Casual Chat and Atmosphere

Sandayu and Kazahana Koyuki were a pair: one was a seasoned old fox, and the other had been a fairly famous actress before ascending to the throne as Queen.

Naturally, they could easily read the subtext in Utakata's expressions and words.

"Heh heh, welcome to the Land of Snow, Utakata-kun. Since you've joined the Snow Ninja Village, we are all on the same side now. If you run into any trouble, feel free to come to Kazahana Castle to find me!"

Sandayu pushed up his glasses and said with a light chuckle.

Beside him, Kazahana Koyuki revealed a soft smile.

"Welcome to the Land of Snow, Utakata-kun. There's no need to be so formal. Since you are Naruto's friend, you are my friend as well. In private, you can just call me Koyuki. And Naruto, when did you become so polite? 'Sama,' really? Hmph, this is the first time I've ever heard you address me like that!"

She first said the former half of her sentence to Utakata with a smile.

Then, she turned her head to look at Naruto, her tone slightly playful and intimate. Even though Utakata had already guessed as much internally, he was still somewhat astonished at the true nature of the relationship between his village leader and Her Majesty the Queen. Naruto, the only blockhead in the room, failed to catch the subtext entirely. Instead, he felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort at the sight of Sandayu's "benevolent father" smile, which looked exactly like a weasel eyeing a chick.

Naruto shivered inwardly, gave a light cough, and said with some embarrassment.

"Haha, it's just because Utakata-san is new here."

For some reason, Naruto always felt that ever since a certain day, the Minister of the Interior had been looking at him with an unusually strange