Early the next morning, Naruto and the others came knocking.
They had heard last night that Lin Chuan was home, but it had been too late to disturb him, so they had decided to visit the next morning.
"Long time no see, Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji." Still bleary-eyed, Lin Chuan opened the door to find an excited Naruto standing outside with Shikamaru and Choji.
"Wow, you're really back! I missed you so much!" Naruto rushed forward and hugged him. No one had brought him lunch for two and a half years, and he sorely missed the lunches from Lin Chuan's house.
"Let's have breakfast together." After a quick wash, Lin Chuan led the three of them to the kitchen.
Only then did Shikamaru ask curiously, "Where have you been these past two years?"
"I can't say." Lin Chuan shook his head gently and stuck out his tongue to show Shikamaru the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, feeling a little helpless at being unable to tell him.
"Is that a seal?" Shikamaru froze at the sight of it. What kind of place uses a seal to keep its own people from revealing secrets? They're certainly cautious! Looks like Dad was right not to tell me. This really isn't something I should know about.
Naruto and Choji, who were eating lunch, were curious too, but when Lin Chuan said he couldn't tell them, they could only give up and bury themselves in their food.
After breakfast, the four of them began training in the backyard. School had yet to start, and it was still the tail end of spring. The snow on the ground hadn't melted, crunching beneath their feet as they ran.
When Naruto saw Lin Chuan running by the river, he came panting over and joined him. At this point, Naruto's only