Konoha The spring breeze of 1957 has not completely dispelled the winter chill, but the warmth of the festival has quietly infiltrated the streets of Hidden Leaf Village.
A brand new Shimenawa hangs in front of every house. The loose door exudes the refreshing scent of pine, and the air is filled with the aroma of rice cake soup and grilled fish.
In this season that symbolizes rebirth and reunion, the house Menma located near Hyuga Compound is rarely filled with a lively atmosphere.
There is a heater burning in the house, and the orange Kakkō is jumping, dispelling the chill of early spring.
Uzumaki Naruto was sitting cross-legged on the tatami, with several brand-new ninja enlightenment picture books spread out in front of him.
That was Menma's New Year's gift to him, although there were only a few Hand Seals gestures.
Naruto is trying to imitate the gesture of Hand Seals in the picture album. His little face is wrinkled up, looking extremely serious, and he is mumbling. "Zi,
Chou, Yin... ah, wrong again!"
"Idiot Naruto, Hand Seals, be fast! Be accurate! If you are as slow as you, the enemy will beat you into a sieve!" A crisp but full of anger voice sounded.
It is Hinata Hyuga who is speaking, or in other words, the one who dominates this body at this moment is Big Sister Hinata from "Limited Tsukuyomi World".
Today she did not wear Main House's complicated light purple kimono, but changed into a dark blue outfit that was easier to move around. She casually put on a short off-white Haori over it, with a slight neckline, revealing her graceful neck.
Her long, smooth dark blue hair was not neatly tied behind her head as usual, but was tied high into a ponytail with a simple hair rope, swinging neatly behind her head as she spoke.
She was sitting cross-legged, carefully holding a baby wrapped in a pink-blue blanket in her arms. Her half-sister, Hanabi Hyuga, was not yet one year old.
Big Sister Hinata's character is as flamboyant as her outfit,
At this moment, while she was scolding Naruto's clumsy Hand Seals unceremoniously, she stretched out her free hand, fluttered her fingers, and "swiped" a few times. Several basic printing styles were completed in an instant, so fast that she almost left an afterimage. Naruto was stunned and subconsciously shrank her neck, instinctively worried about this fierce Hinata.
"Sister... Sister--" Hanabi in her arms seemed to be attracted by her sister's neat movements, her little mouth was babbling, and her little arms like lotus joints were waving upwards hard, trying to catch Hinata's swinging ponytail.
Her little face was rosy, and her pair of pure Byakugan looked at everything around her curiously.
"Hey! Hanabi is so good!" Hearing his sister's vague call, the impatience on Big Sister Hinata's face disappeared instantly, his eyebrows were curved, and his voice softened several degrees.
She lowered her head and rubbed Hanabi's tender little face affectionately with the tip of her nose.
"Call me again, sister~"
"Sister-sister-" Hanabi chuckled and pumped her little fist even more vigorously.
"Haha, Hanabi is so cute!" Seeing Hinata's attention shift, Naruto immediately breathed a sigh of relief and came over to tease the baby.
He put down the album, rubbed his cheeks vigorously with both hands, winked, made all kinds of exaggerated and funny faces, and made strange sounds like "Puff" and "Lulu" from his mouth.
This trick really worked.
Hanabi was amused by Naruto's rich expressions, making her giggle non-stop. Her little hands and feet kicked around excitedly, and her big eyes turned into crescents.
He was shouting "yeah", as if he wanted to imitate Naruto's weird behavior.
The warm room is filled with the innocent laughter of children.
Menma was sitting at a low table a little further away, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand. The water vapor from the nitrogen box blurred his calm face.
He looked at the strange yet inexplicably harmonious scene in front of him.
Naruto who whirred, Big Sister Hinata who was fiery and forthright, and Hanabi who was as pure as the first snow in her arms.
His eyes lingered for a moment on the tenderness shown by Hinata when teasing Hanabi, which was completely different from her usual publicity, and then fell on Naruto's pure and happy smile, and there was an imperceptible ripple deep in his heart.
This is probably what "family" feels like?
"Hey, Menma!" Big Sister Hinata's voice interrupted Menma's thoughts.
While gently shaking Hanabi in her arms, she frowned delicately and began to complain to Menma, her tone full of dissatisfaction with Hyuga Main House.
"Do you think there is something wrong with the old man in my family? He still keeps a straight face during the Chinese New Year and has a lot of rules. Even eating is like being punished! And those elders keep saying "Main House", "Branch House", and "Caged Bird" all day long. It is annoying to death! If it weren't for Hanabi, I would be too lazy to go back and look at their old faces!"
