Hanabi, So Easy to Talk Into, and Princess Sara's Wish

Naruto paused for a moment, then looked at her seriously and said...

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could that be? It was just a side trip."

Sakura: "."

Okay, the filter is gone.

Sakura stormed back to pack her things, but Naruto just smiled and didn't take it to heart. He leaned against the wall, looking at the fine snow outside, and thought to himself that another year had passed.

Once the New Year Festival is over, I'll find Kabuto and give him a piece of my mind.

The wait was so frustrating. If it weren't for this great opportunity to resolve Ino and Hinata's issues, and if they weren't pregnant, Naruto would have preferred to wait it out.

Now that Kabuto is a corpse, he deserves to die even more.

~~

Sakura flipped over and seized the top spot, her mouth slightly open, her long pink hair falling down and sticking to his chest, which had been tempered countless times and was as hard as steel.

"I want a child too," she whispered in his ear, her voice hoarse.

"Nobody's stopping you."

"If you're not diligent, what can I do?"

"Diligent?" Naruto was speechless. "I'm usually busy with other things, so I can't stay together all day long. If it weren't for the New Year Festival, I wouldn't have come."

"You're too realistic," she said, sweat dripping down her face.

"I'm just telling the truth. I've told too many lies, so I'm used to telling the truth to balance things out." He hugged Sakura. "But for the New Year Festival, I really did bring you home specifically."

Is this the truth or a lie?

"The truth."

"I'm really happy," she said.

"Um?"

Even though I know I only occupy a small place in your heart, there is still a small place that belongs to me, and the thought of that makes me happy.

"You don't need to do that, it puts pressure on me." Naruto joked, reaching out to touch Sakura's face. "Actually, I'm inherently greedy, always feeling that everything should be mine."

"I've thought this way from the beginning: you can never have too much; anything I like is mine."

"Didn't you avoid me at first too?" Sakura asked, bending down to hug him. "You hid for a long time, looking like you'd run away as soon as you saw me."

"To be honest, I hated troublesome things back then, but I didn't avoid anything." Naruto seemed to have thought of something, staring into Sakura's eyes.

"Who are you?"

"What?"

"Is she still her?" Naruto asked again, realizing how stupid he had been to forget that Sakura would repeatedly switch personalities when she was stimulated.

It's only now that I realize Sakura seems to have remained emotionally stable throughout.

Sakura suddenly became shy.

Holy crap

The next day.

When Naruto woke up, Sakura was already gone. He'd stayed up too late last night and couldn't quite remember what time he'd gone to sleep. It seemed he'd only fallen asleep around dawn.

He propped himself up and glanced out the window; sure enough, it was almost dusk outside.

Covering his eyes with his hand, Naruto recalled yesterday's events and still felt a little... well. A moment later, he got up to wash up; the New Year was almost over.

His daily life miraculously became regular. He would get up early every day to have breakfast with Ino and chat with her at noon. He would also take time off to go to the Land of Snow to be with Hinata.

He'd already decided to trick Hanabi into going to the Land of Snow, so he didn't care about anything else. Hinata's pregnancy symptoms weren't too severe yet; pregnant women tend to overthink things and need their family's company.

Hanabi has a lively personality and a good relationship with Hinata, making her the best choice.

The Capital City of the Land of Snow is not desolate at all; on the contrary, it's quite lively. Hinata's safety is handled by designated personnel. With Hanabi, that ragtag Chunin, there shouldn't be any major problems.

That place is frozen for thousands of miles and covered in snow, and no living people have ever entered it. To this day, it can be considered one of the Pure Land of the Shinobi World.

"You're looking for me?" Hanabi peeked out from behind the backyard wall, looking completely bewildered.

"Come out first, don't let Lord Hiashi find out." He waved familiarly at Hanabi Hyuga, the two of them not being strangers.

"Oh."

Hanabi responded and then withdrew its head again. About ten minutes later, she strolled over from another path, clearly having taken a detour.

If it were Ino, she would have simply climbed over the wall from the other side. Hanabi wasn't a rigid person either; she only took the detour out of courtesy for the sake of her noble family.

Now Hanabi is fourteen years old, and has grown into a graceful young woman, no longer the boy she used to be. She wears a bright yellow Yukata and has long hair.

The baby fat on her face has faded, and her chin is more defined, outlining the unique contours of a young girl.

