Naruto was so stunned by Qingxi's words that he could only point at her, unable to get a single word out.
Never in his wildest dreams had Naruto imagined that the little girl before him was his younger sister. Was this some kind of mistake? His sister had still been in their mother's womb when he left the Shinobi World. Only a few months had passed, so how was she already five years old? Had he misunderstood how time worked, or was time itself broken?
Naruto swallowed and took a long while to recover. He looked Qingxi over from one side, then the other, before finally letting out a soft sigh.
Qingxi immediately grew unhappy when she saw him sigh. Pouting, she asked, "What? Aren't you happy to see me? Or don't you want me as your little sister?"
Naruto hurriedly waved his hands at her words. "No, no, no! That's not what I meant."
Qingxi looked at him. "Then what did you mean?"
Naruto smiled. "I just need a little time to take it in. When I first came to this world, you were still in Mom's belly. How did you get this big in just a few months? I don't even know what happened. How am I supposed to take that in? Besides, I'd planned to be there as you grew up, but now you're already five or six. I didn't even get to see you when you were born. It feels like such a shame." He sounded deeply regretful, as though missing the chance to watch Qingxi grow up was a tremendous loss.
Qingxi laughed when she heard that. Wrapping her arms around Naruto's shoulders, she said with a smile, "Then can I stay with you from now on? That way, you can watch me grow up."