She did not shy away from calling her father Hyuga Hiashi as Lao Deng. Her words were so spicy that even the elders Main House were criticized by her.
To her, the rotten and stereotyped Hyuga Main House was far less important than the little sister in front of her who needed her protection.
Menma listened to her complaints and smiled lightly.
Hinata's dressing up today is different from usual, she doesn't look like a hot girl.
He knows that Big Sister Hinata has a deep-rooted dislike for Hyuga Main House, and this kind of complaint is more of an emotional catharsis.
It's just that the eldest sister recently complained that the elders of Main House seemed to have generally bad tempers after losing Byakugan, and often scolded Branch House members.
Counting the time, Toneri and his father should be here soon." Menma vaguely remembers that Toneri and his father should have been here when Hinata was seven or eight years old, and they may even have come to the Hyuga Clan earlier to look for the suitable Byakugan.
Menma took a sip of tea and turned his eyes towards the corridor.
Ko Hyuga, as the guard of Hinata, is kneeling meticulously on the verandah of the hut, with his back to the warm interior and his face to the scattered snow that has not completely melted in the courtyard.
He was wearing a standard Hyuga Clan dark-colored ninja uniform, with a tall and straight posture. Byakugan remained open, guarding the surroundings at 360 degrees without blind spots.
Since Asura's second attack, Ko Hyuga's mission has become much more difficult, especially around the Spring Festival.
Even though Hyuga Compound is next door, he still remains vigilant.
The mysterious Asura appeared repeatedly in Hyuga Compound without any trace.
At this time, Hinata's complaints about Main House and the clan leader came to his ears clearly, but there was no expression on his young face, like a stone statue.
He cannot comment on Miss Main House's willful remarks. His duty is only to protect her safety.
At this moment, Ko Hyuga's body tensed imperceptibly for a moment, and then relaxed again.
He turned sideways and bowed his head respectfully toward the courtyard. "Lord Hokage."
The wooden door of the corridor was gently opened, and a breeze carrying the chill of early spring flowed into the warm interior.
The person standing outside the door was Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi who had taken off his Hokage robe and was wearing dark brown regular clothes.
He had a warm smile on his face, and he was holding a few plainly wrapped gift boxes in his hand, with a few tiny snowflakes Conical Hat on them.
"Excuse me, children." Third Hokage's voice was gentle, with the unique kindness of the elders,
"I heard that Naruto is celebrating the New Year at your place this year, Menma. I'll come over and take a look and bring some New Year gifts."
His eyes swept across the room, and when he saw Hinata holding Hanabi, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Oh? Hinata and Hanabi are here too, it's really lively."
"Grandpa Third Hokage!" Naruto immediately jumped up excitedly when he saw Third Hokage. The previous "ghost face show" was also thrown out of the sky, and he rushed to the door like a small cannonball.
"Why are you here? Come in, come in!"
Menma also stood up, bowed slightly and saluted. "Sir Third Hokage."
His movements were polite and he had the enthusiasm of a host.
Big Sister Hinata hugged Hanabi and just raised his chin casually as a greeting. His attitude was not respectful, but it was not a big mistake.
"Hey, Third Hokage Lao Deng, you are a rare visitor."
Her tone was still carefree.
Third Hokage didn't care about Hinata's title. He smiled and Earth Flow entered the room and placed the gifts he brought on the low table.
There are new stationery for Naruto and several enlightenment books on chakra refining, as well as Naruto's favorite brand of ramen, a new set of dark blue clothes of good quality for Menma, and some small toys.
Seeing Hinata and Hanabi, Third Hokage stroked his beard and said with a slightly apologetic smile, "Old man, it seems that I was not well prepared. I didn't expect that Hinata would also bring his sister here. I can't miss the lucky money."
As he spoke, he took out several small red paper bags that had been prepared long ago and symbolized good fortune, and handed them to Naruto, Menma and Hinata respectively.
After all, as an elder, when he meets a younger generation occasionally around the Spring Festival, he cannot help but give him some lucky money, so he prepared a lot of small red paper bags with him.
"Wow! New Year's money!" Naruto cheered and took it, eager to open it and see how much was inside.
Menma took the paper bag and felt it was a little heavy in hand, not light in weight.
He thanked calmly, "Thank you Mr. Third Hokage."
