Tiandou City Was the Capital of Fire

On the vast, open plain,

Naruto's feet moved at a furious pace, his face twisted in a wild grin that only grew more unrestrained.

Seeing that this shameless brat was about to lay hands on her daughter, Bibi Dong ground her teeth until they grated. She could no longer hold back.

She sprang up from her seat. Her fingers twitched delicately, then paused—afraid she might hurt the sickly fool. In the end, she could only unleash a surge of overwhelming mental energy!

Bang!

The expression on Naruto's face instantly froze.

Countless threads of mental energy unfurled behind him and, in the blink of an eye, bound his limbs. For a moment, Naruto lowered his eyes to look at his restrained body, then let his eyelids droop again.

This is it...

Bibi Dong's fingers tensed as she yanked backward. Naruto shot into the air, spinning like a wound-up top, or a lamb roasting over a fire, whirling with a rush of wind until, finally,

Smack!

He hit the ground.

A moment later, Naruto pulled his head out of the dirt and glared back at her, furious.

"What the hell! What are you doing?"

Bibi Dong folded her arms across her chest. She glared at Naruto, then gritted her teeth and snapped, "You're not going!"

"Why can't I go?"

"You're a shameless lecher with wicked intentions. How dare you even ask?"

Bibi Dong was so furious she pointed at Naruto's nose and cursed him.

That shameless brat had been willing to cast aside all propriety just to court her daughter. He'd even called her "Mom."

Jiang Naruto's intentions were plain for all to see!

"Since ancient times, a gentleman has been judged by his actions, not his thoughts!"

Still sitting on the ground, Naruto had his own warped logic. He retorted with righteous indignation, "I haven't even done anything yet. What gives you the right to call me a lecher? Besides, aren't you going to be watching me the whole time? What are you worried about?"

That last part made a little sense.

Bibi Dong furrowed her brow slightly. With her, the girl's own mother, watching him closely at all times, there was no chance this shameless brat could succeed.

But that wasn't enough to put her completely at ease!

He hadn't done anything yet!

Which meant he wanted to! This brat couldn't be allowed to live!

She was about to expose his filthy thoughts when Naruto continued speaking.

His tone was no longer playful and teasing. He met Bibi Dong's angry gaze, his expression turning serious.

"Besides..."

"Don't you want to go see Xiao Xue?"

Bibi Dong's pupils contracted. She froze in place as the sharp aura around her visibly dissipated. In that moment, the golden figure filled her mind.

Seeing that Bibi Dong was wavering, Naruto immediately curled his lips into a grin and frantically signaled to Dong Trumpet with his eyes.

But Bibi Dong's face shifted through a storm of emotions. Her lovely face flushed from green to red, settling into a look of hesitation and conflict. Under Naruto's relentless gaze, she helplessly turned her head aside and muttered, "I... don't have the face to go..."

"Why are you tying yourself in knots over this?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes at Bibi Dong. He spread his hands in exasperation. "If you want to go, then go. She doesn't even know you exist. You can only sneak a look anyway."

"But that's—"

Bibi Dong's temper flared, and she raised her voice.

The words stopped halfway out of her mouth. The emotions that had been building up inside her all tangled together, then lodged in her chest, impossible to express.

Seeing this, Naruto furrowed his brow and propped his chin on his hand, thinking for a moment. Then he gave a knowing look and waved a hand, soothing the anxious Bibi Dong.

"Got it, got it..."

That feeling was easy enough to understand.

She felt ashamed and unworthy of facing her child because she believed she'd done nothing for her.

But she still wanted to do something for her personally, even if all she could offer was a little love, care, and help. Yet she felt too ashamed to see her. She was caught between a rock and a hard place.

After being schooled by countless melodramatic TV dramas, Naruto easily guessed what Bibi Dong was thinking. He glanced at the anxious woman before him and couldn't help rubbing his forehead.

"You really are a pain!"

A moment later,

Naruto, seated on the ground, brushed the dust from his clothes and slowly got to his feet.

There was nothing worth mentioning about it, but for some reason, his movements now held an indescribable, supple grace.

He furrowed his brow, his eyes full of curiosity. First he looked down at his hand, opening and closing it, then he twisted his waist and moved his body, like a newborn adapting to a new body.

"How's this?"

Little Ming's voice sounded beside him.

Bibi Dong was using her mental energy to concentrate on controlling the "Naruto" body outside. She immediately suppressed the corners of her lips, which had started to lift. She wasn't willing to admit it, but she didn't want to lie either. In the end, she pursed her lips.

"Passable..."

There was nothing worth mentioning about the technique. Naruto relaxed his body completely and let Bibi Dong's mental energy cover him, manipulating him like a puppet on strings.

It didn't mean much, but for Bibi Dong right now, it was enough.

Qian Renxue didn't know who she was.

And she could do something for her herself.

Bibi Dong was so focused that she didn't notice the corners of her lips lifting again. The "Naruto" outside wore the exact same expression, not a fraction different.

Her heart full of joy,

Bibi Dong breathed out softly and headed toward Heaven Dou City.

"What are you doing? What man walks like that? Swing your hips! Swing them! Don't walk like a woman!"

"You're so annoying! I'll walk however I want! What's it to you?"

"This is my body! Give it back!"

"..."

Heaven Dou City,

Beyond the dozens-of-meters-high city walls,

Buildings stood in tightly packed rows. Their brown rooftops rose and fell, stretching out from the most dazzling and majestic royal palace at the city's heart, spreading in every direction until they covered the land.

Countless pedestrians and carriages streamed back and forth. Many of the people wore fine clothes, walking with their hands behind their backs and their chins held high. They were Spirit Masters.

As the imperial capital, this city gathered the essence of the Tiandou Empire. Nearly a fifth of all the Spirit Masters in the empire lived here.

[The Capital of Fire, royal capital of the Land of Fire and home of the daimyo, is second in size only to the Hidden Leaf Village. It is also guarded by powerful figures such as the Twelve Guardian Ninja...]

In a teahouse somewhere, Naruto was sipping tea when the electronic voice sounded in his ear. He instinctively furrowed his brow.

To be fair,

As long as he stayed away from important figures like "Sasuke," the system's Major Event Witness feature usually just played dead.

This activation at least made some sense. Wasn't the capital of the Tiandou Empire the Capital of Fire? It made more sense than that last one with Orochimaru and Tang Hao, at any rate.

Still, it didn't mean much. As far as he remembered, the Capital of Fire had always been a mere backdrop. There weren't any major events here for him to witness. Was Asuma going to pop out of nowhere or something?

Enough about that stupid system.

Naruto pulled his thoughts back. The one sitting here drinking tea was the real Naruto.

Because the two of them had clashed over a certain principle, Naruto had forcibly taken back control of his body. After Bibi Dong's vehement protests, he had reluctantly agreed to lend it back to her temporarily when they met Qian Renxue.

He glanced at Bibi Dong, who looked somewhat uneasy in the Sealing Space.

Naruto collected himself and turned to look. Across a bustling street, the gates of the Tiandou Crown Prince's East Palace stood plainly in view.