"What do you want? Where's my sister?"

"In the Land of Snow."

"So far?" Hanabi shook her head, a slight displeasure on her face. "We'll have to take a boat, won't we? My sister is pregnant; even for her safety, you can't..."

Hanabi was furious and spit out a mouthful of saliva.

"Scumbag!"

"I didn't take a boat."

"Huh? You won't even let me ride a boat? You're so stingy! I misjudged you, my sister is pregnant with your child! You scumbag!" Hanabi's face darkened even more.

Hearing this, Naruto was speechless, thinking to himself that these two sisters really had two completely different personalities. But then he thought, since Hanabi would know about the Gate of Hades anyway, it wasn't a good idea to keep it from her.

"It's Space-Time Ninjutsu, so there's no need for long journeys."

"Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

"That place is nice too, but Hinata needs someone to talk to. Would you like to go to the Land of Snow?" Naruto asked tactfully.

"The Land of Snow, huh? I'd like to." Hanabi looked up at Naruto. "I also wanted to visit my sister, but... about the village..."

"Lord Hiashi is very strong, there's absolutely no need for you."

"That's true, but with war imminent, I am, after all, still a ninja of the Hyuga Clan." Hanabi's attitude had softened somewhat. "What about my father?"

"It is precisely because of the war that Hinata needs someone to take care of her." Naruto's expression turned serious as he said, "I will take care of the village, and Hiashi will take care of the Lord Hiashi clan."

"But."

"There's no 'buts.' Do you know how far the Land of Snow is from the Land of Fire?" Naruto countered, adding, "No one can control you. There are snow-capped mountains, igloos, and Capital City where it's spring all year round."

Hanabi's mind went blank; she clutched her face, already feeling dizzy. "No, no, I'm a member of the clan; I must serve the clan's Main Family."

"What kind of the Main Family or Branch Family is this now? Aren't we all one family?" He started his best-kept Talk no Jutsu, spouting nonsense. "We'll soon be one family too, with no distinction between you and me."

"Is that so?" Hanabi's mind was filled with images of snow-capped mountains and all sorts of delicious food.

"Yeah, would I lie to you?" Naruto's tone was seductive. "Think about it, I'm already in Konohagakure, how could Konohagakure not be stable? And you? A Chunin, staying in Konohagakure would only allow you to do odd jobs."

"But once you arrive in the Land of Snow, Hinata will need you. Officially, if you don't go, the Hyuga Clan will have to send someone. Personally, you are Hinata's sister."

"Besides, even if a war breaks out outside, you're still just Chunin. Lord Hyuga wouldn't let you go to the battlefield, and staying in the village would just be boring."

Faced with Naruto's sweet talk, Hanabi became increasingly confused, muttering something to herself. Finally, she raised her head and made one last attempt to resist.

"Am I doing something wrong?"

"No!" Naruto said firmly, "You are making a contribution to the Hyuga Clan, Lord Hiashi will be proud of you."

"Hmm, okay, okay." Hanabi had forgotten that just a few minutes ago she was scolding this scumbag in front of her, but in the last few minutes she had been completely bought off.

When are you going?

"Now."

"Huh?" Hanabi was stunned, then glanced at Naruto. "Now? I still need to talk to Father, just in case he doesn't agree."

"I will talk to her, don't worry. There's nothing you can disagree with." He made a quick decision, using the same logic he had just used. "Hinata is your sister. You're taking care of your sister, how could your father disagree?"

"That seems to be true."

"Let's just go straight there, there's no time." He said this on purpose, without giving a specific reason, just saying that there was almost no time left.

Hanabi, perhaps feeling she had hesitated for too long, agreed after a brief moment of hesitation. It was during that brief moment of hesitation that Naruto opened the Gate of Hades and pulled her inside.

In mid-air, the Gate of Hades flashed by.

"I haven't brought any spare clothes yet, why are we in such a rush?" Hanabi finally realized and muttered a complaint, "And there's more..."

"Just buy it now, we don't need anything." Naruto didn't waste any words. "Someone will arrange it for you. Spend as you like, put it on my tab, no need to be frugal."

"Really? You're rich in the Land of Snow too?" Hanabi immediately became interested.

"So-so, half the city is mine." He replied casually, speaking the truth. "My nickname Half-City Uzumaki. Spend as you like, the money will come back to me anyway."

"You're kidding me!" Hanabi said dismissively.