Hinata took his share, weighed it, curled his lips, and said politely, "Thank you, Grandpa Third Hokage. I'll buy some candies for Hanabi later."
She lowered her head and said to Hanabi in her arms, "Look, Hanabi also has a share of the New Year's money given by grandpa Hokage."
Hanabi seemed to feel the joyful atmosphere, and chuckled again, grabbing his little hand in the direction of Third Hokage.
After distributing the New Year's money, Third Hokage, with the courtesy of Menma, found a seat by the heater and sat down.
Ko Hyuga quietly closed the door to block out the cold air outside, and still guarded the corridor like a loyal sentinel.
Third Hokage looked at the three children with very different personalities in front of him.
Naruto who is lively and playful, Menma who is calm and restrained, and Hinata who holds his sister with a wild and frank look on his eyebrows. His eyes are gentle with a hint of subtle complexity, especially when passing by Naruto and Menma.
He cleared his throat with an encouraging smile on his face, "Children, after the spring, Ninja Academy will officially start school. You have also reached the age of enrollment."
He looked at Naruto: "Naruto, are you looking forward to it? In the Ninja Academy, you can not only learn the skills to become a ninja, but also make many friends of the same age."
"Friend?" Naruto's eyes instantly lit up like stars. He nodded vigorously, and his blond hair jumped.
"Of course I'm looking forward to it! I'm super looking forward to it! I want to make a lot of friends! I want to become the most powerful ninja! Like Hokage!" He waved his little fist excitedly, as if he had already seen the scene where he made friends and dominated the scene in the Ninja Academy.
For him, being able to escape the isolation of "Demon Fox" and have real friends is what he looks forward to more than learning ninjutsu.
Third Hokage nodded happily and looked at Menma: "Menma, you have a calm personality and strong learning ability. I believe you will achieve excellent results in the Ninja Academy. The road of ninja is long, and it is important to lay a good foundation."
Menma met Third Hokage's gaze, his blue eyes were calm and calm, and he nodded slightly. "Yes, Master Third Hokage, I will work hard."
His answers were as concise and decent as ever, making it impossible to find fault, but also unable to detect any real emotions.
Ninja Academy?
For him, "Asura" who has experienced war in "Limited Tsukuyomi World" and controls the huge power "Land of Stars", it is more like a stage play with a mask that he must participate in.
Just a day to play with Naruto and Hinata.
Finally, Third Hokage's eyes fell on Hinata who was holding Hanabi.
Big Sister Hinata raised his eyebrows and spoke first, with a bit of nonchalant wildness in his tone. "I know, old man Hokage. It's just school, so just go. But let's make a deal first, if anyone in the school dares to bully my sister or get into trouble with me, don't deduct credits from me when I beat them up!"
As she spoke, she waved her fist in a demonstrative manner. Hanabi in her arms seemed to find her sister's actions very interesting and waved her fist in response.
Hearing this, Third Hokage laughed loudly with his beard, and the laughter was full of helplessness and tolerance. "Hinata ah Hinata, you have such a temper-Ninja Academy Ninja Academy has Ninja Academy's rules, and classmates must be friendly. But that's it,"
He changed the subject and a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes. "I don't think anyone dares to mess with you. If it were that person, the teacher and I would understand."
Just don't go too far."
Hiruzen Sarutobi also heard something about this Miss Hyuga, and knew that she had a dual personality. He had met Hinata a few times, who had a sweet personality and was a little shy.
I know that using hard rules to suppress Hinata will have poor results.
The warm fire illuminated several young faces. Naruto was still thinking excitedly about life after school and chattering non-stop; Menma listened quietly, occasionally sipping the cooling tea in the cup.
Big Sister Hinata was teasing Hanabi in his arms, while listening to Naruto's "Ambition and Ambition" with a lazy and doting smile on his lips; Hanabi's babbling sound was like the clearest wind chimes in spring.
Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively reached for the cigarette gun and pipe, but suddenly thought of the children in front of him and stopped.
Looking at this heartwarming scene, a heartfelt smile appeared on his weather-beaten face.
The haze of war seems to be far away temporarily, and the daily life of peace is so precious.
He hoped that these children could find their own paths and bonds in their upcoming ninja careers.
Outside the window, the first ray of spring in Konoha 57 is quietly climbing up the branches, melting the last remaining snow.
On the veranda, Ko Hyuga and Byakugan are still patrolling the courtyard vigilantly, guarding this noisy but real warmth.
The new year is slowly kicking off.