) After leaving Hokage Office, Naruto walked on the bustling Konoha street. His expression seemed calm and he asked enthusiastic questions to the villagers along the way. Waiting - "Young Master Naruto is back!" "Thank you for your hard work today!" "Naruto-kun!" - just nodded slightly, responded with a simple "um", or a smile.
His mind was not at all on these daily pleasantries, and he even temporarily forgot about the heavy white God Robe in Hokage Office and the crazy face of his master.
At this moment, there was only one thing going through his mind, an important thing that must be completed today and could not be delayed.
His pace quickened unconsciously. He did not walk towards home, but walked straight through the lively neighborhood and came to Konoha Gate.
After simply showing his voucher to Ninja on duty, he left the village without hesitation.
The destination is Capital of Fire, the most prosperous capital city in this country.
Naruto had a clear goal and used the technique of [Flying Thunder God] to perform short- and medium-distance jumps, greatly shortening the journey time and arriving at a luxurious and quiet neighborhood in the center of the capital.
His footsteps stopped in front of a shop with a flamboyant appearance and luxury everywhere.
The thick solid wood door, the gilt signboard is engraved with ancient cursive characters, and the display in the window is not ordinary merchandise, but jewelry with a warm luster, exquisite silk and some unique works of art.
This is a time-honored store that specializes in serving aristocrats and top wealthy people and customizing luxury goods.
Naruto Pushed the door and walked in, the wind chime on the door made a crisp sound. The light in the store was soft, and the air was filled with the faint smell of sandalwood and aged leather.
A well-dressed and elegant middle-aged shop owner came up to him and recognized this young and powerful man who had recently become famous in Ninja World. His attitude was respectful but not disrespectful.
Without too many pleasantries, Naruto directly explained the purpose of his visit. Today is the day to pick up the goods that Naruto customized here some time ago. Today is the day for delivery and final payment.
Nearly 20 million taels.
This price is almost worth two-thirds of the head bounty of Asuma Sarutobi. For most Ninja, this is a huge amount of money that requires completing several S-level missions before it can be touched.
But Naruto just nodded calmly without counter-offering. For him, money is just a number, and what he wants must be the best.
The store owner understands that this customer is here for the "best" and is not stingy. He uses the same specifications as Daimyo to make the product.
It wasn't until night fell and the lanterns came on that Naruto got a gift box with extremely elegant packaging and warm and heavy tentacles.
After carefully checking and confirming that it was correct, he carefully put the gift box away.
After paying the final payment, Naruto did not stay in the bustling capital and found a quiet corner.
"Whoosh--"
[Flying Thunder God Technique] started. Konoha Village The familiar night wind carrying the fragrance of grass and trees blew in his face. He was already standing in front of the door of his house.
Naruto straightened the slightly messy clothes, took a deep breath, and then walked towards the door of the house that shone with warm light.
"Click."
The key turned and the door opened.
"Welcome back, Naruto."
The coldness completely receded, and a voice containing incomparable warmth immediately sounded.
Uchiha Satsuki stood not far from the entrance, wearing comfortable home clothes, with her long black hair draped smoothly on her shoulders.
She seemed to have just finished cleaning up the kitchen, and there was still a little moisture on her hands. When she saw Naruto, her black eyes instantly lit up with a soft halo.
She has completely integrated into this daily life, and is enjoying the role she plays now - not the genius of Uchiha, not the powerful Mangekyo Ninja, but just the wife of Uzumaki Naruto. Although her identity is still the fiancée, her mentality is.
Light a light for him, wait for him to come home, prepare meals, share the trivialities or tranquility of the day...
"Well, I'm back." Naruto changed his shoes, walked into the house, and naturally took the warm towel handed over by Satsuki and wiped his hands and face.
The smell of home mixed with hers made him feel the peace and attachment deeply rooted in his soul.
His eyes were immediately attracted to the direction of the restaurant.
On the dining table, sumptuous but not luxurious dishes have been set. Bright tomatoes are cleverly used in many dishes - it may be sweet and sour tomato stew, tender and juicy Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, or refreshing tomato salad.
In the center of the dining table, two large bowls of steaming hot Ramen with mellow soup color and full of ingredients are exuding a rich aroma that makes your fingers twitch.
"Is Satsuki cooking again today?" Naruto walked to the dining table and looked at everything carefully prepared, with distress and appreciation in his tone.
"Hmm."
Satsuki nodded lightly, followed him to the table, and pulled out a chair for him, "Because Naruto has been very hard recently. Although... the taste is definitely not as good as what Naruto makes."
There was a hint of slight annoyance in her voice that her efforts were not enough, but more of a tenderness that she wanted to share with him.
Naruto sat down, raised his head, and looked at her seriously. "Don't say that. Satsuki is really excellent."
This sentence is sincere. He picked up the chopsticks and took a bite of Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes first. The eggs were smooth and tender, the sweetness and sourness of the tomatoes were just right, and the heat was well controlled.