Turning her head, she found herself already led out of the Gate of Hades Naruto. The moment she caught sight of the snow-capped mountains, Hanabi Hyuga froze. Under the gray sky, the snow-capped mountains sat scattered across the plains as usual.

"That's a snow-capped mountain."

~~

"Yeah." Nohara Nao glanced back at Sara and said casually, "The New Year Festival is over, so it's okay to go out, but things seem pretty chaotic lately."

"Chaos?" Sara glanced at her. "What chaos could possibly happen in the Land of Fire?"

"Hmm," Nohara Nao on her hand, "It seems to be something like war, but I definitely can't go to Konohagakure, I'll be seen as a suspicious person."

"Will the Land of Fire also experience war? It's already a great power, is it really going to face war?" Sara asked in confusion.

"Yes, it is precisely because we are a great power that we keep participating in and provoking wars," Nohara Nao said helplessly. "I heard that after twenty years of peace, it seems that chaos is about to break out again."

"But haven't you already contacted your sister?" Sara for a while, but still couldn't remember the person's name.

"Lin".

"Yes, Rin Nohara, it's amazing that people can come back to life." Sara exclaimed, then suddenly fell silent, as if she had thought of something.

Nohara Nao cleared the dishes from the table and put them in the kitchen sink. She tucked her sleeves into her hand and took in Sara's reaction, knowing that she was thinking of the Queen of Roran.

Rōran was destroyed twenty years ago, Queen of Roran has been dead for twenty years as well. The desert buries bones, and the dead cannot be brought back to life, so Nohara Nao couldn't say anything.

As for what exactly happened with Rin Nohara, she still didn't understand. The letters Rin Nohara sent were also vague, and it seemed that even she herself didn't know the details.

In short, bizarre and wonderful things often happen, and it's ultimately a good thing that people are still alive.

The atmosphere suddenly quieted down, and the water in the sink was running. Nohara Nao suddenly remembered something: she hadn't told Rin about her time travel.

The Dragon Vein wasn't exactly a huge secret, but not many people knew about Dragon Vein, and given the complexity of the matter, she didn't go into much detail.

In short, the current situation is that she knows Rin has been resurrected. Rin Nohara learning that her cousin, who had been missing for many years, is still alive is like a reunion of family and friends.

I recall the contents of the letter, which detailed Rin Nohara's condition.

She did the math and realized that her cousin was probably younger than Lin now, which made her feel both amused and exasperated. She thought to herself, "What kind of nonsense is this? It's utterly absurd!"

After leaving the kitchen, Nohara Nao walked to the sofa and sat down.

"Sara, you'll be an adult now that this New Year Festival is over, right?"

"Hmm." She was a little downcast, having just thought of her mother who had died in battle. "I'm an adult now, and I'm allowed to drink alcohol."

"Drinking alcohol isn't good for your health." Nohara Nao smiled gently. Having experienced war, she was more mature Sara. "We've adapted to this world pretty well now. Shall we go see the Rōran ruins this year?"

"Really?" Sara looked up, as if she had thought of something, but her eyes quickly dimmed again. "But I'm not a ninja, I'll be a burden to you."

"Sara." Nohara Nao stepped forward, gently cupped her face, and said earnestly, "You are a princess, and you have your own shining points no matter what."

"But Rōran is gone," Sara sighed. "What good would it do to go back? I don't have the ability to rebuild Rōran."

"Those villagers who fled are probably living a stable life now, so it wouldn't be good for anyone if I showed up again."

"Rōran is Rōran because of the existence of Queen," Nohara Nao said. "Let me ask that person for you; maybe there's hope."

"He," Sara hesitated, "Isn't that too much trouble? That kind of thing is too big a deal, I..."

"It's okay, as long as we're together forever." Nohara Nao touched her face and said with a smile, "I don't want to be separated from you, do you understand?"

"We are all people who have traveled back from the Dragon Vein, and we have similar secrets. Although that person is sometimes lazy and hates trouble, he will not be perfunctory when he takes responsibility."

"Um, this." Sara suddenly understood, and her face turned red instantly. She thought to herself, "Why did Nao-chan suddenly say something like that? How embarrassing."

"Are you going to refuse?" Nohara Nao stared into Sara's eyes, her pupils like a deep spring, gleaming with a faint light.

"Um... I... I'll think about it." Sara lowered her head.