Tomorrow is the last chance for talks. Kumogakure is as outrageous as ever, resorting to these scheming tricks."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "First, keep finding fault to exhaust your energy, and when the talks can't go on anymore, take a step back and send over a large amount of information like snowflakes."

"We only have one day, and we can't really blame them, since they were the ones who backed down and took a step back. We can't continue tomorrow's talks until we've finished reviewing all this."

"That's really dog-like." Naruto sat down on the opposite sofa with his long arms and legs. "It's really too much of a stretch for Lord Tsunade not to bring Shizune along."

"Shizune has to stay in Konohagakure. On one hand, the Medical Unit is really too busy, and Sakura can't take charge of the overall situation." Tsunade out and fumbled on the table for a while, then grabbed her wine glass, took a sip, and realized it was empty.

"In short, Konohagakure has indeed been declining in recent years, that is an undeniable fact. It's not exactly in a state of transition, but it's not much better off than the Three Great Shinobi Villages of Iwagakure, Sand, and Tsuchikage."

She struggled to get up, but Naruto got up and pressed her back down, then slowly poured her a glass of wine.

"Don't all powerful ninja villages eventually end up fighting wars?"

"That's true, but we can't let Kumogakure grow too powerful," Tsunade said. "If Kumogakure hadn't already shown signs of surpassing Konohagakure, this Five Kage Summit wouldn't have been so easily convened."

"There's no other way right now. Peace in the Shinobi World is the inevitable trend, and we can't let the Kumogakure use this as a pretext to start a war."

"Kumogakure has already lost the Two-Tails, so there's no need to worry too much," Naruto reassured him. "Who knows what will happen in the future? Peace is always the best."

"Hmm." Tsunade took a sip of her drink and looked at Naruto, saying, "Since you're not asleep, help me organize that stack of documents."

"Oh, okay."

The next day.

The meeting went smoothly, but apart from the Raikage, the other four Kage didn't seem to be in good spirits. It was probably because they had stayed up all night reviewing documents; Ōnoki looked like he was about to die.

A month has passed since I returned to Konohagakure.

Having escaped the winter of the Land of Iron, I hadn't even really experienced the autumn of Konohagakure before winter arrived in the blink of an eye.

Naruto was completely deflated. He had promised to wait for Jiraiya to return to the village, but the old man hadn't come back all winter. He wondered if Jiraiya had gone to the Land of Rice to have a love-hate relationship with the snake-skinned monster, and if he had forgotten his apprentice because of his old friend.

"Ah!" He looked out at the heavy snow outside the window, shivering under the covers.

Fortunately, Hinata and Ino would visit him occasionally, mainly because he was such a homebody that he would never go out unless absolutely necessary. Especially in winter, he practically hibernated.

It's worth mentioning that even the Nine-Tails gets cold easily, and instead of lounging around on the sofa, it started hiding under the covers Naruto. It wasn't until Naruto had the heating system replaced that it slowly strode out of the room.

"Not going to stay cooped up anymore?" he sneered.

"Couldn't sleep, just came out for a walk." Nine-Tails leaped over a hurdle and landed directly on the sofa with a smooth and natural movement. Naruto wanted to throw it into the Olympic Games after seeing it.

After a while, Nine-Tails turned over and saw Naruto still tinkering with the new heating equipment.

Are we eating out today?

"Tenten is eat, eat, eat. What do you know besides eating?" Naruto glanced back at Nine-Tails. "You're as fat as a pig. Do you even remember what breed you are?"

Nine-Tails ignored it; it could lose weight anytime it wanted, it was just a mass of energy inside its body anyway. But in the dead of winter, keeping some fat would keep it warm.

The year-end is approaching.

Naruto, who had nothing to do all day, took the opportunity to participate in Konohagakure's winter Chunin Ninja Exams. Compared to the joint exams held by the two countries in the past, the Chunin Ninja Exams Konohagakure alone were much easier.

It took him half a month to finally earn the title of Chunin. Choji was also taking the exam with him, but because he missed the autumn exam, he had to retake it.

The two unfortunate brothers stood out starkly against the snow, one fat and one thin.

The Chunin uniforms were issued a week before the New Year Festival.

Naruto and Choji had arranged to go to the Hokage Building together, but Ino didn't expect to come along. She smiled broadly at the two of them and said with a smug look on her face.

"To celebrate you two finally shedding your Genin status, I'll treat you to barbecue."

"The two of us?" Naruto was taken aback.

Choji pointed at Naruto with a serious expression, tightened his cotton coat, and then pointed at himself.

"Shikamaru, Ino, Neji, Rock Lee... even Kiba is already Chunin, and only the two of us are still Genin."

After receiving their Chunin uniforms, they worked non-stop to complete the formalities. Ino had done it once before and knew the way well, leading the two up and down the stairs. By the time they sat down at the Barbecue restaurant and looked at the menu, it was already midday.

The alley was covered in winter snow, and inside the warm Barbecue restaurant, Choji felt something was off. He looked up at the misty glass, then turned to look at the two people sitting together, and muttered a question.

"Should I go home now?"

Besides