Clip-clop... clip-clop...
The sound of hooves rang along the official road of the Land of Fire. Calling it an official road was generous—it was merely packed-down earth. During the rainy season, it would still turn into a stretch of mud.
Fortunately, it was winter now. The cold had frozen the soil beneath as hard as steel, and the two wheels left only shallow tracks.
Having already left Konoha, Samu Kokaze leaned his small head out from the carriage to take in the scenery. Ever since coming to this world, he had stayed in Konoha. On his first trip outside the village, everything beyond it fascinated him.
Inside the carriage, Guy, dressed in green, calmly watched Samu Kokaze as he craned his neck around, his gaze fixed on him the entire time.
Feeling the unsettling stare on him, Samu Kokaze shuddered. He withdrew his gaze from outside and gave an awkward laugh. "Is there something you need, Mr. Guy? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Slap...
A hand landed on his shoulder, moving so fast that even Samu Kokaze could only catch a faint afterimage.
"I know everything about you!" Guy said calmly, his thoughts impossible to read.
"Is that so? Heh... hehehe!"
Samu Kokaze's body stiffened slightly. He lowered his head to look at the hand on his shoulder as his Nano Core-enhanced brain began racing at full speed.
What's going on?
Were the Nanobugs discovered?
Is it too late to run?
Just as Samu Kokaze was left stunned by the sudden development—
Guy suddenly burst into laughter, flashing his gleaming teeth. "Kokaze! Come study taijutsu with me! So what if extracting chakra becomes more difficult in the future? With Konoha's Azure Beast, Might Guy, as your teacher, your youth should not come to a halt here!"
This guy... Samu Kokaze's forehead bulged with a faint vein as he looked at Guy's shining teeth.
"I'm not learning from a tracksuit-wearing pervert like you!"
"Ugh... rejected again?" Guy looked utterly devastated.
"Master Zuo Mu, Mr. Guy, is everything all right?" Tanaka Keishi, who was driving in front, turned around upon hearing the commotion in the carriage.
Having gradually calmed down, Samu Kokaze smiled and shouted within the carriage, "It's fine, Uncle Keishi."
Tanaka Keishi poked his head in from the driver's seat, glanced inside the carriage, then nodded and continued driving the wagon onward.
Silence returned to the carriage, broken only by the clip-clop of hooves against the ground. Looking at the deeply dejected Guy, Samu Kokaze had no choice but to praise him against his will. "Actually, Mr. Guy, you do look quite good in a tracksuit."
"Forget it." Guy, who had just looked severely shaken, calmly shook his head. He gave Samu Kokaze a deep look and gave up on the urge to take him as a disciple.
Although he thought highly of Samu Kokaze—especially after learning what had happened on the night of the attack—Guy, who had risen to become a Konoha Jonin through taijutsu alone, had his own pride. After being rejected twice in a row by a kid, he no longer felt like taking him as a student.
Besides, he had recently discovered another promising prospect in the village.
Seeing Guy suddenly return to normal made Samu Kokaze feel oddly uncomfortable. Still, as long as Guy stopped pestering him about becoming his disciple, that was good enough.
"Kokaze!"
Time slowly passed before Guy, seated across from him, suddenly spoke.
"Mr. Guy?" Samu Kokaze looked at him questioningly.
Facing Samu Kokaze's puzzled gaze, Guy wore an unprecedentedly serious expression. Staring at him, he slowly said, "You are very talented. Perhaps others have not noticed it clearly, but the growth I have seen from you in just this one year has greatly surprised me."
"Among everyone I know, only Kakashi from back then could compare to you. So... are you really planning to do nothing but carve wooden sculptures in the future?"
"Wood carving?"
He chuckled, placed both hands behind his head, and said casually, "There's nothing wrong with carving wooden sculptures. Besides, wood carving and improving my strength do not conflict. I still prefer studying unknown secrets by myself. When I solve a difficult problem that has weighed on my mind for a long time, that sense of accomplishment is an unimaginably wonderful joy."
"It's good that you have a plan." Guy gave him a deep look and spoke calmly.
Konoha.
Inside Samu Carving Shop.
Naruto was currently tied to a chair and being subjected to a harsh interrogation.
"Talk! What did Feng say when he left?" Ino threatened him with a fierce expression on her pretty face, though she still looked somewhat adorable.
"I-I've already told you everything I know!"
Tied to the chair, Naruto looked like he wanted to cry. He was now certain that his best friend had set him up.
"Very well!" Seeing Naruto refuse to confess, a murderous glint flashed through Ino's eyes as she suddenly raised a hand.
"Bring out the torture."
"Ino, forget it. Naruto really looks like he doesn't know anything," Choji said from the side, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth.
"Yeah! Yeah! I told you everything I know!" Naruto nodded fiercely from his chair.
"Then tell me, why are all these letters blank?" Flames seemed to rise in Ino's eyes as she grabbed a stack of blank letters and held them before Naruto.
Watching the group start making a fuss again, Shikamaru yawned and found a stool to sit on out of boredom.
"You still have the mood to sit there?" Already in a foul mood, Ino saw Shikamaru sitting there and watching the show, and her anger immediately flared. She ran over to question him.
Shikamaru looked up at the furious Ino and said helplessly, "He didn't even tell you before leaving. What could I possibly do?"
Ino swallowed her frustration and snorted unhappily. She threw the envelopes clenched in her hand heavily to the floor. After a while, seeming to think of something, her eyes reddened as she bent down and picked them up one by one.
Looking at Ino's red-rimmed eyes, Shikamaru sighed helplessly. He got up, walked over to her, and handed her a tissue.
"Don't worry. With how clever he is, he would have vanished long ago if he encountered danger. Didn't Naruto say he went to Lord Hokage to issue a mission? With people protecting him, nothing will happen to him."
"Who's worried about him?!"
"He ran off showing off as soon as his injuries healed. Isn't he afraid of getting himself killed?"
Tears glistened in Ino's eyes as she gritted her teeth.
When Ino went over to Shikamaru, Naruto, still tied to the chair, kept signaling frantically to Choji, asking him to untie the rope.
Choji hesitated at Naruto's plea for help, while Sakura, seeing Naruto's comical expression, let out a snort of laughter.
I'm done for! Hearing the sound, Naruto looked in despair at Ino as she turned around. The hopeful look that had just appeared on his face instantly drained into ash-gray despair.
Ino walked over expressionlessly. At some point, a kunai gleaming with cold light had appeared in her hand. As the terror in Naruto's eyes grew stronger and the Anbu hidden in the shadows were about to leap out, Ino suddenly stopped.
Gulp...
Naruto swallowed with difficulty and was just about to speak.
Swish... swish...
"Ah!" A miserable scream rang out.
Two flashes of cold light passed by, and the severed rope fell to the ground in two pieces.
After a moment, Naruto, feeling no pain, stood up and patted himself down. "I'm okay?"
Ignoring Naruto's antics behind her, Ino turned and headed for the door.
"Ino, where are you going?" Sakura asked as she looked at Ino holding the kunai.
"Going out to train."
The door slammed shut with a bang, and the remaining people in the room looked at one another.
"What do we do?" Choji asked.
"Let's go train too! Otherwise, are we really going to let Ino leave us all behind?" Shikamaru viciously scratched his chestnut-colored hair. "What a drag!"
"Wait for me!"
Naruto shouted after the others as they headed outside.
PS: Work has gotten busy again these past two days, so I can only manage one update for now. Sorry.
Before you continue