Then, he picked up the Ramen bowl and took a sip of the soup first. The soup was rich, fragrant and well-balanced. Then he took a bite of the noodles. The noodles were smooth and cooked just right.
The taste is really good. Although it is not as amazing as his own cooking skills, it is definitely top-notch.
If Satsuki opens a Ramen store, with this craftsmanship, he will definitely be qualified to compete with Ichiraku Ramen for customers.
This is of course no accident. Uchiha Satsuki owns Sharingan. When Naruto was cooking, she turned on Sharingan more than once, accurately copying every tiny movement of Naruto... She imprinted all of this in Dojutsu's memory like advanced ninjutsu, and then practiced it repeatedly until it was almost perfect.
This effort also proves that Satsuki is by no means the kind of "kitchen killer" character who is set up to create funny plots and can't cook no matter what.
On the contrary, she has a strong learning ability. As long as she is willing and has enough motivation, she can do her best.
This made her recall a long time ago, a period of dark history that now makes her dig her toes into the ground with shame - at that time, in order to attract Naruto's attention, she mustered up the courage to make him a lunch.
As a result, because of my nervousness and lack of knowledge about seasoning, the bento was so salty that I couldn't even eat it.
Every time I think about this, Satsuki still feels my cheeks get hot, and my heart screams that I want to turn back time to stop myself at that time.
Therefore, every time I had dinner with Naruto and Kakashi, if Kakashi made a joke about it, Satsuki would stare at him with the coldest eyes until he changed the topic and made a mental note to Kakashi.
"Did today's mission go well?" Satsuki sat down opposite him, picked up his own Ramen bowl, and asked softly, interrupting Naruto's concentration on the delicious Ramen and her own memories of the dark history.
"Well, I went to Capital of Fire and got the things I ordered before."
Naruto responded vaguely, without elaborating on what it was, but subconsciously touched the ninja bag. "It just took a while on the road."
"Capital of Fire... it's very far. Thank you for your hard work."
Satsuki didn't ask what it was, but expressed concern considerately. At the same time, he used chopsticks to put the largest piece of barbecued pork in his bowl into Naruto's bowl naturally, "Eat more."
"Eat it yourself." Naruto looked at the extra barbecued pork in the bowl and felt warm in his heart. He also picked up a piece of stewed tomato beef brisket and put it into Satsuki's bowl.
"Yeah." Satsuki lowered his head and ate the piece of beef brisket in small bites, his cheeks turning slightly red.
"Right,"
Naruto suddenly remembered something, "Today I met a new store selling tomato snacks on the street. I heard they taste good. If we are free tomorrow, let's go try it. By the way... see if there are any newly released movies?" He remembered that Satsuki would occasionally watch some movies with literary or historical themes.
Satsuki's eyes lit up slightly, but then she became worried. "Aren't you very busy recently? Hokage over there..." She heard that Naruto was called to Hokage Office today.
"No matter how busy you are, you still need to rest." Naruto smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Besides, the time you spend with Satsuki is the most important. Master... I will take care of it."
Satsuki looked at him, the soft light in his eyes became brighter, and nodded gently. "Okay. I'll listen to you."
Slowly, the dishes were empty, leaving only a little residual soup and scattered side dishes. The warm aftertaste of the dinner had not yet dissipated, and the slightly sour aroma of tomato dishes and the mellow warmth of Ramen soup still lingered in the air.
Uchiha Satsuki was rolling up her sleeves and clearing the table with neat movements. She first folded up the empty bowls, avoiding oil stains with her fingertips, then picked up a damp soft cloth and wiped the table.
The soft light fell on her lowered eyebrows and focused profile. A few strands of her black hair playfully slipped down her cheeks and were tucked behind her ears casually.
Uzumaki Naruto sat where he was and didn't get up immediately to help.
His eyes followed the light figure of Satsuki. Deep in his eyes, the relaxation and gentleness at the previous dinner gradually settled and were replaced by a more solemn and imperceptible tension.
His right hand was pressed on a gift box next to him that had been packaged extremely elegantly.
Naruto knows what's inside - a pure white, flawless, dust-free White Bridal Robe.
In the top shop Capital of Fire, a huge amount of money was spent, the best craftsmen selected the finest materials, and were carefully sewn stitch by stitch. It symbolizes the most important and holy moment in a woman's life. The dress.
Naruto took a slow breath, trying to temporarily suppress all the turbulent emotions in his chest - love, determination, expectation, and the instinctive nervousness when facing important moments in life - and transform them into stable strength.
He watched Satsuki completely wipe the tabletop, straighten up, and prepare to carry the dishes to the kitchen.
"Satsuki,"
Naruto spoke, his voice slightly lower than usual. He paused, his eyes tightly locked on her figure who turned around after hearing the sound.
"Can you come over here?"
He patted the empty seat on the sofa next to him and motioned for her to sit down. Then, he slightly adjusted his sitting posture to make himself look more formal, even though they were in the most relaxed home.
"I... have something to tell you."
(Sorry for the late update, the author suddenly had something to do in the evening)